MEET LYDIA MICHAELSAward winning and bestselling author, Lydia Michaels, writes all forms of hot romance.
She presses the bounds of love and surprises readers
just when they assume they have her stories figured out.
From Amish vampyres,
to wild Irishmen, to broken heroes, and heroines no man can match, Lydia takes
readers on an emotional journey of the heart, mind, and soul with every story
she pens. Her books are intellectual, erotic, haunting, always centered on
love.
SIMPLE MAN
by Lydia Michaels
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Behind every simple man is an unsung hero waiting for
love...
Months after Shane Martin’s sister vanishes, life crashes
down and he finds himself the guardian of a nephew he never knew existed.
Blissfully ignorant, Shane trades in his musician status, full of late nights
and fast women, for midnight feedings and lullabies. But when Kate McAlister,
his prissy, stuck up caseworker, arrives unexpectedly, he realizes he could
lose everything.
Kate isn’t impressed by Shane’s messy bachelor pad, rocker
image, or sexy tattoos. As a matter of fact she finds it all very sophomoric.
The sooner she’s off the case the better. Everything from his long hair to his
sarcastic attitude threatens her professionalism. But when he lowers his guard
and asks for help, she discovers a side to this tattooed musician she can’t
resist.
EXCERPT:
The
trailer existed under a thick smog of dirty air. Everyone was laughing. He
tried to smile at all the appropriate times, but felt nothing inside. The
music, which was blaring suddenly cut off and everyone got quiet.
Shane
opened his eyes and saw why. Kate stood at the stereo, scowling. Oh, pretty
Kate. She was so good.
“Shane,
what the hell’s going on?” she hissed.
She
wore a shirt that said Save Ferris.
“I like your shirt,” he slurred.
She
shook her head. She wasn’t amused.
“Hey,”
he yelled, trying to hoist himself off his couch. “Do you guys know that Kate
has a tattoo of a gremlin?” The others acted interested, but Kate eyes widened
with fury.
“Can
I talk to you? Outside?”
God.
Déjà vu. Noel, standing in that very spot, saying those very words, shimmered
in his memory. He laughed, even though it wasn’t funny. “What’s up?”
“Outside.
Now.”
She
turned and marched through the door, which slammed behind her. She had a great
ass. “Hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave,” he grumbled as he
stumbled to his feet.
He
tripped out the front door and saw her standing by his car. Kate did nice
things, like bring his car back when he left it places. He clumsily walked up
to her and hugged her.
She
stiffened and pushed him away. He pulled her back and kissed her, jamming his
tongue in her mouth until she shoved his face hard.
“What is wrong with you?”
He
glowered at her, disliking the sharp sting of her open rejection. “Nothing.
What’s wrong with you?”
“You
stink.”
“Gee,
thanks.”
“Shane,
what are you doing? Do you think acting like this is solving anything?”
Anger
made him turn away. What could he say? His head wasn’t thinking clearly. She
was smarter than him and he had nothing intelligent to bring to the table. He
walked to the trailer and pushed against the siding. “Why are you here?”
“Because
I’m worried about you?”
“Why?”
“Because
I care about you?”
He
laughed and spit in the sand. “You’re supposed to be smart, Kate. When are you
going to get it? I. Am. A. Loser.”
“You’re
sure acting like one now.”
He
pivoted and nearly fell. Catching his balance, he scowled at her. “Don’t be
like that. You’re not a bitch.”
“And
you’re not a loser so stop acting like you are.”
“Really?
I don’t have a job. I live in a trailer. I’m on fucking food stamps. And I just
lost the only person, aside from you, that I care about in the whole world. It
won’t be long before you wise up and leave me too. Yeah, I sure sound like a
winner.”
She
marched up to him and jerked a fistful of his shirt. He looked down at her. It
was like being attacked by an elf, which was kind of funny.
“You
listen to me, Shane Martin, the only way I’m leaving you is if you push me
away. Now stop acting like an idiot and grow up!”
“I
am grown up!” He’d been a grown up since he was seventeen fucking years old!
“No,
you’re being a child right now! If you’re unhappy with your life, do something
about it. Don’t sit here and drink your liver away, waiting for situations to
fix themselves, because it’s not going to happen.”
“What
do you know? You have everything!”
She
got in his face. “Do you think those things were just given to me? I worked my
ass off for everything I have—”
“And
I didn’t? I sweat my ass off pouring concrete in a hundred degree weather. I
bust my balls trying to make extra money playing guitar when I can. I’ve been
struggling to make ends meet since I was seventeen fucking years old and God
decided to pull the rug out from under me! I follow the rules. I play the game,
but no matter what I end up getting fucked! I didn’t have the opportunities in
front of me that you did, so excuse me if I don’t see us as equals.”
She
shook her head. “You may not have had the same opportunities as me, but don’t
act like this is your only option. You have yourself so pegged as this lower
class bum, because you’re afraid if you try to be anything more, you’ll fail.
It’s a shitty self-fulfilling prophecy and if you think that way, you’ve
already lost.”
His
jaw locked as he breathed rapidly through his nose. “You don’t know what it
feels like to be me.”
“You’re
right. I don’t. But I could say the same thing about you.” She put her hands on
her hips and looked down, taking a deep breath, as if collecting her thoughts.
“I’ve
watched you, for months, go against all odds and do something most men could
never do. You sit here and claim to be this simple man. Well, I don’t see a
simple thing about you. As a matter of fact, you’re so complicated, I was
afraid of getting too close to you. I knew, the minute I let you in, I’d fall
for you. Shane, I love you, but this,” she waved her hand in front of him.
“This is not the man I love.”
He
looked down. Everything he loved, everyone that ever loved him was always taken
away. “Don’t love me, Kate.”
Her
hands cupped his jaw. He fought her hold, too ashamed to meet her gaze. She
turned his face until he finally looked at her. “Too late.”
It
was too much. Everything finally collapsed inside of him and he broke. Shutting
his eyes tight, he fought the tears, but it was a losing battle. His face
twisted as a sob broke painfully from his chest. “I’m dying inside.”
She
wrapped her arms around him. “I know.”
He hugged her tight, probably tighter than she could take, but she let
him.
Other
Titles by LYDIA MICHAELS
Falling In
Breaking Out
Coming Home
Sacred Waters
Skin
Chaste
Faking It
Forsaking Truth
As Tears Go By
Hold Me Fast
Simple Man
Breaking Perfect
First Comes Love
If I Fall
Something Borrowed
Remember Me
Called to Order
Calling for a Miracle
Destiny Calls
Call Her Mine
Why We Go
Protégé
Blind
La Vie en Rose
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Michaels loves to hear from readers!
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Twitter Handle: @Lydia_Michaels
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