Dreams and Schemes: A Romantic Comedy Anthology

Marilyn Campbell

Nov 2019 · ePublishing Works!

About this ebook

Nothing Goes as Planned When an Injured Cop Hires a Single Mom to Aid His Recovery AND, a Lucky Lady Discovers That Love and Billiards Have Much in Common in Dreams and Schemes, a Romantic Comedy from Marilyn Campbell

--Present Day, Florida--

Man with a Plan
Officer Jake Slaughter arrives home, exhausted after a double shift to discover an intruder in his bathroom. He draws his gun...on a young woman scrubbing his shower.
Kathy often wondered about the cop whose house she cleaned. She just hadn't imagined him naked or pointing a gun at her. But, when he offers her a job while he recovers from an injury, she accepts.
Though the physical attraction is mutual, their life plans are incompatible. Jake wants a stay-at-home wife, Kathy wants a career and is dead-set against marriage.
For Jake, persuading Kathy to marry him will require compromise, the one skill this street cop has never mastered.

Lucky Lady
Case Hardin didn't recognize the blonde. Clearly, she was no amateur pool player. So, what did she want from him?
Joey Duval was twelve when she met "Hard-Case" in the back room of her parents' pool hall. Stricken with puppy-love, she taught him her secret trick-shot in exchange for a favor.
Since then, the awkward girl became a beautiful woman and Case left the world of competitive pool behind. But Joey never forgot her interlude with the legendary shooter or his promise.
And now, thirteen years later, she's ready to collect.

Publisher Note: These two fun-filled, romantic comedies contain mild profanity and steamy sex that will be enjoyed by adult readers of sexy, humorous romance.

"Splashes of humor in this sometimes sweet, sometimes sexy romance make for a fun, fast read." ~Book Nook

"Marilyn Campbell stirs up a thoroughly entertaining, lighthearted story with plenty of steamy romance when she mixes the game of pool with a hot guy hiding from his past and an ambitious gal seeking revenge." ~Rendezvous Reviews

Ratings and reviews

I have read both stories in this book. They are well written and witty with a touch of pathos. They are also standalones that come to a happy and romantic close. Man with a Plan: Marriage bitten and embittered police officer Jake distracts himself by spinning fantasies where he is the hero. Finding a strange woman scrubbing his shower takes him into a new realm of forbidden dreams. Even though he has rules about involvement with women, Jake quickly finds himself skipping over them at an alarming rate. Kathy has no intention of becoming involved with anyone after being left holding the baby, quite literally. She has her future mapped out, one that will take her to a place where she and her young son will know safety and security. However, the attraction between Jake and Kathy is such that they both struggle to stay on track. The story is romantic and witty and I particularly loved Kathy's innovative remedies for dealing with annoying situations. Jake is in desperate need of an attitude adjustment, and Kathy's determination forces him to reevaluate his stance on love, marriage and a woman's place in the home. Lucky Lady: When Joey Duval first meets her Prince Charming, she is a chubby pre-teen with braces and the charming pool player wins her heart with his gallant manner. As a reward, she shows him her secret trick-shot, but because she is also smart she did first extract a promise from him. Thirteen years later, Joey sits opposite Case in his office and demands he keeps his promise. Desperate to earn the right to reclaim her parent's pool hall back, she contracts Case to coach her so that she can enter the premier pool championships. Case has had his fingers burnt by ambitious women who were more interested in the game than in him, so he is doubly careful to put limitations on his interactions with Joey. However, their attraction for one another cannot be denied and even though it seems as if he pushes her too far when danger lurks Case has no alternative other than to make the best deal for Joey's sake. I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.

Two fun-filled, romantic comedies for your enjoyment! The Anthology includes: Man With a Plan and Lucky Lady. *** Reviewing “MAN WITH A PLAN” *** Kathy Alvarez was desperate for money to give her son a decent home so she needed to track down her ex-husband who went off the grid 5 years earlier. Even Legal Aide had been unable to track him beyond that. He had never paid child support -- but it was getting harder to keep them in a safe neighborhood, but the courts couldn’t force the payment if no one could find him. Jake Slaughter was a cop with Metro Police in Miami. He and his partner, Bear, got the call in the 16th hour of their double shift. A man had shot his wife for putting too much salt in the mashed potatoes. When they took him to lockup, a fight somewhere caused them to be kept inside for two more hours. Jake was beyond exhausted. It had been 30 hours since he last slept! He pulled into the garage and stripped off his clothes by the washer, heading into his bedroom – but someone was in the bathroom, probably looking for drugs! A naked man with a gun jerked the shower door open and scared Kathy, making her slip in the soapy suds. The only weapon she had was the toothbrush she was cleaning the grout with! When they finally started talking, she told him his regular cleaning lady was her sister who had asked her to take her place today. He told her to come back the next day, but she was booked for a week. He threw himself on the bed and was asleep in moments… until she woke him up to apologize for scaring her! He told her to go ahead and clean, said “Sorry”, and swam in the pool before lying down on the lounge chair to sleep. Feeling guilty for the fast apology, he went into the kitchen where Kathy was on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor. He was mesmerized by her wiggling butt. When she saw him staring behind her, she rose with the bucket and “spilled” the contents down his front as if it were an accident. That should teach him not to pull a weapon on her! But when Jake is injured, he offers Kathy a job while he recovers. The chemistry is definitely sizzling, but Jake wants marriage and Kathy wants no part of that – she’s been down that road before! Can he convince her they are right for each other? This was a really cute story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. The characters are both people the reader can care about. The story line is good and well-paced. Here is your opportunity to get two funny, comfortable reads – you won’t want to miss this anthology!

About the author

MARILYN CAMPBELL has been published in the genres of suspense, futuristic, time-travel, paranormal, erotic and lighthearted contemporary romances, non-fiction metaphysical works and has had a screenplay produced. A true thrill-junkie, she has jumped out of an airplane, raced around the Indy 500 track, driven solo throughout the United States and believes a labyrinth walk under the full moon can have magical results. Unfortunately, Marilyn has not yet figured out how to time-travel...except in her stories. She currently resides in western Massachusetts.