The Perfect Country and Western Story

Alexandra has the Stetson hat, now all she needs is the cowboy.  But with three days and over 50,000 faces to search, will she be able to find the man who stole her heart? Ben still can’t believe he was foolish enough to let the beautiful thief walk away with his autographed cowboy hat.  If the heartbreaker dares to show up at Country Time again this year, he’ll not only be looking to get his hat back, but aiming for a little payback as well. (232 pages) Sensual EXCERPT: She stepped closer, filling the gap between them. “Ben, I want—” Her voice pleaded. He was drowning in the pools of her eyes and clenched his jaw shut as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up with the remembered comments from Julia. Yeah, you want me, but only because you hadn’t found anything better, right? Anger flared and he narrowed his eyes, adding aloud, “Your parents should have named youJezebel.” “What?” Her eyebrows rose as confusion clouded her eyes. She blinked. “I know this looks bad, but I can explain.” He ignored the plea in her voice, put the hat on his head and swallowed. He took a step backward as she came forward. “Ben, please listen.” Her voice trembled. “I can explain. I want you—” He put his hands on her shoulders to prevent her from coming any closer, but as soon as his palms touched her skin, his hands started shaking. Something was wrong, different, he could see it in her eyes. And the way she looked? This couldn’t be the same angel his heart had longed for—had everyone else really seen what he couldn’t? “I don’t want to hear it. I already know,” he snapped, delving into his self-loathing and fortifying his resolve. “You stole my hat—a hat I was going to give my little brother.” “No, that’s not how it was.” Alex pressed against his hands and tried to move in closer, her eyes rimmed in tears.                                      *  *  *  *  * She tried to force the corners of her mouth up into a partial smile but failed. The best she could do was keep her lips pressed tightly together. But a moment later, her upper lip curled and her eyebrows dropped dangerously low. Ben descended down the trailer steps. His stone-cold brown eyes were clouded in anger and focused directly on her. The hairs on her arms bristled, her lip drew up into a snarl. What right did he have to be mad? He got his damn hat. His gaze traveled slowly over her body. Alex’s heart beat faster. Her body might be weak, but her mind was strong. Her lazy gaze moved from the frown in his brow, down to the tips of his toes and back to a spot beside his right eye. The words he said last night played in her head. It doesn’t matter. I have the hat now. It’s all over. Anger narrowed her eyes, flared her nostrils and burned the back of her throat. With valiant effort, she shook her head and rolled her eyes, dismissing him like yesterday’s news. “Thanks for the shampoo, Laurie.” His voice was too cheery and exuberant. From under her lashes Alex watched him hand a bottle to the curly-haired woman. Her heart pounded harder and her mind screamed louder. If he was any type of man, he’d at least say, ‘Thanks for returning the hat.’ Or apologize for his obnoxious behavior the night before. She hadn’t meant to glance up into his brown eyes. He blinked, and for half-a-second, she wondered if he could read her mind. Her heart paused along with her breath. Maybe... Then his eyelids narrowed and his lip curled up. “What? Stealing my hat wasn’t enough? Now, you have to stalk me?

	Reviews:   My editor wrote - the final reader contacted me this morning and this is what she had to say: One of the best things a good story has is wonderful characters, I fell in love with all of them, but I must say Patrick was my favorite. I did cry in a part or two which added to the flow of the book. All in all great job, loved the story.
	Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 "I used to wonder if it was possible to write a believable ten-page love scene. Christine Columbus’ The Perfect Country Western Story has a fourteen-pager written so well that I read every word. The scene occurs after pitch-perfect escalation of character conflict, plot twists, and eighty mile per hour winds, and ends with a twist that made me go back and read it again. One year earlier, Alex fell in love with Ben at Country Time music fest. A family tragedy tore her away before she could return his hat. Hoping Ben will come back this year, Alex brings his hat—and her dreams of restarting their romance.  Ben didn’t get this dream girl’s name before she disappeared with his autographed Toby Keith cowboy hat, intended for his disabled younger brother. Now he is back to claim what is rightfully his—his hat and his pride. Christine’s voice is engaging; her dialogue is believable. The Perfect Country Western Story would make a great Lifetime Channel movie." Ana Morgan Heroines With Hearts
	5 Diamonds     Reviewer Starla Kaye
	Rating: 5 Diamonds Heat Level: Sensual Date: 2-18-09 Alexandra found the love of her life at a music fest a year ago and lost him the same day. A family tragedy tore her away from the event while he’d gone to bring friends back to meet her. Leaving so unexpectedly, she took with her a Stetson autographed by Toby Keith that he’d temporarily had her hold. Guilt has weighed heavily on her as much as her longing to see him again at this year’s event. If he comes…if she can find him in a crowd of 50,000…if he’ll forgive her for leaving with his prized hat. So many ifs. Ben thought he’d found ‘The One’ a year ago, but evidently he’d been wrong. He’d left her alone for a few minutes at the fest and when he’d returned, she was gone, along with a prized hat he’d intended to give to his disabled younger brother. And he hadn’t even gotten her name. All he could hope for was that she’d come to this year’s fest, with his hat. He was no longer interested in anything more from her. But love can be a complicated thing. It can twist a person’s emotions around and make them be stubborn at times. And yet sometimes it finds a way to bring people back together. If you enjoy second chance at love stories as much as I do, then this book is for you. Posted by GOT EROTIC ROMANCE?