Dinner, Candlelight, Black Pearls, Eternal Love: Happy Valentine's Day!

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Happy Valentine's Day.  Have you ever been on a date with your favorite Rock Star?  Well, maybe in your dreams. Since we all dream of that special Candlelight Dinner with the man of our dreams giving us expensive jewelry and asking the big question, here's a little treat for my readers. A romantic interlude from my contemporary Romance to savor.

Excerpt from The Rock Star Next Door, By Lily Silver, Copyright 2012:


       The waiter led them to a secluded spot near the windows. Chianti’s was on a bluff overlooking the ocean. The sun was setting, and soft Italian music played over the speakers above their heads. The wine was expensive, Jessie noted, as she sized up the drink menu. Lex ordered a bottle of light Pinot Grigio.

“I have something for you.” He said in that sexy, low rumble as he reached into his jacket.

Oh, crap. Jessie thought. Here it comes. She cringed inside, expecting the typical little black box and then the descent into awkwardness again when they started arguing about the same old thing--getting married. What’s wrong with me? I should be euphoric, silly with bliss. Priscilla Presley had to have been squealing her lungs out when Elvis proposed to her. Time warp; that was over forty years ago.

She gazed out the window at the sea, hands clasped together, a little tightly, as she tried to appear non-chalant about the whole deal even as her heart was racing and her insides twisted about.

“There we are.” Lex drew her reluctant attentions back to the glass table top between them as he plunked down his offering. It wasn’t a little black box, as she expected. It was a long, rectangular velvet box. He pushed it across the expanse between them.

Yep, definitely jewelry.  Jessie gulped, almost afraid to open it.

With shaking fingers, she slowly opened the long, hinged box. “Oh, my God.”

It was a string of pearls. Not just pearls, but rare and expensive black pearls.

“Well, yes, they were given to a man by a god, so the legend goes.” Lex replied.

Jessie was speechless. This was no ordinary gift, this was worth a fortune. “Lex, I--I can’t accept this. I’d be afraid to wear them.”

“Do you know what it means when a man gives a woman black pearls?”

“No.” She mumbled, feeling hot, exhilarated and tense all at once.

“According to legend, Oro, the Polynesian god of peace and fertility, came to earth on a rainbow to give the black pearl oyster to man. Once here, he offered the black pearl from this oyster to the beautiful princess of Bora Bora, as a sign of his love. Even now, it’s said that if you give someone a gift of black pearls, it is considered to be a symbol of eternal love.”

Jessie stared at Lex in the low candlelight, unable to speak. He held her shocked gaze, offering her a steady, patient look in return as he waited for his gesture to sink in.

“Oh, my God.” Jessie’s hands flew to her lips. She cringed even as she said it, feeling stupid for repeating the same expletive over and over like a broken record. Yet, truthfully, what else could she say? Hot Damn? Son-of-a-bitch?

What does one say when the man who asked you to marry him gives you a very expensive gift that signifies eternal love? And if he asked her again to marry him, what could she say in light of this?

Yes, I love you, but I can’t marry you, sorry . . . it’s not you, it’s me?

She waited, without breath, without hope, without a prayer, knowing that if Lex asked her the same question again she couldn’t say no.

“Let me help you.” He stood, and lifted the necklace from the box. Coming to stand behind her, he waited as Jessie lifted her hair from her neck. It was a moment out of time, a storybook moment, one Jessie knew she would never forget for as long as she lived. Lex gently slid the rope of pearls about her neck and fastened the clasp. His hands circled her shoulders as he stood behind her, waiting for her to comment.

“Thank you.” She gasped, and reached up to touch the smooth, lovely pearls about her neck. The rope was long enough to dangle just above her neckline. She glanced quickly at her reflection in the glass window and then turned about to gaze up at Lex. “I don’t know what to say.” She confessed, blushing slightly. “They are perfect.”

“A fitting gift.” He murmured, so low she could barely hear the rough timbre to his voice. “Eternity. You and I. Soul mates, from one lifetime to the next.” 
Excerpt, The Rock Star Next Door, copyright 2012 by Lily Silver

 If you're looking for love this Valentine's Day, why not treat yourself to a romantic fantasy featuring you and your favorite Rock Star.  The Rock Star Next Door is on Sale through Sunday on Amazon for just .99 cents, a great deal for a full length romance novel.  It's my gift to those who wish they could take a Rock Star home with them.  

Enjoy the fantasy. Amazon Link