Heroine in the Spotlight...Carrie Padilla, COP ON HER DOORSTEP

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Hello, my favorite VIP Readers!

As promised, I’m following up on character Jake Stefani’s interview with his beautiful neighbor, Carrie Padilla, from COP ON HER DOORSTEP, True Love in Uniform Book 1!

1. What is your name? Do you have a nickname?

Carrie Lynn Padilla. No nickname to speak of, unless you count “Mom,” which is the only title that’s mattered to me for the last eight years. Joan calls me “Care” when she’s about to lecture me, which happens more often than I’d like to admit.

2. Who is your best friend? What kinds of things do you do when you’re together?

Joan O’Reilly. We’ve been inseparable since second grade, after she flattened a boy named Frankie on the playground for teasing me about my hand-me-down clothes and the fact that I didn’t have “real” parents around. That’s Joan in one story. She’s been throwing herself between me and the world ever since. She’s married to Sam, who happens to be my boss at the real estate office. Her son, Davy, is Eric’s best friend. Those two think of themselves as brothers more than as best friends.

Mostly, Joan and I drink too much coffee at my kitchen table and complain about our sons’ latest “adventures.” And when I’m stressed, I bake. When Joan’s around, I don’t even get as far as the oven. We eat the cookie dough raw, straight out of the bowl by the spoonful, and call it quality control. She’s the only person allowed to tell me I’ve eaten four spoonfuls in ten minutes without me arguing back. She’s usually right.

3. If you have a family, how do you get along with them?

It’s just Eric and me. That’s all the family that matters to me. I didn’t grow up with much of a “real” one myself. It’s part of why Joan, Sam, and Davy mean as much to me as blood ever could.

Tomás’s parents are down in Florida now. We still talk on the phone regularly, mostly for Eric’s sake. It’s not always easy. I may have lost my husband, but they lost their son, too. There are days that grief sits between us like a third person at the table, but Eric deserves to know where he comes from. I try to get him down to see them a couple of times a year. Sometimes, they come to us.

4. Do you have a secret? If so, who do you need to keep the secret from and why?

I haven’t told Jake how much trouble he’s causing me. He knows I lost Tomás to a SWAT operation gone wrong. He doesn’t know that every time I tell myself this thing between us is only physical, only temporary, I’m lying to both of us. I’ve built my whole life around protecting my heart, and somehow the man living two doors down has me questioning the need for it. I’m not ready to say that out loud. Not to him. Not even fully to myself.

5. Look down. Describe what you’re wearing. Is this the way you’re normally dressed? If not, what do you normally wear?

Tonight’s not normal. Jake’s taking me to dinner, and I’ve spent more time on my hair than I have in months. It’s pinned back with a pair of gold combs, and I finally dug out the wine-colored silk dress that’s been hanging in the back of my closet since a wedding two years ago. Small gold studs, a delicate necklace, heels I’ll regret by nine o’clock.

Most days, though, you’ll find me in whatever didn’t get wrinkled in the dryer, usually business attire for clients and open houses, or leggings and one of Tomás’s old t-shirts on the mornings I can’t make myself care.

6. If you had to make me a meal right now, without going to the store, what would you find in your refrigerator to feed us?

Depends on how stressed I’ve been lately. There’s always a tub of cookie dough in the freezer for emergencies. Don’t judge!

Beyond that, string cheese and grapes because Eric is a growing boy who eats everything in sight. There might be half a bottle of wine hidden behind the pickles where an eight-year-old won’t go looking. I make a decent chicken, rice, and cheese casserole when I actually plan ahead. Tonight, though, I’m afraid you’re getting cookie dough, a big spoon, and my sincerest apologies.

7. What’s the one thing you’re afraid of losing?

Eric. It’s not complicated. I already know what it costs to lose someone without warning. I’m terrified every single day of leaving him alone, without anyone steady to hold onto. It’s why I keep my rules so tight. It’s why letting a man, especially a cop, anywhere near my heart feels like tempting fate.

8. You’re doing intense spring cleaning. What is easy for you to throw out? What is difficult to part with, and why?

Easy? The real estate flyers stacking up on my counter, Eric’s shoes from two sizes ago, every expired coupon I swore I’d use.

Difficult? Tomás’s watch, still in the drawer of my nightstand. His wedding ring, which I can’t wear anymore but also can’t seem to put anywhere out of reach. I tell myself I’m keeping them for Eric, so he’ll have something real of his father’s when he’s older. Some of it, though, if I’m honest, I’m still keeping for myself.

9. Has anyone broken your heart? Who was he?

Tomás Padilla. He’s been gone six years, and I still blame his loss for every wall I’ve built since. He didn’t leave me on purpose, the way I always feared he would, but the ache he left behind doesn’t know the difference. I just know he isn’t here. I’ve told myself for six years that I have to protect what’s left of my heart. Except that vow is getting harder to hold onto with an infuriatingly charming police officer living two doors down.

10. What makes you laugh out loud?

Eric, constantly, and never on purpose. He has zero filter and enormous confidence in his own opinions. For instance, he’s taken it upon himself to be the “man of the house”, something he learned from Sam. Not so funny, when you think about it. I don’t need Eric picking up on Sam’s traditional views on a woman’s ability to take care of things.

Joan can be a laugh-a-minute. Give that woman one glass of wine and a mixing bowl of cookie dough, and she will say something that makes me choke on a raisin. It’s been a long time since I laughed easily.

Oh! I need to finish getting dressed and take Eric over to Davey’s house for a sleepover before my date with Jake. It was great meeting you!

Watch Carrie and Jake fall in love in Cop on Her Doorstep — available now.
Grab your copy here.

Romance with a kick of humor. Karen Docter’s romantic comedies and contemporaries are spicy-sweet hometown-hero romances filled with warmth, love, family, and happily-ever-afters. You might even laugh out loud.

Contemporary Romance With a Kick

Women hunted by killers…men who’d die to protect them. K.L. Docter’s psychological romantic suspense novels are filled with romance, although the dangers the hero and heroine face are intense…usually because a serial killer is bent on ending one or both of their lives. You’ll find romance, danger, justice, and a happily-ever-after between these pages!

Romantic Suspense at It's Best

It’s been a long, hard week, and I didn’t get much work done. I did finish the first two chapters of my special project, as well as half of chapter 3 for the book I’ve titled SP, based on the real title, not as a “special project.” Of course, I did interview Carrie, so that counts, too.

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Explore this week’s books, spotlighted on Karen’s Killer Book Bench (spotlight) & Karen’s Killer Fixin’s (spotlight + recipe).

Victorian Historical Romance: When Jack Fell, Lords Fall First #1 by Anna Valleria

What are you reading? I’m always on the lookout for books to add to my TBR pile! Join me for the challenge. It will be fun to motivate each other. You can find my 2026 Goodreads Challenge here.

Interested in booking your own Book Talk Spotlight? Contact me at kldocter@yahoo.com. Does not have to be a new release. Only one spotlight per book.

Thank you for being a huge part of my reader community. Y’all are the best! Wishing you oodles of reading pleasure and happiness. Stay cool. It’s going to be a hot one.

Happy Reading!

Karen

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