'Dating Cary Grant' by Emelle Gamble

Dating Cary Grant

by Emelle Gamble

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BLURB:

A modern Manhattan fairy tale starring…

Tracy Connor, a New York City career woman who loves her job and classic movies.

Mike Connor, her estranged husband, a small town Mayor who loves his wife but doesn’t seem to have enough time to see her.

The handsome stranger, Philip Adams, who lives downstairs from the small sublet Tracy has temporarily moved into. He’s charming, funny and looks a lot like her very favorite screen icon, Cary Grant.

Dating Cary Grant is a romance all about New York City career woman Tracy Connor struggling with real issues with her real guy, her husband of six years, Mayor Mike Connor of Cukor, Connecticut. Tracy is a smart woman, but some of her problems with relationships are partially caused by her unrealistic expectations that real guys should – and can - behave like matinee idols. Mike’s problems are also caused by the fact that he’s such a great guy and overextends his heart, and his appointment calendar, to every constituent, friend or stray animal who crosses his path.

Tracy is also being stressed by a TV reality show intent on showcasing Tracy and Mike’s personal life, as well as the imminent takeover of her employer, a small, private television station, by a billionaire with unlimited funds and no taste.

Dating Cary Grant considers just how selfless a man needs to be to meet his wife’s expectations, and just how honest a woman must be with herself about what she’s willing to give, and give-up. And Cary Grant is along to help prove that any woman’s search for ‘Mr. Perfect ‘ might take her to a surprising place to find him.

Read an excerpt:

Tracy put her hand on the knob to open the door a crack so she could hear better, when suddenly someone knocked, then knocked a second time!

The vibration went right through the door into her forehead. She yelped and stepped back, just like the other night, but this time, thankfully, the lock was engaged.

“Hello?” a man asked pleasantly. “Sorry if I startled you.”

Tracy stared at the door, immobile with surprise. She cleared her throat and put her right hand over her heart, as if that would slow the galloping beat down.

The man knocked twice again. “I don’t want to be a bother, but I’ve come to borrow ice cubes, if you have them. It’s quite a catastrophe, really, having no ice, so you can save the day if you have a tray or two to spare.”

His voice was smart and cultured. He had the accent of an Englishman by birth and world traveler by choice.

“Why don’t you come downstairs and have a drink, for that matter? If you’re decent, of course. Or even if you’re not.” He chuckled and tapped the door gently. “Come on. Shy, are you? Don’t be afraid, I promise I’m a perfect gentleman this time of night.”

“Yes, hello,” Tracy surprised herself by replying. “But I’m sorry; I don’t have any ice cubes. Sorry.” What a pinhead, she chided herself. Apologizing when I had no reason to, just like the woman on the bike told her.

“No ice cubes? You poor darling! Well, you must open up and go downstairs with me. I’ll steal some for you from the party. Right out of someone’s glass. It might be rude, but, well, I’m willing to be rude in times of crisis. No girl with a voice as lovely as yours should be without ice cubes on a Saturday night. What if she fancied a cocktail?”

Tracy smiled. “Actually it’s Sunday morning. About three thirty, as a matter of fact. And I certainly can’t come out, as I’m dressed for bed, and it’s a bit early for me to be drinking a cocktail.”

“Early? Well, that’s all the way you look at it, my dear.” The door creaked as the visitor leaned his weight against it. “To my way of thinking, 3:30 a.m. is the very heart of the evening. Why don’t you throw on something more acceptable to the general public and join me? What do you say?”

Tracy put her hand on the door and peered through the stained glass but could make out only a vague figure of a man in a dark suit. His voice was amazing. If he looked half as hot as he sounded, then the neighborhood was even better than she had expected.

Should she open the door to get a look at this guy? She glanced down and frowned at the white tee shirt and pink socks she‘d been sleeping in. The shirt was Mike’s. Suddenly the image of her husband filled her head, squelching her curious impulse.

Tracy crossed her arms over her chest. “Thanks, but no. Sorry.” She grimaced. God lord, I am pathetic. “Goodnight!” Her voice was firm. “I’m going back to sleep now. Have a nice party.”

“Well, all right. But next time I’ll stay here until you come out and meet me properly,” the man replied. “I’ll go back to my friends. Although you don’t sound like you need it, you’ve still got a few hours to get your beauty sleep. Good night, Miss…?”

It’s Mrs., she thought. “Connor. Tracy Connor.”

“Sleep tight, Tracy Connor,” the man said.

**My thoughts**

How can you not be attracted to a title such as Dating Cary Grant? I have been in love with Cary Grant for as long as I have been watching movies. Women have always been in love with him. Men have always aspired to be him. In fact, Cary Grant, himself, once famously said that HE would love to be Cary Grant! That persona ... that mystique ...

So, when Tracy moves back to Manhattan to try to get her head on straight about what she wants out of life, her work, and her marriage, and ends up meeting someone who embodies the spirit of Cary Grant, I have to admit that I am a little jealous. In fact, she is pretty much living in a classic movie, between Philip Adams and Christina Drayton, the Katharine Hepburn lookalike.

Of course, Tracy had fallen and hit her head, sustaining a concussion with multiple symptoms afterwards, which may explain some of it. But is it all in her head? Or is she really living this life? Fantasy and reality blend together in this mesmerizing tale from Emelle Gamble. I had a hard time putting it down, even as my eyes were getting dried out and closing from exhaustion. (I also kept yelling at Tracy about not going to the doctor, only because I lost my father from a head injury from falling, and have a hard time ignoring that.)

It's not your typical romance, making it a breath of fresh air in a market currently inundated with new adult contemporary romances (which I do love, but need a break once in a while!). I continue to be a fan of this author, who I just realized is published by Soul Mate Publishing. The company is local to me, which just makes reading this book even better.

Buy it on Amazon

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Emelle Gamble was a writer at an early age, bursting with the requisite childhood stories of introspection. These evolved into bad teen poetry and worse short stories. She took her first stab at full length fiction in an adult education writing class when her kids were in bed twenty years ago. As M.L. Gamble, she published several romantic suspense novels with Harlequin. Soul Mate Publishing brought out Secret Sister, a paranormal women’s romantic fiction novel in the summer of 2013. This was followed by the novella, Duets, in November, 2013, and the follow on novel starring the characters from Duets, Molly Harper, in January, 2014.

Always intrigued by the words ‘what if’, Emelle’s books feature an ordinary woman confronted with an extraordinary situation. She most enjoys reading stories that surprise and amaze her, and hopes her readers will enjoy the challenging and exciting journeys her characters take.

Emelle lives in suburban Washington D.C. with her husband, Phil, her hero of thirty years, and two orange cats, Lucy and Bella. These girls, like all good villains, have their reasons for misbehaving. Her daughter, Olivia, and son, Allen, are happily launched on their own and contributing great things to society, their mother’s fondest wish.

Emelle Gamble contact links:

Email: emellegamble@aol.com
Website: www.EmelleGamble.com
FaceBook: Author Emelle Gamble
Twitter: @EmelleGamble

Secret Sister is now available on Amazon! http://amzn.to/13ewGoP
Once and Forever is now available on Amazon! http://amzn.to/1iFpZJ1
Duets, a novella, the prequel to Molly Harper, http://amzn.to/1owVnfs
Molly Harper now available on Amazon http://amzn.to/OD978m

Emelle will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during this tour and the NBtM Book Tour. A digital copy ofDating Cary Grant will be awarded to 5 randomly drawn commenters also during this tour and the NBtM Book Tour. A $25 Amazon gift card will be awarded to a randomly drawn host also between the two tours. Follow each of them for more chances to win!

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