Families—we can’t choose them #MFRWHooks

One Woman Only

Blurb:
As one of a set of triplets, Jonah Goodman has always stood out as the least academic—and the last one to take the world, or commitment, seriously. Thing is, that’s not really who he is. But who can he convince of that? Not his family, who see him as they always have. And maybe not his one love, the sweetheart he left behind in high school but with whom he is now sharing an erotic holiday. Will he get his second chance to prove to Kelly that he is a loving man who wants more than a sensual few days, but a real relationship with the woman he lost once and doesn’t want to lose again? With that chance and Kelly’s love, Jonah knows that a “good man” can become a better man.

Buy link:
Amazon KU

Excerpt:
Thanksgiving dinner was as solemn as the rest of the meals Kelly remembered in her house. On the pristine white, laced-edged cloth, the table was beautifully set with gleaming candlesticks and flickering candlelight. Her mother’s wedding china—more Limoges, soft cream colored with a delicate rim of gold—shone as finely as the sterling silver flatware beside each plate. A centerpiece of small pumpkins, patty pan squash, and other gourds, mixed with colored leaves and white mums, graced the center of the table. The turkey was the perfect shade of brown and neither the gravy nor the mashed potatoes showed lumps. Corn pudding, still steaming from its time in the oven, looked inviting in its dish. Sweet potato casserole, green beans, and Brussels sprouts cooked with onion and bacon completed the meal, along with homemade dinner rolls that had played their part adding to the day’s aromas. Two pies—a sweet potato and an apple—waited for later, on the bachelor chest behind her father. The room and the meal should have looked like a Norman Rockwell painting.

Except this painting was flat. There was no feeling, no emotion. No smiles, no laughing family poking each other in play or joining hands in prayer. They were just four people sitting at a table preparing to eat. Kelly hated it. And she hated knowing that every time she’d come home over the years she had expected things to be different.

She ventured a smile at Mama Rio, who sat across the table from her. “This all looks delicious. Thank you for your hard work.”

“You worked with me. This meal is thanks to you, too, little one.”

Kelly’s mother sniffed. “I never had to lend a hand in the kitchen for a meal in my day. There’s something very unseemly in your slaving away in the kitchen, Kelly. We pay Mama Rio to do those things.” Her mother nodded in Mama Rio’s direction. “No offense. We’re very happy to have you share dinner with us since your family isn’t here this year. And as usual, the meal is delicious.”

Kelly looked at Mama Rio who sighed and said, “Thank you.”

“I didn’t have to help in the kitchen, Mother. I wanted to. It’s fun working alongside someone one you love to prepare something this special. Doesn’t it look wonderful?”

Mama Rio looked up and smiled shyly. She had on a clean blouse and nicely fitted slacks. Her hair had streaks of gray and she had pulled it back into a braid. She wore no jewelry except her wedding band, which she’d never removed in the years since her husband’s death.

Kelly’s mother on the other hand, sported diamond earrings and a pendant with a stone large enough to be seen from space, on a gold chain. Diamonds graced the fingers of smooth hands that had rarely seen a lick of work. Her dress was couture and probably cost more than Kelly’s and Mama Rio’s wardrobes combined. Yet the neat but virtually poor woman sitting across from her shone more brightly than any of her mother’s diamonds. Why was that?

“It looks like Thanksgiving dinner is supposed to look. I don’t know what more you want me to say,” Kelly’s mother said.

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