Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** with CATE BEAUMAN!

Welcome to my Friday bonus feature called Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **Author Special**!! Today, in lieu of one of my own recipes, I’m going to introduce you to a new author who will share one of her favorite recipes. Not only will you and I occasionally learn how to make something new and delicious, but we’ll get a chance to check out some wonderful authors. Introducing author, CATE BEAUMAN, and their favorite recipe for Preppy Kitchen’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie!

EIGHT YEARS GONE
A Second Chance Military Romance
BY CATE BEAUMAN

Blurb

EIGHT YEARS GONE
A Second Chance Military Romance
BY CATE BEAUMAN

Excerpt

Jagger settled his sunglasses in place as he stepped out of the shop’s short alleyway. He passed Simplicity’s storefront as Grace opened the big glass doors in anticipation of the day’s patrons.

She paused with her hand on the Open sign as their eyes met. Then she turned away, heading farther into the shop.

“Damn,” he muttered as he kept his pace steady on his walk down the pretty tree-lined stretch of Main Street, barely paying attention to the fall flowers decorating window boxes or the fact that a few of the stores along the block had changed hands since the last time he’d been there.

He exhaled a long, frustrated breath because the last twenty minutes had gone far worse than he’d expected. Cornering Grace had been a bit of a dick move, but he hadn’t known what else to do, especially after she’d locked him out.

This entire situation was boggy ground. Everything about the present was new territory.

Clenching his jaw, he flared his nostrils, remembering how Grace had looked at him while he followed her around the store—hostility and poorly guarded vulnerability. That was new, too, and he didn’t like it.

He’d watched her. When he pulled up at an empty spot by the coffee shop, he hadn’t realized she would be sitting by the window with Christy.

Initially, he’d planned to walk over to Maggie’s place and find Grace there, but he’d stared across the street instead, studying how easily Grace talked and laughed with her longtime best friend.

It was a shame when that had changed. He’d known the exact moment when she spotted him—when her eyes had grown huge with shock and her shoulders stiff with tension.

“Damn,” he said again because things used to be so easy between them. He and Grace had spent long stretches of each day together for the better part of five years.

Occasionally, they had argued or pissed each other off, but they’d never been able to stay mad at each other for long. Laughter and fun had always followed apologies and hugs—or a hell of a bout of sweaty makeup sex.

Clearly, those days were over. But he rubbed at the back of his neck because even as he thought it, he knew it wasn’t that simple. He’d seen the flash of desire in her eyes—had heard the breathiness in her voice after he’d touched her. Time had passed—years—but there was still something between them.

They needed to have a conversation, even if Grace wasn’t necessarily excited about the idea.

Is there really anything we need to say?

He shook his head as her last words to him stung. There was plenty to talk about because Grace had her hands full. When he’d left her behind, her life was supposed to have been better for it. She was supposed to have capitalized on her opportunities and made her dreams come true.

Soundtrack:

I love listening to music any time I write. I find that the right song at the right moment helps me lock into my flow state. And that’s where the magic happens! These were the songs that spoke to me as I told Grace and Jagger’s story:

• Wonderstruck by Jane & The Boys
• 18 by One Direction
• Longer Than I Thought by Loote ft. Joe Jonas
• Ghost Story by Carrie Underwood
• Hard Sometimes by Ruel
• Butter by BTS
• For Tonight by Giveon
• My Rose (Luca Edit) by Luca and Emma Castellino
• Anyone by Justin Bieber

Enjoy the Eight Years Gone soundtrack at this Spotify link:

About Author Cate Beaumann…