A Grown up Fairy Tale

This is a story about a fifty-nine year old African American woman, but it is also a story for all women who still long for their happily ever after. The heroine is not drop dead gorgeous with a figure to die for, she's fat. She's getting older, and the prospects for love are getting slimmer. That's all she really wants. Someone to be there when she gets home from work, someone to share a meal and a bed with. Not necessarily Prince Charming, but his cousin, the Duke of Regular Guy,...
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This is a story about a fifty-nine year old African American woman, but it is also a story for all women who still long for their happily ever after. The heroine is not drop dead gorgeous with a figure to die for, she's fat. She's getting older, and the prospects for love are getting slimmer. That's all she really wants. Someone to be there when she gets home from work, someone to share a meal and a bed with. Not necessarily Prince Charming, but his cousin, the Duke of Regular Guy, would do nicely.She's an attractive woman, works a regular job, lives a regular life, and has no special skills other than being a decent cook and having good common sense. She's not a witch or a super hero. She's not into whips and handcuffs, and there are no sparkly vampires or werewolves lurking in the shadows around her row house.This is a book about REAL WOMEN, the kind you bump into in a grocery store and let ahead of you because she only has a few items. Who's short a few dollars at the checkout lane and you tell the cashier to put it on your tab. The kind you stop and lend a hand to, or a sympathetic ear. You do it out of the kindness of your heart, and sometimes when that kindness comes back to you, it is the stuff of fairy tales!When Claire Stinson bent the rules a bit to help out a distraught credit union member, she had no idea that this woman would return the favor done for her, or how it would totally change her life. Not only would she gain a true best friend, but she would be welcomed into a world of privilege that was populated by surprising people with even more surprising preferences! For the first time in her life she would find herself not only an object of desire, but to a man she could only have dreamt up in her imagination! And she would be maneuvered into a turbulent relationship that would bring her great happiness but also crushing heartbreak. Retired Master Gunnery Sergeant and active United States Marshal Ray Kelly is not an easy man to know. At fifty-four, he is the younger brother of the distraught woman Claire rescues, and single father to three young sons. A lifetime spent fighting wars both abroad and at home has hardened him into an apparent cynic. But he is a very different man inside. By default he comes to see the special woman Claire is when his boys become enamored of her. Despite her age, she becomes the mother figure they have never truly known. Natural instincts take over, and soon Claire is a vital part of all of the Kelly men's lives. She exposes them to the wonders of everyday life. But the relationship is eventually overshadowed by Ray's infidelity, a betrayal precipitated by his harboring a secret fear. Only Claire's great love for the Kelly boys and her desire to maintain a stable home life for them keeps her in their circle, allowing Ray to try and regain her trust and love. His efforts range from trying to buy her back into his life, to embarrassing himself with his desperate need for her affection. Eventually Claire softens and takes him back, but on her terms..........And the tale continues.....