Happy Friday, all! I have something extra special for you today: a brand new release from one of my very favourite people, Aletta Thorne. I mean, a sexy ghost story set in the ’80s (and just in time for Halloween!) โ yes, please! Excuse me while I dig out my hair gel and crimping iron. Isย Bartles & Jaymes still a thing?ย ๐
The Chef and the Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins by Aletta Thorne
Available: October 27, 2017
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-77339-466-4
Halloween, 1982. MTV is new, poodle perms are the rage, and life just might be getting better for Alma Kobel. Her ugly divorce is final at last. Her new job as chef at Bright Day Schoolโs gorgeous old estate is actually fun. But the place is hauntedโand so is Almaโs apartment.
Bartholomew Addison Jenkinsโ ghost has been invisibly watching Alma for months. When he materializes one night, Alma discovers Bartโas he likes to be calledโhas talents she couldnโt have imagined โฆ and a horrifying past. Can you have a one-nighter with a ghost? And what happens if you decide one night is all you wantโand end up ghosting him? Some spirits donโt like taking โnoโ for an answer.
[Read an excerpt]Where To Buy:
โฝ Amazon
โฝ Evernight Publishing
Excerpt:
โYouโll turn over the record. Oh, because youโฆโ
โI do like to keep up. Who poured you wine from the โฆ refrigerator? Although, I donโt understand why people of your age prefer it so icy.โ
Alma followed Bart into the living room, still wondering why things didnโt seem odder than they were. She remembered the Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoons sheโd seen as a little girl. This ghost was actingโwell, perhaps a bit more flirty than friendly. He only glowed a bit as they walked through the dim hallway that connected her rooms. You can hardly even tell heโs translucent. What had he seen of her, though? She was glad her frustrating night with Sid had been at his place.
As Bart bent over the turntable and flipped the record, the reading lamp by her couch highlighted the silver buttons of his coat. She curled up on the couch and put her wine glass on the glass-covered orange crate sheโd turned into a coffee table.
Bart sat beside her, suspiciously close. He put an arm over the back of the couch, and Alma shook her head again. Thatโs the old sneaky-arm trickโlike a high school kid. Itโs kind of cute. She pulled her legs up under herself, and they quietly listened to the music.
โYouโre right,โ she said after a few minutes. โโFountainsโ is really good, too. I almost never listen to that side.โ
Bart made a quiet harrumphing noise.
Do ghosts clear their throats? Apparently so.
โDear lady,โ he said. โAlthough I do try not to snoop, as you would say, I have indeed observed your solitude. Let me assure you, your life will soon be happier.โ He slid even closer to her.
Okay. Now the ghost is absolutely coming on to me. This is really happening. Oh, hellโwhy not? Heโs not badโfor a dead guy.
โUm, Bart?โ she said. His eyes really were a startling colorโalmost bronzeโฆ โYou canโt actually beโฆโ
Bart set his fingertips on her cheeks, looked into her eyes, and sighed. Then he smiled. โYou think this is a ridiculous situation. Itโs not ridiculous,โ he said. โNot at all. Allow me to demonstrate โฆ with your permission, mโlady.โ
Somehow, that was funny, and Alma giggled. โGranted.โ
Bartโs hands were impossibly soft and gentleโand his touch had some of the same fire-and-ice buzz that sheโd felt before in the kitchen when heโd tried to get her attention. He guided her lips to his, and gave her what would have been a tiny peckโfrom anyone else. It shot a bolt of fire straight through her.
โOh,โ she said. It took a minute to get her breath.