1 Night Stand: Adding Real Life to Romance

By Jessica E. Subject

In many romances, you have two people who meet and fall in love. While they may have their own insecurities and careers that get in the way, they decide (usually in the end) to let their hearts rule. Nowadays, it is more common for relationships to involve much more. Perhaps there is an ex in the background. Maybe kids. And so many other possibilities. These people can still experience romance and fall in love. Their stories need to be told. And I’m happy to see authors telling them.

With my 1Night Stand story, Sudden Breakaway, Paige Brown is divorced with a career that doesn’t give her much free time. And Jared Barnes, while a retired Marine, is the guardian of his preschool-aged niece and nephew. Time to date? Um, they have none.

But with the help of friends and the magical Madame Eve, they are matched together for a date at a hockey game.

So, do you prefer real life experiences in your romance?

Here’s an excerpt that was inspired by my own children. Enjoy!

What have I done? Jared yanked Dylan off the top of the fridge, holding him under his arm as the kid tried to wiggle free. “Superman can fly. You can’t. If you jump from that high, you’re going to get hurt.”

Once the boy stopped squirming, Jared set him down and rushed over to his niece, who had decided to scribble on his clear cell phone with a marker. “Madison, I know you love everything pink, but my phone does not need a makeover.”

He grabbed the marker and she squealed, escaping under the table and down the hall clutching his phone. His morning had just begun. He couldn’t even take a leak without the kids finding some kind of trouble. Yes, they went to daycare while he worked, but beyond the hours of nine to five, they were all his, and on weekends, he had no pardon. Why on Earth had he thought he could raise two preschoolers on his own?

The doorbell rang.

He glanced down the hall toward the bedrooms, where an ominous silence reigned. With the children quiet, they had to be plotting their next mission to destroy his sanity. Or perhaps they’d already started. Shrugging, he headed for the door, risking a future disaster to see who stood on his porch.

Dylan came charging at him, his dark eyes wide, reminding him of his sister when she was a child. “Someone’s at the door. Who is it, Uncle Jared?”

The boy skidded straight across the slippery linoleum, his body slamming into Jared’s knees.

Jared stumbled back, trying to regain his balance, and grasped the doorknob. The latch clicked open. Losing his footing again, he stumbled to the floor, his nephew landing on top of him. Groaning, he glanced up at the woman standing above him; his former commander’s wife. “Can I help you, Mrs. Collins?

She lifted Dylan and balanced him on her hip. “From the look of things, I think I can help you.” Slipping off her shoes, she lined them on the mat beside the rest of the footwear and continued into the house. “I’m giving you the day off.”

What? He’d dreamed about time to himself since the day after his niece and nephew had arrived, but had accepted that would never happen. Not until the preschoolers were old enough to stay on their own, anyway.

He hopped to his feet, shut the door, and followed them into the living room. Madison had materialized out of nowhere, to join her brother, the pair of them sitting on either side of Mrs. Collins, their lopsided halos balancing atop their horns. Why couldn’t they sit as still when no one else was around?

Sudden Breakaway

A 1Night Stand story

By Jessica E. Subject

Erotic Sci-Fi/Military Romance

ISBN: 978-1613333730

Dressed in her black designer suit, Paige Brown recruits men and women for the Space Service. After the end of her marriage, and several failed recruiting missions, she yearns to find a way out of her lifelong contract to live a normal life. To find love again.

Jared Barnes’s life had been flipped upside down by two little kids. When his former Commander’s wife shows up to give him a reprieve, he jumps at the chance for a break, and to visit his former squad. But it is not his buddies he meets in the private suite at a hockey game, instead a woman who has been the star of all of his recent fantasies, fulfills his wildest dreams except the one that binds his heart.

Has Madame Eve made a mistake or can two lonely hearts overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles?

Available from Decadent Publishing and other ebook retailers.

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Bio:

Jessica Subject is the author of contemporary and science fiction romance, ranging from sweet to erotica. In her stories, you could meet clones, or a sexy alien or two. You may even be transported to another planet for a romantic rendezvous.

When Jessica isn't reading, writing, or doing dreaded housework, she likes to get out and walk. Fast. But she just may slow down if there is a waterfall nearby.

Jessica lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two energetic children. And she loves to hear from her readers. You can find her at jessicasubject.com and on twitter @jsubject.