Spotlight: Taniwha Creek by Stephanie Ruth
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(Otago Waters)
Publication date: July 22nd 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Synopsis:
Maybe friends really do make the best lovers…
Barista Maddie Stalwart-Jones has known Todd Kaihanga all her life, but no matter where her brain wanders when she’s not vigilant, she refuses to consider her brother’s best mate as anything other than off limits. It would be all wrong, right? The self-proclaimed pessimist is intent on ignoring the fact her cafe manager is the only guy she can relax and be herself around, and the only person she’s comfortable talking about her dead brother with.
Intent on escaping Wānaka, where everyone seems to have an opinion on her intimate business and family history, falling for Todd would be highly inconvenient.
Todd’s a patient guy, but he’s over waiting around for Maddie to notice he could be so much more than a shoulder to lean on. When Maddie’s mother finally agrees to accept some much needed help with her run down property, it’s a perfect catalyst for Todd to prove to his high school crush that his optimistic streak isn’t a curse, it’s the perfect yin to her yang. The wedding of the year is about to kick off, and there’s only one woman he wants to be dancing with.
A mid-summer Valentine’s Day novella, TANIWHA CREEK joins Stephanie Ruth’s award winning Otago Waters series, set in the beautiful South Island of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Each book stands alone, but reading them in order provides a deeper experience. Intended for readers who enjoy their slow-burn, feel-good romance on the steamy side, with the promise of a happily ever after.
Reader discretion advised, this novella deals with the trauma of a past road accident, and hoarding.
Sign on to Stephanie Ruth’s newsletter to receive bonus short stories, prologues, epilogues, and cut scenes set in the same world with the characters you love at www.stephanie-ruth.com
Excerpt
Childhood Friends:
“I had a knot in my bootlace.” Todd’s lament came from the bank and Maddie turned to take in the view of him, standing there in his close-fit cotton boxers.
Dark skin and defined pecs, oozing athletic grace.
“Aww. Shame,” Maddie mock-commiserated, but her words came out a lot more strangled than she’d intended, missing the sarcastic bent she’d been aiming for.
Todd was no longer a lanky teenager, and if he hadn’t been Mitchell’s best friend Maddie would’ve definitely given herself leave to notice that salient point long before now.
“You were never one to pass up a challenge.” Todd grinned as he waded out towards her. “A surefire way to know you wouln’t give up was to make everything into a race.”
Flipping onto her back to stop herself staring, Maddie pushed off, moving further away from the guy she didn’t quite recognise.
“Though you were never one to make it a fair fight,” she countered.
“Not fair? I always play fair!” But Maddie could hear by the tone of Todd’s voice the declaration was paired with his boyish grin, so wasn’t to be trusted. “You only won today because I let you.”
“I won because you tripped yourself up, didn’t plan ahead, and believed a mere T-shirt could stop me getting past you,” she scoffed.
“Last in. I guess that makes me Taniwha, then.” Todd’s soft threat came a second before he went under.
Maddie was nervy enough to let out a muted squeak.
Todd’s wade-in had stirred up a bit of sediment from the bottom of the waterhole, and Maddie panicked when she realised it made him all but invisible when paired with the dappled light reflecting off the surface.
Being chased had always ratcheted up her adrenaline, and adding lack of visibility to the game only upped the ante.
Kicking away from where she’d seen him last, Maddie free-styled towards the deeper water near the bank where the flow was clearer. Hearing Todd re-surface behind her, she turned just in time to see his feet disappearing again as he trailed her underwater like a sly crocodile.
Her squeal came unbidden when something touched her foot, and her reactive kick connected with a solid body.
Not reptilian. Definitely human.
She was laughing when Todd finally stopped mucking around, pulling her under by the feet as the game dictated.
When they resurfaced it was together, but only Maddie was spluttering.
Todd was suddenly very close, and practically naked. “Your knickers are totally see-through underwater,” he teased.
If her knickers were, then her bra definitely was, too.
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About the Author
Award winning New Zealand contemporary romance novelist and short story writer, Stephanie Ruth lives in the South Island, Te Waipounamu, with her husband, three children, and an ever expanding array of animals. If it doesn't have a happy ending in some form or other, Stephanie's not writing it.
Connect:
https://www.stephanie-ruth.com/
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