The Table in the Window

Since the Christmas season is almost upon us, I think it would be okay to talk about my Christmas novel The Table in the Window. Here’s a blurb about the book, and then I’ll share an excerpt with you.

Blurb:

Being dumped by your gorgeous fiancé is bad enough no matter when it happens, but he did it at Christmas time! Marley thinks she’ll never get over it, but Rob Travers disagrees. He sets out to win Marley’s heart, well aware that when she finds out about his past, she may turn her back on him forever.

So what did Marley do after her fiancé broke up with her? She cried and went shopping of course! The excerpt I’m sharing takes place a few weeks after the breakup, and is in the very place where he broke up with her.

Excerpt:

Barton’s hostess picked up a menu. “Table for one?”

“Yes.” Marley’s eyes prickled, but she swallowed hard and followed the hostess to a small table near the kitchen. Guess they saved the nice window tables for hunks like Michael.

She sat her purse and packages in the empty chair beside her and tried not to stare at the table where it had all occurred. Her heart burned. Maybe she shouldn’t have come here after all.

“Hi, may I take your drink order?”

Marley looked up and saw Robert, the waiter who’d served her and Michael on that awful day when Michael broke up with her. She blushed and hoped he didn’t know why. “Maybe some hot tea,” she decided, “and I know what I want to order. I’d like a chicken salad plate.”

He smiled at her. “Coming right up.”

As he vanished into the kitchen, Marley heard someone yell, “Hey, Rob, what are you doing here? Your shift’s over.”

So Robert’s friends called him Rob. Marley liked that name better. Robert sounded like someone her father’s age, but Rob sounded young and upbeat. Wonder why he wanted to hang around Barton’s after his shift ended? Didn’t he have some place he needed to be at Christmastime?

He returned to her table and set her tea in front of her. “Have you ever tried tea the way the English drink it?” he asked. “I brought you some cream in case you’d like to try it.”

“Thank you, that’s very thoughtful,” Marley answered. “Maybe I will try it.”

She thought he’d go away, but he remained standing beside the table. “Uh, is there anything else?” she asked.

He smiled at her. “My shift’s over. If I’m not bothering you, I wondered if you’d like some company for lunch.” His eyes twinkled. “In case you’d like to know, you’re the first customer I’ve made that offer to.”

How strange. She’d seen this guy in Barton’s for over a year now, yet she couldn’t have described him to save her life. She paused for a quick inspection. He wore black trousers and a long-sleeved white shirt with a red and black striped tie. A green bib apron covered his shirt and tied around his neck and waist. He’d spiked his short, blonde hair ever so slightly in front. He had blue eyes and a square jaw and definitely wasn’t as buff as Michael who spent a lot of time in a gym. Michael was taller too.

The sparkle in his blue eyes decided her. “Sure. Have a seat.” She swept her packages and purse into the floor, and he sat down beside her.

 

Oh, she’s done it now! Can Rob be the one to mend her broken heart, or will she find that rebound relationships never work? What do you think?