Sleep dear sleep

Sooo - here I am at 4:30 in the morning and wide awake.  Not sure if it's because I didn't take my bedtime gummy for sleep or because every time I roll over my bruised ankle wakes me up just a little.

Yesterday, for reasons I do not understand, I cracked my ankle against the corner of the coffee table. I have been visiting my daughter's house with some regularity over the last there years and never come close to that stupid coffee table! It hurt when I bumped it - and I rubbed it quite a bit in an effort to prevent bruising- but it still hurts. A friend told me to use Arnica salve and I bought some but unfortunately, it's home in Dallas.

Hopefully I won't fall asleep in the middle of day now LOL! I'm debating between turning on the TV or picking up a book or working on book three of the barons of Texas- I may try and get a few words in because with a new baby coming there won't be much time soon. 

Since I shared the opening scene of book two last month (that was Kyle's story), here's the unedited first draft of the opening scene of book three (Beth's story) :

“What you need is a man.”
Standing over her latest compound mixture, the dropper in her hand fell to the floor as Beth Baron snapped her head around to face her assistant. “Excuse me?”
“You work too hard.”  Isabel Santorini had been the best compounder, assistant that Beth had ever worked with. The standard white lab coat did little to hide the woman’s gothic wardrobe complete with heavy combat boots that thudded their way across the commercial linoleum floors. Nor did the plethora of strategically pierced studs along with bleached raven black hair and striking makeup choices give any hint of the brilliant mind that had worked beside Beth since the day she started Le Perfumerie.  “I can sense your tension the minute I cross the threshold. You need a good roll in the hay.”
“What I need,” Beth spun around and handed Isabel a list of her latest choices, “is for you to compound these and leave my love life alone.”
“Would love to. If you had one.” Isabel flashed a toothy grin. “Love life that is.”
“My love life is just fine. Thank you.”
Isabel set a dish of cheese and fresh finger fruits in front of her. “Sure it is. That’s why you’ve been sleeping on the sofa in your office all week.”
Beth could do little more than roll her eyes. The woman was right. Beth loved her work, loved being her own boss, and often when she was working on a particularly enchanting scent, time would get away from her and she’d crash on the sofa. On the bright side, working crazy long days for stretches at a time kept her from remembering basic necessities in life like food, which helped keep her in the same size clothes she’d worn since high school. Thankfully, a caring nagger, Isabel made sure that Beth at least didn’t starve to death.
“Thanks. I didn’t realize I was hungry.”
“For food or men?”
“Will you stop that!” The last thing Beth needed now was a romantic liaison with a man.
“I’m serious. Never mind the roll in the hay. When was the last time you were out on a date with a man?”
“Two weeks ago at the Shelters for Women annual gala.”
One pitch black eyebrow lifted high on Isabel’s forehead and her charcoal lips pursed in bitter disagreement. “Jack Preston doesn’t count. Even though the man is sexy as hell, he might as well be your brother. Heaven knows no honorable man would be willing to cross the line with his best friend’s little sister. Especially when the brother is a Baron and has two more brothers to back him up in brawl.”
There wasn’t much of an argument she could give. Jack Preston, her brother Kyle’s college buddy, had been her go to date for charity events and weddings for years. It made for great photographs, fed the gossip mill to keep her preferred charities in the news, and repelled unwanted gold-digging male attention. Too bad he wasn’t available for tonight’s Housing for Heroes event. The entire evening was planned around her donation of a recent creation with all sales profit of the new scent to go to the organization. The naming rights to the scent was one of the auction items tonight. Everyone expected the fundraiser to be a bumper crop night for the non profit that had done so much for struggling veterans. At least for tonight her grandparents would be in attendance. Not the same as an escort on her arm, but a safe haven none the less. Speaking of which, she glanced down at her wrist watch. Three o’clock. If she high tailed it out of here she’d be able to beat some of the miserable Houston traffic. One of these days she was going to move the operation out of downtown, sell her NEIGHBORHOOD condo, and set up in a cheaper less congested northern suburb. Some day.
She tossed a grape in her mouth and a morsel of mozzarella, then scooped the dish into her hand to finish nibbling on her way out the door. “Thanks for the snack, but I need to get moving if I want to wear something other than my lab coat to tonight’s banquet.”
Isabel stepped back and nodded. Beth was almost out the lab door when her assistant shouted after her, “If you find a hot bachelor, take him home with you!”

Hope you enjoyed that sneak peek!  We don't have release dates yet for the series but hopefully some time this fall! Will let you know when I know! 

In the meantime I hope y'all have had a good night's sleep.  

Stay in touch!