ALONG CAME TROUBLE by Erin Kern
Elisa Cardoso longs for passion in her life. Though she'd much rather spend her days photographing the stunning Wyoming landscape, food photography is a lucrative, if uninspiring, way to pay her bills. But when her next assignment brings her face to face with sexy restaurant owner Brody McDermott, Elisa can't deny the delicious effect he has on her.
From the minute Brody sees Elisa, he's dying to unleash her inner bad girl. He knows there's more to the sophisticated photographer than meets the eye. Now getting the sexy shutterbug into his bed is on his menu, but when she starts making her way into his heart-
big problem. Love has been tricky for Brody, and he's not too eager to try his luck again. But when a golden opportunity means Elisa may be leaving Trouble for good, can Brody find the courage to grab on to love . . . before it slips away?
Bio:
Erin was born in Houston, TX. but spent the majority of her life in the Bay Area. She married her high school sweetheart and began her writing career while being a stay-at-home mom to her daughter. Her first book, Looking for Trouble, was on the Amazon top 100 for four months, and on the
indiereads.com top ten for four weeks. The second book in the Trouble series, Here Comes Trouble, was also a top seller on Amazon. Erin currently lives in North Texas with her husband and two children.
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Excerpt:
“Why do I
always get the feeling you’re holding back around me?”
Her luscious
lips parted and her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t
explain it.” His finger trailed along the edge of her jaw. “It’s like a part of
you is afraid of me.”
She sucked in
a deep breath through her parted lips. “Not afraid, just cautious.”
“Why do you
feel the need to be cautious?”
She waited a
moment, like she wanted to formulate a logical answer. “You make me feel things
I’m not used to. I’m just not sure how to handle them.”
He stepped
even closer to her, so that her sweet body heat fl owed around him like a
blanket of sexuality. “Like what kind of things?”
The pulse
beating beneath her neck sped up when his finger trailed down the column of her
throat. “I don’t know. But my mind doesn’t know how to make sense of them.”
His mouth
quirked in a small smile. “There’s your problem. You should stop thinking so
much and allow yourself to feel.”
Oh, this woman
would be wanton in bed. His finger alone elicited all kinds of reactions from
her that had his body coming to life. Her pink tongue kept darting out and swiping
across her lower lip, leaving it deliciously wet. After waiting for what felt
like a lifetime, he gave in to his craving and leaned down. His mouth lowered
to hers with a gentleness that contradicted the raging desire he felt for her.
Her lips were soft, full and moist, and even more heavenly than he thought they
would be.
She didn’t
push him away, as he expected her to. Instead, her hand came up to grip his
shoulder and her fingers dug into his muscles. The lady wanted him. She clutched
at him with a desperation that had to be genuine. The knowledge had him pulling
her even closer and slanting his mouth over hers even harder. His tongue probed
the entrance of her hot mouth and she eagerly allowed him to enter.
Holy sweet
mother.
She would not
ruin this beautiful day by crying. She’d cried over the loss of her brother for
years and had since told herself she’d become a stronger person than the lonely
college kid she used to be.
“Even though
we’re eight years apart, Marcello and I were closer than your average brother
and sister. When he left it was like losing my best friend.” She’d never forget
the feel of his arms wrapped so tightly around her neck, just minutes before he
boarded the plane to South America. Then afterward, the emptiness in her heart
as she walked out of the airport alone.
“Sounds to me
like you made the right choice, though. How could you have taken care of him at
that age?”
Elisa tucked a
strand of hair behind her ear. “I know I did. My grandparents are very
successful people. They’ve been able to provide him with a life that even my
parents couldn’t. He lives in a huge house overlooking the city; he went to the
best schools. He’s studying to be a doctor, for crying out loud. He hasn’t
wanted for anything down there.”
Brody tilted
her chin up with his index fi nger. “Except for you. You can’t keep carrying
the guilt around. It’s eating you up.”
His bottomless
eyes were so easy to fall into. More than once she’d found herself becoming
hypnotized by them, and now was no different.
“How is it you
always know the right thing to say?” she asked in a husky voice.
His thumb
traced her lower lip. “Because I might have an idea of what you’re feeling.”
She sucked in
a breath, and held it for a second. “Because of your divorce?” She would get
this man to open up to her if it killed her. Had the dissolution of his marriage
been so traumatic that he couldn’t even talk about it?
His gray eyes
darkened for a moment, like a cloud of grief. “It’s not one of my prouder
moments, no.”
She tilted her head and studied him. Did he blame himself?
“What would you have to be ashamed
about? Sometimes things like that are
unavoidable.”
He stepped
even closer to her, so that his body heat wrapped her in a mind- tingling
cocoon of sexuality. Day by day, Elisa’s willpower grew weaker and weaker. How much
longer could she resist him? If he kept touching her, like he was now, she’d be
too far gone.
“I can’t think
clearly when I’m around you,” he murmured in a sexy, husky voice.
He couldn’t
think? Her brain was mush.
His mouth
hovered just a whisper away from hers, not touching but close enough to drive
her out of her mind.
“Maybe I
should just kiss you and put both of us out of our misery.”
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LAST CHANCE KNIT & STITCH by Hope Ramsay
Molly Canaday wishes she could repair her life as easily as she fixes cars. She was all set to open her own body shop in Last Chance when her mother ran off and left her to manage the family yarn shop instead. Now guided by the unsolicited-though well-intended-advice of the weekly knitting club, Molly works to untangle this mess. But her plan unravels when the new landlord turns out to be difficult-as well as tall, dark, and handsome.
Simon Wolfe returns to quickly settle his father's estate and then leave Last Chance for good. Still wounded by a broken heart, Simon is surprised when the town's charming streets and gentle spirit bring back good memories. Soon the beautiful, strong-willed Molly sparks a powerful attraction that tempts him to break his iron-clad no-commitment rule. Can Simon and Molly find a way to share work space-and build a future together in Last Chance?
Bio:
Hope Ramsay grew up on the North Shore of Long Island, but every summer Momma would pack her off under the care of Aunt Annie to go visiting with relatives in the midlands of South Carolina. Her extended family includes its share of colorful aunts and uncles, as well as cousins by the dozens, who provide the fodder for the characters you'll find in Last Chance, South Carolina. She's a two-time finalist in the Golden Heart and is married to a good ol' Georgia boy who resembles every single one of her heroes. She lives in Fairfax, Virginia, where you can often find her on the back deck, picking on her thirty-five-year-old Martin guitar.
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Excerpt:
She peeked at
his sketch. “Oh, my God. Please tell me my butt is not that big.”
It amused him
to think that Molly, who seemed not to care at all about how she dressed, was
still woman enough to worry about the size of her butt. “It’s not big. It’s perfect.”
His heart stalled the moment the words left his mouth.
“Perfect? Get
real. I swear, Simon, if you paint a picture of me from the rear I will never
forgive you.”
“I’m sure it’s
just your baggy pants,” he muttered, putting his pencils away.
“You think my
pants are baggy?”
He ground his
teeth together, his mood suddenly sinking. There was no way to make her happy.
He’d watched his father have the same ridiculous conversations with Mother. And
over the years, he’d had his own impossible conversations with the women in his
life. They never liked the way he told the truth.
He turned the
conversation. “I’m getting hungry. You said something about the Pig Place and a
beer?” He had become a master at the pivot.
“You’re
changing the subject, aren’t you?”
“Yup,” he
said, as he started putting his sketchbook and pencils into his fi eld
backpack.
“Okay, you’re right. My pants are kind of baggy,” she
said in a little voice. “But that makes them really comfortable.”
“It’s okay, Molly. I didn’t mean to—”
“But in any case, I don’t want anyone recording me or my
butt for posterity, or posterior as the case might be. It kind of creeps me
out.”
Her shoulders
slumped, and she gave him a woeful look that he might have mistaken for a
female pout. But on Molly, that sad- adorable look touched something deep inside
him. “Why does it creep you out?”
“Because I’m
not pretty. I don’t have a great body. And I’m not particularly photogenic. Or
in this case, sketch-o-genic. The idea of people looking at some image of me
and making fun is just creepy.”
This admission
stunned him. “But you’re beautiful. One day I’d love to paint you without—” He
stopped speaking. This was the kind of talk Coach would frown upon. He’d been
thinking with his heart again.
She gave him
her squinty- eyed look. “You’d like to paint me without . . . what?” She stared
at him for a long moment as the truth settled in. “Without my clothes? Oh, my
God. You want to paint me naked?” She got up and stalked away toward her fishing
gear. She was visibly upset.
And he wasn’t
exactly sure what to do about it. If he told her he was only joking, it would
underscore her own self- doubts. If he told her the truth, he’d be breaking his
word to Coach. But someone needed to tell Molly that she was stunning.
So he prayed
that Coach would forgive him for telling Molly the God’s honest truth. “You’d
be lovely. Backside and all,” he said.
