Here’s your FIRST LOOK at S.M. West’s GREEN! Join us as we get our first peek at this hot and sexy romantic suspense where hope and friendship grow into something more.
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Title: Green
Author: SM West
Release Date: 2/28/18
Publisher: Self-published
Series: A Love in Color Novel
Genres: Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
Word Count: 72,500
Green. The color of hope.
ANNA MARI is living for today, not daring to hope for tomorrow. She’s a pawn in her grandfather’s game, and time is her enemy. Her freedom is the prize.
DAVIS COOPER is licking his wounds of betrayal when he’s assigned to babysit his boss’s sister. The pretty little thing who’s most definitely off-limits.
Though they struggle to set boundaries, the root of their friendship grows into something more. But none of that matters – Anna’s fate is sealed and neither hope nor love can save her.
It’s the sway of her hips and mass of dark curls that catch my eye. She’s dancing at the bar while sipping a drink and leaning into some guy who is all over her. His hands bracket her waist, slowly inching down the curve of her ass.
She’s mine to protect. I charge like a bull, hot and agitated, yanking her out of his arms. Her drink spills over the guy’s shirt.
“Hey!” he yells, flicking liquid off his hands.
Anna whips her head to me, eyes wide and mouth open. “What are you…”
I lean in close and whisper, my tone thick, heavy and derisive. “This sex kitten act isn’t working for you, little girl. Stop making a fool of yourself.” I’m a damned liar, but I don’t intend to give that any thought right now.
“Get lost.” Her angry gaze lights into me, and she pivots toward the guy who is ready to take me on.
I grab her arm, wrapping her in an embrace while she tries to wriggle free. “We’re leaving.”
“Get your hands off her, asshole,” drunk college boy slurs, wobbling toward me.
“No, I’m not.” Her eyes narrow into a glower. “Leave if you want to. Let me go.”
“You heard the lady, let her go.” The guy looks at her with a stupid face that he probably thinks is endearing. Instead, he’s a jackass with puckered lips and crossed-eyes. “Hey baby, you okay?”
He paws her clumsily, and my patience snaps. “You touch her again, and you’ll lose your arm.”
He falters for a second, glancing down at my arms firmly banded around her and then back at me.
“Hey, man.” He raises his hands as if he’s staring down the barrel of a gun. “No disrespect, I didn’t know she was yours.”
“I’m not,” she grinds out, jabbing her elbow in my side.
I flinch but keep my hold on her and she releases a frustrated groan. The guy doesn’t give either of us a second look. He’s gone.
“Let me go,” she hisses. Ignoring her, I text Tango and Tommie to meet us out back.
Within minutes, I’m thrusting her into Tango’s arms and ordering them to take her home.
“Do not leave,” I stress, and Tango nods obediently.
Anna is fuming. Livid. Her nostrils flare and lips are tight while her eyes blaze. If looks could kill, I might be sucking in dirt. But I’ve gotta admit, hot and bothered looks good on her.
While completely uncalled for, I wink and flash my sexy grin– the one that has women falling at my feet–before turning my back on her. As I walk into the club, she curses a blue streak, and I laugh. My cock twitches, turned on by her spunk. Down boy, this is Anna. Off-limits no matter how tempting.
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S.M. West writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, erotica and whatever her heart desires. She spends most of her time juggling a day job, being a mom, wife, and writing. She’s a self-professed junkie of many things, including a voracious fan of music, a born wanderer, a wine aficionado and chocolate connoisseur.
Title: It Started with a Whisper: A Historical Romance Collection
Genre: Regency Historical Romance
Release Date: January 23, 2018
Format: Digital
Rumors, gossip, and secrets all have a way of unraveling at the worst possible time. Follow each story as it leads you through a path of mystery and intrigue. Lady X’s gossip sheet tells all and it leaves everybody talking. The rumors have the potential to ruin lives and with each whisper a new scandal arises.
Will those who find themselves the subject of her scandal sheet escape unscathed and discover who Lady X is along the way?
One Moonlit Tryst by Amanda Mariel Lady Tabitha Pemberton wants nothing more than to enjoy her first season without becoming attached, but when Lady X writes of a forbidden tryst between Tabitha and Colin Brooks, the earl of Harcourt, everything changes. Now Tabitha must choose between her reputation and her desire to remain unattached.
Love Me, Lord Tender by Deb Marlowe Lord Tensford has an old title and an empty purse. He knew it would be difficult to find a Society bride, but after Lady X heeds baseless rumor and brands him Lord Terror, it’s next to impossible.
Until he comes to the aid of Lady Hope Brightley, causing Lady X to re-dub him Lord Tender.
Now he’s a laughing stock and a fortune hunter. But Lady Hope means to repay him and help him find a bride. In the end, will she turn him over to the perfect mate? Or ask him to . . . Love Me, Lord Tender?
The Lady Loves a Scandal by Christina McKnight Many years ago, Gideon Lyndon, Viscount Galway, made a grave mistake. On the verge of rectifying this misdeed, he finds himself faced with his greatest challenge yet: winning back the woman he has loved since the moment he met her. But after a year of silence, convincing his headstrong paramour Sybil Anson to take him back will not be easy. Especially since he can’t even explain why he left–not if he wants to keep her safe.
The Scandalous Widow by Erica Monroe Bow Street Runner Gabriel Sinclair has spent the last three years trying to forget about smart, beautiful Lady Jemma Forster, Countess of Wolverston, who broke his heart when she married his best friend. Her husband’s death thrusts Gabriel and Jemma back together, as they work to find his murderer. Their investigation takes them into the darkest, most dangerous parts of London. They’re perfect partners for solving crimes, but can they be partners in love too?
How to Land an Earlin Ten Days or Less by Ava Stone Known for his silver tongue, Reese Delacy, the Earl of Darling, wagers that he can make any girl fall in love with him in less than a fortnight. Unfortunately, the boast catches the ear and subsequently the pen of a notorious gossip columnist, making Reese a pariah in short order. He seems doomed for failure until he meets a Bermudian beauty who is seemingly unaware of the scandal.
With control of the Caribbean salt trade hanging in the balance, Miss Cara Beckett, left her home to solicit the support of parliament, never imagining she’d become embroiled in a reckless wager.
A Lady Hoyden’s Secret by Dawn Brower Lady Helena Carter has a secret. She dare not reveal it and court her own ruin–or incur the wrath of Lady X. Oliver Hunt, the Marquess of Dashville has problems of his own regarding the Lady of Whispers, and only Lady Helena can help him. As they cross paths, desire sparks between them. Their budding romance is tested as secrets are uncovered, and the revelations will either bring them closer together or tear them apart forever.
A too-young queen must learn to control her powers in order to save her empire, but can she trust the man who’s taught her to use her gift?
About WEB OF FROST
The saints of Russalka work their blessings in mysterious ways, allowing the royal family to perform miracles for their people. But the young princess Katza fears her powers. She’s seen grave visions of her bloodied hands destroying her family’s empire. When her older brother succumbs to illness, leaving her next in line for the throne, Katza turns to a young rebellious prophet named Ravin who promises to teach her how to control her gift. As unrest grows in Russalka and a foreign monarchy threatens, Ravin understands Katza’s fears and helps her find confidence in her gift, and her own heart. Under Ravin’s unorthodox training, Katza learns to hear the saints once more—until revolutionaries claim her father’s life.
Reeling and desperate, Katza draws upon darker and darker powers to stop the revolutionaries, the foreign invaders, and the members of her own court who would see her fail. But the more Ravin whispers in her ear, the more Katza questions whether he—and the saints—have her best interests at heart. She must choose between her love of Ravin and her love of Russalka itself—and decide whether her empire might not be better off without her.
Here is an exclusive excerpt from WEB OF FROST:
“An incredible show of power,” Ravin said. “But you are capable of even more.” He paused, and turned his head, almost peering back at her over his shoulder. Again her gaze was drawn to the sharp line of his forehead, his nose beneath a dark sheaf of his hair where it had fallen across his brow. “Show me.”
Katza rolled her shoulders back. She had never before prayed to Saint Morozov; she’d never had reason to. She scanned the icons in the sanctuary, looking for his face—the blue eyes piercing with ice, the gray pallor of his skin as flecks of frost wreathed him. But all the colors were washed out on the ancient icons—he was hard to find. Saint Morozov. Her lips worked as she sought him out. Saint Morozov. Grant me the chill in your bones . . .
“No, no.” Ravin stalked toward her, shoulders bristling with cold fury. “You don’t need to focus on his icon. You must be able to draw the power anywhere. Anytime. Morozov is only a filter for turning the raw power into ice. You must reach past him.” He trembled with intensity. “Seize the power for yourself. It’s already there, just waiting for you to grasp it.”
“I—I’m sorry.” Katza bit her lower lip and looked down. Morozov. Let your cold envelop me . . .
And then she felt it, crawling inside her skin—the faintest threads of ice. If the saints were filters for Boj’s raw power, then Katza imagined herself reaching through that filter to grasp it at the source. Her breath crystallized before her as she exhaled, then twinkled like glass as it fell to the floor. Frost coated her hands, her face, and yet the cold was soothing, hardening around her like a shelter . . .
No. Like a tomb.
Katza thrashed, panicking as her skin became solid, stiff with cold. “O, Boj,” she cried. “I can’t—”
“You have to release it,” Ravin shouted. “Don’t keep it trapped inside you!”
Katza’s throat was closing up, turning into a block of ice. She tried to scream. Tried to move her arms—she had to force the cold away from her—
She flung her arms out wide.
Frost shot out from all around her, spinning fine as a spider’s web. It spread up the chapel walls, crunching and cracking as it went, riming the icons and choking the candles Ravin had lit. Katza’s breathing eased and she felt a tide surging through her. She was one with the ice, letting it into her as she spun it from her, a perfect symbiosis.
Katza’s chest rose and fell as she admired the ice thickening into columns and pillars and intricate lacework all around them. With a command, she could pull it all away. But she wouldn’t. She had made this, and she was in control, and everything was beautiful.
A voice inside her sighed happily and whispered in her ear, Yes.
“Incredible.” Ravin was breathing heavily too as he approached her once more, stepping around a pillar of ice. His dark eyes danced, reflecting the sunlight-kissed frost. “You are truly in control of it.”
Katza tested, fingers twitching; a column of ice thinned, melting, then thickened again at her command. “I am. I can feel that power you were talking about, that well. It’s just below the surface. But it’s rolling through me, a give and take . . .”
“Yes. You are in control of your power. But I, too, am blessed by Saint Morozov.” He drew closer and raised his palm. Ice sheathed his fingers, glinting with the menace of steel. “Can you stop it when someone else is using that blessing? Can you melt it all away?”
Katza staggered back from him, but backed into one of the columns of ice. She tried to melt it, but it was one he’d created—she had no power over it. Frost fringed onto her clothing, her hair, her neck, as if the column were consuming her, swallowing her up. Again she felt that burn in her chest, crystals sprouting and slicing her up, but it wasn’t in her control. She couldn’t push it away.
“Careful, tsarechka.” Ravin laughed behind pressed lips. “Or I’ll make a martyr of you.”
Panic spiked through her, a shard of ice in the warmth of the saints’ gifts. “Please, stop!”
His face loomed before hers. Gray washed over his features; his lips were deathly blue. “You must stop me.”
Katza swallowed. She couldn’t. She would never be strong enough—but she had to. It was what Russalka needed.
Lindsay is the author of the young adult novels Sekret, Dreamstrider, and A Darkly Beating Heart, and is the showrunner and lead writer for Serial Box’s The Witch Who Came In From the Cold. Her work has appeared on Tor.com and in the anthologies A Tyranny of Petticoats, Strange Romance Vol. 3, and Toil & Trouble, and she has written for Green Ronin Publishing’s RPG properties. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and dog.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert delivers the final installment in her sizzling O’Malleys family series, hailed as “The Godfather meets Romeo & Juliet.” In THE BASTARD’S BARGAIN Dmitri Romanov must use his legendary focus and control to stay one step ahead of everyone else in the ever-shifting power plays of New York City.
What readers are saying:
“The Bastard’s Bargain presents a seductive escape and a fulfilling fantasy for that bad boy craving a girl can never outgrow.”—Isha at Book Likes
“Keira and Dmitri are everything. What develops between them is raw and carnal and wanton. The way they need each other and the way they connect is beyond sexy. It’s something deep and dark and heartbreakingly beautiful.”—Eva, Goodreads Reviewer
Meet Dmitri and Keira!
Pre-order THE BASTARD’S BARGAIN and add it to your TBR pile on Goodreads! Then keep reading to get an EXCLUSIVE sneak peek at UNDERCOVER ATTRACTION and to enter the giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card or an eBook from Katee’s backlist!
Title: The Bastard’s Bargain
Author: Katee Robert
Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 6, 2018
Publisher: Grand Central/Forever
Series: The O’Malleys
Format: Digitial and Print
ASIN: B071ZYWPL5
Married to the enemy
When Keira O’Malley was a child, she used to picture her perfect wedding. The flowers. The dress. Her husband. But nothing could have prepared her for saying “I do” to Dmitri Romanov-cold, domineering, and always one step ahead of everyone else in the ever-shifting power plays of New York City. She agreed to his bargain to secure peace for her family, and she may want the bastard more than she’d ever admit, but she’ll be damned if she’ll make this marriage easy for him.
Dmitri knows better than to underestimate Keira for one second. Molten desire smolders between them, a dangerous addiction neither can resist. But his enemies are already on the move, and he needs every ounce of his legendary focus and control to keep them alive. Keira could just be his secret weapon-if she doesn’t bring him to his knees first.
It wasn’t until the front door closed behind Ivan that the reality of her situation sank in. Dmitri was furious. He might have faked it for his friend, but he stood next to her, a pillar of stone with anger coming off him in waves. His grip on her elbow didn’t hurt, but if she’d tried to leave, he would have restrained her.
She should be afraid. She should be terrified.
Keira’s heartbeat picked up, adrenaline kicking in. She swung to face him with a fierce smile on her face. “You didn’t compliment me on my dress.” It was a work of fucking art. She smoothed her free hand over her hip and up her side. “Actually, you called me a high-class sex worker. Is that any way to speak to your beloved wife?”
His gray eyes followed the movement, a muscle ticking in his jaw when she cupped her breast. “I meant it when I said you’re playing with fire.”
That wasn’t just anger on his face now. No, it was rapidly being overtaken by sheer lust. An answering feeling sent a bolt straight to her core. She stepped back, and he released her instantly. A strange feeling coursed through her, straightening her spine and making her want to laugh out loud. Power. This is what power feels like.
He wanted her. He wanted her so badly, he had his hands clenched at his sides to keep from touching her again. But he wouldn’t until she gave the green light. Keira took another step back. “I have a hypothetical question.”
“Ask.” His voice was rough. The way he watched her made her feel like prey, and she liked it far more than she should—because she wasn’t prey. Keira had her own teeth and claws, and Dmitri would learn that as time went on.
“Hypothetical, if I said yes tonight…how do you imagine that would go?”
He stared at her a long moment. “Nyet. I’m not playing this game with you.” She blinked and he was on her, one hand snaking around to press against the exposed small of her back, the other tangling in her hair. “We are not children, moya koroleva. These games don’t become us.”
He kissed her. There was no cautious exploration or easing into it. Dmitri kissed her like a conquering warlord who was sure of his welcome because he owned everything in the room—including her. There was no fighting this. She didn’t even want to try. Keira slid her arms around his neck and pressed herself more firmly against him. His cock was a hard length with too many layers between them. She rolled her hips, an invitation she wasn’t sure she was ready to follow through on.
Dmitri slid his hand down to cup her ass, guiding her movements. Long slides up the length of his cock and back down again. The stupid goddamn dress kept her from spreading her legs wider, from getting him exactly where she needed him. Her nipples rubbed against his shirt, the silk incredibly decadent across her sensitized skin.
“Keira. Moya koroleva.” He kissed down her jawline, tilting her head back until she had to arch her spine to accommodate the position. “Did you enjoy their eyes on you? Ivan’s. The men who owe allegiance to me. Anyone who cared to look.”
It took her desire-drugged brain a beat to catch up, but by then he was already growling out more words against her skin. “Did it make you feel powerful to know they were imagining stroking the nipples you flash with such impunity?” He moved his hand from her ass to do exactly that, dragging a finger over her puckered nipple. “They wanted the body you so proudly put on display.” His voice roughened. “They wanted what’s mine.”
Say something. If you don’t say something right now, you’re going to give in tonight and then it will all be over.
He moved his hand to her back and bent her until she relied solely on his strength to keep her off the ground. And then Dmitri’s wicked, wicked mouth closed around her nipple. The weight of the beaded design seemed heavier with his tongue flicking the engorged bud, making his touch that much hotter. She couldn’t hold back a moan as he moved to her other breast.
Dmitri dragged his mouth up the center of her chest, the only part of her not caged in the dress, stopping at the thick collar. He flicked the hollow of her throat with his tongue. “This is my favorite part of the dress.” He ran his thumb over it. “This, more than anything else, marks you as mine.”
A collar for a kept pet.
It was as if he’d doused her in icy water. Keira went rigid and shoved Dmitri away. She almost fell when he released her, but she regained her balance at the last second. They stood mere feet apart, breathing hard and staring at each other. I am no one’s pet. She slashed her hand through the air. “I might be your wife, Russian, but I’m not yours. I’ll never be yours.”
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title, The Marriage Contract, was a RITA finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it ‘a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension.” When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.
Fifteen years ago, three girls were thrown together because their brothers were best friends. Now they’re all grown up, and their brothers are grown up too. The Tea for Two series tells their stories. Fans of New York Times Bestselling Author, Noelle Adams, will love this newest playful friends become lovers story featuring Carol and Patrick, releasing January 10, 2017.
Rafflecopter for Seducing Her Brother’s Best Friend Review & Excerpt TourGiveaway:
Noelle is offering one (1) lucky Grand Prize winner a $25 Amazon Gift Card and three (3) Runner-ups eCopy of one book from Noelle’s Tea For Two series (winner’s choice). To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:
After too many years being overlooked by men, Carol is ready to take action. She wants a man, and she knows which man she wants. Her brother’s best friend, Patrick Stevenson.
Patrick is funny and brainy and the sexiest man she’s ever known, but he has never looked at her as anything except his friend’s little sister. That’s going to change.
Carol isn’t good at flirting. Or seduction. Or anything that requires putting herself out there. But she’s going to make sure Patrick sees her as a desirable woman—and one he wants for more than one night—even if it turns her whole world upside down. He already likes her a lot. He just needs to open his eyes to how good they’d be together.
She narrowed her eyes even more and gave him a cool glare. “You might as well just admit it. I know exactly what happened.”
He groaned softly. “All right. Fine. I couldn’t believe you’d be acting like… like that.”
“Like what?”
She was making this as hard as possible for him, and he couldn’t even blame her. “Like you… liked me.” It sounded ridiculous, immature, but he couldn’t think of any other way to put it.
“And you really can’t believe that I do?”
He wanted to be anywhere but here, put on the spot like this. He wanted to get up and leave, somehow escape everything he was feeling.
But, if he did, that would be it. He’d never have Carol in his life again. He might have messed this up completely, but he wasn’t prepared to lose her for good. So he told her the truth. “No. I really can’t.”
“Why the hell not?”
Carol almost never used to rough language—even something as mild as “hell.” It seemed to emphasize how upset she really was.
“I… I don’t even know.”
She stared at him for a full minute. He could see her chest rise and fall with her heaving breathing. Then she finally got up, muttering, “You’re a real idiot sometimes. You know that, right?” She went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
He hauled himself to his feet and followed her. “I know I’m an idiot. I know that. But I’m still here, trying to fix things.”
She was staring into her open refrigerator, like she’d forgotten what she’d come here for.
“Carol,” he said, touching her shoulder gently. She looked so hurt and wounded. He couldn’t believe he was important enough to her to make her feel this way.
She whirled around to face him. “Why shouldn’t I like you?” she demanded.
He blinked. “Because… because it seems pretty obvious that it’s just because the others have gotten together.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I mean Emma and Noah got together, and then Ginny and Ryan got together. So now we’re the only two left. I get it. I do. It would make sense for us to get paired up in the same way. But that doesn’t mean it’s… it’s real.”
She made a loud, throaty sound of naked frustration.
Patrick contorted his face as he was washed with self-consciousness and confusion. “I’m trying to be honest here.”
“I know you are. I know you are!”
She closed the refrigerator, having taken nothing out. “Why wouldn’t we be good together?”
“We’re totally different. If I wasn’t the last guy left in our little group, you’d choose someone totally different.” He knew this much for sure. He’d been rehearsing it over and over again—for months now—reminding himself that any soft looks she’d given him had been based on something other than real attraction.
“How do you know that?”
“Carol, please. I know I act stupid sometimes, but I do have a functioning mind. And neither one of us deserves to be stuck with… whoever happens to be left.”
She gaped at him. Literally gaped. Then her cheeks paled even more. “You think I’m… just whoever happens to be left.”
“Not you,” he gasped, shocked that she’d ever even imagine he felt that way. “Not you. Me. I’m whoever is left.”
“You… you… you…” She was panting, couldn’t even get the words out.
“Me what?”
“You idiot!”
He was processing her uncontrolled outburst and so he wasn’t prepared for what she did next.
What she did was launch herself at him, grabbing his head and pulling it down into a kiss.
Since he wasn’t prepared, he couldn’t control his response. And he’d been wanting her too much, for too long, and not letting himself act on that desire.
So he didn’t stop it, even though he knew he should.
He didn’t push her away gently and explain that it couldn’t happen.
After too many bad decisions in romance, Emma is going on a man-fast. For the next six months, she’s fasting from men. No sex. No dating. No soulful gazes. No fond memories of her first crush. She’s going to spend the time focusing on her career, getting in touch with herself, and helping her two best friends with the launch of their new tea room. No men.
And that includes her brother’s best friend, Noah Hart, who has just returned to their hometown.
She doesn’t want Noah anyway. He might be even hotter than he was before, but he’s not a nice guy anymore. He’s made a fortune by acting ruthless in business, and the last thing he’s looking for is small-town domestic life. He doesn’t even want to be in town again, but a sick grandmother guilted him into it. Then he has nerve to not even recognize Emma when he sees her again. Maybe it’s been seven years, but a decent guy would remember his best friend’s little sister.
Noah is not a decent guy. Anyway, Emma is on a man-fast. And she doesn’t want Noah.
Ginny Hart loves men. And she loves dating. She just doesn’t want a serious relationship. She’s tried it before–with her brother’s best friend, Ryan–and it’s clear she’s not cut out for it. So she’ll keep having fun and focusing on the new tea shop she recently opened with her best friend.
That’s all she needs in her life.
She definitely doesn’t need Ryan, who is always hanging around and has turned into a real player. When he challenges her to prove which of them is more popular with the opposite sex, she takes him up on the bet. One month. Four Saturday nights. She’ll show him she’s not still holding on to old feelings. It doesn’t matter if she can’t seem to keep her hands off him.
Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.
She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.
Fifteen years ago, three girls were thrown together because their brothers were best friends. Now they’re all grown up, and their brothers are grown up too. The Tea for Two series tells their stories. Fans of contemporary women’s fiction will become engrossed in this new series by New York Times Bestselling Author, Noelle Adams.
Rafflecopter for Falling For Her Brother’s Best Friend Sale Blitz Giveaway:
Noelle is offering one (1) lucky Grand Prize winner a $20 Amazon Gift Card and one winner an eCopy of one Noelle’s backlist titles. To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:
After too many bad decisions in romance, Emma is going on a man-fast. For the next six months, she’s fasting from men. No sex. No dating. No soulful gazes. No fond memories of her first crush. She’s going to spend the time focusing on her career, getting in touch with herself, and helping her two best friends with the launch of their new tea room. No men.
And that includes her brother’s best friend, Noah Hart, who has just returned to their hometown.
She doesn’t want Noah anyway. He might be even hotter than he was before, but he’s not a nice guy anymore. He’s made a fortune by acting ruthless in business, and the last thing he’s looking for is small-town domestic life. He doesn’t even want to be in town again, but a sick grandmother guilted him into it. Then he has nerve to not even recognize Emma when he sees her again. Maybe it’s been seven years, but a decent guy would remember his best friend’s little sister.
Noah is not a decent guy. Anyway, Emma is on a man-fast. And she doesn’t want Noah.
Noah felt an emotional pull toward her, that she seemed to understand him so well, even when he wasn’t sure he understood himself.
But he shouldn’t—he really shouldn’t—be feeling that way.
He cleared his throat. “And I noticed your Man-Fast flew out the window.”
She gasped and straightened her spine, which unfortunately called attention to the curve of her breasts. “What are you talking about?”
Struggling not to gaze too fixedly on the slight outline of nipple he could see beneath the white fabric of her dress, he managed to say, “Your Man-Fast. With all the flirting you were doing, I figured you’d given up on it.”
“I was not flirting!”
He lifted his eyebrows.
“Don’t you give me that snide look,” she said, her lush lips turning down in a frown. “I was talking to some people I know, same as you.”
“There was definitely more than talking going on over here.” He had no idea why he was pursuing this. It was stupid. Futile. It would just make things worse.
But he’d been bristling for too long about all the guys falling over themselves around her, and it was going to come out one way or the other.
“What are you talking about?” she demanded. “I didn’t do anything but talk.”
“Right. You didn’t smile at them and show them all that skin and make them think they might be getting lucky later on.”
She gasped again. “I did nothing of the kind.”
“Okay.”
“I didn’t! I was talking. A girl can talk to guys without being accused of leading them on. I could say the same thing about you—every time you talk to and smile at women.”
“I haven’t been talking to women tonight.”
“You talked to a few.”
He tried to remember back to the people he’d chatted with and only remembered two young women. “They were married. I knew them from high school.”
“So? What’s your point? You can flirt with married women, you know.”
“Are you saying you think I’m the kind of guy who would do that?” His voice was now as angry as hers was.
She opened her mouth with some sort of sharp reply, but she must have rethought it. She slumped slightly. “No. I know you’re not.”
“Good.”
“It would be nice if you’d know I wasn’t like that either.”
“I’d never think you’d come on to married men.”
“You just think I’m some kind of tease, torturing men for fun.”
Noah sighed and leaned against the counter. “No. I really don’t.”
“Then why were you acting like that then?”
Good question.
And a question he couldn’t possibly answer honestly.
“I was just being an ass.”
“Yes. You were.”
“Sorry.”
Her frown was relaxing slightly, and she was peering at him closely. “Okay then.”
“Okay?”
“Yes. Okay.”
He felt a little better, now that she wasn’t so mad at him. But it just made him want to touch her even more.
He really needed to get out of here.
“I already have an older brother,” she said, still scrutinizing his face. “I don’t need another one.”
Damn it.
She thought he was acting like an older brother.
She had no idea he felt like a jealous boyfriend, resenting the fact that any other guy was thinking about what was his.
Ginny Hart loves men. And she loves dating. She just doesn’t want a serious relationship. She’s tried it before–with her brother’s best friend, Ryan–and it’s clear she’s not cut out for it. So she’ll keep having fun and focusing on the new tea shop she recently opened with her best friend.
That’s all she needs in her life.
She definitely doesn’t need Ryan, who is always hanging around and has turned into a real player. When he challenges her to prove which of them is more popular with the opposite sex, she takes him up on the bet. One month. Four Saturday nights. She’ll show him she’s not still holding on to old feelings. It doesn’t matter if she can’t seem to keep her hands off him.
After too many years being overlooked by men, Carol is ready to take action. She wants a man, and she knows which man she wants. Her brother’s best friend, Patrick Stevenson.
Patrick is funny and brainy and the sexiest man she’s ever known, but he has never looked at her as anything except his friend’s little sister. That’s going to change.
Carol isn’t good at flirting. Or seduction. Or anything that requires putting herself out there. But she’s going to make sure Patrick sees her as a desirable woman—and one he wants for more than one night—even if it turns her whole world upside down. He already likes her a lot. He just needs to open his eyes to how good they’d be together.
Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.
She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018 Margaret Margaret
