The wrong time to sneeze-M

[Sneesee]

Her is yet another scene from yet another manuscript I wanted to share, since a lot of people like the sneezing while hiding thing! This is an excerpt from my second manuscript, where the hero and heroine are staking out someone who is sabotaging some race cars. They are hanging out in the garage area, and Brina has just finished giving Holly a really nice, um, present!

I decided to post all this stuff here, because I just looked on Harlequin's website, and didn't win one of the contests I entered, which probably means none of this crap is ever going to see print, so at least I'll let you guys read my crap, and enjoy the sneezing parts!

The sound of footsteps halted Brian’s kisses. Holly snapped out of her trance and hitched in a breath. Could this be the person they were waiting for? They both froze. The footsteps were headed towards them.

“Shit,” Brian breathed.

“We’ve got to hide,” Holly snapped, zipping up her jeans.

She looked around frantically to see if anyone was coming yet. She didn’t see the source of the footsteps. Brian was looking for a place to hide.

“Holly, there’s just enough room between these two toolboxes. We can squeeze through and hide behind them,” he suggested in a hoarse whisper. He took her hand and pulled her through the small opening. It was barely big enough for them to fit, but they both made it.

Holly’s chest felt as if her heart would burst through. She could hear her heart pounding in her head, and she was so sure that the person sneaking around the garage could hear it, too. The footsteps became louder. Holly felt her breathing become more ragged. She hated to admit that she was glad Brian was there with her, but she was. If he hadn’t been there, she wasn’t sure how she would’ve handled it.

From behind her toolbox, Holly had a good vantage of Rick’s car. Her eyes darted nervously around, hoping to catch a glimpse of who was there. She cast a quick sideways glance at Brian, who also seemed to be paralyzed in fear. Even though he looked a little pale and ragged, she was really glad he was there with her. That was, until he sneezed.

Brian looked helplessly at Holly. She glared at him with red, angry eyes. He mouthed the words, “I’m sorry,” but it did no good. The footsteps halted for a split second, and then ran off and faded away. Great, he’d single-handedly chased off their suspect. He tried to avoid Holly’s cold stare until the footsteps were gone and they heard a door shut somewhere.

“Brian!” she fumed as she squeezed her way out from behind the toolbox.

“Aren’t you even going to bless me?” he asked, as he followed her through the small opening, trying to lighten the mood. She turned to face him, frowning.

"Damn it, I knew that this was a bad idea,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “You scared off the suspect.”

Brian felt bad. He hadn’t meant to ruin things.

“I said I was sorry. Really, Holly,” he pleaded with her. “I couldn’t help it, it snuck up on me. Too many fumes, I guess.”

Holly didn’t even crack a smile. Shit, she was really furious with him. He totally screwed up, even though he hadn’t meant to.

[Dawnie]

Poor Brian. He couldn't help himself.

That's very cute, Sneesee. Thanks for sharing it.