Welcome to The Kitchen When it Sizzles blog tour! I've previously read Chrissie Peria's Kissing on a Tree from the Kids These Days anthology, and I was instantly a fan. I haven't read this novella yet but I'm pretty sure the content will deliver on the promising sizzle of the cover. No pressure, Chrissie! ;)
For now, let's ttitillateourselves with the amazing excerpt below. And join the Rafflecopter giveaway for some awesome prizes up for grabs! :)
Title: The Kitchen When It Sizzles
Author: Chrissie Peria
Date of Publication: August 16, 2014
Genre: sexy contemporary romance
Olivia Nadal is an almost perfect girl with an almost perfect life. She has stunning good looks, an exciting job that pays well, men lining up to date her, and a homey little condo she calls her own. The only thing keeping her from perfection is her utter inability to cook.
Enter Nate Olivarez, a hotshot chef who's filling in for Olivia's cooking instructor. Sparks fly when they meet, but a fling with the visiting hottie is the last thing Olivia needs. But as things keep heating up in the kitchen, she can't help but wonder. Can things work out between her and Nate? Or is the sizzle all set to fizzle?
“You know, I didn’t take you for a screamer,” Nate
deadpanned.
Olivia nearly choked on her drinking. “What?”
“It’s a wonder my neighbors aren’t complaining. Plus, my
back’s sore from all those scratches. I almost couldn’t bear putting a t-shirt
on,” he continued, oblivious to Olivia’s slowly reddening face.
“We… we…” Olivia could only stammer, unable to put her
suspicions into words. “I would never—”
“For someone I haven’t slept with, you’re doing a great job
of wounding my ego,” Nate said wryly at Olivia’s apparent resistance to the
idea.
“Haven’t… Oh, I hate you,” Olivia wailed, hitting Nate with
a pillow.
“Sorry, sorry! I couldn’t resist! Your expression was
precious.” Nate couldn’t stop laughing even as Olivia repeatedly pummeled him.
He had to beg for mercy, trying to catch his breath, just to make her stop.
“Look, you passed out last night. I don’t know how to reach
Cheryl, your phone was dead, and I don’t know where you live. I sure as hell
couldn’t leave you plastered at the bar, so I decided I should let you stay the
night here. Because I’m such a nice guy who doesn’t take advantage of women
when they’re passed out in bars, you know.” There was bit of reproach in his
voice, presumably about her thinking the worst of him.
“Uhm. Thank you for looking out for me,” Olivia grudgingly
said.
It turned out that Olivia had more reasons to thank Nate
than just giving her a place to crash for the night as he recounted everything
else she missed. While her party girl days were over, her getting wasted in
random bars, it appeared, weren’t.
“I managed to wash the vomit out of your clothes, but I only
have a spin dryer, so they’re still hanging in the bathroom to dry,” he
mentioned. That was when she realized that she wasn’t in her own clothes, but
in a plain t-shirt and shorts that weren’t hers. And that she wasn’t even
wearing a bra.
Sensing her discomfort, Nate added, “Don’t forget to thank
the building’s maintenance person on duty last night. Thankfully, there was a
woman on last night’s shift. She helped you wash up and change out of your
clothes. Not that I’d have minded, but I had a feeling you would.”
He was still chuckling as he retreated. “Breakfast is in the
kitchen, by the way,” he added, stepping back before Olivia could retaliate
with another pillow attack. “You better get up soon. I have no intention of
canceling class just because you’re hung over.”
“Oh, Liv? When something happens to us, I’ll make sure you
won’t be able to forget it.” Nate had a confident smirk on his face, so Olivia
couldn’t resist sending a pillow flying his way.
About Chrissie Peria
When not obsessing over fictional people doing fictional things, Chrissie obsesses about food: the eating, the cooking, and the procuring of it.
An advertising copywriter in her past life, she now spends most of her time writing, taking photos, cooking, and babysitting a tiny human and a curly-haired dog. She still plays with dolls and she thinks that bacon is the answer. Her first book, All's Fair in Blog and War, is a finalist in the 2014 Filipino Readers' Choice Awards.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
