PW #415: Adult Romance: A SHOT AT FOREVER

Manuscript Status: Finished

Mentor Name: Natasha Raulerson

Mentee Name: Ava Quinn

Title: A SHOT AT FOREVER

Category: Adult

Genre: Romance

Word Count: 90,000

Pitch:

First rule of hustling: Know the game better than your opponent. Not a problem for Sheridan as she travels to her last big score. But when she gets tangled up with a sexy-as-sin sheriff who’s investigating a murder, she attracts the attention of a killer and learns that love—and death—are different games entirely.

Excerpt:

“Well now, is this a boys only club, or can any gal get in on the shots?” Sheridan Ward loaded just the right amount of sass into the question.

The cowboys she’d been casing turned and five heavy gazes roamed over her body. It gave her the urge to itch right out of her skin. Instead, she propped her hands on her hips and stared down the marks.

A cocky young buck stepped forward and smirked. “Do you know how to play with the big boys, sweet thing, or are you just wantin’ to hold a long piece of wood? Either way, I’m your man.”

Loud guffaws filled the air, drowning out the country music from the dance floor.

Pushing her lucky cowboy hat back with a finger, she nodded to his cue. “The way I figure it, all you gotta do is know how to use that piece of wood. I know how to handle it. Question is—do you?”

Their hoots and laughs were her ticket in.

His eyes hardened. “All right, darlin’, but we play for stakes. You gotta be ready to cover them. Unless you can offer up something else we might want to sample.”

There were three rules for hustling. First: Know the game better than anyone else at the table.

She sized them up again. They were good, but she was better.

“Don’t you worry about the money, darlin’. I’ve got you covered like dew on the grass.”