Hello! Welcome to day five of Jove Belle’s blog tour! Since it’s my very first, I hope I do her justice. If you’ve missed any of the other days on this tour, I have included the links below for your convenience, along with the link to enter the drawing for special prizes.
I was lucky enough to score a bonus scene from Jove’s book – Love & Devotion.
Cool, right?
I think so! If you’re anything like me, you fall in love with Jove’s characters – I’ll admit that I do. I loved this book and I read it one sitting. This is why I’m so excited to bring you a bonus scene. And hey, make sure you read all the way to the bottom to enter the drawings for the prizes Jove’s giving away during the tour.
KC Hall loves her family, her small East Texas town, and her best friend, Emma Reynolds. All of that takes a backseat when her lover beckons. Lonnie is blond, beautiful, and willing. She’s also married and a lifelong friend of KC’s mama.
In the book we see all the events through the eyes of the main character, KC. What I love about getting bonus scenes from the author is that I get to see the story from another character’s point of view.
In this one, KC’s kick-ass older sister, Kendall, confronts KC’s lover, Lonnie Truvall – AKA: Evil selfish bitch. And really, don’t we all love a good smack-down when someone clearly deserves it?
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BONUS SCENE FROM LOVE & DEVOTION BY JOVE BELLE
Grocery shopping was by far Kendall’s least favorite household chore and she didn’t give a damn what Owen said about there not being enough money in their household budget for them to hire a personal shopper. She knew how many hours she billed. He could damn well make room. She planned to insist on it the next time she got stuck with this chore. After all, that was her compromise. If he didn’t want to pay for the service, then he was responsible for doing the shopping. In exchange, she took out the trash.
So how she ended up at the market on a Sunday afternoon was beyond her. Despite her years in law school, Owen could still out negotiate her every time. She never shared that little tidbit with her clients.
“Where the hell are the olives?” She asked herself, but truthfully if anyone around her felt like answering she would not turn down the advice. “And what kind of olives, for God’s sake?” Was Owen planning to make martinis? Or did he want the kind that the kids wear on their fingers? She finally found the green ones on the top shelf next to the artichokes. The black ones were nowhere to be found. She grabbed the jar and called it good. If wanted the other kind, he could come find them himself.
As she reached for the jar, she bumped into the person in front of her with her cart. “Excuse me.” She said it reflexively without even looking up. At the moment, she cared more about getting the damned olives and getting out of there than anything else.
“Kendall.” Lonnie drew her name out in that slow drawl that sounded more Southern than Texan. It irritated the crap out of her—like just about every other thing about this woman—but Owen assured her it was sexy. Her sister, KC, confirmed it. Why she wasted her time trying to be sexy for Kendall was not something she would ever understand. Although at this point, it might be more a matter of reflex than actual conniving. Kendall didn’t care enough to ask.
“Mrs. Truvall,” Kendall tried to answer blandly, but despite her efforts, she could still hear the judgment dripping from the name. She supposed she was old enough now to justify calling Lonnie by her first name, but she stuck with her surname just to illustrate her point. She was too Goddamned old to be sneaking around with Kendall’s younger sister. Just the thought of Lonnie with KC made her angry enough to spit. If she thought it would help keep them apart, she’d give in to the urge. “I thought you weren’t feeling well.”
Last Kendall had seen her, Lonnie had been headed home on the loving arm of her husband with plans for him to nurse her back to health.
“Yes, well, Glen had to take care of some urgent matter at the store, so I decided to take care of the weekly shopping.” Lonnie spoke plainly for once. Not that she came right out and said the words, but at least she didn’t pretend that Kendall hadn’t caught her with KC just a few hours earlier. If there was one thing she couldn’t abide, it was the assumption that she was stupid. And there was absolutely no mistaking the sounds coming from behind that bedroom door. As much as she didn’t want to know about her baby sister having sex with a woman old enough to be their mother, that’s definitely what was happening when she’d walked up.
“So, you’re feeling better then?” Kendall should just take her things and go. The olives were the last thing on Owen’s ridiculous list. She hated this conversation more than she hated grocery shopping.
Lonnie smiled, slick and knowing. “Yes, thank goodness. It seems that whatever was ailing me has passed.”
Kendall was done playing. This woman thought it was funny. Funny that she’d been caught fucking her best friend’s baby. It was as far from funny as things got. She leaned closer, narrowed her eyes, and spoke in a low, hushed voice. “It ends now or I’ll tell Mamma.” The words came out rushed and Kendall cursed her temper. It was hard to sound intimidating when she tripped all over herself like a first year law student.
Lonnie raised her eyebrow, but looked otherwise unfazed. “You wouldn’t dare. It would destroy your mamma and your sister. You love them both too much to do that.”
Kendall squared her shoulders and channeled Dixie Carter, God rest her soul, a woman who could talk fast and make people tremble because of it. “Don’t underestimate me. Or the rest of my family. We are stronger than you can possibly imagine. And the only person I will destroy in this town is you. I will tear you apart and unveil your licentious ways. Are you ready for your husband to know that you seduced someone half your age? A woman nonetheless. What will your sons say when they learn about it? Their bodies may be in the Middle East defending our country’s interests, but their hearts and souls are still that of proud Texas men. What about your daughter? She’s still in high school, and having a hard time of it from what I hear. How much harder can school get for her, do you think?”
Kendall wasn’t actually threatening Lonnie’s husband and children, especially her daughter, Leann. She wasn’t the kind of woman to purposefully create collateral damage. But it would be foolish to think that they would emerge unscathed if news of KC and Lonnie’s affair hit the local grapevine. Those women were without scruples. They shredded lives and reputations with little thought of the consequences for their careless words. She’d experienced that first hand when KC had come out during high school. She’d do everything she could to shield Leann from that experience, but that didn’t include cowing before this woman in the middle of the damned grocery store.
Lonnie reeled back on her heal as though Kendall had physically slapped her. Truthfully, she wasn’t far from it if this continued for much longer.
“You leave my baby out of this.” She hissed the words between clenched lips.
Kendall had the advantage and it filled her with more arrogance than something this unseemly should. “I imagine my mamma would have said the same thing, given the opportunity.”
Lonnie stood to her full height and moved her cart carefully out of Kendall’s path. “You have a good day now, Kendall.”
She left Kendall standing in the aisle, shaking with indignant anger. It took her a moment to collect herself before she could make her way to the front of the store. She felt more unsettled than she had when the reality of their affair fully hit her. Lonnie knew, she knew – and assumed Kendall was too timid to expose it. Kendall was too pragmatic to go into full on attack mode. The fallout was too far reaching. But that didn’t make her timid. It made her considerate. Whether Lonnie understood it or not, this battle was far from over.
As she unloaded her cart onto the conveyor belt, she thought about the conversation she’d have with Owen when she got home. There was absolutely no doubt about it. Next time he wanted olives, he was getting them himself or she was hiring a service. This was her last trip to the grocery store.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED ANY – CHECK OUT THE OTHER STOPS ON THE TOUR – THEN ENTER THE DRAWING BELOW.
- Day 1, June 24
- Day 2, June 25
- Day 3, June 26
- Day 4, June 27
- Day 5, June 28
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS FOR JOVE BELLE
- Check out Jove’s website: http://jovebelle.com
- Read her blog: http://jovebelle.com/joves-blog/blog
- Read her other blogs (Women & Words): http://lesbianauthors.wordpress.com
- Be friends with Jove on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jove.belle
- Like her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jove-Belle-Writer
- Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jovebelle
- Check out our publisher, Bold Strokes Books: http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/
- BUY THE BOOKS!
NOW FOR THE PRIZES – YOU KNOW YOU WANT THEM!
ENTER THE AWESOME DRAWING!
Over the course of the tour, Jove will be giving away the following:
- Five e-book copies of Love & Devotion (It doesn’t hit print until December, but don’t worry, She’ll be giving away a signed paperback then.)
- A signed copy of Indelible
- A signed copy of Split the Aces
- A signed copy of Edge of Darkness
- One set of four wine charms with a heart dangler – made by our very own Jove Belle!
- One set of four wine charms with a cowboy boot dangler (In honor of the fact that Love & Devotion is set in Texas)
Now, entering the drawing isn’t quite as simple as leaving a comment in the space below. Feel free to do that, but know that it’s not entering you into the drawing.
For this, Jove is using a service called rafflecopter. All you have to do is click right there where is says “Click Here to Enter the Drawing” in big blue letters. Go ahead, click it. Then, when you get there, it’ll give you some ways that you can enter to win the prizes. Be sure to click on all the options, because that increases your odds of winning.
Good luck!
CHECK IT OUT – AND CLICK IT 🙂
Also, Jove Belle would like a big shout out to Book Enthusiast Promotions for hosting this awesome blog tour!
Yvonne Heidt 
I love this scene! Thanks for hosting, Yvonne. You rock!
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