Blind Love, by Kishan Paul
Romance, novel
She doesn’t need a hero. But a sexy Marine…that’ll work.
Though Lauren Baxter’s world is a blurry mess of colors, she has no tolerance for pity. With the
help of her guide dog, Jack Sparrow, she’s built a good life for herself. She has everything she
wants: her PhD, a thriving counseling practice and her independence.
When she meets her new neighbor, the man’s warm Texas accent and clean male scent weaken
her knees. Her attraction to the former Marine is mutual and, unfortunately, a complication she
doesn’t need.
Gabriel Briggs carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He has his reasons for indulging
only in short-term flings, but the feisty, green-eyed Lauren makes him want to forget every one.
In a rare moment of fragility, Lauren winds up in Gabe’s arms. One night together can’t break
their self-imposed rules, right? But when a woman from Gabe’s past is murdered, the reasons he
should have stayed away become painfully clear, threatening innocent lives he may not be able
to save—especially Lauren’s.
Product Warnings
Contains a blind therapist who doesn’t consider herself impaired; a meddling, erotic-novel-
writing best friend; a hot ex-Marine with a shady past; and a loyal guide dog that howls “I love
you” and is probably the sanest one of the bunch.
EXCERPT!
The banging and Jack’s barking grew louder. Lauren ran her hands through her hair and
made her way down the stairs with Sunny close behind.
At the door, her best friend leaned over her and peeked through the blinds.
“Oh Sweet Baby Jesus, who’s that?” she whispered.
Lauren pushed her away and blocked the entrance with her body. “If I could see, I’d tell
you.”
“It’s a man. Open the door,” she ordered and tried to pull Lauren’s hand from the knob.
“No! We don’t know who he is,” she hissed.
“Lauren, it’s Gabe.” The way her name sounded in the baritone voice of his had her
stomach doing the funny flipping thing again like it did yesterday in the backyard.
“Yes, Lauren, it’s Gabe,” Sunny imitated. “Now open the fucking door.”
“Hi, Gabe. Everything okay?” she asked, her voice huskier than she’d like.
“I heard screams. I tried calling a couple times and when you didn’t answer, thought I’d
come over and check things out.”
“The neighbor with the power tools?” Sunny hissed. “The man is eye candy beautiful.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s not a rapist or serial killer,” Lauren hissed back.
Boney arms wrapped tight around her waist, lifting off the ground and planting her a few
feet away from the entrance. Disoriented, Lauren was still figuring out which direction she was
facing when the door rattled and opened.
“Hey,” Sunny said in her most seductive tone. After rolling her eyes, Lauren walked
toward her friend’s voice.
“Hi,” Gabe cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, I was looking for Lauren.”
“I’m right here.”
“Sorry to bother you two. Like I said, I heard screaming…”
“So sorry; we were having a disagreement,” she answered before Sunny got a chance to
give her interpretation of events.
“I’m Sunny.” Her voice sounded deep and breathy. Lauren cringed and resisted the urge
to hit her.
“Hi, Sunny, I’m Gabe.”
“Nice to meet you, neighbor with the power tools.”
“Anyway, we’re fine. Thanks for checking.” Lauren reached over to shut the door but
Sunny wouldn’t let it go.
“How sweet. Did you hear, Cat? He came here to see if you needed to be saved.” Since
when did she start speaking with a Southern accent?
“I don’t need to be saved,” she muttered.
“That’s all relative now isn’t it, sweetheart? Why don’t you come in, Gabe? I just made
some fresh coffee.”
“I’d love some. But if you don’t mind, let me go put some clothes on and I’ll be right
back.”
A few seconds after he disappeared, Sunny blew out a breath and closed the door.
“Honey, I do mind if you put on more clothes.”
“What’s wrong with you? You can’t let strangers into my home,” Lauren growled.
“Rule number one: When a man who looks like him walks up in nothing but hard
muscles and a thin pair of boxers, you invite him in. Rule number two: Keep rocking those low-
cut tank tops and short biker shorts, ’cause he couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”
“Oh God,” Lauren pulled up the neck of her tank and rushed upstairs.
“Overweight and missing his front teeth,” Sunny muttered as she followed. “What the
hell is wrong with you?”
Grabbing a pair of jeans and a shirt from the drawer, Lauren pulled them on over her
sleepwear. “Not important. He was pushy and like I said, he’s been watching me.”
“No. Not true. He’s not watching you, he’s lusting after you. Here, let me paint him for
you.”
Sunny had a knack for description. She’d taken on the responsibility of being Lauren’s
eyes when she lost her vision and made it a point to reference people and movies they both
remembered.
“About six feet two, a mouth full of perfect white teeth, and ripped.” A lovely image of
Gabe took shape. “If I didn’t have Scott, I’d have run my fingers down those hills and valleys
right to the elastic band of his sweet black shorts and…”
“No sex fantasies, please, only facts.”
“Okay, fine. A mix of Matt Damon’s face from Goodwill Hunting, but better looking,
and Tom Cruise’s body from Mission Impossible Two when he hung from the cliff, remember?”
Lauren bit her lip and nodded.
“But bulkier and much, much taller. He has this tribal tattoo around his right bicep. It’s a
bunch of shapes, but looks hot. Dark hair buzzed short, strong jaw line, deep blue eyes, full lips
I’m sure are capable of making some lucky woman, more specifically you, scream…”
She shook her head and pushed her sex-addicted friend aside while she made her way
downstairs.
About the Author:
From daring escapes by tough women to chivalrous men swooping in to save the
day, the creativity switch to Kishan Paul's brain is always in the 'on' position. If
daydreaming stories were a college course, Kish would graduate with honors.
Mother of two beautiful children, she has been married to her best friend for over
16 years. With the help of supportive family and friends, she balances her family, a
thriving counseling practice, and writing without sinking into insanity.
To keep in touch with Kish:
This was an absolutely beautiful story, and I wanted it to never end! Where do I even begin to gush about everything that I loved about it? Yikes. There might be some rambling in this review, I am still overcome with emotions after reading this. I will start with Lauren.
Lauren Baxter started losing her vision when she was in her teens. Now, as an adult, she is mostly blind but most certainly not disabled. Her early years were rough---with what her cheating ex-husband and high school sweetheart put her through---but she came out strong as she strived to prove her over-protective parents, her ex, and society wrong as just what a blind woman can achieve. Lauren is now fiercely independent and is far more successful than she could have ever imagined.
Lauren is the type of heroine you always wished to see more of in romances. Determined, loyal, intelligent, independent. She wants nothing more than to focus on her life and thriving business, all on her own. Though, when her next door neighbor, Gabe, moves in with a big bang which disrupts her appointments with clients over the phone, she falls in a trap full of mixed emotions and is desperate to block them out.
Her hilarious best friend, Sunny, who is also her daytime personal assistant, is eager and excited to hear of this latest attraction and refuses to let Lauren wander away from this opportunity to let a little light and fun in her life again. Lauren is infamous for ultimately pushing away anyone she dates when she feels they are getting too close to her.
Gabe, the enigmatic and handsome Texan, nearly knocks that habit out of the ballpark, though. He appears to be very flirtatious at first but when his POV arrives, we find that he’s been very intrigued about his neighbor upon his arrival in the neighborhood. He finds himself fascinated by her. Despite her blindness, he observes how well-calculated and effortlessly in control of her life she is. And oh wow, does this fascination take a turn after a roundabout of lust they had finally succumbed to. Those scenes, by the way, were SO DAMN HOT!!
Later, we get a little insight of Gabe’s heartbreaking childhood. The discovery of his past made it even easier to appreciate and fall in love with him even more, see how well rounded and strong he came out to be. Lauren feels the same way; she’s just too damn stubborn to admit her feelings for him are deeper than just their late-night rendezvous.
This extremely well-written book includes a spectacular cast of secondary characters as well who often times steal the spotlight. Such as Sunny. Then, we have Lauren’s big beast of a guide dog, Jack Sparrow, who I feel is a huge supporting character. He’s as much of a therapist as his owner is. With his humanlike fondness and interaction with other characters, that pup had a way of healing others emotionally. Lauren’s relationship with him was like that of a son and mother and so very comical!
Also in this category is Ben, the high school sweet heart, ex-husband, and the foundation of Lauren’s animosity towards men. He shows back up in her life unexpectedly just as she and Gabe were beginning to make progress on giving romance another try. Ben quickly became the focus of a lot of my suspicion at one point when the story took a dive for a WILD turn of events. White knuckled, I held on to my Kindle praying that Gabe, Lauren, and other favorite characters would make it through the danger that lurked around the corners. While I had Ben in my crosshairs at first, the police department had their eyes on another target . . . Gabe.
I would like to mention a few other secondary characters as well, but I don’t want to spoil what’s to come when Gabe’s mysterious, private life reveals itself. This was the point of the book that I delved deeper into the story, unable to put the book down whatsoever. I mean, my building could have been burning down and I wouldn’t have even realized it. I was so entranced trying to search for clues and solving what was behind the disaster that was screwing with my two favorite characters!
The end is bitter sweet. While we have our HEA and SO many laughs with witty one-liners and comical scenarios peppered throughout the story, there were also many tear jerkers. Each of those elements together, however, is what placed this book into my top favorite, always to be cherished!
Might I add, “Blind Love” is one hell of a debut novel, and I have most certainly found a new favorite author. Kishan Paul is a contemporary romance mastermind!
