It's gone now, lol, but it was there for a few days and that really means the world to me. So thank you!!!

I had my life all mapped out. Graduate in three months, find a stable job, and get Dad to live with me in sunny Florida. That was the plan...until my evil identical twin struck again, and I ended up at the beck and call of a tall, dark, and handsome stranger who wouldn't even give me his name.

​Even worse, I'm obliged to lose my first time to this arrogant piece of sheikh, and all the other times after that...until I'm carrying his heir.

The lawyers tell me I'll get sued if I don't do as my new lord and master says, but I don't care. The sheikh is a world-class jerk, a selfish and cruel bully who's used to taking what he wants, no matter the cost. He might think he has me trapped, but I'm ready to fight him tooth and nail...until I find out about Dahlia hooking up with the guy I've been secretly crushing on for years.

That's when everything changes, and I'm thinking maybe...maybe instead of solving this mess I'm in, I should just embrace the chaos and see where it takes me.

I bet my sister would absolutely go insane with rage once she finds out her plans have backfired, and my future baby daddy is a gorgeous, powerful sheikh who's going to keep me in luxury for the rest of my life.

It's the perfect plan of revenge, and it's a win-win situation for both the sheikh and me.

It should've worked, too...but everything goes horribly and heartbreakingly wrong instead.  ​

Checking in just to let you guys know that Book #2 of Hadrian and Saoirse's story - YOU HAD ME AT BOO - is now available. As always, it's another magical and sassy fun romp in the world of witches, ghosts, and greek Gods. 
If you've been looking for a quick sexy read with some ghosts and murderous villains to make things interesting, this is it! 
P.S. Each book in my Midlife Goddess series is written as a standalone.

I was once a 38-year-old ghost...until the Fates hurled me back to the land of the living, minus my bounty hunter boyfriend from Hell.My name is Saoirse Sullivan. I used to be a successful make-up artist, and I used to date a handsome and successful banker named Jason. But then he cheated on me, a nerve in my brain ruptured, and I went into a coma.
When I woke up, I had turned forty without remembering being thirty-nine.
My ex is still with the nubile itch he left me for, and my new boss turned out to be the doctor responsible for making her melons permanently perky and, um, sweet.
Also, I can see ghosts now, and the newest bogey in the block is demanding justice from her murderer...who may or may not be the gorgeous guy next door...I've just had a one-morning stand with.
Midlife crises are supposed to be all about fear of loneliness and boredom, so how is it that my life got crazy good (and bad) when I joined the forty-and-up club?

It was the little redhead again, Ethan thought in pleased surprise, and his curious gaze went straight to the book in her hands. There had been too much distance between them yesterday for Ethan to see what she had been reading, but now he saw that it was an author he also read.
He was already moving forward before he realized what he was doing. It had been a long time since he found something that stirred his interest like this, and it made Ethan realize just how empty his life had been lately.
Anah was still lost in a world of serial killers and smart, handsome detectives when a deep male voice broke into her thoughts.
"Hello."
The sound startled her, and she automatically responded even before looking up. "Hel...lo." Her voice caught at the end, with Anah finally seeing who it was that had addressed her.
The dark-haired stranger was incredibly tall and impossibly attractive, but it was his hazel eyes that had her heart nearly stuttering into a stop. There was something sinfully mesmerizing about them, and they gleamed at her in such a way that had Anah's pulse leaping crazily under her skin.
"New intern, right?"
Anah's eyes widened. "How did you know?"
"I saw you yesterday at the community hall."
Anah didn't quite know what to feel about this. He had seen her yesterday, and he still remembered her? 
"Aren't you a little too young to be working away from home?"
Anah's brows furrowed. "Am I?"
"You must be what? Fourteen? Maybe even---" Ethan stopped upon seeing the girl shake her head. 
"I'm sixteen," Anah corrected him with a smile.
Ethan didn't bother hiding his surprise. "Seriously?" A nod, and Ethan could only grimace in return. "I'm sorry. You seemed a lot younger."
"It's fine," Anah was quick to assure him, and because she could no longer contain her curiosity, she then asked in a rush, "Are you a resident here?"
"For some months of the year, yeah." Ethan offered his hand afterwards. "Ethan Blackwood."
"Anah Blakely." She placed her hand in his, and a jolt of electricity sparked through her body at the hard warmth of his clasp.
"It's nice meeting you, little Anah," Ethan said with a smile. "See you around."
"See you around," she managed to respond in a steady voice, but as soon as Ethan turned his back, she released her pent-up breath and practically sagged in her seat. She watched him walk away, and the way her heart was still racing like mad scared and excited her at the same time.
Prior to this day, most of her crushes had been on boys her age, and ones so famous that they might as well have been living in a different planet. Ethan, however...he was different. He was real. 
That night, Anah found it ridiculously difficult to sleep. Her senses were still stupidly tingling, and her mind unable to forget the man she had met in the library. Ethan Blackwood struck her as the kind of man who could charm the socks off anybody, but at the same time, there was a bleakness in him that she sensed, and it made Anah wish she could just wrap her arms around him and say...
Stupid, Anah thought as she flipped to her back and stared at her bedroom's ceiling. She was being stupid, to think such stupid, unrealistic thoughts. Ethan Blackwood was too gorgeous to need someone like her to comfort him, and she'd only be hurting herself to think otherwise.
No more thinking about men out of her reach, Anah vowed as she tried willing herself to sleep. But when the next day came, and Ethan showed up at the library once again, the promise she had made to herself was promptly tossed out of the window.
"Good afternoon, little Anah."
Anah wrinkled her nose. "Little?" He had called her that earlier, too, and she wasn't quite sure if she liked it. "I'm not a child," she pointed out as soon as he reached her counter.
"I was referring to your height," Ethan said with a smirk.
"Oh." Anah couldn't help grimacing. If that were the case, then he had every right to call her 'little'.
Ethan glanced at the book Anah was holding. "Still not done?"
"Just three chapters to go," she answered.
"I read him, too," Ethan commented.
Anah was pleased, thinking it was a good omen if they had the same taste in books. "Really?" 
Ethan was amused. "Do I look like I don't read?"
Anah choked. "Don't put words in my mouth," she protested.
"Then what did you mean?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Just...you..." Too late, Anah realized she shouldn't have bothered correcting him, since the truth was open to even more misunderstanding.
Ethan smirked again. "Can't think of a lie, can you?" He reached over the counter to ruffle her hair. "It's fine," he said generously. "You'll see soon enough that I'm more than just a pretty face." 
With Ethan even punctuating the outrageously vain claim with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrow, Anah could only choke, torn between laughter and exasperation.
Ethan was fighting back his own grin. The look on Anah's face was priceless. She appeared almost sick actually, as if she was unable to stomach the amount of vanity in his words. He was just about to remark on this, too, when they both heard the door of the meeting room at the back suddenly open.
Anah saw the mayor's secretary poke her head out of the meeting room. "Calling Mr. Ethan Blackwood!"
Ethan glanced over his shoulder and saw Frankie frowning at him. "In a minute."
"Mayor O says now, Mr. Blackwood."
Ethan turned to Anah. "You heard the tyrant..."
Frankie rolled her eyes. "I totally heard you, too."
But Ethan pretended not to hear this and flashed Anah a brief smile instead. "I'll see you around then?" Ethan began walking backwards. "I'd have loved to spend more time talking about books---" Frankie snorted loudly at this, which Ethan ignored even as Anah couldn't help giggling. "But duty beckons..."
Back inside the meeting room, Ethan was bemused to find the other members of The Hartland Initiative gazing at him with interest. "What?"
Instead of answering, everyone instantly became busy, with Oliver Winterbourne, the town mayor, suddenly finding something to ask his secretary while the others rifled through the daily reports as if their lives depended on it.
Ethan shook his head as he returned to his seat. Crazy motherfuckers. He picked up his own copy of the day's agenda but was unable to concentrate. Instead, he found himself remembering Anah's expression when he referred to himself as a pretty face.
She really was an intriguing little thing, Ethan mused. She was like a little sister he never knew he wanted, and for the rest of the summer, he found himself indulging his explicable whim for her company. 
He liked how quiet she was without being shy. Most people mistook her for the latter, but Ethan had sensed from the start she wasn't what everyone thought, and his time with her proved that. The kid simply didn't believe in speaking unnecessarily, but it didn't make her any less friendly - or troublesome - when she was so inclined.
When he was with Anah, it was hard to remember she was just sixteen and almost a decade younger than his twenty-five years. He could talk to her about anything, and in times when there wasn't anything to talk about, her presence alone settled the disquiet inside of him. If someone were to tell Ethan she was an enchantress in disguise, he would've been half-inclined to agree, with how Anah practically had him under a spell.

​

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The usual hustle and bustle drifted to Anah's ears like a cheerful greeting as soon as she entered Redwood Cafe, followed by a genial chorus of hellos and friendly nods from the town's resident secret tycoons. 
Many of them still remembered Anah from her intern days, but more importantly, they all looked at her as their honorary little sister, owing to her close ties to the Blackwoods.
"Hello again." Farica, co-owner of the cafe, looked unusually frazzled as Anah settled herself on one of the bar stools. Her lovely blonde hair was twisted up in a messy bun, and her granny glasses kept slipping down her nose. Anah had a feeling it was the older woman's way of making herself stand out less, and well...it wasn't working. Nothing would, with the kind of looks the Dutch heiress possessed.
"Everything okay?" Anah asked when she Farica exhaled her breath in an irritable sigh.
"We're short-staffed again," Farica admitted grumpily while handing Anah the menu over the counter.
Anah was stunned. "But didn't you guys just hire the last one?"
"Yeah, she's gone."
Anah winced. "I guess that means she..."
"Couldn't help falling in love with Slade and made a nuisance of herself?" 
Before Anah could answer, the other owner of the cafe sauntered up to the bar, saying dryly, "No need to hold back, Fari. Feel free to make it sound like it's all of my fault."
"But it is your fault," Farica pointed out, "that we've gone through five waitresses in the past three months!"
"Ignore her." Slade Wyndham's pleasant voice was clearly meant to further needle his business partner. "She's always hysterical this time of the month." Anah had to swallow back a laugh as a successfully baited Farica threw a dishcloth at Slade's ruggedly handsome face.
Anah cleared her throat. "Can I order my lunch before someone dies?"
Farica groaned. "Sorry, Anah. It's this jerk's fault I forgot to take your order."
Ignoring this, Slade turned to Anah, asking suavely, "Won't you change your mind and start working for us instead?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wyndham," Anah apologized. "But I really like my job at the library."
The cafe owner grimaced. "I knew you'd say that." 
Anah bit back a smile at the way Slade's brooding expression only made him look more handsome. He looked very much like Henry Cavill when playing pre-Superman Clark Kent, with his dark hair, beard, and penchant for plaids. It was easy to see why so many of the cafe's former waitresses had all lost their hearts to him. Anah probably would have done the same thing, too...if she already had her heart back.
But since that part of her body was still stubbornly beating for a man who remained out of her reach...
Slade mentally shook his head when he saw the girl's expression turn pensive. He knew exactly what that look meant, mostly because he had seen it more times than he wished on his own business partner, who had been nursing her own unrequited love for almost a decade. 
Anah was still in love with Ethan Blackwood, and she had done such an awful job hiding this that the whole town knew of her feelings. Unfortunately, the whole town also knew that Ethan had never returned her feelings...and probably never would, for as long as a temptress named Guilia was in the picture.

****

It was about ten in the morning when Ethan's plane landed in Laramie, and after grabbing a quick shower, he found himself succumbing to the urge to drive to the library. 
He'd just say hi, Ethan reasoned to himself. He and Anah had rules now, and dropping by to check on her would be fine as long as he remembered to play by their rules.
Unfortunately, it was only Mrs. Hutchins manning the counter when he arrived. 
"You just missed her," the head librarian told him regretfully. "She's on her break right now, but I think you can find her at Redwood Cafe."
Hearing this nearly had Ethan groaning out loud. That damn place tended to be the beehive for local gossip, and it was with extreme reluctance that he decided to bite the bullet and simply make his way to the local cafe.
As expected, all heads swung to his direction the moment he entered, and Ethan responded to their looks of interest with a flip of his finger. Fuck you all.
But of course, everyone was just thick-skinned enough to simply laugh it off.
The sudden laughter made Anah glance curiously over her shoulder, and she almost choked at seeing Ethan sitting down and joining the twins at their table. He was his usual rakishly good-looking self, and when she saw him flash a grin at something Aidan said, she couldn't keep her heart from skipping a beat. She liked him best when he was grinning like that; he looked so much like Christian Slater in his Heather days, and it just made her wish so, so bad she had the right to just look at him for as long as she wanted.
But since she didn't...
Anah forced herself to turn back to her food, and it was then she saw that her iPhone, placed next to her plate, already had one unread message waiting for her.
Ethan: I'm back.
Anah's heartbeat rate shot up like a rocket. She and Ethan had "rules" now, and one of those rules?
Ethan permitting himself to reach out to her first, but only in the days when he was officially without a girlfriend again.
Like now.

​