Book, Reviews, Excerpt

WLVH: Where Love is Found and Lasts Forever!

Lovehandles
by Holly Jacobs

Avalon Books
ISBN #0-8034-9724-5
8/05

WLVH radio station lives by the motto "WLVH, Lovehandles, where love is more than just a song." They proved it over the summer when two contestants, Mary and Ethan, ended up falling in love and planning to marry.

Peter "Punch" O'Brien can think of a thousand other places he'd rather be than at their wedding. WEddings tend to do weird things to a woman's mind. He's nervous about his date getting the wrong idea. But it's not his date who's affected. It's Judy, his on-air partner, who gets a wedding whammy. Something changes afterward, and he's not sure he likes it. Suddenly all he can think about is...kissing her. Since Judy Bently is the most annoying woman he's ever met, kissing her should be the furthest thing from his mind.

Judy is very much aware of her partner's Casanova-like charms. No way is she going to fall under his spell. Things might have changed between them, but despite what her heart is telling her, she's going to do her best to change their relationship back to a simply on-air partnership. Because the only way an off-air partnership with Punch could end is with heartache. But sometimes the heart knows best...

Book, Reviews, Excerpt

 

An Amazon Exclusive

Reviews:

...(a) charming, funny story of clashing egos and unexpected love." - Maria Hatton, Booklist, August 1, 2005

"As always in a book by Holly Jacobs, humor abounds and brings joy and laughter to the hearts of the readers. One will laugh out loud at the antics of these two lovebirds and at the crazy events their boss has them participating in to boost ratings even more. Sparkling wit and sometimes quirky dialogue keeps one reading through the end of the story, just waiting to see what Peter and Judy will be up to next." 
Kelley A. Hartsell, LoveRomances.com

"...a wonderfully funny story." ~Lydia Funneman, Writers Unlimited Reviewer

"LOVEHANDLES is a funny, adventurous love story written by the talented Holly Jacobs. I’ve enjoyed every novel I’ve read by Ms. Jacobs, and this one is certainly a great read. The sparks between this hero and heroine keep the reader quickly flipping the pages and eagerly anticipating the outcome. I loved all the little adventures this DJ duo had to go through in the name of promotion. This is a book you’ll want to add to your shopping list. Don’t miss out on LOVEHANDLES, the sequel to PICKUP LINES, another fabulous love story by Holly Jacobs." ~ BJ Deese, CataRomance Reviews

"...another great romance...a must for your bookshelf." ~Robert H. Goss, Roundtable Reviews

Book, Reviews, Excerpt

EXCERPT Lovehandles
by Holly Jacobs
Avalon Books
ISBN# 0-8034-9724-5
08/05

"This is WLVH Lovehandles, where love is more than just a song," a deep baritone announced. "It's two o'clock on the nose, and speaking about noses, we're here to watch a man be led around by one--"

"Punch," came an amused female voice with a tsk for punctuation. "Stop the commentating."

"Fine, I'll stop. This is the non-commentating Punch O'Brien--"

"--and Judy Bently. Saturdays aren't our normal spot, but today is special. We're here with our first live wedding broadcast."

"Weddings."

His less-than-enthusiastic opinion of weddings was evident in that one word. No one in the radio audience could miss it. Judy was the only one, however, treated to the expression that accompanied that one-worded-opinion and added a definite exclamation point of disgust for punctuation.

Peter "Punch" O'Brien had a face that made the female population drool, and even his current expression of distaste bordering on a scowl couldn't mar his chiseled features. If anything, it gave him a dark, dangerous air that made him even more attractive...if a woman liked that kind of thing.

Fortunately, Judy didn't.

She might be the only female over the age of ten and under the age of ninety in Erie, Pennsylvania whose head didn't turn when Peter walked into a room. After a year of working with him, she was immune to his looks.

As Peter shook his head, a single piece of charcoal hair shifted. Judy didn't feel the slightest urge to push it back into place...well, hardly the slightest urge.

He chose that moment to push the unruly strand back into place himself, saving Judy from giving in to that hardly-slightest urge.

"Weddings," he scoffed again, "They're only for fools and dreamers."

"Not today, Punch," Judy scolded on air. Her role in their on-air partnership was that of mom. She scolded, nagged and in general acted shocked when Peter acted up and played his "Punch" role to the hilt.

Today it wasn't much of an act. She was getting tired of his anti-marriage prattle--almost as tired as she was with her role as the mother.

She didn't want to play a role at the wedding other than that of guest. She just wanted to enjoy the day. It was a day that had started out full of promise.

A day Peter seemed bound and determined to ruin with his anti-marriage discourse.

This morning, Judy's normally unruly chestnut curls had decided to behave and remain in at least some semblance of a style, as if it sensed that the day was important. She tugged at her five year old beige sheath. She hated wearing dresses. She never felt she quite pulled them off, but today she felt she looked good.

Yes, the day had started off full of promise. Well behaved hair, half-way decent dress and a wedding. Judy was a sucker for a wedding. All in all, she had looked forward to a perfect day. She'd simply forgotten to take her partner into consideration.

Peter snorted his disgust. "For those of you who weren't around this summer, you missed a real scorcher. Ethan and Mary spent two weeks living in a brand new Chevy truck, part of a contest sponsored by Lovehandles and Big Al's Autos."

He waved his hand and Judy took over the on-air dialogue. "Ethan won the truck. But later we found out he won more than just that--he won the heart of our Mary as well."

The back of the church stirred and Judy's voice dropped to a whisper. "And the organ is starting to play the processional. Here comes Mary. She's wearing a traditional white dress, looking like Cinderella come to life. It's simple silk covered with miles of lace."

She sighed. Mary looked like every little girl's fantasy.

"Seems our Judy has a romantic streak." Peter's tone suggested that having a romantic streak was a terrible curse, one he'd never be afflicted by. "All I see when I look at Mary is the end of Ethan's carefree existence."

Judy resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him. She was the adult in the relationship--something she was having trouble remembering today.

Trying to ignore her partner she returned to her wedding commentary. "Mary's reached Ethan, and she's taken his hand. The minister is talking. What a day for WLVH. We've always said Lovehandles was a station where love was more than just a song, but now we've proven it."

"Sentimental hogwash." Peter rolled his eyes.

"They're reciting their vows," she whispered.

"Yeah, Ethan's saying, I promise no more poker with the guys or watching football on Sundays--" He grunted audibly as Judy's elbow landed firmly on his stomach. "Hey!"

"Sh." She took a deep breath. Her elbow plowing into his stomach was surprisingly satisfying. "The minster is announcing Mr. and Mrs. Ethan Westbrook to the guests. Now the two of them are walking back down the aisle together. Oh, you all should see how happy they look."

"Let's wait and see them five years from now when they have a mortgage payment that's too big, and a couple kids. Romance tends to fade and all that's left is two frazzled strangers who stay together for the sake of the kids. We'll see how happy... Umph."

"And that's the end of our broadcast. Cassie's, who's filling in for Chuck, will be taking your requests this afternoon. Cassie?"

"Thanks Judy. You and Punch have a great time at the reception. Bring me back a piece of cake, would you?"

"Are you going to put it under your pillow, Cass, and dream about me?" Peter broke in.

Cassie laughed. "I might put it under my pillow, but the tradition is you dream about the man you're going to marry. Punch, my love, we both know you're not the marrying kind."

"You've got that right," he said with more enthusiasm than he’d shown the entire wedding broadcast.

"I'll stop by with your cake, Cass."

"Thanks Judy. Have fun. Let's start the hour with The Wedding Song in honor of Ethan's and Mary's big day."

Judy tore off her earphones and faced Peter. "Don’t you take anything seriously? Two people finding each other...it’s amazing, something to be treasured, not mocked."

She gave him a disgusted look, waved at Bill, their technician, and joined the crowd gathering outside the church.

"Maybe you're to invested in Mary and Ethan’s wedding."

"We helped bring them together through the contest. And now they’ve decided to join their lives together. They promised to always be there for each other. What could be more serious than that?"

He rolled his chestnut eyes. "It's an easy promise to make. It's just not such an easy one to keep."

Judy took step back and glared at him. At five foot ten, she met most men eye-to-eye, or even looked down at them, but with Peter she had to crane her head slightly.

Judy had always felt awkward about being taller than most of the men who surrounded her, but with Peter she'd take any edge she could get. "Why do you always do that?"

Momentary confusion filled his dark eyes. "What?"

"Turn everything into a joke."

He chuckled. "Honey, I'm not joking. Look at statistics. Seems to me, a lot of those people who vow to love each other for the rest of their lives either have a very short life span or a very short memory."

"I believe in marriage. And I also believe Ethan and Mary have a great chance of making theirs last for the long haul." She turned her back on him. Sometimes tuning out was the easiest way to deal with Peter's cynicism.

Judy watched the maroon Chevy truck pull away and brushed away a tear. Despite Peter's attitude, the wedding had been every little girl's fantasy. A handsome groom waiting at the end of that long step-pause-step-pause walk down the aisle, his hand extended, his joy written in the smile on his face.

Every little girl wanted to be whisked away by someone who loved her, someone she loved. Every little girl wanted the works--family and friends surrounding her, and love waiting for her at the end of the aisle. A lifetime's worth of love.

Every little girl dreamed about it, but not every little girl got it....

Book, Reviews, Excerpt

From the book:	Lovehandles
By:	Holly Jacobs
Publication Date:	8/05
ISBN:
Copyright ©	2005
Published By:	Bouregy, Thomas & Company, Incorporated