Blind Speed Dating #49 (Adult)

Title: PINNING THE MAP


Genre: Romantic Suspense

Word Count: 65,000

Query:

Erin Wilson makes careful plans and color codes her leftovers. She certainly doesn’t throw herself into risky relationships. But when her past fantasies flare to life in the smile of Professor Paul Gibson, Erin can’t help but reach for that tantalizing missed opportunity.

Paul turns her on, then turns her down, but invites her to go to Turkey. His rambunctious ward needs a watchful eye, and Erin has always wanted to travel.

However, when the plane touches down in Istanbul, trouble begins. Paul departs for the countryside, leaving Erin alone with her charge. Three year old Sam is a handful, but his estranged relatives and contentious inheritance prove to be bigger concerns, when a week meant for breezy sightseeing takes a sinister, unforeseen turn.

Sam disappears, and Erin must rely on an enigmatic stranger for help. Tariq Al-Rafeed is maddening, mysterious, and unnervingly handsome. He also has ties to the kidnappers.

In love with a man she can’t have, and drawn to a man she can’t trust, Erin might be headed for disaster. 

In the tradition of Mary Stewart and M.M. Kaye, Pinning the Map unites intrigue and action with stirring romance, setting it all against the beguiling backdrop of contemporary Istanbul.

First 250:  

Erin was mortified. Horrified. Epically humiliated. She was too embarrassed to move. Her backside smarted, her pride was demolished, and the shabby contents of her dripping tote were strewn across the library’s marble floor. A motley collection of damp receipts clung to the half eaten granola bar that had been her dinner. Dried up ink pens rattled past her mud stained mini pruning shears.

Erin closed her eyes, hoping that if she couldn’t see him, the man whose foot she had just impaled with her sodden leather pump would find her invisible too.

“Are you okay, hon?” A security guard rushed over in alarm.  “I told maintenance to put up a wet floor sign.”  Erin winced as the guard’s lug sole boot mashed the remains of her granola bar, trailing gooey residue and flapping receipts across the polished tiles. 

“I'm fine, I'm fine. Thank you,” Erin mumbled, her cheeks scarlet. Reaching for the battered paperback romance novel that had landed near her knee, she quickly stuffed the hero’s bared chest and the heroine’s heaving bosom back into the safety of her purse. 

“She should be asking if I'm fine,” remarked deep voice from behind. A strong arm swooped down to steady Erin while she got to her feet. “I could sue for assault, battery and broken toes,” the man’s voice continued, dripping with mock indignation.

Taking a deep breath, Erin turned and looked straight into a brilliant pair of merry blue eyes. A shockingly familiar pair of merry blue eyes. Erin’s heart vaulted to her throat.