A Super Short Sample Sunday for you guys from Runaway Love.
*Unedited, Subject to Change*

Hoping for a February release...we’ll see though.




Luke was sitting with Ciara when she walked into the restaurant.
"This spread on your new place has gotten me a lot of attention."
"Uh-huh," he said, sitting up a little straighter and taking a swig from his beer as he watched his new neighbor saunter to the bar. She said something to the bartender and then passed over some money.
"Luke? Lucas, did you hear me?" Ciara griped.
"Yeah, sure," he murmured, as he took the woman in from head to toe.
Her hair was still pulled back in that sleek ponytail, giving him a full view of her caramel colored face that he realized was even more beautiful up close. And familiar looking, though he couldn't quite pinpoint where he knew her from.
She was wearing a black turtle neck sweater dress that hugged her body in a way that had him envious of the fabric.
He blinked when he heard a man sitting at the bar near him exclaim, "Damn, that's a fine ass woman."
"Yeah," the guy who was sitting with the man agreed.
"I'm about to go and see what's up."
"You think you'll be able to hook up with her?"
"Watch and learn my friend."
Luke's grip on his beer bottle tightened as he watched the overconfident man stumble his way over to her. It was obvious that he'd had too much to drink. He leaned over her shoulder, a little too close in Luke's opinion. Clearly the woman felt the same way. She turned and looked up in disgust and tried to move away.
Before Luke could process what he was doing, he was already on his feet and moving in their direction.
"I already told you," he heard the woman say, "I'm not interested."
"Look, baby."
"Are you hard of hearing, my man?" Luke asked.
"Who the fuck are you?" the drunk slurred. "Me and this honey were have a private conversation. So why don't you go on back to your own business."
Luke placed a hand on the man's chest to stop him from moving in on the woman again.
"When a woman says she's not interested and motherfuckers don't seem to be able to process that shit, I make it my business. So why don't you go on and get the fuck out of here, before things turn ugly."
The drunk shook Luke's hand off of him and wobbled back as he spat out, "She wasn't all that fine no way!”
“Damn idiot,” Luke murmured.
Once he was a safe distance away, Luke turned to the woman, who was now holding a bag of food.
"Are you okay, Miss?"
Her eyes narrowed into a glare which he had the feeling made lesser men tremble in their boots.
"I'm fine. And I was doing just fine before you came over here."
"Oookay."
"I didn't need some knight in shining armor to come and rescue me from the drunk asshole. I could have handled him myself."
"Whoa," Luke said, holding up his hands. "Hey, I could look at you from my table and tell you were on your Nubia vibe and shit. But sometimes it doesn't hurt to have a little back up. I apologize for...intervening when it obviously wasn't necessary."
The woman gave a short nod and pivoted on her heels.
"I'm your neighbor by the way."
That seemed to stop her in her tracks. She turned and looked at him again.
"My neighbor?" she repeated.
"Yeah. Over on East Chop. I saw you out on your porch the other night," Luke said. He extended a hand out to her. "Lucas LeRoux."
The woman looked down at his hand and then she looked up over his shoulder.
"Mr. LeRoux, it might do you well to remember that sometimes people like to sit outside and enjoy the view and a modicum of decorum wouldn't kill you."
"What?" he asked, confused.
Before he got a chance to ask what the hell she was talking about, she'd turned and left, leaving him standing in the middle of the restaurant.