Book Excerpt: Carefully Vetted

Publisher’s Note – Jodiann Tenney is a Boston College graduate who recently published her first book, Carefully Vetted. Below is the book jacket summary:
 
Dr. Maddy Moore has enough on her plate: two kids, a never-ending line of four-legged patients, and exactly zero interest in dating. Her idea of romance? A glass of wine on the porch, a hot bath, and an emptied dishwasher.
 
So when an entitled out-of-towner, some TV hotshot, expects her to clean up after him in the local grocery store parking lot, she makes it clear that she’s not his personal fixer. That is, until he storms into her veterinary clinic – annoyingly good-looking and dragging in another mess of his own making. He might be escaping from the city and trying to avoid making headlines, but she has her own PR nightmare to tackle.
 
As sparks fly and headlines swirl in her sleepy Northwest Connecticut town, Maddy has to decide: is this just another role he’s playing – or the start of something real?
 
Chapter 6 Excerpt
 
Despite Charlene’s insistence that the Hollywood hottie had bewitched her boss and vice versa, Maddy was under no spells or illusions. Her days passed with no magical encounters. Not even a nighttime hoot of an owl. She popped her Tupperware in the microwave when Charlene dropped an envelope onto the counter. Maddy stroked the paper. Linen card stock. Probably an invitation to a local charity event. Or maybe a thank-you card from a client. Maddy flipped it over. There was no stamp or return address, just her name, Dr. Maddy Moore, which was handwritten. Her curiosity piqued. She tore the envelope open, leaving ragged edges.
 
Inside was a card with a sketch of a blue heron. Maybe an invitation from the local waterfowl conservancy? She opened the card and read: What kind of man forgets to ask a smart, beautiful woman for her cell number after she comes to his rescue? How about dinner on Friday at 6:00? My place? Alexander. Underneath he had written his cell number and address which was one town over from Marshfield. Friday? That was tomorrow.
 
She reread the note and ran her fingers over the thick, textured paper. She closed the card and examined the sketch with the artist’s signature underneath. She remembered the peacefulness of a recent evening walk with Oscar on the trail through the wetlands at the end of her street. A stoic blue heron had been perched on the round branch that had extended from the still water. Coincidence? Had she mentioned that to Alexander the other evening? She couldn’t recall. She could recall his deep voice as it drawled, I think I’ll hold you to that. She reached for her phone and typed.
 
Tomorrow at 6:00, not good. She waited until she saw the three dots that showed he was responding to her message then coyly added, How about 7:00? It’s Maddy BTW.
 
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Carefully Vetted is available at Amazon.com.