Tropes: Small Town Romance, Single Mom, Retired Baseball Pro
Excerpt:
I’m lifting my glass to take another sip of sugar when a shoulder brushes against mine. I’m two seconds from turning and giving someone a warning . . . but stop.
My body stills as a set of large, calloused hands presses against the laminate countertop next to me.
Thick, muscled wrists attach to forearms the size of my biceps. The space around me is impregnated with a very heady, very masculine vibe.
A bubble of curiosity blooms in my stomach. The intrigue grows as rich, balmy scent licks at my senses. It’s the kind of cologne I love—the type that makes the person smelling it feel better, more confident, and more attractive by proxy.
That is not a harbinger of good things, though. I know from experience.
I ignore the warning bells ringing in my head like the seasoned expert I am and twist to the side . . . and nearly fall off my stool.
Holy. Man. Candy.
His hair—thick and wild, lying to the side in an errant wave—is tobacco-colored. It’s a stark juxtaposition to the chips of sapphire sparkling in his eyes. A sharp
the jaw is dusted with more than a day’s worth of stubble, finishing the glorious package with a sinful edge.
“Hey,” he says, his voice smooth and inviting.
“I’m sorry,” I say, finding my voice. “Do I know you?”
TEMPT, an all-new steamy small town, one-night-stand, age-gap romance featuring a plus-sized heroine and a hot single dad from USA Today and #1 Amazon Bestselling Author Melanie Harlow, is now available!
You’ve heard the story about the wedding planner who falls for the groom? Well, this is the one where she falls for his father. And that groom? He’s my ex.
I didn’t realize who the gruff, gorgeous older man was the night he rescued me from a creep in a Manhattan hotel bar. All I knew was that a hot, bearded stranger with a protective streak showed up right when I needed a reminder that real gentlemen still existed.
(Although he left his manners behind after asking me up to his room.)
It was the hottest night of my life, but I never thought I’d see the former Navy SEAL again.
Imagine my surprise at the rehearsal dinner one week later, when my sexy one-night stand is introduced as the father of the groom. Even more surprising? That temptation we felt in New York was no fluke.
In public, we pretend there’s nothing between us.
In private, we can’t keep our hands off each other.
The situation is beyond complicated. Zach never even knew he’d fathered a child until recently, and he wants to earn his son’s trust and respect. As for me, I’m looking for a man who wants to start a family, and Zach has made it clear he’s not that man. He’s fifteen years older, newly divorced, and he lives across the country.
But no matter how many times we draw the line, we keep crossing it.
Nothing so wrong should ever feel so right.
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I was just lifting the glass to my lips when I noticed someone sitting around the curve of the bar to the left. He was broad through the chest and shoulders, wore a black dress shirt with the cuffs rolled up, and sat alone. His hair and beard were short and dark. Our eyes met and my body grew warm. His bone structure was beautiful—his face looked like it was chiseled from granite. He held my gaze for a moment then looked away, and I did as well, focusing on the first cold sips of my martini.
But in seconds, my eyes were drawn to him again, and I noticed the hand holding his glass—wide palm, long, solid fingers, thick wrist. I indulged in a brief and magnificent fantasy that involved those hands in my hair, his beard against my cheek, that brawny chest bare and warm above me. Was it hairy? I’d bet yes. He looked like a man’s man. My nipples tingled inside the bustier I wore beneath my dress.
Once more he caught me staring, and I realized too late that I was actually biting my lip.
Gawd.
The guy next to me whistled loudly and yelled at the bartender, “Hey! Can I get another round down here?”
The bartender, who was busy making other drinks, didn’t even look over. I didn’t blame him.
“The service is so shitty in this place,” he said. “You need a pair of tits to get any attention.” He glanced at my chest. “Yours are fantastic, by the way.”
Horrified, I picked up my glass and finished my drink in a couple swallows. I should have thrown it in his face, but it would have been a waste of a good martini. Setting the empty glass down, I reached into my bag for my credit card.
“Hey, don’t rush off.” The asshole leaned closer. He wore a white shirt and blue blazer, and he reeked of cologne. “We’re just getting to know each other.”
“Not interested,” I said, trying to catch the bartender’s eye so I could get my check and leave.
“Why not? I’m alone, you’re alone.” He covered my hand with his. That’s when I noticed he wore a wedding band.
I snatched my hand away and slid off my stool, putting it between us. “I’m not alone.”
You’ve heard the story about the wedding planner who falls for the groom? Well, this is the one where she falls for his father. And that groom? He’s my ex.
TEMPT, an all-new scorching hot age gap, forbidden, small-town romance, featuring a plus-sized heroine and her ex’s irresistible dad from USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow, is now available!
I didn’t realize who the gruff, gorgeous older man was the night he rescued me from a creep in a Manhattan hotel bar. All I knew was that a hot, bearded stranger with a protective streak showed up right when I needed a reminder that real gentlemen still existed.
(Although he left his manners behind after asking me up to his room.)
It was the hottest night of my life, but I never thought I’d see the former Navy SEAL again.
Imagine my surprise at the rehearsal dinner one week later, when my sexy one-night stand is introduced as the father of the groom. Even more surprising? That temptation we felt in New York was no fluke.
In public, we pretend there’s nothing between us.
In private, we can’t keep our hands off each other.
The situation is beyond complicated. Zach never even knew he’d fathered a child until recently, and he wants to earn his son’s trust and respect. As for me, I’m looking for a man who wants to start a family, and Zach has made it clear he’s not that man. He’s fifteen years older, newly divorced, and he lives across the country.
But no matter how many times we draw the line, we keep crossing it.
About Melanie Harlow USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. When she's not writing or reading, she gets her kicks from TV series like Ted, Lasso, Schitt’s Creek, and Fleabag. She occasionally runs three miles, but only so she can have more gin and steak.
Melanie is the author of the BELLAMY CREEK series, the CLOVERLEIGH FARMS series, the ONE & ONLY series, AFTER WE FALL series, the HAPPY CRAZY LOVE series, and the FRENCHED series. She lifts her glass to romance readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.
A sexy, dirty-talking alpha. The beautiful, sweet, and fiery Bella. Her boss. A contract that forces him to marry. An arrangement that will change them forever. Meet Tyler Hawk...
Tyler Hawk is a man with secrets and a dark past. A man who has known tragedy and betrayal. He wants for little, but what he wants is more power, a legacy that is his own, and not his father's. There are obstacles in his way, one of which is the scandal his father left behind and a will with certain demands.
Behind the scenes, he is a man on the edge, and only one woman sees the truth hidden beneath his strong will and dominant rule. Bella is somehow demanding and submissive, fiery and yet sweet. She can give him everything he wants, she just doesn't know it, not yet, but she will. If she'll just say yes and sign on the dotted line.
“You’re going to have to share your room with me, sweetheart,” he says, and he doesn’t allow me time to object or even savor that endearment, not that objection is on my mind. I’m thinking of nothing but his mouth and hands on my body and this time, mine on his.
He opens the door and enters the room, maneuvering me along with him. The door slams shut behind us, and he’s already kissing me again. This time when his fingers find my hair, he gives the long strands an erotic tug and drags my gaze to his. “Control in all things, Bella. It’s who I am. It’s what I need, not a want.”
“And as you remember,” I say, my fingers curling on his chest, “I don’t like what I can’t control, which I guess actually means I like control, too.”
“And you have it with me,” he promises. “Always. All you have to say is no, and we find what feels like a yes to you. You asked if I trust you. I’m asking you now if you trust me.”
“I don’t think you do, Bella,” he murmurs, and the way he uses my name—it’s as if he wants me to know I’m not just sex to him. Or maybe I just want to believe that—even need to believe that—to be here with him, to be this intimate with him. Because I’m still me. I’m still not the “sex is sex” kind of girl, even if he aspires to change that in me. “But I want you to trust me so damn bad it’s insane,” he adds roughly, an edge of frustration in him as if this statement somehow contradicts the control he so values.
It shakes me just how much I’m pleased that I’ve tormented him in some way as if it’s selfish of me. I know this, but Lord also knows I’m tormented over this marriage agreement he’s obviously accepted. And if I think too hard about it, I will run. I will leave.
I don’t want to leave.
I press to my toes, desperate for his mouth and body, for that oblivion he’s shown me once that I crave once again.
His grip tightens gently around my hair, the act both arousing and brutal, as he denies me his mouth. “I’m going to make you trust me, Bella,” he declares, and then, thank you, Lord, his mouth slants over my mouth, his tongue caressing my tongue. And it’s a toe-curling, deep, drugging kiss that leaves me breathless when his lips part mine. “Undress, baby,” he orders. “I want to watch.”
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones writes dark, edgy fiction including the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT series and the upcoming, crime thriller The Poet. Suzanne Todd (producer of Alice in Wonderland and Bad Moms) on the INSIDE OUT series: Lisa has created a beautiful, complicated, and sensual world that is filled with intrigue and suspense.
Prior to publishing, Lisa owned a multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by the Dallas Women’s Magazine. In 1998 Lisa was listed as the #7 growing women-owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine. She lives in Colorado with her husband, a cat that talks too much, and a Golden Retriever who is afraid of trash bags.
“Before I Let Go is a masterpiece… A beautifully honest portrayal of love in its many forms, and the most raw, poignant, and romantic journey of healing I've read in a long time.”—Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author
Before I Let Go, an all-new sensual and poignant second chance romance from USA Today bestselling author Kennedy Ryan, is out now!
Their love was supposed to last forever. But when life delivered blow after devastating blow, Yasmen and Josiah Wade found that love alone couldn’t solve or save everything.
It couldn’t save their marriage.
Yasmen wasn’t prepared for how her life fell apart, but she’s is finally starting to find joy again. She and Josiah have found a new rhythm, co-parenting their two kids and running a thriving business together. Yet like magnets, they’re always drawn back to each other, and now they’re beginning to wonder if they’re truly ready to let go of everything they once had.
Soon, one stolen kiss leads to another…and then more. It's hot. It's illicit. It's all good—until old wounds reopen. Is it too late for them to find forever? Or could they even be better, the second time around?
In addition to appearances in North Carolina, Kennedy will also be on tour in Atlanta, New York City & Los Angeles!
Find all tour details here: www.kennedyryanwrites.com
Keep reading for a look inside Before I Let Go!
I knock and wait for Josiah’s deep baritone telling me to enter. He sits behind his desk, eyes trained on the laptop in front of him. He doesn’t look up, but keeps typing. The silence persists, stretches to awkwardness, so I drop into one of the armchairs in the center of the room along with a sofa and coffee table, and set my purse on the floor.
“Harvey’s on his way,” he says, still not looking away from the screen. “His last meeting ran a few minutes over, but he’ll be here soon.”
“Oh. Sure. Great.”
I run damp palms over my legs, the jeans smooth and cool beneath my hands. Fidgety and looking for something to do, I tighten my topknot. I got box braids last weekend because I was tired of messing with my hair. This morning they’re studded with a few gold cuffs scattered throughout the strands. All in all, I feel pretty. And confident, and I won’t be shook by the pissy mood Josiah seems to have saved just for me. Finally, he closes the laptop and walks over to the sitting area. I study my nails, taking my turn to ignore him.
“I like the braids.”
Surprised, I glance up to find him sitting on the arm of the leather sofa across from me. I didn’t expect him to say anything personal. Definitely not about my appearance. When I meet his eyes, they’re cool like they’ve been for weeks, and his face remains unreadable.
It’s always been her, and I just never realized. Now that I’m looking at her that way, I can’t unsee it… and I don’t want to. Alyssa has been my best friend since kindergarten, and these intense new feelings could cost me our friendship.
She’s the one I share everything with, good or bad. It makes sense to share my life with her. But I can’t risk losing the only woman I’ve ever loved, which will happen if she doesn’t feel the same.
Alyssa is loyal and kind and takes my breath away. I just wish it hadn’t taken me so long to figure out what’s been right in front of me.
Alyssa
Falling for my best friend is easy, but keeping it to myself while figuring out what to do about it is the hard part. Because in a small town, everyone knows everyone… and their business.
Sterling is the perfect guy—handsome, with a heart of gold and a protective streak. I know he’ll do anything for me… except maybe admit he feels the same way I do.
So, I’m stuck in limbo and am in love with my best friend. Just when I work up the nerve to finally tell him how I feel, everything changes with a confession and two words: stay tonight.
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kaylee Ryan has been crowned the Queen of Swoon by her readers. With nearly fifty romance books under her belt, she’s known for penning happily ever afters with heart. When she's not writing, you can find her with a book in her hand or hanging out with her family where she resides in her home state of Ohio.
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