Enemies to lovers tale with anĀ earth-shaking twist!
International pop star RJ Contreras finds himself at a crossroads when his mega famous boy band, AnyDayNow, breaks up. After his solo career fails to take off, RJ retreats to a no-frills apartment where he can hide out from the world and lick his festering wounds.
But when the girl next door starts slipping ‘good neighbor’ contracts under his door and complaining about his behavior through strategically placed Post-it-Notes, RJ snaps out of his self-absorbed melancholy to wage war.
Nothing short of an act of nature could repair the relationship between these two strong-willed enemies. But guess what Fate has in store?
Ripple Effect full-blown blew me away! I was not expecting this enemies-to-lovers neighbors romance to be so intense, but once I got sucked in, I could not put it down and binged it in a night.
I’ve read just about all of the Cake series, as well as some of J. Bengtsson’s other standalones, including Bodhi’s story Like The Wind. But still, nothing prepared me for the intensity that was RJ and Dani, and the literal earthquake that brings these two together.
There is so much to love about these two. Slow burn. A broody rockstar in hiding. A sassy schoolteacher. Incredible banter as these two just want to strangle each other. And then once the world literally collapses around them, there is so much vulnerability, love, emotion and sweetness.
RJ’s history is not a pretty one, and that childhood hurt leads him to hide out from the rest of the world after his attempt at a solo career bombs. Dani makes him want to be better, do better, fight for something. He’d spent his whole life feeling unwanted and unloved, and the tragedy that brings RJ and Dani together makes him want to stop being a victim and take matters into his own hands. Unfortunately, while RJ comes out of the earthquake with newfound confidence, Dani is suffering from some major survivor’s guilt. No matter how much RJ wants to build a life with her afterward, Dani needs to figure out how she can move forward.
JB wrote a brilliant story of true love and resilience in Ripple Effect.
BTW, I kinda fell in love with Dani’s family of sperm siblings. I would love to see a spinoff series with some of those side characters!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet J. Bengtsson
J. (Jill) Bengtsson is the bestselling author of the Cake Series. She writes contemporary novels focused on love, humor, passion, and family. Her heroines are strong, nurturing, and quirky while her heroes are what dreams are made of – gorgeous, committed, and in need of a little saving. A native Californian, Jill’s novels are set under the glittering lights of the West Coast entertainment industry.
They are for the dreamer in all of us.
Jill resides in Ventura County, California. She’s married to the Swedish boy she met as an exchange student her junior year in college and they have three children, a golden retriever, and two ragdoll cats.
Getting Real by Emma Chase is now live in audiobook!
A sexy, hilarious, emotional, new romance from New York Times bestselling author Emma Chase.
Connor Daniels never thought heād be starting over at dating square one. His career as a successful doctor, and his three boys, are everything to him. Itās not exactly a setup conducive to a scorching social lifeābut heās giving it a shot.
ER nurse Violet Robinson never intended for Connor to find out sheās had a crush on him forever. It was a dirty little secret only meant for her dirty dreams. Her heart trips every time heās aroundāand so do her feet.
When Connor sees Violet coasting across the grocery store parking lotāand she falls on her faceāhe starts falling for the gorgeous, young nurse right back.
Dating can be tricky. And life can be beautiful and crazy and unpredictable. But when it gets real, you discover what matters most . . . and the one person you want loving you through it all.
Getting Real was a delightful age-gap/coworkers/single dad romance. Connor and Violet’s story is funny, sweet, sexy, steamy, and emotional all wrapped up in one.
Connor is a fantastic hero — although I wanted to smack him for playing games like a teenager after he and Violet went out for the first time! Thankfully, he got his act together, and the rest of this story flowed smoothly. There is little drama between Violet and Connor, but some miscommunication and assumptions cause issues between them.
I really liked the connection between Violet and Connor. As a single dad over 40, he has a maturity to him that I don’t find in 20- or 30-something heroes. I loved how well Violet fit in with Connor’s kids, and how easygoing the relationship is between them.
Getting Real is a complete standalone — but within the Getting Some series. I haven’t read any of the other books in this series, but I am definitely interested in reading rest of the Daniels brothers’ stories!
Getting Real was released on audio first — and Zachary Webber is TO DIE FOR as Connor! Oh wow, he has such a sexy voice! Andi Arndt is fabulous as well, and these two really bring Connor and Violet to life!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Emma
Emma Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance novels filled with humor, heart and heart. Her stories are known for their clever banter and sexy, swoon-worthy moments. Emma’s novels have been translated in over twenty languages around the world.
Emma lives in New Jersey with her amazing husband, two awesome children, and two adorable but badly behaved dogs. She has a long-standing love/hate relationship with caffeine
Until my one-night stand showed up in my small Alaskan town five months pregnant.
But I donāt shy away from responsibility. First, because Iām a Greene and not to boast but weāre kind of a big deal in Sunrise Bay. Second, Iām the Sheriff.
I couldnāt have predicted how protective Iād become for the safety of her and my unborn baby to the point of asking her to move in with me and be my roommate.
Just when I think I have the situation under control, another surprise knocks me over, but it only spurs me to double down.
Iāll be the first to admit, I didnāt think it through. Somewhere between the dinners, the TV show binging, the doctor appointments, and me walking in on her naked, lines blurred.
In what feels like warp speed, my bachelor for life status is in jeopardy and Iām fighting for the most important thing of allāmy family.
My Unexpected Surprise is another great addition to the Greene Family series by Piper Rayne. I’ve been waiting to see which lady would be the one to capture Fisher’s heart, and I loved seeing him and Allie fall in love!
As a result of his mom’s tragic death when he was a kid, Fisher’s scars run deep when it comes to avoiding commitment. Allie, meanwhile, wants the full-blown fairytale romance. A few months before the book opens, Fisher and Allie had kindled a friendship of sorts, and that led to them having a one-night stand (when A Greene Family Summer Bash takes place). Fisher pretty much ghosted Allie after that and avoided her phone calls, but when he runs into her at the hospital he gets an unexpected surprise: She’s pregnant. Now, they both need to adapt to the evolution of their friendship, being roommates and figuring out how they will co-parent. But along the way, Fisher realizes that maybe being Allie’s boyfriend and babydaddy won’t be so bad after all.
I really enjoyed the evolution of Allie and Fisher’s relationship. She had no problem calling him out when he was being a controlling jerk, and he allowed himself to be vulnerable with her in explaining why he felt the need to control anything that he could since he couldn’t control his mom’s death. These two are really sweet together, and Fisher is totally swoony when he decides that he wants to woo Allie.
Allie is besties with Stella from the Bailey family series (Winning My Best Friend’s Girl), so there are lots of appearances by Stella and Kingston (in addition to Dori helping Grandma Ethel play matchmaker, of course!). That tease at the end for Posey and Gavin? Bring it on! And that scene with Xavier and Clara was heartbreaking!!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Piper Rayne:Ā
Piper Rayne, or Piper and Rayne, whichever you prefer because we’re not oneĀ author, we’re two. Yep, you get two USA Today Bestselling authors for theĀ price of one. Our goal is to bring you romance stories that have “Heartwarming Humor With a Side of Sizzle” (okay…you caught us, that’s our tagline).Ā
A little about us…. We both have kindle’s full of one-clickable books. We’re both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We’re both chauffeurs to our kids. Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too.Ā
The first time I met sexy Stanton Baines, I nearly swallowed my tongue. But that wasĀ beforeĀ he opened his mouth and directed his insolent comments at me. Not one to back down from a clash, I fired right back. From then on, Stanton pursued me with a vengeance. The first thing I learned was he discarded women like gum wrappers. Second, the control freak thought he could dominate me. That billionaire might be the boss of everybody else, but he was never going to beĀ myĀ bosshole. Nor was I going to be one ofĀ hisĀ crumpled-up gum wrappers. My heart had been trampled on enough. Mr. BainesĀ would notĀ be adding his shoeprints to it. Except he didnāt give up. The more I sassed, the more he chased. After he had me wrapped around his pinkie, he left ā¦ as in poofed right out of the country without so much as a farewell. I figured we were over. Boy was I ever wrong. I had completely underestimated the man and that alphahole was about to bring me to my knees … unless I did it to him first. Ā Tall,Ā Dark, andĀ BossyĀ is the first novel in the Baines Family Series. It is a complete stand-alone with a happily ever after.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
Tall, Dark, and Bossy had a sassy heroine and an alpha hero, lots of steam, and some secrets that threaten to ruin Stacey and Stantonās forever.
This story started out strong, but after Stanton takes off and then comes back, he lost me a bit. I felt like he went from a likable alphahole to just a jerk. I didn’t like the way he was manipulating Stacey. She was wrong for keeping a secret from him, but he just seemed like a different guy in the second half than he was in the first half.
These two hammer out their issues and are on the same page by the end, so thereās a nice HEA that ties it all upā¦. And that was a payoff worth waiting for.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
His for the Holidays by Samantha Chase is now live!
What better way to unwind from the stress of a family Thanksgiving, than escaping with an armload of Christmas cookies?
Hannah Christy was eager to head home and devour her treats in solitude, while doing some prep work for the promotion she was vying for. Those plans came to a screeching halt… along with the elevator…. trapping her inside with her sexy neighbor.
After being trapped with his match-making family over Thanksgiving, getting stuck in an elevator was a welcome reprieve for Gage Lawson.
If it was up to him, he would gladly stay stranded well into the new year. Especially since his neighbor has a whole treasure trove of ideas on how to pass the time. The best Christmas cookies he’s ever tasted. Delicious spiced wine. Fun getting-to-know-you games. It’s the most holiday merriment he’s had in a long while.
Somewhere in the midst of it all, Gage comes up with the perfect plan. A fake romance to help make both their family get-togethers more jolly! To his surprise, Hannah agrees to be his for the holidays. Yet with the mistletoe in full bloom, and her on his arm, Gage soon realizes their little Christmas show isn’t enough. He wants her for real… and forever.
Roast the chestnuts and hang the stockings, Gage has a plan! With the help of the 55 and over residents, magical flurries, and a never-ending supply of hot cocoa with extra marshmallows, he’s determined to show Hannah that Christmas is the most wonderful time of year to fall in love.
Download today on Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, Barnes & Noble!
His For The Holidays is one of those charming feel-good romances set at Christmastime that would make a perfect made-for-tv movie!
Hannah and Gage are so adorable, and their romance sweetly grows from a fake relationship to them both wanting moreā¦. But afraid to ask the other for it.
This book is a perfect feel-good Christmas romance, easily read in a single sitting. I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance that’s hotter than sweet, sweeter than hot. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than seventy titles under her belt – including THE CHRISTMAS COTTAGE which was a Hallmark Christmas movie in 2017! She’s a Disney enthusiast who still happily listens to 80’s rock. When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of 30 years and their two sons in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
I always believed in fairy tales, but he preferred horrors.
Ā
Damian Blackstone didnāt care about my existence. He came into my world for one reason only. He came to find answers about his past.
Ā
He moved like the villain in my favorite fairy tales. He wasnāt the one who received the happily ever afters; he was the one who destroyed them.
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Which was why I couldnāt understand why the man who raised me set it up in his will for Damian and me to be married. I wasnāt certain Iād be able to live with a man like Damian. We were as opposite as any two people could be. I loved to bathe in the sunlight while he prospered in the shadows.
Ā
I didnāt think Iād develop feelings for the one who looked at me as if I were nothing more than a means to an end. Yet in his darkness, sometimes Iād see sparks of light. Iād see gentleness. Iād see his soul.
Ā
We became entangled with one another as we fell into mistakes and called them fate. I was his Cinderella, and he was my Beast.
Ā
I wasnāt certain that twisted fairy tales ended with happily ever afters.
Western Waves is full of all of the heart, emotion and tears that I’ve come to expect from a Brittainy C. Cherry story ā but there was just *something* missing from Damian and Stella’s story that made the difference in this not being a book I want to give unlimited starts to.
This story takes grumpy, scarred, cold hero with abandonment issues who rarely lets anyone get close to him and teaches him how to find love with a happy, cheery, free-spirited heroineā¦ who loves everyone so hard because she, too, has abandonment issues. What I really loved about Damian and Stella is that they were both so damaged as a result of their childhoods. Yes, she was raised in a huge home with an adoptive father who loved and adored her while he bounced from foster home to foster home. But the psychological torture that she went through from a parade of stepmonsters was almost worse, in a sense, than the mental damage that being a foster kid caused Damian. There really is a lovely arc as Stella comes to terms with that and learns to love herself. While Damian had to learn that he is worthy of being loved, she had to learn how to feel that she is good enough just as she is.
As much as I loved the way the hate-to-love relationship grew between Cinderstella and The Beast, I had some issues with WW. First, Stella has a boyfriend of a decade who is okay with her marrying a stranger? We later find out that Jeff is a grade-A jerk, and their breakup leads to Stella and Damian finally hooking up. But the hookup began as more of a sexual favor than anything else, and I wished something different brought them to act on their feelings.
I think my biggest problem with WW is that I thought I was going to get Damian’s backstory tied up… and I didn’t. The whole who-is-his-mom subplot ended quite anti-climactically. I needed more of an explanation than the two words that he got. When comparing that scene to the lovely flashback chapter where we see how Damian and Connor (Eastern Lights) first met, I felt almost cheated out in not getting that huge piece of the guy’s history. But it was great catching up with Connor and Aaliyah!
Also, the personalities of Damian and Stella were so similar to those of Graham and Lucy from The Gravity of Us. And while I truly loved WW and cried over Damian and Stella, their story just didn’t punch me in the gut the same way that TGoU had.
Overall, I really, really liked Western Waves ā but I didn’t think it was one of BC’s best books.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Brittainy Cherry has been in love with words since the day she took her first breath. She graduated from Carroll University with a Bachelorās Degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Creative Writing. She loves to take part in writing screenplays, acting, and dancing–poorly of course. Coffee, chai tea, and wine are three things that she thinks every person should partake in! Brittainy lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When she’s not running a million errands and crafting stories, she’s probably playing with her adorable pets.
Eighteen-year-old, Bronwyn Littleton is in love with a stranger she met on a summer night a year ago.
A stranger who was tall and broad in a way that made her feel safe. He had dark blue eyes that she canāt stop drawing in her sketch book. And he had a deep, soothing voice that she canāt stop hearing in her dreams.
Thatās all she knows about him though.
Until she runs into him again. At St. Maryās School for Troubled Teenagers ā an all girls reform school ā where sheās trapped because of a little crime she committed in the name of her art.
Now she knows that her dream man has a name: Conrad Thorne.
She knows that his eyes are way bluer and way more beautiful than she thought. And that his face is an artistās wonderland.
But she also knows that Conrad is her best friendās older brother. Which means heās completely off-limits. Not to mention, heās the new soccer coach, which makes him off-limits times two.
What makes him off-limits times three however, and this whole scenario an epic tragedy, is that, Conrad, Wynās dream man, has a dream girl of his own.
And heās as much in love with his dream girl as Wyn is in love with himā¦
NOTE: This is a STANDALONE set in the world of St. Maryās.
The return to St. Mary’s with These Thorn Kisses fell a little flat. I loved My Darling Arrow, and really liked A Gorgeous Villain… But Conrad (one of Callie’s older brother from AGV) and Bronwyn were just a bit “meh” for me in These Thorn Kisses.
I didn’t get the same sense of forbidden romance in this book that I did in the previous stories… it just kind of felt forced. I didn’t feel this burning connection between Conrad and Wyn, so the forbidden aspect to their relationship felt unexistent. The other woman drama that I was expecting with Conrad’s ex Helen being the guidance counselor at St. Mary’s was more in Bronwyn’s head than anything else.
Ultimately, These Thorn Kisses was a miss for me. I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Saffron A. Kent
Saffron A. Kent is a USA Today Bestselling Author of Contemporary and New Adult romance.
She has an MFA in Creative Writing and she lives in New York City with her nerdy and supportive husband, along with a million and one books.
She also blogs. Her musings related to life, writing, books and everything in between can be found in her JOURNAL on her website (www.thesaffronkent.com)
Disagreeing from the first time they meet, Noah and Niko know exactly how to push each other’s buttons while they fight the intense pull between them. But when they are forced to work together, they might realise that their connection runs deeper than frustration and lust.
Niko is driven and ambitious, even when it’s misconceived as cold and measured.
Her latest project is her great-grandmother’s nature organisation. Niko is determined to see it thrive again and hopefully understand herself and her broken family better in the process. Getting a handle on her inconvenient feelings is a must too.
Noah has made a promise to set things right and honour his eccentric grandfather’s hard work. Even when that means taking on an active role in a small nature organisation, while hiding his true identity.
He is busy enough as it is with university, work, and late nights of writing. Still, he can’t help but care about the organisation. Or the fierce woman who always seems to make his life harder.
Only Sometimes is a steamy new adult frenemies to lovers romance set in Copenhagen, Denmark (with a getaway to a gorgeous Swedish forest).
It’s book three in the Without Filter Series, but it can be read as a complete standalone.
The emotion in her eyes doesnāt match her calm and bored voice. Sheās dismissing me, and I canāt do anything because sheās right about this. I want to know why she lets Finn treat her like crap and does all his work with a sweet smile.
But I know she wonāt answer that, so instead, I ask, āWhy is your car at the shop? Did you drive it like an idiot again?ā
She instantly flushes, and I bite back a laugh.
āMaybe youāre jealous because my car can accelerate without sounding like itās dying a slow and painful death! But no, I didnāt speed. Itās in for a stone chip repair!ā
āCould just have well been. Iāve seen how you drive. I guess Iād be more inclined to wreck my car if my dad paid for it every time,ā I say, but it comes out much harsher than I intended.
Niko simply rolls her eyes. āI think weāve established that Iām rich and that you take great offence to thatācould we move on? Today, perhaps?ā
I sigh and run a hand through my hair as a wave of guilt rolls over me. āIām sorry I spied on you. Let me give you a lift to Copenhagen if you arenāt too posh to be seen in my very reliable car?ā
Niko looks at me curiously, humour and frustration mixing in her gaze. āIām not sure. An hour is an awfully long time to be stuck in a confined space with you. Do you think weāll make it back alive?ā Her tone has changed to playful, and Iām again aware of our proximity. One step forward, and our bodies would touch. I can smell her caramel scent mixing with the flowers surrounding us. I notice the rise and fall of her chest, tinted with pink.
She makes me so goddamn frustrated.
Sheās also beautiful and clever.
āI think we can manage,ā I say, but it sounds guttural as her gaze darts to my lips. Heat runs through my veins, and the air feels thick and heady. The idea that we are hidden from the rest of the party by the abundant flowersāitās intoxicating.
Dangerous.
So bloody tempting.
And then the stupid bell sounds, letting us know the auction has started.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
Only Sometimes is the first book I’ve read by Felicia Blaedel and I found it to be a charming enemies-to-lovers romance wrapped in the deeper themes of grief and loss. Niko and Noah really knew how to poke at one another, but their end goal wasn’t all that different as they were both trying to feel closer to someone that they lost. They kind of get off on the wrong foot, but they form a lovely friendship along the way that leads to something beautiful.
Only Sometimes is part of a series, but is a standalone. I have not read the others in this series, and had no problem following along with the references to those characters who appear in this book.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Felicia writes quirky and heartfelt romance with real, flawed characters. She also reads whenever she has a free minute and can’t leave her house without her beloved kindle.
Felicia writes in English, but is Danish and lives in Denmark with her husband and son.
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When Felicia isn’t doing something bookish, she enjoys drawing, dancing (mostly at home with her toddler), cooking (for the most part) and travelling.
She also tends to buy anything with dinosaurs.
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Felicia writes books about being true to yourself, and she is passionate about mental health and authenticity. As an adult, Felicia received professional confirmation that she is actually autistic.
Felicia hangs out (too much) on Instagram where she posts about her indie-author life, cute dresses, coffee mugs, musings about autism and anxiety, book recommendations, and much more. She would love it if you came by and said hello. @feliciablaedel
There are three words most men canāt resistāI dare you.
So as you can see, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I had no choice when my buddies said āI bet you canāt get that brunette beauty to kiss you before the night ends.ā
I proved them wrong, and oh how good it felt to be right when I swept the quick-tongued woman into my arms and kissed the breath out of her at the party.
But, I made a slight miscalculation.
Turns out sheās my brand new enemy.
And soon Iām locked in a fierce battle of wits with my sexy-as-sin nemesis. Iām determined to show the whole city that my company is offering the best new path to romance, and sheās dead-set on knocking me down. Publicly.
Itās the hottest game of one-upmanship Iāve ever played, punctuated by fiery kisses, dirty letters, and, after a heated argument, hate s-e-x.
You know what they say. Keep your enemies closer.
I keep her so damn close to my favorite body part.
Everything is fun and gamesā¦until I gamble something I canāt afford to lose.
He is back!!! Sebastian York narrates this hot tamale!
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
Return to the Big Rock world with Lauren Blakely’s male POV romcom Come Again. Easton runs a successful elite matchmaking service dedicated to capitalizing on real-life chemistry between people when they meet up at his swanky parties — even though he is one of Manhattan’s biggest playboys. Bellamy is a romance podcaster who believes in online dating apps. They first cross paths at a masquerade party where they are dressed as Jay Gatsby and not-Daisy Buchanan, when Easton’s friends dare him to make a move on her. Their chemistry is undeniable and they share a searing kiss neither one of them can forget, but things don’t quite work out the way Easton wanted them to when his mystery woman takes off and leaves them hanging.
Bellamy, meanwhile, knows exactly who Easton is. When they cross paths again, he does not want to let her slip through his fingers again — and they set off on a friends-with-benefits relationship that is full of steam! (He’s been burned by a past relationship and is quite happy with the casual.) Bellamy and Easton have very different viewpoints on how to find romance, however, and their casual fling gets complicated when feelings get involved. I loved Bellamy as a heroine, and her confession to Easton — and his subsequent reaction — was heartbreaking. After she’s gone, Easton realizes what he had and let go and sets out on one hell of a grovel tour.
There is a lot of great snark and banter between Bellamy and Easton, and then on the flip side are these super sweet emails and messages as they fall in love. These characters are so well-written, and the hot scenes are as captivating as the vulnerable ones.
I enjoyed the cameos from some of the other Big Rock couples, and Grandma Coco was one of my favorite characters in this book! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
About Lauren Blakely:
A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible
Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style thatās
sexy, sweet, and witty. She also writes USA Today bestselling LGBTQ romance.
With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York
Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than 100 times, with
more than 55 titles on the USA Today Bestsellers list alone. Sheās sold more than 4.5 million books. A Brown University graduate, Lauren likes dogs, cake and show tunes and is the vegetarian at your dinner party.
Protecting You, an all-new emotional second-chance romance from Lena Hendrix, is available now!
One moment of hesitation and I lost Maggie forever. Since then, weāve spent the last 15 years in this small town circling each other and pretending neither remembers how right it felt when we were best friends. Now sheās a single mom and she doesnāt need a ābroody, grumpy copā like me complicating her life. No matter how many times her heated gaze scorches my skin, I can never have her in the way I want. Completely. So I push her awayābut itās for her own good. Because if she knew the truth of what I did, she wouldnāt just have hurt feelings, she would truly hate me. She has a guarded heart and itās all my fault. But I donāt have a heart at all. I gave it to Maggie OāBrien a long time ago.
I couldnāt. Maggie hadnāt released her arms from around my neck, and I couldnāt
As we inched closer toward Maggie, I could see her partner was getting bolder, pressing his hips into her ass as they swayed. She pulled away, turning to push her palm against his chest. A low rumble vibrated within me at seeing him completely oblivious to her discomfort. The song faded, and I thanked Casey Mae for the dance, effectively dismissing her and ignoring the pout she clicked into place.
Two steps forward and I was pressed against Maggieās back, my hand wrapping possessively around her trim waist. āYou okay, doll?ā My voice rumbled low against the shell of her ear.
āThere you are!ā Her eyes were wild as she turned and threw herself around my neck. Instinct took over, and I wrapped her in my arms. For a moment, I pulled her close to me, drowning in the warmth of her body, the delicate scent of floral perfume and her skin. My cock thickened at the closeness of Maggieās body pressed against mine.
Iāve waited fifteen years for this.
Maggie still clung to me as I shot her dance partner prick a murderous glare. He took one step back, both palms in the air. Shaking his head, he backed away and wound himself around the next girl who smiled in his direction.
I should stop touching her. Let her go.
I couldnāt. Maggie hadnāt released her arms from around my neck, and I couldnāt force myself to peel my arms off her. Instead, I took a deep inhale of her sexy, floral scent and filed it away in my memory for later. Around us, the mood shifted. The lights slanted, and the low bass of a slow country song reverberated through the speakers.
Instead of releasing my shoulders, Maggieās plush hips began to sway. āI think heās still watching,ā she whispered against my skin.
āDefinitely,ā I said. That douche had all but forgotten about us, but if that was what she thought, I was going with it.
One hand ran up her back, settling between her shoulder blades, and I pulled her chest against mine. I knew it was a mistake. My carefully crafted detachment was the only way I knew how to protect her from all my bullshit. Her heart hammered through the delicate fabric of her top, and I could feel the diamond tips of her nipples press against me.
I swallowed a groan as we swayed and moved to the music. Slow, practiced breathing was the only thing that kept me from completely unraveling in her arms. Up close, Maggie was even more beautiful than I could stand.
She was everything I needed but had no right to want. Not after what I had done. I shoved my demons down and focused on the fact that Maggie OāBrien was swaying in my arms, humming along with the band.
āYou smell nice,ā she said quietly. Her voice was barely audible above the noise in the bar.
āMmm,ā I harrumphed, unable to form a coherent thought, let alone actual words. A thousand thoughts tumbled through my head, but I couldnāt seem to find a way to give voice to a single one.
You smell nice too.
I miss you.
This feels too good.
The song faded, melted into a new one, and my ability to form a singular thought returned. My back stiffened as I pulled to my full height, causing her fingers to untangle from my hairline. The cold left behind by the absence of her hands prickled down my spine.
What the fuck are you doing? Youāve done nothing but ruin her entire life.
Dread pooled in my stomach as I thought back to all the choices that brought us here, all the things that I had done. I thought of David. I had no right to enjoy the feel of Maggieās soft breath tangling with mine.
Steadying her on her feet, I held her at armās length and leveled my breathing. Her long fingers curled around my wrists, pushing against my pulse points as they hammered against her fingertips.
Iād let it go too far. How had I let her creep past my defenses and seep into my bones? The swirling greens and amber of her eyes burned into me. Everyone around us melted away.
I could do it. I could pull her into me and crush that full mouth against mine and finally claim her.
āCole . . .ā Maggie took the tiniest step toward me.
I swallowed past the gravel in my throat.
āYou need to be more responsible.ā I pushed past the undulating crowd, fleeing before I could do something epically stupid, like finally caving to my deepest desires. Bitter self-loathing washed over me as I caught the disgusted look that marred Maggieās gorgeous face. Iād hurt her with the very words I knew would cut deep. But I had to protect her, and her heart.
Even if it cost me everything.
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars
This series keeps getting better and better! We’ve gotten hints of Maggie and Cole’s backstory in the previous Chikalu Falls books, and Lena Hedrix did not disappoint with the emotional second-chance romance she delivered in Protecting You!
Protecting the people of Chikalu Falls is engrained in Cole Decker as a third-generation police officer. But protecting Maggie, the best friend he’s been in love with since he was a teenager, just about ruined him. There is so much history behind the estranged relationship between Maggie and Cole, and I loved how these two went from him (seemingly!) hating her to getting the HEA they both deserved. This emotional, heartwarming, heartbreaking story was captivating from start to finish.
LH also did a really great job of writing Cole’s relationship with Maggie’s daughter, Lottie. And of course, there’s the tight bond between Deck and the other guys, Lincoln and Colin. When things blow up between Cole and Maggie, when the weight of his secret is crushing him and destroying him from the inside out, the bond between these friends really shines as they tell him what a dope he’s being! One of my favorite scenes was between Deck and Lincoln! I’ve thought that the secondary characters were excellent supports from the very first book in this series, and I was thrilled to see that LH continues to write them that way.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
About Lena Lena Hendrix is the author of steamy, contemporary romance novels. Her love of romance started with her grandmotherās Harlequin paperbacks and now Lenaās stories are full of heart, humor, and plenty of strong Alphas with marshmallow insides-she likes her coffee hot and her heroes hotter!
Lena lives in the midwest with her husband, three children, and two derpy Australian Cattle Dogs. When sheās not writing or devouring new novels, you can find her hiking, camping, fishing, and sipping a spicy margarita!
