A New Release from Cassandra Ulrich!
Billiard Buddies
Blurb: An avid pool
table player, Gina has yet to meet her match among her billiard pals. Pete O’Reily, one of the guys she plays
against at a local bar, finds someone he thinks will finally give her a
challenging game.
Gina was thrilled she could finally
compete with someone who sharpened her skills, but Sean Savage became much more
to her after a few games. She started
falling in love with Sean who remained loyal to his career-focused girlfriend,
Cindy. Gina, having been hurt by a
cheating ex-boyfriend, is determined not to cause the same pain to any
woman. Because of this, she keeps her
feelings for Sean a secret from everyone except her flamboyant cousin Gene and
a girlfriend on the other side of the city.
Without realization, Sean stretches her
ability to do this whenever he visits her like she’s one of the guys. Conflict occurs on many fronts: Gina avoids
her ex, Hank, who wants to get back together; Sean longs to marry Cindy who
spends more time at work than with him; and Gina has a falling out with Sean
when he tries to set her up with a friend of his.
Will true love prevail?
Billiard Buddies
Excerpt:
“I hear you play a mean pool game,” Sean started. He couldn’t help but agree that she was cute,
her round 1920’s features hugged by blond curls that bounced just above her jaw
line when she turned to face him. Her
smile accentuated her sparkling eyes.
“I heard the same about you.
I think the guys brag too much. I
love the game and practice a lot. Where
do you play? I’ve never seen you
before,” Gina said in a soft, velvet tone.
She seemed guarded while she looked him over.
“I frequent another bar across town. Coworkers from the brokerage company I work
for often go there.”
She wrinkled up her nose.
“Oh, you’re one of those.”
“Why? You don’t like
the business?” Sean asked, taking a seat next to her.
“It’s just that the stock market is so, well,
unpredictable. I just don’t understand
what’s so fun about doing work based on guesses.”
Sean thought of many other questions, but decided to not
start waves this early. “Hmm. What do you do when you’re not playing pool?”
“I teach kindergarten at one of the private schools in the
area. Otherwise, I keep to myself.” Gina glanced past him. “I think they’re becoming impatient. Ready to play?” She stood and stepped toward the pool tables
on the other side of the room.
Sean followed. “You
bet. Rack ‘em up.”
“Best out of three?”
“Sure. Lady’s first.”
“Uh, Sean, that may be a mistake,” Pete warned.
Sean panned the room to find shaking heads all around. “It’s cool guys. I’d like to see what she’s got.”
“Your funeral.” Pete
backed away from the table.
Sean ignored his pal and nodded for Gina to take her first
shot. After she pocketed four balls,
Sean suddenly realized the prowess with which she played. Each shot possessed her full attention. Her stance never wavered once her study of
the current layout was complete. The cue
slid through her fingers as if coated with butter.
She’s good. Too good.
Gina prepared for her second to last shot when Sean locked
her gaze. He studied her intently until
she broke their connection. Her jaw
muscles were tight with tension, and her furrowed eyebrows betrayed intense
concentration. She was angry, pissed off
even. He checked the table to discover
that her next shot would be difficult, but doable if the cue clicked the seven
ball at just the right angle.
I have to distract her.
Sean moved, causing Gina to glance up at him once more. He grabbed the opportunity to smile. She grimaced before looking away and shaking
her head. Gina readied for the next
shot, but then faltered. For all her
shots, he’d not seen her do that.
It worked.
She straightened and continued studying the table. Shifting to her right, she turned around and
pressed her buttocks against the table.
Wow! No wonder the
guys lose every game.
Sean forced his eyes to look away from her alluring figure
and repositioned himself so he stood facing her side. Gina placed her cue across her lower back and
faltered again. Finally, she took the
shot. The cue nipped the seven ball,
only nudging it a few inches.
Yeah! Beautiful!
Sean determined not to mess up the only shot she’d probably
let him have during the game. However,
as he surveyed the table, he realized, to his dismay, that his shot would be
more difficult to make than hers. He’d
have to hit the cue into one of hers to get to his. He had no intention of pocketing a ball for
Gina.
He leaned over the table and exhaled before banking the cue
ball into two of his, pocketing one.
I’m still in the game.
Sweat dripped off his chin as he made one shot after
another. Then the unexpected happened.
She winked at him.
She’d used the same tactic he used on her and it
worked. His heart pumped a bit faster,
just enough to distract him for a split second.
He stared at the ball teetering near the pocket and sighed. He knew she would pocket his ball in order to
make her next shot, but that wouldn’t help him.
She wasn’t going to mess up twice.
Gina won the first game bringing on a loud cheer from the
others Sean learned she had consistently beaten over the past few months. Sean strolled over to her and gave her hand a
congratulatory shake.
“Great game,” he said. That won’t happen again.
Cassandra’s Bio: Cassandra Ulrich was born on the beautiful
island of St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands, located east of Puerto
Rico. Living in the tropics fueled her
imagination and day dreams. For years,
she wrote poetry and entered competitions.
However, only many years later did she discover joy in writing stories
longer than a few pages.
She published her first young adult novel,
A Beautiful Girl, in April 2011. The
inspirational novel has already touched many hearts ranging from teens to
adults.
Her second novel, Love’s Intensity, a teen paranormal romance,
was released on July 11, 2013.
In June and August 2014, she also released two poetry books written while in high school and college.
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