9/3/21
Bitter Secrets Snippet
She was so deep in thought that she didn’t realize Roth was watching her until he ran a finger down her cheek. She glanced at him and felt the hairs on the nape of her nape stand up.
“What was the last thing he said to you?” he asked softly.
She swallowed the last of her champagne and resisted urge to cough as the bubbles tickled her throat. “He didn’t say anything.”
“Did he hit on you?”
Her heart jumped, but she played it off by waving her hand and averting her eyes. “French sounds seductive no matter what you say.”
“Did he hit on you, Jasmine?”
When she opened her mouth to deny it, he crowded her, one arm wrapping around her back while his hand covered hers on the table.
“Don’t lie for him.”
“It doesn’t matter what he said.”
“So he did.” Roth’s flicked to the door even though he was long gone. “He’ll pay for that.”
“Roth.”
His cold gaze shifted back to her. “You didn’t let him kiss you.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Was I supposed to?”
The hand on the table moved to her face and traced her jawline with piercing focus before he reached her chin and applied pressure to tilt her face up. She let out a startled grunt when his mouth covered hers. When she tried to pull away, he cupped her nape. When their mouths parted, he trailed kisses to her ear.
— Draft of Bitter Secrets © 2021 Mia Knight
Bitter Secrets Update
Still making my way through this book, but making good progress! I’m enjoying this second part of the story much more than the first because I can let go of the reins a little more. Something with writing a series, you’re always holding something back. It’s really hard to restrain yourself from rushing a scene, from revealing too much too soon and ruining character development because you want to get to the next stage in their relationship. But, because there’s only one book after this, I get to unload all the goods in this second part of Bitter Secrets, which makes me a tad giddy. It’s just a matter of figuring out the best time and place to release these bombshells that will set up the final book.
Personal Update
My arm is feeling a lot better. I’ve been taking a lot more breaks to give my muscles and tendons a rest instead of sitting at my keyboard all day.
I’m in some tentative negotiations for an office space, so we’ll see how that pans out. My only option is to sublet since there is nothing available. That kinda sucks, but it’s better than nothing. I’ve also inquired about some rentals across the island, but it’s so competitive even to rent here. Real estate has always been scarce, but with so many people moving from the mainland, I’ve never seen such slim pickings, which means I have to stay put and make do with where I am.
And, on that note, I still haven’t gotten my hair done. I’ve been calling all these hair places in town but they either have full inboxes so you can’t leave a voicemail, don’t return your calls, or the best was when I requested an appointment and they called back and said they didn’t have any availability. They didn’t ask if I could wait 2 weeks or until next month. They just said, “We don’t have anything.” Because I’m such a hermit and rarely venture off our property, I just shrugged this off until a couple night ago. I had my hair piled up on my head (because it’s so bloody hot) and I was getting a headache because my hair is so thick and heavy. I was staring at myself in the mirror and I snapped. I didn’t shave my head or hack it all off, I just cut off a couple inches. My hair was at my freaking waist—the longest it’s ever been since I was in first or second grade. Just taking a few inches off made such a huge difference. Since I can’t get into a salon, my only other option is to call Supercuts and even they have turned me away. Hopefully, I’ll call on a day where they aren’t so busy. That’s the only option left to me unless I want to drive an hour to the next town… and I have a feeling they are just as crowded as we are. Sigh. Remember when everyday tasks weren’t a trial? Yeah, me neither.