You can find more information about all of these books on my website, under the Heroes tab (which is for my contemporary romances). You can find a timeline for the Flatiron Five Fitness series on my website, along with a list of characters. They’re all under the Flatiron Five Fitness tab. There's also a Pinterest board for the series where you can see my inspiration: it has subsidiary boards for each book in the series. You can find out more about all my books on my website, and follow my blog there for updates and news, too. To follow me on your favorite sites, check this page of my website for links.
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Until next time, I hope you have plenty of good books to read!
All my best,
Deborah
http://DeborahCooke.com
One
Monday, February 10, 2020 —New York City
“You can’t really think a tattoo is going to make a difference,” Jacquie said to Sonia. She hated to be negative but she was too practical to believe that a tattoo, even if it was supposed to be ‘magic,’ would solve anything.
It certainly wasn’t going to turn the private and pretty Sonia into a man magnet, much less bring the younger woman true love.
“Skeptical much, Jax?” Meesha asked with a smile.
It was close to six, the night after the full moon, and there were only three of them left in the offices of Flatiron Five Fitness. Jacquie, the human resources manager for the club, wasn’t going to leave just yet. She planned to spend a few hours in the kickboxing studio first, defending her reputation as the kickboxing queen of F5F, just as she usually did on Monday nights. In reality, she was avoiding the hollow silence of her apartment. She’d thought she’d be used to it by now, but no luck there.
Magic wouldn’t fix that either.
Sonia, the marketing assistant, had taken off her jacket and was picking at the edge of the bandage on her new tattoo. She probably would have left it alone, but Meesha, the club’s self-proclaimed social media goddess, had been pestering her all day for a peek.
“I believe it, though,” Sonia insisted. “This tattoo is going to change everything. Maybe believing that will matter as much as the tattoo.”
Jacquie shook her head at such nonsense but bit her tongue.
“That’s what Chynna says,” Meesha agreed. “Hurry up!”
Chynna was the tattoo artist who had a shop in the lobby, the one who gave away a heart tattoo each full moon. Jacquie thought the whole thing was silly, but not a bad marketing angle. After all, the dance club was packed on the nights when Chynna chose a winner. Since the dance club was only open on the weekends, Chynna often made arrangements in advance to give away a tattoo to someone when the full moon fell on another day of the week. She was more than a bit superstitious about continuing the routine. Sonia had volunteered this month.
“And maybe changing your attitude will do the trick,” Meesha continued.
Sonia gave her a startled glance. “What’s wrong with my attitude?”
“Nothing, except you’re too shy. You hide your light.”
“I do not!”
Meesha appealed to Jacquie with a glance.
Jacquie felt very aware of the fact that she was fifteen years older than her two co-workers. She had four kids, too, and the combination made her feel ancient sometimes. “There’s nothing wrong with a little reserve,” she said and Meesha, who had never been reserved about anything in her life, rolled her eyes. “But, yes, you do tend to tuck yourself into the corners, Sonia.”
“There’s an understatement,” Meesha said, clearly not shy about speaking her mind.
Sonia ignored her. Her eyes were sparkling as she gripped the edge of the bandage. “Ready?”
“Show us already,” Meesha insisted.
“Ta daaaa!” Sonia said, removing the wrap with a flourish, wincing at the way it tugged her skin.
“Oh, it looks like jewelry!” Meesha said with admiration. She moved closer for a better look. “It’s beautiful!”
The tattoo was a string of Celtic knots around Sonia’s upper arm. It was done in black with a red heart in the middle but Chynna had made the knots look dimensional, as if Sonia was wearing a Viking armband. It had to be three inches wide and wasn’t the small piece Jacquie had expected. It was beginning to heal, but was a bit puffy still.
“You’re surprised,” Sonia accused with a smile, obviously noticing Jacquie’s expression.
“I thought you were just getting the heart.”
Sonia shook her head, her blond hair flowing over her shoulders. “I decided that if I was going to have a tattoo, I’d have one people noticed.” Her lips set. “It’s time to change.”
“Exactly. I think it’s fun,” Meesha said, and closed her laptop with purpose. “I hope you get lucky. If nothing else, it’s a conversation starter. Cue the sleeveless wardrobe.”
“You’re both skeptical,” Sonia said. “But this tattoo is going to fix everything.”
Jacquie wished she could let it go but she had to say something. She had a policy of not letting her kids believe nonsense, and that extended to Sonia. “No, it’s not,” she said firmly but gently. Sonia looked at her with surprise. “Catching Cassie’s bridal bouquet didn’t make a difference,” she reminded Sonia, referring to the wedding of one of the partners several years before. “Getting one of Chynna’s so-called magic heart tattoos isn’t going to make a difference either. If you want to meet a nice guy, Sonia, you need to do something other than go home alone to read after work.”
“There is that,” Meesha said under her breath, so Jacquie had an ally, at least.
Sonia looked down at the tattoo, and Jacquie sensed that she hadn’t told her
