Carly threw herself on her gel-bed. She gave an inelegant sniff and scrubbed her hands across her damp cheeks.
“A man who tells the truth,” she muttered. “The whole truth and nothing but the truth.” Her eyes narrowed as her thoughts drifted to her ex-husband. “Not like Matt.”
Definitely not another lying, cheating creep who blamed everyone but himself for his shortcomings.
“A sense of humor,” she said, adding to her shopping list.
Yeah, someone to make her laugh when the horrors of work became too much.
“A man who doesn’t have a tantrum if I work late.” Carly screwed up her eyes, trying to force back the aching tears of self-pity. Strictly low-maintenance—that was what she wanted.
“Very, very elusive.” She stared at the ceiling. “Don’t think there’s such a thing. It’s not as if I want Mr. Perfect.”
Just Mr. Almost Perfect.
Carly struggled from the comfort of the soft mattress and sat up to plant her feet on the floor. Needed to do something. Oh yeah. Work. She wobbled from her bedroom to her small office and over to her computer.
“Computer on.” The burst of bright light from the screen had her screwing up her face. “Computer, mute screen color. Check incoming correspondence. Results to screen.” She sank onto her black office chair and hunched her shoulders while keeping her gaze off the screen. When the whirring and whining ceased, she straightened.
“Six messages. Results on screen,” her computer warbled.
She forced herself to focus. “Spam. Spam. Spam. Computer, trash first three messages.” Jeesh, did she look as if she needed a longer penis? A bark of laughter erupted. Not according to her ex. He was adamant that she—Carly Abercombie—was a ballbuster.
Nope, she did not need a dick to add to her arsenal.
Her gaze went to the next message.
Interplanetary Love. You are one click away from finding your true mate.
“Yeah, right,” Carly scoffed. “Computer, trash Interplanetary Love. Aha!” She scanned the one she’d been waiting for, then slumped back in her chair. A week of investigation down the toilet tube. Solid alibi for Michaels. Proof he wasn’t involved in the illegal Golden Dust sale—the new designer drug on the streets. He’d spoken the truth when he’d said he’d been at the Tonga atolls on business. Carly pillowed her head in her hands, the need to scream starting to build inside her chest.
“You have a new message,” her computer droned.
Carly jerked up her head and glowered at the screen. She couldn’t even manage a sexy masculine voice for her computer. The one she’d chosen droned some days and at other times, the voice rose to a falsetto that made her think of eunuchs.
She gaped at the new message displayed. Pink. An explosion of corny flowers and hearts, and oh, no—the stupid thing came with music. Old-fashioned country and western blared into her room, something about cheatin’ hearts. Hellfire, she knew about them.
“Computer delete message.” The message cut off abruptly, leaving blissful silence. A beautiful thing—for all of two seconds. Suddenly it reminded Carly she didn’t have a warm body to curl up with at night. No one to heat her cold feet when she climbed into bed in the small hours of the morning.
Swaying slightly, she stood and stooped to pick up her shoes and dress as she crossed the room to her bedroom.
“All by myself,” she warbled before halting, her mouth twisting into a scowl. “Talk about a pity party. Not an attractive trait, Carly.”
Interplanetary Love.
Would it be so bad taking one more chance? The email called her like a tempting chocolate dessert. Not the artificial cocoa stuff, but the rich, full taste of the real product she’d tried once at a posh party and had dreamed about ever since. She stomped back to her computer, stared at the blank screen. Words poured from her mouth, against her better judgment. “Computer, retrieve Interplanetary Love message from trash.”
After reading the entire message including the small print, she muttered, “Five hundred and fifty dollars.” Not bad, considering she’d spent more than that on the new dress, the giraffe-shoes and her share of dinner tonight. “Computer, complete form with personal details.”
“Running task,” her computer droned. “Form complete.”
“Approve debit and transmit form,” she ordered. Probably a scam. Probably a rip-off, yet some of the tension residing in her shoulders dispersed, some of the unhappiness, because she’d taken steps to fix a problem.
Purchase Interplanetary Love
About Shelley
USA Today bestselling author Shelley Munro lives in Auckland, the City of Sails, with her husband and a cheeky Jack Russell/mystery breed puppy.
Typical New Zealanders, Shelley and her husband left home for their big OE soon after they married (translation of New Zealand speak – big overseas experience). A twelve-month long adventure lengthened to six years of roaming the world. Enduring memories include being almost sat on by a mountain gorilla in Rwanda, lazing on white sandy beaches in India, whale watching in Alaska, searching for leprechauns in Ireland, and dealing with ghosts in an English pub.
While travel is still a big attraction, these days Shelley is most likely found in front of her computer following another love – that of writing stories of romance and adventure. Other interests include watching rugby (strictly for research purposes), cycling, baking bread and curling up with an enjoyable book.
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Other Books by Shelley
Paranormal
Sea of Change
Price of Love
Blue Moon Dragon
Lynx to the Pharaoh
Curse of Brandon Lupinus
Middlemarch Capture
Snared by Saber
Favored by Felix
Lost with Leo
Middlemarch Shifters
My Scarlet Woman
My Younger Lover
My Peeping Tom
My Assassin
My Estranged Lover
My Feline Protector
My Determined Suitor
My Cat Burglar
My Stray Cat
My Second Chance
My Plan B
My Romantic Tangle
Bundle
Middlemarch Shifters 1 – 3
Middlemarch Shifters 4 - 6
House of the Cat series
Sampled & Seduced
Captured & Seduced
Claimed & Seduced
Merry & Seduced
Stranded & Seduced
Seized & Seduced
Hunted & Seduced
Festive & Seduced
Bundle
House of the Cat
Contemporary
Wild Child
Cat Burglar in Training
One Night of Misbehavior
Blindside
Fringe Benefits
Lovers at Last
Ain’t Misbehaving
Playing to Win
Summer Encounter
Reformed Bad Girl
Stranger Things Happen
Military Men
Innocent Next Door
Soldiers with Benefits
Safeguarding Sorrel
Bundle
Military Men
Sci-fi/Futuristic
Interplanetary Love
Sex Idol
Alien Encounter series
Janaya
Hinekiri
Alexandre
Gay Romance
No Defense
Best Man
Last Wish
Curse Across Time
Eye on the Ball
Historical
The Spurned Viscountess
Evening Tryst
Copyright Page
Sex Idol
Copyright © 2017 Shelley Munro
ISBN: 978-0-9941483-2-2
Cover: The Killion Group Inc.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Shelley Munro