Heartbreaker Hop

 

Are our heroes heartthrobs or heartbreakers? Or are they just the same thing? Yummy, right? Valentine’s Day is just around the corner for this blog hop and we’re gearing up to see what exactly is a heartbreaker. Is the old Pat Benatar song playing in your head like mine? “Heartbreaker!”

We love those sexy men, but what about those times in the story when they aren’t perfect? Because come on, we know they aren’t perfect. What makes those men heartbreakers? What can those guys do to make it better? Is there a way to grovel? Come on! Tell me about your heartbreaker!!

My current fave heartbreaker hands down is Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. Gotta love a badboy.  Even Nicklaus is pretty hot, and dangerous. What more could a girl ask for?

Wow! Almost 300 bloggers have giveaways and posts about those men we love!

But that’s not all….

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

Below is a heartbreaking scene from my novel Dangerous Temptation. Due out the end of March.

Fast moving clouds filled the sky as the massive crowd gathered.

Three closed, wooden caskets lay in a line for all to see.

A large grey marble stone wall towered into the sky, with the names of the fallen soldiers carved in black near the bottom.

The Marines stood in their dress blues with white berets and saluted the plaque as somber music filled the air.

A priest stood in a navy blue suit, clutching the podium. He raised his hand, signaling for silence as he addressed the congregation.

“Heavenly Father, today we gather before You to honor our fallen brethren. We commend their souls into Your almighty hands, that they may know eternal peace.” He bowed his head, as did the crowd who, minus the Marines, wore black formals.

The surviving soldiers, and the family members of the fallen, stood in attendance as the twenty-one gun salute fired. The flag, which symbolized everything they’d died fighting for, waved at half mast.

Kaitlin stood at the front of the crowd with the other fallen soldiers’ families. Peter Nolan stood beside her in his cop uniform, with a single hand on her shoulder. Tears streamed down both their cheeks.

She couldn’t believe her daddy was gone. He’d always seemed so invincible, now… he was lost to her forever. She rubbed the heel of her palm against her broken heart.

After the guns ceased firing, Officer Bryant walked over, holding out the folded flag with three shell casings wrapped in it.

“First Sargent Sinclair was a heroic man.” He passed her the flag, then saluted her.

Her chin quivered as she reached for it with a shaky hand, and hugged it to her chest. She sniffled.

“See the man in the wheelchair over there?” He pointed to a soldier with a woman standing behind him. Her hand rested on his shoulder.

Kaitlin nodded, unable to speak past the lump of mixed emotions in her sore throat. She ducked her head. Her heart constricted, and a fresh wave of tears flooded her cheeks, soaking the cloth.

“First Sargent Sinclair is the reason that man returned safely to his wife. The same with those two men standing near the guns.”

She blinked, trying to clear away the tears clouding her vision.

“He made sure that all of them were okay, then stayed behind to fight the enemies so that we could get to safety.”

Her arms tightened around the flag as if to hug her father one final time.

“He was one of the best, ma’am.” She wished she could see his face through the blur of her tears. “Always remember that he was a true hero.”

She sent him a watery smile, wiped her tears, and mouthed thank you.

“Many good men and women were lost. They put everything on the line to protect their country, and its citizens. Their sacrifices were not in vain.” The priest’s hand indicated the monument behind him. “This plaque is to remind us of every man and woman who has given their all in the line of duty. None of them will ever be forgotten. Brave people like these are what truly makes America a free country where we can live in peace.”

Her body shook with sobs as the coffins were prepared to lower into the ground. They’d had their differences, but he was the only family she’d had left. The knowledge that she was alone in the world settled into her soul, and chilled her.

In unison the front line of Marines placed a small bouquet of red, white, and blue roses onto each of the coffins, then returned to their spots. Each man saluted as the coffins were lowered into the ground, while the somber music resumed.

When the music finished, the sky opened up with fat droplets, pelting everything as if to weep for the fallen men.

Pete’s hand settled on the middle of her lower back, as he escorted her toward the coffin. Old Spice clung to him, comforting her. She fiddled with the cross that hung heavy around her neck.

Kaitlin dropped to her knees, and placed the roses she’d gathered, along with the last email she’d written to him, onto the coffin. Her tears fell onto the rose petals. She kissed the fingers of her free hand, and pressed them to the coffin, biting her lower lip. Her eyes closed. She inhaled slow breaths, trying to steady herself as her mind filled with all the things she’d never get to tell him. She bowed her head, mouth turned down, breathing shallow.

How would she ever get through this? She removed her trembling hand. Pete helped her to her feet.

His arm circled her waist as they walked over to the black limousine.

–

For my giveaway, this time I’m offering one lucky commenter an in depth first chapter critique.

Click the link below and have fun hopping everyone.

http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=168769