Excerpt
After a full afternoon in Shane’s company,
one-entirely-too-closely-on-one, she was more than grateful to get a call from
her best friend Mel. After a half hours conversation on her mobile about the
fire Mel decided that sweet tea sucked and what she needed was to drown her
sorrows in a more traditional Irish manner.
And at least at O’Malley’s she was out of the house and
away from Shane.
“So, what does Mr. Sex-on-a-stick look like first thing in
the morning?”
Too damn good as it happened, “Can we talk about something
else?”
“Wow, that good, huh?” Mel waggled her eyebrows as she
raised her glass, “Figures.”
“I keep telling you if you think he’s so hot then you
should just go for it.”
Her friend knew her too well, “Yes, and I can tell from
that tone that you’d be chuffed to bits by that.
Finn sighed, “He can date whoever he wants, it’s nothing to
do with me.”
“Mmm.”
“Don’t do that.”
“What?” She blinked innocently.
Finn smiled at her amateur dramatics, “You know what. I’ve
told you before, I’m not interested.”
“Uh-huh,” Her fingers swirled a plastic oar around in her
glass, tinkling ice cubes against the edges, “But that’d be a teeny bit of a
fib, wouldn’t it? Sometimes you look at him like a choc-a-holic looks at a plate
full of Death By Chocolate.”
“Looking is one thing.”
Mel nodded wisely, “So you have no problem when chesty
women throw themselves at him?”
Finn laughed, “Oh honey, you’re not chesty. We’ve talked
about this loads and we’ve always said there was no danger of you getting black
eyes if you took up jogging.”
“I wasn’t talking about me…”
With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, Finn
turned on her tall stool and looked at the bar. Sure enough, Shane and Eddie
were there and Shane had already attracted a chesty woman. Dimples still present
from something she had said to him, his eyes rose and met hers.
Her breath caught as his eyes twinkled across at her. He
really bloody did have the charm of the devil didn’t he?
With a scowl she turned back round to face her grinning
friend, “Don’t say a word. Not one, y’hear?”
Mel held both hands up in front of her body, “Silent as the
grave over here.”
Finn downed a large mouthful of the concoction Mel had got
her from the bar, her eyes watering slightly as she swallowed. Suddenly, the
idea of getting rat-arsed held a great deal of appeal.
When she looked back at Mel she saw her eyes move upwards.
Immediately she sat taller on her chair, her spine stiff as she waited for the
air behind her to tingle like it had all
afternoon.
A beer bottle appeared on the table in front of her,
“Drowning your sorrows?”
Exhaling the breath she was holding she looked up at her
brother, “Don’t you think I’d have good reason to?”
“Well of all the lame excuses you two have used on a night
out before I guess this would be one of the better ones,” He winked across at
Mel, “Hey gorgeous.”
“Hey Eddie. Kathy let you out on your own? She must reckon
she has you well pinned down.”
“I’m not on my own, I’m with Shane.”
“And if ever there was a mate who could find you a woman to
get you in trouble, it would be him.”
Eddie laughed, “He’s always been a babe magnet. Beats the
holy hell outta me how he does it.”
Finn could write him a list if he asked. She sat silently
fuming for no apparent reason, “Well there better not be a string of them at the
house while I’m there.”
“String of what?” Shane plunked himself onto the stool next
to her, “Hi Mel.”
Mel practically batted her eyelashes at him, “Hi Shane.”
Eddie laughed as he lifted his beer bottle and Shane turned
his body towards Finn , leaning his elbows on the table, which rocked it and had
both women rescuing their glasses, “String of what at the house while you’re
there?”
Finn searched her mind frantically for a suitable reply.
But her brother beat her to it, “She’s afraid you’re gonna bring a string of
babes back to the house while she’s there. Doesn’t want you showing her how sad
her own love life is.”
Shane’s eyes had strayed to Eddie as he spoke but then his
gaze slid slowly to her face. Lifting his elbows, he reclaimed his bottle and
examined her above the rim for a long moment, “Is your love life sad Finn?”
“None of your business.” She smiled sweetly as she sipped
her drink again. Forcing herself not to pull a face as the liquid seared her
throat.
“Didn’t you have a date before you had a late Halloween
bonfire?”
Glaring at her brother she sniped back, “Thanks so
much for bringing that up.”
“Oh yeah, what’s-his-name, the librarian. How’d that go?”
Mel rattled her ice cubes again as her eyes sparkled.
“He’s not a librarian, he’s a clerical officer.”
“Same thing isn’t it?” Shane queried with a wink at Eddie.
Finn smirked, “Not everyone suits the cape and tights
look.”
Eddie joined in with a, “At least if we got a ladder in our
tights it could be put to some use.”
After simultaneous groans Mel jumped in with, “Stuns me why
you bother with all those librarians when you have a dating agency for a
brother.”
“Finn doesn’t date Firefighter’s.”
“Too hot for you Finn?”
Finn avoided looking into Shane’s blue eyes again as he
asked the question in a voice steeped in innuendo. She was suddenly more aware
of the nuances in his voice than she had been before. She could chalk that one
down to his flirting with her all afternoon she guessed.
Alright, so his use of the word ‘hot’ twice in one day had
helped. He had a way of saying that word that went straight to the part of her
body that then squirmed on her stool. Where was a washing machine on spin cycle
when she needed one?
Lifting her glass to hide behind its rim, she glanced at
Mel and her brother to see if they’d caught it too. Flirting with her when they
were alone was one thing. A bad enough thing. But flirting openly in front of
friends and family and getting her squirmy in public was way
worse.
“They’d have to get past me first,” Eddie said in a grim
voice, “I have to look out for my baby sister.”
Finn snorted into her glass, “I feel much
safer now.”
“You could always have your librarian fend them off with a
good hard backed book.”
The various defensive weapons available to a librarian were
discussed for a while as the bar began to fill up. Someone somewhere put dance
music on the juke-box so their voices all rose accordingly and they had to lean
their heads closer to hear. And all the while Finn was totally aware of where
Shane was, of how his throat would convulse as he swallowed a mouthful of beer,
of how his long fingers curled around the bottle.
At one point she even chanced a look at him while his head
was turned towards Mel. She looked at the way he sat so easily on the tall
stool, one foot resting on the floor, legs wide, his broad frame tall and lean.
Any bit of wonder women in bars gravitated toward him.
Her eyes were on the broad column of his neck at the v of
his polo shirt when she realized he had turned his face back towards her. She
glanced upwards into eyes that looked black in the dim light of the bar. And he
looked back at her with several lazy blinks of thick dark lashes.
Her throat went dry. With a small wave of panic her eyes
flew to Mel; who smiled at her with a knowing look.
“Anyone want another drink?” Eddie’s voice rose at her
side, “Mel, you’ll take one. Shane, need I ask?”
“I’m grand.” Finn couldn’t face another drink. She needed
her wits about her.
“I’ll come with you Eddie.”
Finn glared at her soon to be ‘ex’ friend as she smiled on
her way past.
“So…”
She took a deep breath as Shane’s deep voice rumbled close
to her ear. Leaning back a little on her chair she turned her face towards him,
blinking calmly, “So?”
“Maybe we should have a chat about bringing people back to
the house while you’re staying there.”
“I’ll not be staying all that long.”
“Still, if you’re bothered about it, maybe we
should discuss it. Set the boundaries.”
Jealousy swept through her chest like a hot knife through
butter. It was one thing witnessing him surrounded by women on a night out but
she’d never had to think of him sleeping with someone under the same roof as
her. It was none of her business. And it was his house. She had no
right to dictate to a grown man what he could and couldn’t do, did she? And it
really shouldn’t matter. But-
Lying in the dark listening to them?
Oh, ‘cos there’d be noise she’d bet-
“Do what you want. It’s nothing to do with me.”
She knew his eyes were still on her as she turned her face
away and squirmed again.
“I have no intention of bringing anyone home.”
Oh no, now y’see that was worse. With a groan
she looked back at him, determined to tell it really didn’t matter a damn to her
only to have him add,
“And if you even think of it I’ll probably break his neck
and chuck him out on the street.”
Her mouth dropped open.
Shane shrugged, a small smile twitching the corners of his
mouth as he lifted his bottle again, “Just so you know.”
Not that she would have. Not that she actually had any
candidates or had done in s long, long while. The very fact that he thought he
could just say something like that and get away with it…
“Like I said, I won’t be there all that long.”
He seemed to think for a while as he swallowed and set his
bottle back down, folding his arms across his chest in a way that high-lighted
the muscles in his upper arms, “Don’t know that it would make a difference even
if you moved out. Not now that we’ve bought underwear together.”
“Why, you-“ She found herself lost for words, again. Then
did the only thing she could think of and reached an arm out to shove him.
The stool wobbled, he had to set his other foot on the
floor to balance himself. And as he did he swiftly unfolded his arms and caught
her hand in his.
She laughed at the momentary panic that had crossed his
face, “You deserved that.”
Turning his hand in hers, he tangled his long fingers with
hers and held on, leaning closer with dangerously glittering eyes, “You know one
of the first things a boy learns in the playground is that when a girl hits him
it means she likes him?”
Finn shook her head, a smile still on her lips while he
guided their joined hands below the table, “Jeez, and you actually get laid with
these chat up lines?”
It was Shane’s turn to laugh, “It’s worked before.”
“You really need to date women with an I.Q. above fifty you
know.”
His eyes flickered to one side, then back to hers. Then he
nodded, “Oh don’t worry babe, I’m thinking about it. I’ve thinking about it
plenty.”
He released her hand a second before Eddie placed drinks on
the table, “What did I miss?”
Back to books
Text Copyright © 2006 by
Trish Wylie Cover Art Copyright ©
2006
by Harlequin Enterprises LimitedPermission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A. Cover art used
by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ® and ™
are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated
companies, used under license.
Behind The Scenes
White-Hot!
had a gradual progression from a small little seed of an idea into a book with
characters who took on a life of their own.
It started with a film - which
many of my stories often do - I see one I didn't like the ending of, or that had
a scene in it that struck a chord in me - and
an idea begins. With White-Hot!
it started whilst watching Ladder 49 - the film with Joaquin Phoenix -
that followed a Fire-fighter through training and onto the job and, well, I'll
not ruin the story for you... Anyway, apart from the fact that my initial
reaction was - oh yeah - Fire-fighters!!! - I was very struck by the scene early
on in the film where a set of Dress Uniformed Fire-fighter's has to come to
someone's' house to tell them a loved one has died. How awful must that be? And
it made me think about what it was like for the family of that person and how it
would have changed their world...
Now we all experience loss at
some stage, for me it was early on when I lost my
Father
in my teens - so we all know how traumatic it can be. So running on the theory
of 'write what you know' - I knew I had emotions in there I could draw on. And
hence, the seeds for White-Hot!
were sown.
Then I thought conflict
- a single line in the Fire-fighter series Rescue Me gave me another
piece of inspiration - so I had Shane's conflict started. Then I thought again
about the scene in the film and I wondered what it would be like for the
daughter of a Fire-fighter who died - and I had Finn's conflict started... Add
some comedy in the form of Finn's disastrous love life and some Bridget Jones
styled big-pants and we had the beginnings of a story I knew I was gonna love
writing... Then once I started, they took on personalities of their own and the
story flew... You gotta love it when that happens...
Hence Shane and Finn’s story
came to life…
Alright - So this picture
helped...
It's so important to have a
hero picture that inspires I feel. And with this one, we had Shane. We had the
look, we had the Fire-Fighter outfit and this was enough with the conflict I
already had in place to lend life to my hero. And he remained Shane until I got
the UK Modern Extra cover - That cover is just so addictive and so right that guy IS Shane
in my mind now..
Location, Location,
Location
Ahhh... Now this one was one of the many I have
done since I became a Full Time Writer... Which I knew meant I was going to have
a year of virtual seclusion... I have a plan, kinda, well in theory you see -
To write away like a hermit in a cave for a year and then next year to travel to
as many conferences as I can as my treat for being a hermit so long...
So this book was written in my little log cabin,
in the middle of the woods not far from the lakes... With my horses by my door
and cats asleep on the sofa...
The book was set in
and around Dublin again and was the first book I had to do some serious research
on - To see where the majority of my info came from click the picture above to
browse the resources of the site for The Dublin Fire Brigade... Kudos for these
brave men and their families and for Fire-fighting families world-wide I say! It takes a very
special kind of people for this job and having done the research I can now see
why Fire-fighter's are so popular as hero's... I only hope Shane lives up to the
image...
Background Music
For
the scene when Shane watches Finn sleeping we have a track from the album 'Il Divo' by
Il Divo....
Four amazing guys who can sing! Oh boy can they
sing! And I've been to see them live in concert so I do NOT lie about this...
The scene with Shane and Finn was inspired by
Track 5 and if you ever get the album and listen to it you'll understand
completely - The words say it all.
You can even listen to a little snippet of
it
here
by scrolling down and clicking on 'Every Time I Look At You'.
*All Photographs are used to
give a visible representation of the Authors 'view' and are in no way
representative of the people or places in real life beyond the realms of the
Authors imagination.
Reviews
"Trish Wylie’s spellbinding tale will tickle
your funny bone and tug at your heartstrings. Featuring characters which leap
off the pages, realistic dialogue, sweet romance, sizzling sex scenes,
electrifying sexual tension and dramatic emotional intensity, White-Hot! is
feel-good romance at it’s finest!"
Julie Bonello -
Cataromance
"White Hot! is a sweet, sexy, sassy
romp that will have you laughing and clutching at your heart by measures. Finn
and Shane are funny, damaged, and thoroughly contemporary and their romance is
soooo believable, and so one you can imagine happening between your best
friends"
Ally Blake -
Romance &
Modern Extra Author
"From the get-go, Finn is a strong heroine;
someone whom the reader will no doubt identify with. And Shane? Even an
ice-maiden would melt when faced with this sexy fire-fighter."
Sue -
Romance
Reviewed
"The banter in this book is hilarious. Since
nothing was salvagable from the fire, Finn has to shop for EVERYTHING. Including
underwear. Go ahead and read where Shane takes her shopping twice. It's too fun
to pass up. Don't let it fool you, this book packs such an emotional punch I
wondered how it could possibly work for this couple. But of course, it does, in
the most satisfying way possible."
Jenna
Bayley-Burke -
Modern Extra Author
"You
owe me for a couple of boxes of Kleenex! I've just bawled my way to the end of
White Hot and absolutely loved it. Thank you so much for a great read. "
Margaret McDonagh
- Mills & Boon Medicals Author
"A wonderful mix of humor and tenderness and
steam. Very nice connection and relationships between all the characters --
siblings, friends, mom & kids..."
Penn aka Ftworthmom -
Eharlequin 10,000 book Challenge Blog
"The characters in this book are simply
amazing. Even the secondary characters blew me away: Eddie, Kathie, Eddie’s
girlfriend, Finn’s mother. The dialogue between the characters is amazing.
There are a few intense scenes between Eddie, Shane and Finn as well as between
Eddie and Shane. All were great!...I highly recommend reading this book."
Scoobie -
Eharlequin 10,000 book Challenge Blog
"Your heart goes out to (Finn) as she struggles
with these deep feelings and her love and attraction for Shane. It's very
powerful and moving. As Trish states, "When you love someone it's a risk. It
always is. But that's just life. You're the one who has to make the choice and
live it." Personally, I took that risk and married a firefighter and I cherish
those memories along with him and our children. This particular book meant a lot
to me as my husband served for over twenty years and Trish has portrayed the
profession and the brave men who choose it in an honest, honourable and
believable way."
Marilyn Shoemaker
-
Amazon.com
