Spotlight & Giveaway: Second Chance for the Single Dad by Carol Ross

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Carol Ross to HJ!

Hi Carol and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Second Chance for the Single Dad!

 
Hi! Thank you so much for having me. I’m super excited to be back here at Harlequin Junkie.
 

Tell us about the book with this fun little challenge using the title of the book:

S is for Secret Smiles
E is for Eccentric
C is for Camile
O is for Ocean
N is for Navy (Rhys is a former SEAL)
D is for Dancing!

C is for Camile’s Collarbone
H is for Hunt (as in Beachside Scavenger)
A is for “Adios, Chief Taco-Head.”
N is for Natural
C is for Cotillion
E is for Element (as in Rhys is Way Out of His)

Please share the opening lines of this book:

“HERE IT IS,” Anne McGrath called out, striding into her brother Rhys’s workshop. She stopped when she was a few feet away and held up a single sheet of notebook paper like it was a royal decree, one hand gripping the top edge and the other, the bottom. “The list.”

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book.

Rhys McGrath is an enigmatic, eccentric recluse. A custody battle for his orphaned niece means he needs to change his ways. As in immediately. Socializing is bad enough, but learning to waltz for a father-daughter dance pushes him way, way out of his comfort zone. (In all the best ways.)

Camile Wynn is the EXTREMELY reluctant dance instructor hired to teach him.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I do not love to dance. Researching this book, I watched hundreds of YouTube videos about ballroom dancing and got completely hooked! If I ever decided to learn to dance, it would be the waltz and foxtrot.
• I do love music. In my research, I learned about a neurological condition called musical anhedonia that makes listening to music unpleasant. Rhys has this.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Rhys is drawn to Camile’s engaging smile, love of life, and fierce independence.

Camile is NOT initially attracted to Rhys! Years ago, he ghosted her on a date. To make matters worse, he doesn’t remember her. (Can you blame her for not wanting to teach him how to dance?) Eventually, she’s won over by his honesty.

The First Kiss…

Rhys turned and rested his hips on the thick edge of the fountain. Then he exhaled a pained sigh. “Thank you for saving me. Again. I think I may have offended the mayor.”
Camile grinned and gently tried to extricate her hand.
He held firm. “Why don’t you want me to hold your hand?”
Eyes squinted, she returned quickly, “Why do you want to hold it?”
With light pressure, he pulled at her hand, urging her to come closer. “Because I like touching you. It calms me down.”
“Did you just compare me to a sedative?” she teased even as her heartbeat began to pick up speed. They were often this close when they were dancing, but this was different. Much different.
Moving over to him had brought their faces so much closer together, and she liked how she could see the many shades of blue in his eyes, all of which were blazing with full force now. He brought his other hand up to trail a finger along her collarbone to her neck, where her pulse was now racing beneath his fingertip. He flattened his hand, spreading his fingers, and she let out a little gasp. Eyes on hers, he curved his mouth at the corners like he was satisfied by her reaction, and looped his hand around the back of her neck. His other hand loosened the hold it had on her fingers to slide up her arm and curl around her shoulder.
Leaning forward until his lips were almost grazing hers, he whispered, “Not exactly,” and then pressed his mouth to hers.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

Camile shifted in his arms, treating him to an enticing draft of her flowery scent. Lilac, he’d already noted. But not the strong odor you get when you put your face right up to a flower. More like the subtle trail that floats in on a breeze through an open window. He wanted to tuck his face into the curve of her neck, nuzzle the slim column of her throat and analyze it some more. Yeah, good idea, Rhys, sniff her like a creeper. That’ll score points for sure.
“Rhys?”
He blinked a few times, trying to recover as he realized he was staring at her collarbone, at the place where it joined her neck. He liked that spot. “What?”
“Are you ready?”
“Um, sure.”
“I could play some music if you like. Or would you rather I just count?”
Shaking his head, he answered absently, “I don’t like music.”
She laughed in obvious disbelief. He didn’t correct her. He didn’t want to answer the questions she’d undoubtedly have about that. He didn’t need to hand over more evidence of his eccentricity.
She said, “Then I’ll just count for now.”
“Okay.” He stayed still, trying to decide how to proceed.
A few more seconds went by until she said, “You lead, remember?”
He remembered. That was not the problem. “Yes, but how do I let you know that I’m about to dance with you? Shouldn’t I warn you somehow? Count down or something?”
“Normally, the music will sort of guide you. But for now, just start, and I’ll follow.” She added an encouraging nod.
“What if I step on you?”
“These are special steel-toed heels. I won’t feel a thing.”
He dropped his chin to study her feet. “Are they really?”
“No. I was joking.”
His head came back up to find her grinning. He smiled, too, because he couldn’t help it. Even though he felt a little silly falling for her bit.
“I’ll be fine. Trust me, I’ve been stepped on plenty. But I’m also very good at dodging giant man feet.”
Quirking a brow, he asked, “Is that your way of insulting the size of my feet?”
A chuckle rippled through her body. “Good one,” she said after a moment, her lips still curled with amusement. “I totally deserved that.”
Rhys decided dancing lessons might not be so bad if he could just hold her like this, smelling her and making her laugh, and not actually having to dance.
“Are you ready?” she asked again after she gathered herself.
He sighed. “I suppose if I have to be.”
“I’ll prompt you with a ready, and, one, okay?”
Shaking his head, he said, “Not okay.”
“Why not?”
He confessed, “I have no idea what that means.”
“Seriously?”
“Why would I joke about that when I’m paying you five hundred dollars an hour?”
“The same reason you were just joking about the size of your feet. It’s not easy to tell with you. But it means you step forward with your left foot when I say one.”
“But then one is actually three, isn’t it? And it seems illogical to start on three.”
A crease formed between her eyebrows, and Rhys realized he might be doing the thing that Anne specifically told him not to do. The arguing. Except that he wasn’t, really, or at least he didn’t mean to. But maybe Anne was right that his precision annoyed people. He found that he didn’t want to annoy Camile. Interesting. Because normally his desire to clear up these types of logistical misunderstandings overrode most everything else. Including feelings.
Not the case here.
He was forming an apology when she tipped her head to the side, and said, “Maybe. I think I see what you mean.”
“You do?” he answered skeptically.
“Yeah.” Nodding, she said. “Let’s go after two full three-counts. On the third one, you start dancing. On the one. Will that work?”
Carried along on a sigh of relief, he answered, “Yes.”

If your hero had a sexy-times play list, what song(s) would have to be on it?

This is such an interesting question for this book because Rhys doesn’t enjoy music (see musical anhedonia explanation above). By the end of the book, he’d probably let Camile choose some dance tunes for him, especially if she agreed to dance with him.

If you could have given your characters one piece of advice before the opening pages of the book, what – would it be and why?

Rhys’s tendency toward unmitigated honesty is not always, um, let’s call it well-received in social settings. I’d advise him that he doesn’t have to voice ALL of his opinion ALL of the time.

Master’s student Camile Wynn has just failed her thesis. Working multiple jobs, she’s in debt and struggling to make ends meet when she becomes the victim of a frivolous lawsuit. Then, the guy who abandoned her in the middle of a date offers her a job that she’s finding difficult to refuse. At the risk of sounding completely cliched, I would tell Camile, “You got this. Hang in there. Things WILL get better.”

What are you currently working on? What are your up-coming releases?*

I just finished another Harlequin Heartwarming book called Montana Match. It comes out in November and is #4 in a five-book multi-author series along with Melinda Curtis, Amy Vastine, Anna J Stewart, and Cari Lynn Webb. The Blackwell Sisters is the second series set in Falcon Creek Montana and stars another branch of the Blackwell family. So much fun!

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I’m giving away three copies of Second Chance for the Single Dad. (Signed, print copies for US and Canada winners. E-copy for international winners.)

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Rhys learns to waltz for his niece. Have you ever done (or would you learn to do) something or learned to do something completely out of your comfort zone for someone you love?

 
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Excerpt from Second Chance for the Single Dad:

RHYS CHECKED THE time on his watch. They’d been here nearly two hours. He wondered how much longer Anne would insist they stay. Their plates had been cleared ages ago. He was out of small talk, not that he’d had much to begin with. Chitchatting was not in his wheelhouse. To make matters worse, one of the Wynns he’d met earlier kept distracting him. The pretty one.
He couldn’t remember her name, but he did recall from Harper’s introductory bio that she was the youngest sister, and newly graduated from college. A simple calculation suggested, if she’d attended straight through, that she was in her early twenties. Probably too young for his thirty-two. Not that he was interested. In fact, he was trying not to look at her for fear he’d give her that impression. But he knew he was failing miserably. Seated where he was, he couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between her and Harper. And like Harper, she was bright and witty and sociable to a point that he found attractive and intriguing and enviable and exhausting all at the same time.
At the other end of the restaurant, in the bar, a band began to play. It sounded similar to the upbeat Latin music that had been previously playing in the background, except even louder. A man’s voice announced that it was time to “Bailamos!” Rhys nudged Anne, hoping they could vámanos.
“Oh, that reminds me!” Anne said to Harper. “I need to ask a favor.”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Can you teach Rhys how to dance?”
Harper’s eyebrows inched upward as she grinned at Rhys. “You want to learn ballet?”
Rhys felt his gut twist at the mention of the dancing. He knew he needed to do this, but just the thought of it left him vaguely nauseated. But Harper was so engaging and completely nonjudgmental; he knew that if anyone could help mitigate this dancing fiasco, it would be her.
“No, he has an event coming up, and he needs to learn how to waltz. He wants private lessons.”
“Oh…” Harper drawled. “Like ballroom stuff. Well, you don’t want me. You need—”
At that moment, the pretty one stood.
“Wait, Camile, you’re not leaving yet, are you?” Harper asked.
Camile. How could he forget such a lovely name? It made him think of cobblestoned streets and vintage Paris, and it suited her perfectly.
Camile stepped around the table and came closer until she was standing by Harper’s chair. Rhys turned and enjoyed a better view of all of her. She was very pretty, and in a unique way that he liked.
“I am. I’ve had more than enough of tacos for one day if you get my meaning.” She added a wink, and she and Harper shared a laugh, clearly enjoying a private joke.
Camile removed her glasses and tucked them into her bag. Then, smile in place, she leveled her gaze right on him. And for a moment, Rhys couldn’t move. The color of her eyes was such a pure green that it made it difficult to label them. But it was the way she looked at him that held him spellbound. With this challenging glint. What was that about? His eyes traveled over her face and lingered on her mouth where he encountered…that smile. Confident and bold with a little mischief thrown in, her smile trained on him was the best thing Rhys had ever seen, and it felt both fiery and cryptic. He knew that whatever mystery it conveyed wasn’t for him, not really, because she didn’t know him. But at that moment, he wanted it to be; private jokes and secret smiles with lovely Camile.
Harper placed a hand on her elbow. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” Camile said, putting an end to their eye contact. Rhys wanted to protest. Like when the power unexpectedly goes out, stealing all the light, and makes you resent the dark in a whole new way.
“Are you still looking for extra work?”
What! Rhys thought fast as he finally understood where this was headed. He knew from their dinner conversation that she was a dancer, too. Harper was going to ask Camile to give him lessons. No. That could not happen. He’d thought, hoped, that Harper would agree to teach him. And if not her, then maybe an elderly woman with a sweet nature and a husband she adored. Someone without a paralyzing smile he wasn’t
“Always, Harper, you know that. In fact, I have a gaping hole in my schedule right now. Maybe Gia will add that swing class to the schedule. It would be so fun to teach it together.”
“That would be super fun. I’m working on her. But I may have a related job for you. Rhys here happens to be in need of a private dance instructor.”
And just like that, the smile vanished. Technically, it was still there in the curve of her mouth, but Rhys saw the light dim in her electric green eyes. She was not pleased with this idea. He wasn’t sure what to make of that based on what had transpired between them a moment ago. Sure, it had only been a look, but he’d felt something. He’d assumed… The truth was, it wasn’t uncommon for women to be physically attracted to him, and he’d believed that was the case. Apparently not. That revelation should have been a relief. It was not. Still, he wasn’t keen on the idea of paying her to watch his dancing-induced humiliation. Although, if Harper thought she was the best person to teach him, she undoubtedly was.
Anne explained, “Rhys needs to learn how to dance.”
“What kind of dancing?” Camile asked.
“Simple ballroom stuff. The waltz, for sure, and maybe a fox-trot?” She looked to a nodding Anne for confirmation.
Rhys wanted to protest, to let them both off the hook. But then he looked at Camile again and felt that same pull—and that same resistance on her part. Why, if she needed the work, did she not want the job? Instead of putting him off, it made him curious. And determined.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

She’ll save him a dance…if he follows his heart.
Dance teacher Camile Wynn has a new student. Reclusive Rhys McGrath is learning to waltz so he can take his orphaned niece to a father-daughter dance. Camile is surprised by her connection with him, but there’s a generous heart behind Rhys’s awkward exterior. When she learns Rhys could lose custody of his niece, Camile goes behind his back to help him…but will her lies end up hurting him instead?
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Meet the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Carol Ross grew up in small-town America right between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountains, in a place where you can go deep-sea fishing in the morning and then hit the ski slopes the same afternoon. The daughter of free-range parents, she developed a love of adventure and the outdoors at a very early age. She’s grateful for the “research material” that every questionable decision, adrenaline-charged misstep, and near-death experience has provided.
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