The Girly Book Blog Hop featuring Cat Carter from SARA’S SMILE

The Girly Book Hop WINNER is:

Chanpreet

Congrats and thank you all for visiting my blog!

If the heroine and her love interest are the meat and potatoes that go in a hearty romance stew, then the secondary characters are the ingredients that make it truly delish. They may add a little subtle favor, or maybe it’s a fiery hot kick!

I’m please to invite you to The Girly Book Blog Hop hosted by author Libby Mercer. Thanks Libby! This blog hop is uniquely dedicated to Sensational Secondary Characters. I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to spotlight the beautiful Catherine (Cat) Carter from my sweet, just a little spicy, but or so tasty reunion romance, SARA’S SMILE.

Cat is vivacious, beautiful, popular and Sara’s BFF. She’s the one everyone notices, especially the boys. We’ve all had friends like Cat, right? I did! In fact, Cat and Sara’s relationship is loosely based on my friendship with my old HS BFF. Thanks to social media, we found each other again and guess what? She’s still beautiful, thin and lives a very charmed life. Damn her. LOL!

In SARA’S SMILE, we first learn about Cat in Sara’s flashback as she looks at an old picture…

Sara looked from the picture to the moon, and thought back to the summer the picture was taken. It was right after high school graduation and, as she did every summer, she had spent the summer with Cat. Catherine Carter was Sara’s closest friend, and had been since they were thirteen years old. They’d met in their seventh-grade foreign language class, the only girls taking Russian that marking period, and they became fast friends. After all these years, Cat still called her ‘Sasha.’ Life then had been easy and fun – they spent their days at the beach and their nights partying at one of the many houses on the street.

 

Cat was also instrumental in Sara and Will’s early romance. Read on…

As Sara and Cat dressed for the party, Sara smiled while watching Cat admire herself in the mirror. Those boys won’t even notice her; Cat would have them all eating right out of her hand. She was a beauty, with her long blonde hair, beautiful features, and height. She was at least three inches taller than Sara, and it consistently attracted a lot of attention. Cat wore a short red dress, dangling earrings and heels. In fact, Sara wasn’t sure how Cat was going to walk up the street in those shoes.

Sara knew that she didn’t stand out as Cat always did, and she was okay with that. She was used to Cat getting the boys’ attention. While Cat spent an hour in the bathroom, styling her hair and applying makeup, Sara let her wavy, sun-streaked light brown hair dry naturally and fall in loose curls across her shoulders. A little eye makeup and lip- gloss was all she bothered with; she let her green eyes speak for themselves.

By the time she and Cat arrived, the party was in full swing. No one ever declined an invitation to one of Clay’s parties, so the patio was packed with people, some of whom Sara recognized from past summers.

Greeting them warmly, Clay picked Cat up and swung her around in a circle. “Sara,” he said, “I have a bunch of friends here from school. Let me introduce you.”

Sara politely declined, choosing to find her way in and introduce herself around. She much preferred blending into the background at these types of events. Quickly, she found a group of girls that she knew from the island, and joined them.

Soon, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone watching her. He was with a group of boys and, while he wasn’t gawking at her or giving her the obvious once-over that boys tended to do, he was definitely watching her. Sara turned away for a moment, and when she looked back at him, he lowered his eyes but glanced up again and smiled at her.

Throughout the night, she caught the same boy staring at her every once in a while. He was good looking and just her type – tall, with thick, dark hair and nice brown eyes, good looking but not in a ‘pretty boy’ way. She and Cat had made a pact with each other that they were just going to have fun this summer and not get involved romantically. In truth, however, Sara had her doubts about this pact, not on her part, but because she thought that Cat would be unable to hold up her side. Cat had always been boy crazy, and Sara resolved that she wouldn’t hold it against her if she broke the pact. In fact, as Sara glanced over, she noticed Cat laughing with a group of boys. Cat caught Sara’s eye and motioned for her to come over. Sara smiled but shook her head no, which made Cat laugh again and shake her head, too.

The band was on their third hour of rock music, and the pounding music was beginning to take a toll on Sara’s head. Quietly, she took one of the lanterns provided at the other side of the pool and walked along the wooden path leading to the beach. Enjoying the solitude of the beach at night, she sat down on the wooden step leading to the sand, savoring the chance to look up at the stars and listen to the surf for a while.

She had only been there for a few moments when she heard footsteps walking down the boarded path. Turning around, she saw the boy who she had caught eyeing her throughout the evening.

“Did you follow me down here?” she asked bluntly.

He hesitated. “Um, yes. Hi. I’m Will.”

“Well, Will, I suggest you turn around and walk back the way you came. I’ve seen you watching me all night. I hope you don’t think I walked down here because I wanted you to follow me. There are plenty of girls up there who would love your attention, so I suggest you go find one of them.”

He spun around to walk away, then turned back and said, “I don’t know who you are, or who you think I am. I was watching you all night, but not because I wanted to come on to you. I thought you seemed different than the other girls here, cool and confident, and I just wanted to meet you.” He started to leave but turned back a second time to add, “Not to mention that you are by far the best-looking girl here, and that is the truth, not a line.”

Sara was shocked. No one ever said anything like that to her before. Boys approached her, sure, but usually to get to Cat, never because they were interested in her.

“Will, please stop. Let’s start over. I’m Sara Wiley.” She stood up and extended her hand.

Will walked to her and shook her hand, flashing her a shy grin.

Heat seared her palm as their hands touched. Her first reaction was to pull away…but she didn’t. She held his hand, enjoying the warmth of his skin against hers.

*sigh*  Okay, so what’s up for grabs? A $10 gift certificate to the online book retailer of the winner’s choice! Just leave a comment about your favorite literary secondary character. Don’t forget to leave your e-mail address!

If you liked the excerpts, check out Sara’s Smile here:

Blurb:

As an architect who specializes in restorations, Sara Wiley is a genius at returning neglected structures to their former glory. But when it comes to her own life, she has no idea how to reclaim the ruins, which are all that remain of her first true love.

When the biggest opportunity of her career and a sexy contractor comes her way, she’s thrilled…until she learns that the client is the long-ago boy who captured her heart and continues to invade her dreams. Is it a bittersweet coincidence or might there be a chance, after all, for Sara to revisit the mistakes of her past and build the future she has wanted for so long?

Sara is smiling on:

Bradley Publishing

Keep hopping here!

xoxo

~S