About the Book:
Rule #6: Be mysterious, but always approachable…keep him wanting more!
Rule #11: Always remember, no sex in the beginning. Make him wait!
Rule
#19: You’ve got to give a little to get a little. Be giving of
yourself, and it will make a lasting impression to keep your Mr. Right.
Sheila
and Denise are successful, funny and attractive, but very single women.
Not that being single is horrible; but when Denise is hassled to have a
date to an old friend’s wedding-of-the-century, and Shelia needs an
escort to an industry banquet where everyone who’s anyone will be in
attendance, being single loses its perks. To add to the dilemma, Sheila
tells a little white lie to her workplace nemesis about dating a
successful music producer, which explodes into a career-threatening
rumor. Under extreme pressure from family, friends and coworkers, they
resort to making a pact. Their Mission: Get A Man in Three Months. They
will use “proven” rules to finding their Mr. Rights. Rules that worked
for a friend of a friend …how hard could it be?
Book Excerpt:
Chapter Twenty
Rule
#19: You’ve got to give a little to get a little. Be giving of
yourself, and it will make a lasting impression to keep your Mr. Right.
Some
people were natural givers, and others were natural takers. I didn’t
think that was the case with Terrance and me, but ever since our
argument where we’d both divulged more than we’d planned, we had been
pretty tight-lipped. It wasn’t that I didn’t care, it’s just that I
didn’t see the point in bringing up memories of his dead father, or
discussing his alcoholic mother. It would just be too painful for him,
and I had no advice to give. So my best role was to be a place he could
escape all that. I assumed he felt the same because he hadn’t bothered
me about how I was doing with my father, or trying to build a
relationship with my stepmother.
Maybe
that wasn’t the right way to go, but I just wanted the good stuff right
now. For once I just wanted to hold onto that good feeling about a guy,
and push away the fact that he came from a family with mental illness,
and what the risk of that could be genetically if by some miracle we
were to last, get married, and have kids. It was depressing, and I
needed to focus on the good. Pessimism was too commonplace for me. So
for now, sharing was not caring.
I
was thinking all this as I excused myself and went to Terrance’s
bathroom that evening after a wonderful meal he’d prepared for me quite
out of the blue. Men did not call me on a Tuesday evening and say ‘hey,
can I cook you dinner?’ And if they did, I was automatically suspicious,
thinking they just wanted to find an excuse to get me in their house to
try to hook up. No man is that giving. However, Terrance and I had
already had sex, so at this point I could let go of suspicion.
He
was a really good cook to my surprise, but some of the spinach from the
salad he’d made had taken up residence in between my teeth, and I
couldn’t ignore the yucky feeling. I looked in the bathroom mirror and
tried to push the offending vegetable bit out with a fingernail, all
ladylike, but when that didn’t work I opened up his medicine cabinet to
see if he had any dental floss. Despite the stereotype about British
teeth, his were quite nice and, like I hoped, there was floss… right
next to several prescription bottles.
Ignoring
them was the thing to do. I mean, I shouldn’t have even opened the
cabinet in the first place. But I truly had honest intentions, and now
that I had seen them, I couldn’t just ignore them. And my eyes couldn’t
just not see the titles of the prescriptions, and I couldn’t just not
take out my smartphone and confirm my suspicion about the use of these
drugs on the Internet. And I couldn’t just not read that those
medications were, like I thought, associated with depression,
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Suddenly
all I wanted was an escape or a do-over. But now that I knew, I
couldn’t just un-know. It seemed the good times were over. I rolled my
eyes in frustration. Why was I always getting the maladjusted guys? Then
I immediately felt guilty for thinking that. Terrance had been through a
lot in his life; who wouldn’t be depressed every now and then? But he
never told me. Then again, I reasoned, it was his business, at least for
now. I didn’t share all my health issues. Heck, I didn’t even tell him
when I was on my period; why would he tell me when he was feeling a
little down? Of course I was assuming that this was all it was, that it
wasn’t something more serious.
I
just couldn’t ignore it because something like this, much like my
impending period, was bound to rear its ugly head and mess up everyone’s
day. The question now was how to broach the topic. If only I could call
Sheila to get some advice; but something this personal I just couldn’t
share. I’d have to channel my inner Murder She Wrote and get to the
truth on my own.
I
went into the kitchen where Terrance was washing a pot. I grabbed the
dish towel right before he reached for it. “Let me help.”
He smiled and shook his head. “You don’t have to.”
“And
yet I want to.” I took the pot from him. “That dinner was so good,
Terrance. Really. I think I needed that spinach. Isn’t there iron in it?
Did you know I’m anemic, and I have a vitamin D deficiency?”
“Really?” he replied, scrubbing vigorously at another pot.
“You
should just let that soak. Yeah, between taking pills for iron, vitamin
D, a women’s multivitamin and now going on the pill, I feel like an old
person. I have to get one of those pill cases.”
Terrance chuckled as he filled the pot with hot water to soak it.
“You take any pills?” Hmm, didn’t feel as smooth a transition as I would have liked.
Apparently
Terrance didn’t think so either, because he gave me squinted eyes,
turned the water off, then moved away from the counter. “Take it you saw
my drug supply in the cupboard?” he asked, his back to me.
I
put the pan I was drying down. “I was looking for dental floss and just
glanced at them. I mean, it’s your business, you don’t have to share.
It’s no biggie.” It was a biggie, please share so I can stop freaking
out.
About the Author:
C.C. is originally from Baltimore, Maryland and has actively written fiction since the age of eleven. She is an avid “chick lit” reader and urban fantasy fan. In 2012, she participated as a writer and actress in the 48 hour film project. In her other life, she works in Equal Employment and Civil Rights for the Federal Government. Before becoming a public servant, C.C. briefly practiced law after graduating from the University of Maryland School of Law. C.C. currently resides in the Washington D.C. area and is an active blogger. The Mission is C.C.’s first novel and she is working on her next novel in the genre of urban fantasy.
Review of the Book:
The Mission was such a fun book to read! Although I am no longer in the dating game, I do remember it so well. Personally I do not miss it at all. However, in all honesty if I was still in the dating game and looking for my perfect mate, the ideal of having the ideal mate in 3 months would have caught my attention as well! Sheila and Denise are both very unique characters and it was great to experience their mission. I do believe though if you are currently in the dating game there are a lot of pointers that can be learned from the book. Following the rules without a doubt allow the women to have some time to get to know themselves as well experience many aspects of life that went unnoticed prior to them engaging in the rules!
A book was supplied for review purpose only and no compensation was received for this post. Views expressed are those of Two Children and a Migraine and have not been influenced in anyway.
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Thanks for hosting!
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