Summer days and new beginnings.
Off the back of a bad breakup, Sabrina Chen is getting her act together. But reinventing yourself isn’t easy at twenty-four, especially when you don’t know who you are. For starters, does she want to be the kind of person who fancies that grumpy random guy from the park? Daniel Ryce certainly doesn’t seem like vision board material, but since when does life go according to plan?
The Guy from the Park is a short and sweet “meet ugly” story, set in the world of Somerville Downs.
Excerpt
“This your child?” the guy demanded, clearly unimpressed by the distressed toddler.
Sab clenched her jaw to hide a grimace. No matter how rational or strong she felt, an angry male voice always triggered something unpleasant inside her. But this wasn’t the time to back down. She’d backed down enough when people shouted at her. She was done with that.
So she ignored the guy’s question. It was a small thing, but it was a start. Her therapist would be proud of her.
“What did you do to make him cry? He’s just a kid.”
“This kid hit me in the face with his ball.”
“Uh, someone this size kicking a ball that hard? I don’t think so.”
“Well, somebody kicked it.”
“Right, well, that was me. I kicked the ball and I’m sorry it hit you, but you don’t have to yell at a four-year-old just because your dignity got bruised.”
“You’re just lucky I wasn’t an old person or on crutches,” the guy snapped. “You should be more careful. In some countries, people get sued for this kind of thing.”
“Oh, come off it. You’re not on crutches, we’re not in ‘some countries’, and I doubt it even hit you that hard.”
“Whatever. Just be more careful.” He dropped the ball at Josh’s feet. “Other people use this park too.”
The kid whimpered and clung harder to Sabrina’s leg. She picked up Josh and gave him a bounce, staring the guy down as he left, shaking his head as he broke into a jog.
“What a jerk,” she mumbled to her nephew, whose face was buried in her shoulder. She lifted him away and looked him squarely in the face. “Which is a shame because he was quite cute. But not as cute as you, Joshy, am I right? So there’s a lesson for us today. Never judge someone based on appearances. Got it?”
About Birdie Song
Birdie Song is an Asian-Australian writer. She pens sweet stories featuring hopeful characters and optimistic endings (spoiler alert!). She believes love is more important than labels, integrity is a person’s most attractive quality, and that no one should be judged for putting pineapple on a pizza.
Find her at birdiesongauthor.com.
Birdie’s latest book, The Guy from the Park, is featured alongside other sweet romance reads in the Curl up with a Romance book fair until 1st April.
Amber, thank you for letting me visit your blog and share my new book!
You’re very welcome. Glad to have you.