Today I’m thrilled to share the cover and an excerpt from Katy Ames’ next release, After the Storm (Seven Winds #3), out January 18. I started the series last month, and if there’s one thing I know, Katy Ames writes strong, competent women. In this one, Tessa Armstrong is a pastry chef and as you’ll see from the excerpt, she’s already getting into sticky situations as the new pastry chef at a luxury resort.
About After the Storm:
Tristan Hurst is tired of running. He’s spent every day since he was 16 trying to escape the consequences of one inexplicable, horrible night. So when his cousin buys a Caribbean resort and offers him a job away from the family firm, Tristan jumps at the chance to leave behind his intolerable father and the life he barely lives.
Tessa Armstrong has a plan and moving to a tropical island isn’t part of it. But when she lands the position of head pastry chef at a luxury hotel, she can’t pass it up. A new country, a new kitchen. And a fresh start far away from the secrets that are becoming harder to ignore.
On an island where neither expected to end up, Tessa and Tristan discover something they’ve always wanted: a safe haven. And when friendship becomes something more, they think they’ve landed in
paradise.
But there’s a storm coming, and the secrets they’ve worked so hard to escape aren’t far behind. And with them, a truth that has the power to wash away a love they never dreamed to find.
A standalone contemporary romance from the author of After the Island and After the Fall.
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Catch up on the Series: After the Island, After the Fall
EXCERPT from After the Storm:
Tessa covered her stack of crêpes with a kitchen towel then waved. “Hey. Looking for something?”
He turned towards her, hand still on his neck. His eyes hit her face.
They were wary, almost hesitant. But oh, so blue. Not deep and dark, but bright and icy. And watchful.
“Yes.” His voice came out scratchy. Unused.
“Okay…” She scanned the kitchen, checking to see if there was anything out of place. Or something that looked like it belonged to him.
Tessa was about to ask what he was looking for when he saw something behind her. He came forward and, without thought, she stepped out of his way. “Did you find what—” Tessa turned and stopped. She watched in horror as he stuck one long finger into the bowl of whipped cream.
Her cream. For her cake.
“Excuse me!” She yanked the bowl away and hugged it to her chest. And told herself not to stare when he casually pushed that finger into his mouth and sucked it clean, his eyes narrowing as he watched her hands flex.
“Give it back.”
Tessa turned, shielding it from him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Those black brows dropped, the line between them deepening. “Eating.”
“Not this, you’re not.” Tessa swallowed back a crazy laugh. This guy was nuts. Coming into her kitchen, taking her food. Sucking on his finger while looking at her like that.
With his attention on the whipped cream, the intruder took one step forward. Just one. And it practically had Tessa pinned to the counter. Her head fell almost all the way back as she watched, astonished, as he reached around her and dipped his finger—the same finger—back in, scooping up a huge dollop.
Tessa closed her eyes on a gasp. What the…!? She couldn’t believe he’d done it again. And she definitely couldn’t watch him lick it off.
“Stop,” she squeaked. Tessa glared at the black-haired giant and summoned all of the command she was used to wielding in a kitchen.
“That’s enough. You need to leave.” She looked pointedly at the door.
He didn’t pay any attention. Instead, he retrieved a drop of cream from the corner of his mouth with his tongue and propped his hip against the opposite counter. “You really should share.” He wasn’t looking at the bowl anymore. Those hypnotic eyes were on her.
Tessa wasn’t getting into a staring contest. Not with him, not on her first day. Not in her kitchen.
“You really should ask permission before taking things that don’t belong to you.”
“So I’ve been told,” he said, shoving both fists into the pockets of his dark jeans.
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