Flowers and love...

Since the theme this month is castles , flowers,  or aquamarines, I've got little choice. I have other mineral specimens on my home, just no aquamarines.  And no castles in any of my 34 plus books. And even this picture is not quite what I want.  I could find no pictures of gardenias, although I'm sure there are some on the web someplace. This looks close enough, I hope.

And could find lots of mineral references in my books, just not ones that apply to this month. So here's an excerpt involving flowers. It's from Seducing Simon, book seven of Songs of the Mages, to be released this summer by MuseItUp. 

"Simon dressed in dark blue again. He liked shades of blue so much better than the ever-popular tan colors. His shirt was pristine white, and he chose to wear a sedate blue and white tie. Brushing his hair into a shining mass, he hoped he’d tamed it enough that it didn’t keep falling over his damned forehead. Spraying on some sandalwood cologne, he decided he’d done all he could do. Hell, he hadn’t worried about what to wear since he was at Oxford and trying to impress any woman he could date.

He picked up the corsage box of gardenias and set out to meet his lady. He’d decided after much cogitation a large spray of white would be dramatic against the black of her dress. He reviewed in his anxious mind a list of topics he wanted to discuss with her. It had been some time since he’d enjoy covering such a range of subjects as Troy seemed eager to explore. Her views of anything fascinated him. Watching her lovely face as she argued was unbelievable delight.

They were living in tumultuous times and there was much to discuss. Although damned if he could ever remember meeting a girl and worrying about what to talk about to keep her interested. Grinning, he kept thinking of possible topics as he walked out his door. Maybe the chances of Winston Churchill returning to power? They’d touched on that but hadn’t begun to uncover all the possibilities.

He grinned even more when he found Troy waiting for him in the lobby.

He took both her hands and pulled her to her feet.

“Afraid I’d show up in your room again, Troy?”

He hoped so, since this could mean she felt wary of having him too close so early in the evening. He thought a propitious sign.

Her blush charmed him. “Not afraid of you, Simon. Of gossiping tongues, maybe.”

“There is that,” he said as he took her arm. “For a beautiful lady,” he said as he pinned the corsage on her and kissed her cheek. He’d been right. The spray of white looked dramatic on the little black dress, although his fingers for some reason had trouble with the pin. Not like him, although the fleeting thought didn’t distract him from the jolt of seeing her in that little black dress. She was any man’s dream. He stood and stared for moment, and then took her hand.

She stood smiling at him and he couldn’t say a word. She’d swung around when he kissed her and her eyes had widened, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“My car’s right outside.”

Seating her in his roadster like the jewel she was, he turned to her before starting the car.

“I thought you were lovely last week, but tonight you’re simply smashing. I think I’ll ask you to wear that dress on all our dates.”

His words produced such a beaming smile from Troy he lowered his eyes to keep from grabbing her and forgetting all about the restaurant."

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And this is from a guy who didn't believe in love. Hope you'll want to see what changed him, and if he stays alive to enjoy that love. There are a lot of villains in this book. I'll pick a name from the comments and send the unedited ms. to whoever gives the best answer to one question. 
How do you know when you've found the right love?

I can be found at all the usual places, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, etc. and of course Romance Books 4 Us and my own website. www.jeanhartstewart.com