Shimmy for Me
Juggling two jobs to keep her belly dance studio afloat keeps Abby Anderson’s mind off her shattered love life—until a reawakened pain sends her into the arms of an anonymous stranger she plucks from the audience of her tribal belly dance show. No names, no strings, no romance. She tells herself it’s a harmless hookup.
Until he turns up at her day job . . .
Derek Collier, the sexy heir to the Collier media dynasty, just
landed everything he’s always wanted: the publisher’s seat at the Orange County
Herald. Except his first order of business is to sell the newspaper. Reeling
from his family’s betrayal, his only comfort is the memory of that mysterious
belly dancer and the perfect night they spent together.
He won’t rest until he finds her again.
She’ll lose everything if he does.
A Sneak Peek inside...
Only one thing could divert his
thoughts tonight, and she was standing in front of him, just out of reach.
He bridged the distance and touched
her porcelain white chin.
“Is this all right?” he asked.
She covered his hand with her own
and nuzzled into it.
“We seemed to have skipped the
introductions,” he said, his eyes locked on that smooth, soft cheek. “I suppose
I have the advantage. I already know who you are, Zenina, so maybe I should
tell you I’m—”
She stopped his mouth with a quick
finger. “No names,” she said, her chocolate eyes widening. “No numbers.
Nothing. All right? Let’s just enjoy tonight.”
She didn’t want to get to know him?
Or force him to get to know her? No hoops to jump through, no empty promises to
make?
She really was perfect.
She took his hand from her shoulder
and guided it down the front of her, over the rise of her breast, the soft
slope of her belly, the ridge of her belts and scarves.
His chest thudded at the feel of
her. His mind froze.
She stopped his hand and pulled it
away.
“Do we have a deal?” she purred.
“Oh yeah,” he said, his heartbeat
racing, his breath coming fast. “You can have whatever you want.”
A slow, sexy smile crept across her
face and she rose on her toes to whisper in his ear. “Just for tonight,
handsome. Just one night.”
My Thoughts on Shimmy for Me
Temporary newspaper accounts clerk by day, belly dancer by night Abby Anderson is working tirelessly to save her struggling dance studio from closure. She's a single lady with certain, um, needs, that haven't been met for over a year. So tonight, for one night only, she has every intention of finding someone to meet them. Derek Collier has spent the last six years learning his family's business inside out only to have his destiny swept right from underneath him. So tonight, for one night only, he's looking for a much needed distraction.
Abby doesn't expect her one night stand to walk through the door the very next day, as Derek takes his place at the head of the media corporation Abby works at. And then Abby is given the opportunity of a full time permanent position as Derek's Assistant. A pay rise, with a cash lump sum hovering on the horizon, Abby can't turn down the opportunity to save her studio. So prays to god that Derek doesn't recognise her instead,
Shimmy for me is a great novella to snuggle up with on a cold winters night. Abby is likeable insecure girl, who's intelligent, dedicated, and incredibly ambitious. She wears her huge heart on her sleeve, and yet she guards it with her life, not ready to open it to the scrutiny of people who don't understand her desire to dance. Derek is gorgeous, sexy, brooding, not ready to let his family's business go, yet hopeless to stop it being sold, in fact he's the one who has to sell it.
Abby's desire to keep her belly dancer's identity a secret leads to Derek becoming almost dismissive of her, abrupt and impolite at best. For me, their interaction in the office let the story down, they had all this chemistry and attraction right at the beginning of the story, but that disappeared the moment they began their working relationship. No watching each other work, nor catching eyes. No non-intentional flirting, nor sharing smiles. Which made it easier to understand why Derek, when he found out his hot fiery belly dancer was right under his nose. He walked away. I wanted to slap him and say 'Dude, get your head out of your ass!'. I wanted them to work it out. I wanted them to achieve their happily ever after. But I don't feel like Derek deserved Abbey in the end. Sure he did something to help her save studio. But Abby went to extreme lengths, in spite of humiliation, in order to help save Derek from his predetermined failure.
Despite the fact I didn't enjoy the way their romance unfolded, and not feeling satisfied with the overall ending. It pulled me in and kept me there. I cared for the characters. And I did get the smile, and warm fuzzies that they worked it all out in the end. And its for this reason I'm breaking my usual rule of never posting a less than four stars review. There are so many elements which determine the quality of reading experience that had I not found Abby and Derek's story not quite to my tastes - although others may disagree - I would have absolutely given it four stars. Cameron's fluid writing styling allows a seamless slip from real world to fiction world and she makes it easy to stay there right to the very end. I'll definitely be looking out for more from this author!
Who is Deanna Cameron...?
DeAnna Cameron writes novels featuring feisty heroines transformed by true love and belly dance—the oldest and most exciting dance form in the world. Her novels have been translated into Japanese, Polish, and Serbian, and her work has been praised for its “deft prose, energetic characters and . . . colorful images” by RT Book Reviews and called “most entertaining” by the Historical Novel Review. Before turning to fiction, DeAnna worked as a journalist, writing and editing for several Southern California newspapers and magazines. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America, as well as its Orange County chapter. When she isn’t working on her next novel, she can usually be found at her jeweler’s bench, creating new wire-wrap, bead, and multimedia designs. She lives in Orange County, Calif., with her family.
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