Lemon Curd: A NOVEL
Revised Edition
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“If he said white, she would say black, would they ever be able to speak two sentences in a row without fighting?”
Lemon Curd is a romantic fiction set in Los Angeles and London. After years of working long hours in the hopes of becoming a partner at a leading marketing firm, the last thing Anna Lisa Gibson expects is to be forced to share her important client with a Brit from their London office. She finds him rude, arrogant and disagreeable.
With high profile clients to his credit, Neil Scott Whitaker never had any difficulties getting along with women until he meets Anna Lisa. He finds her uptight, unpleasant, and impossible to work with. But as the two get to know each other, they start to become friends. Except that Neil has a lot more than friendship in mind. Although he and Anna Lisa had a bad start, he can’t control his attraction toward her, and he wonders what it would feel like to spend one night with his officemate.
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“An addictive yarn that will likely be devoured in one sitting.” –Norman Goldman, Book Pleasures
Reviews
Pourasgari’s work is the kind of story romantic movies are made of. There is a lot of energy and heart that comes through the chapters, and you will want to finish this one to find out how it ends. The author seems to be a born storyteller, with a talent for entertaining. The writing is fresh, vibrant, and well-paced. The author adds tension to Anna and Neil’s situation by having them already in a relationship even before they meet. The plot is engaging, and you are immediately into the story from the first few lines. Overall, “Lemon Curd” by Homa Pourasgari is a well-rounded, classic example of modern romantic drama. -Tammy Ruggles, ReaderViews
​"I really enjoyed the book and couldn't put it down. The characters were rich and interesting and the plot line was really suspenseful--were they going to get together or were they not going to get together! Gosh, if that Starter Wife can be made into a TV mini, so can this book. It has all the elements--I also loved the way she described the various environmental situations--Brentwood, jogging, restaurants--around L.A. the English Tea shop, and of course, lemon curd! Thanks a mill for the book, it certainly has enriched my reading intake!!!!!" -Jackie Harless-Chang, Los Angeles, CA
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"Just a note to say how much I enjoyed your first book. It was a nice romantic novel easy to read." -Nazy Maughn, London, UK
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"Bonjour Homa. Thanks for your fantastic book. We enjoyed reading it and will await your next novel. Merci encore." -Ghazaleh & Ahmad, Paris, France
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"This book was recommended by a friend of mine, Afsaneh, and when I read the detail of the story from the back of the cover, it sounded like a romance story that I have read or seen on the big screen. It was a nice surprise to read this book and not wanting to put it down, It was very well written and easy to follow. I love to read romantic novels but I really like the ones that are real and not a fantasy. I hope to see more books from you." -Hoda Shahinfar, Woodland Hills , CA
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"Lemon Curd is a fun, modern romance set in Los Angeles and London. Pourasgari develops her characters in several ways. She makes good use of descriptions and events to reveal details. Most importantly, the characters feel real. The dialogue between Anna Lisa and Neil is snappy and fast-paced. These are smart, witty people who are used to being the best at everything. This shows in some of their verbal spats. Lemon Curd is a fun novel that asks a few serious questions about our society. The main characters are likeable and well-crafted, and the dialogue is funny. Overall, it is a very enjoyable debut novel. And it makes you want to eat some Lemon Curd." -Cynthia Murphy, Los Angeles, CA
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"A heart-warming glimpse into the life of Anna Lisa Gibson and her lifelong struggle to find herself. Lemon Curd is jam-packed with drama, comedy and love. Anna Lisa, a prominent businesswoman, is stunned when she finds out that she must work with an Englishman who is completely oblivious to the Los Angeles lifestyle. Enriched with culture, love and deceit, Lemon Curd is entertaining and manages to surprise the reader and leave them wanting more. Its funny moments and quirky dialogue distinguish the novel, making it more than worth a read." -Arya, Los angeles, CA
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Read A Chapter
Anna Lisa Gibson swore at the never-ending Los Angeles traffic on a gloomy January afternoon as she drove toward her favorite British market in Santa Monica. She needed a jar of lemon curd, an English delicacy, which she ate every morning with wheat toast and a mocha. Surprises didn’t sit well with Anna Lisa. She had to have a plan. She was sure that if her plan didn’t go her way, especially her morning, the rest of her day was doomed.
When she finally reached her destination, she parked her convertible Saab in a two-hour parking zone. As she walked into the store, bells above the door chimed as they always did when a customer entered. Little Brit, a small market with a dusty cement floor, was patronized by Brits and Americans who enjoyed British products. The cash register sat on a table at the front of the store. Next to the register was a small shelf filled with various hard candies, chocolates, biscuits, and a stand holding imported magazines, newspapers, and tabloids. The store, divided into four narrow aisles, was packed with teas, jams, unusual spreads, scones, beer, and specialty sauces. Unlike a supermarket, it had a homey and warm feeling to it—a charming hole in the wall. Walking down the second aisle, Anna Lisa noticed only one lemon curd left on the top shelf. She tried to grab it, but it was out of her reach. She asked a tall, young clerk with pale yellow lashes for help. He was helping another customer and politely told her with his English accent that he would help her in a minute. Anna Lisa waited impatiently as she kept her eyes on that last jar. She watched a male customer walk in, pick up a few items, and head toward the desired curd. As he reached up, he heard a woman’s voice—hers—addressing him.
“Excuse me, but that’s my lemon curd.”
Neil Scott Whittaker turned around and assessed the lady who had interrupted him. She was around his age—he was 35. From the serious expression on her face, her conservative gray skirt suit, soft pink blouse, and a black, thin leather briefcase, he assumed that she was an ambitious uptight career woman. Her hair, which was pulled back in a ponytail, reached the nape of her neck and complimented her oval face and big almond eyes. She was 5’ 5”, not skinny but rather curvy. He glanced at her full lips and then at her voluptuous, firm breasts. She looks real and amazingly beautiful without fake body parts, he thought as he admired her for some time before replying with a British accent, “Sorry but I must have heard you wrong. I thought you said this lemon curd was yours.”
She looked at him more carefully now that he was closer. He was meticulously dressed in a double-breasted, black Armani suit, a white cotton shirt, and a burgundy silk tie. His wavy dark brown hair was short, and his height towered hers by at least six inches, but she didn’t find him extraordinary. She preferred Mediterranean-looking men with football-player physiques as opposed to this lean man whose skin was white with a few fine lines around his round eyes and whose nose was long and narrow. His expressive, midnight-blue eyes do make him appear handsome, she thought, but then, she preferred black eyes like her boyfriend’s. “No, you heard right,” she responded. “That’s my lemon curd.”
He glanced at the label on the jar as though reading it for the first time. “I’m sorry, I don’t see your name on it unless your name is Samuel as in Samuel’s Old Fashioned Lemon Curd.”
His sarcastic remark did not escape her. “I had my eye on that jar before you came in,” she said. “But I couldn’t reach it. I’ve been waiting for the cashier to get it, and if you were a gentleman, you would let me have my lemon curd.”
“I am a gentleman, but I am not giving you this jar. Don’t you have a saying in America—first-come-first-served?”
“You are the rudest Englishman I’ve ever met. That lemon curd is mine and you know it.”
He didn’t answer. After all, he was English, and she was American, and if anyone were entitled to this lemon curd, it would be him. What did an American know about lemon curd anyway? He ignored her, walked toward the cashier, who had been listening to their ridiculous conversation for some time, paid him, and left.
Anna Lisa stood there in disbelief.
The kind cashier shrugged, looked at Anna Lisa, and said, “No worries, we will have more in the day after tomorrow.”
“But I don’t want it for the day after tomorrow. I need it today,” she vented.
“Sorry, Miss.”
She wanted to complain more but realized it was useless. Her favorite lemon curd was gone, and that Englishman had it.