This Book Will Change Your Life by Amanda Weaver
Genre: New Adult
Publication: September 28th, 2015 by Entangled Publishing


College is where Hannah Gregory plans to follow in her dad’s footsteps as a chemistry prodigy–except she bombs her first test. And now her future isn’t so certain. Worse, she’s not sure she wants it anymore. Salvation comes from an unlikely place—a used bookstore and the sexy Ben Fisher, the passionate college senior who works there. 
 
Ben is trapped in a life mapped out for him. Trapped in a future career as a lawyer to make his father happy. Trapped pursuing a girl he doesn't even like because she fits into a world he doesn’t want but can’t escape. But then he meets the beautiful and quirky Hannah. And for the first time, he knows what it means to truly want something.
 
So he gives in to being her friend. Then to wanting her. Then to kissing her. But freedom comes with a cost, and it isn’t long before their carefully planned lives begin to fall apart...

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About the Author


Amanda has loved romance novels since she read that very first Kathleen E. Woodiwiss novel at fifteen. After a long detour into a career as a costume designer in theatre, she’s found her way back to romance, this time as a writer.



A native Floridian, Amanda transplanted to New York City many years ago and now considers Brooklyn home, along with her husband, daughter, two cats, and nowhere near enough space.



Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Newsletter



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Meet Hawke and Abby in the newest standalone in the Sphere of Irony Series.

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RELEASE DATE: October 25th, 2015



Cover
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Blurb
Hawke Evans is the drummer for the Grammy winning Sphere of Irony. The quiet, tattooed and pierced hottie behind a pair of geek chic glasses is hiding a seriously troubled adrenaline junkie with a death wish.

Abby Kessler is studying psychology at UCLA. Her desire to help those fighting mental illness stems from a life-changing incident in her past.

When Abby meets Hawke backstage at a local club, she’s instantly attracted to his bad boy good looks. But when she discovers the damaged man beneath the beautiful exterior, she’s compelled to make up for past mistakes.

How long will it take for Hawke to realize his reckless behavior isn’t only endangering him, but the hearts of those around him? How long will it take for Abby to see that she can’t help someone who has no desire to be fixed?

***This is book 4 in the Sphere of Irony Series. It can be read as a standalone. This is a spin-off of the Famous Series***




Check out the Beautiful NEW COVERS!

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Incite (Book One) The Sphere of Irony Series
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Strike (Book Two) The Sphere of Irony Series
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Resist  (Book Three) The Sphere of Irony Series
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About the Author:
Heather C Leigh
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Heather C. Leigh is the author of the Amazon best selling Famous series. She likes to write about the 'dark' side of fame. The part that the public doesn't get to see, how difficult it is to live in a fishbowl and how that affects relationships.

Heather was born and raised in New England and currently lives outside Atlanta, GA with her husband, 2 kids, and French Bulldog, Shelby.

She loves the Red Sox, the Patriots, and anything chocolate (but not white chocolate, everyone knows it's not real chocolate so it doesn't count) and has left explicit instructions in her will to have her ashes snuck into Fenway Park and sneakily sprinkled all over while her family enjoys beer, hot dogs, and a wicked good time.


Stalk Her: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads


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BLOG TOUR
September 28th - October 2nd


The Compromise by Kate Benson
Book 5 in The Promise Series
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Buy Links:


Check out all Kate Benson’s books here:









Synopsis
Copyright © Kate Benson 2015






Analise
Ever since the moment I first laid eyes on Drake Mitchell, something primal has been inside me, just below the surface. He came into my life when I least
expected it, giving me things I never knew I needed before I met him.
It’s been six months since I took his hand and left everything, everyone I’ve ever known to be with him.
The decision wasn’t an easy one.
The path we took to get here was riddled with turmoil, tears and more heartache than I ever thought I could bear. However, I knew letting him walk away
would leave me nothing but a mountain of regret.
Now that I’ve surrendered to him, my regrets are down to one.






Drake
Falling love with her was the easy part.
From the second I saw her staring back at me, I knew I was in trouble. Control, order, dominance… all the things I craved flew right out the window the
moment her grey eyes found mine. Instantly, they were replaced with addiction, want, need...
The road we’ve traveled hasn’t been easy. In the past two years, we’ve faced more than most couples face in a lifetime, but it’s made us stronger.
She’s given me the trust I need to feed my dominant side. I’ve given her the freedom she’s always longed for, but was never able to find.
We’re finally ready to start our life together, but in a new town with new people surrounding us, will we be able to hold on to everything we’ve had up
until now?
Or will the compromise we’ve made be one thing that tears us apart?
















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About Kate:


I grew up in Texas and moved to Florida when I met the love of my life 14 years ago. I wrote my first poem when I was five and it was about my love affair
with pickles. I still love pickles but I like to think my writing has grown since then.


I absolutely adore anything to do with books whether it's writing them or devouring them in one sitting. I live on music, love, and sweet tea. I am known
for my silly but blunt personality. I've been lucky enough to find the love of my life, marry him and now we're working on our happily ever after.


He inspires me in everything I do, but especially in telling love stories. I'm an ordinary girl living an extraordinary love and I'm so happy I get to
share it with the world through my writing.




Social Media Links:














Chasing Sophie (Personal Blog):


Go Baby! Book Obsession (FB Book Group):


Go Baby! Book Obsession (FB Page):


The Promise Series Support Group:


The Promise Series Fan Page of FB:


The Callie Leveaux Fan Page on FB:
https://www.facebook.com/CallieLeveauxSeries

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Synopsis

Belle Stuart walked into my life with crimson lips, and a smart mouth to match, that made it impossible not to put her in her place—and on her knees.

She should be off-limits. Claiming her was reckless. Keeping her is dangerous. But she's more than a conquest, she's my obsession.

I'll do what it takes to protect her, even if it means letting her go.

But she's the one woman I can't give up. She's the one woman I can't stop craving.

She's the one I covet...

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The wait is over!

Covet Me By Geneva Lee

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Buy Crave Me By Geneva Lee

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Author Bio

Geneva Lee prefers fantasy to reality, especially fantasies involving powerful, dangerous, and sexy men. You can find her devouring a good romance while avoiding the laundry and the children. She lives in Kansas City with her family.




Love Unspoken by Lisa De Jong (A Flawed Love Series, Book 2)
Designer: Mae I Design (Regina Wamba)

Blurb: 
I lent my heart to the bad boy, and he did exactly what I expected he would. He broke it.

And the guy I should have been with—he’s still here. He tries to take my mind off everything I’ve lost while showing me what I could have. I’m ready for a new start, to fall in love again … to do what I should have done in the first place.

Everything seems perfect.

Then the past comes walking back in. I thought I was over him, but one look and I know that’s not true. We went through too much together for those feelings to completely fade away.

When my past and present collide, how am I supposed to choose? They both love me, and I love them.

A heart will be broken … and it could be mine.

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Never Say Never

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Synopsis
My life was full of nevers.
It was never supposed to go this way. I was never supposed to lose Mom so soon. I was never supposed to worry about making ends meet, to worry about losing the farm. I never thought I’d be working a job I hate, with a boss who was more interested in what was under my shirt than in my head. Saving neglected and abused horses had been my whole life. It was my reprieve, my sanity, my last saving grace in a cruel world. I never thought I’d grow to resent it, but I guess there is a first for everything.
Then I met him.
The Hollywood playboy. The entitled, cocky asshole that I can’t get out of my head. I never thought there could be more to him than sex appeal and an infamous reputation of loving and leaving. I never thought I’d fall for him, put my heart on the line, and risk letting him completely destroy me.
But you know what they tell you…never say never.
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AMAZON * AMAZON UK

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About the author
Emily
Emily Goodwin is the author of the twice banned dark romance, STAY, as well as over a dozen other titles. Emily writes all types of romance, from love stories set in the zombie apocalypse to contemporary romances taking place on a western horse ranch. Emily lives in Indiana with her husband, children, and many pets, including a German Shepherd named Vader. When she isn't writing, Emily can be found riding her horses, designing and making costumes, and sitting outside with a good book.
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Title: CAPTURE ME
Author: Anna Zaires
Genre: Dark Romance
Release Date: December 8, 2015
Models: Sarah Stroven and Adam Stroven
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Blurb
A new dark romance series from the New York Times bestselling author of Twist Me
She fears him from the first moment she sees him.

Yulia Tzakova is no stranger to dangerous men. She grew up with them. She survived them. But when she meets Lucas Kent, she knows the hard ex-soldier may be the most dangerous of them all.

One night—that’s all it should be. A chance to make up for a failed assignment and get information on Kent’s arms dealer boss. When his plane goes down, it should be the end.

Instead, it's just the beginning.

He wants her from the first moment he sees her.

Lucas Kent has always liked leggy blondes, and Yulia Tzakova is as beautiful as they come. The Russian interpreter might’ve tried to seduce his boss, but she ends up in Lucas’s bed—and he has every intention of seeing her there again.

Then his plane goes down, and he learns the truth.

She betrayed him. 

Now she will pay.



NOTE: Capture Me is the first book about Lucas & Yulia and has a cliffhanger-ish ending. It’s a long novella/short novel of approximately 45,000 words (about 200 pages) and is a spin-off from the Twist Me trilogy. It’s not necessary to have read that trilogy to enjoy Capture Me, but the book does contain major spoilers for books 2 and 3 of Twist Me.



PRE ORDER - capture me

Excerpt
Author’s Note: This is from Yulia’s POV. For those of you familiar with the Twist Me series, this scene takes place in Moscow, when Lucas & Julian were there to meet with the Russian officials.



He steps into my apartment as soon as the door swings open. No hesitation, no greeting—he just comes in.

Startled, I step back, the short, narrow hallway suddenly stiflingly small. I’d somehow forgotten how big he is, how broad his shoulders are. I’m tall for a woman—tall enough to fake being a model if an assignment calls for it—but he towers a full head above me. With the heavy down jacket he’s wearing, he takes up almost the entire hallway.

Still not saying a word, he closes the door behind him and advances toward me. Instinctively, I back away, feeling like cornered prey.

“Hello, Yulia,” he murmurs, stopping when we’re out of the hallway. His pale gaze is locked on my face. “I wasn’t expecting to see you like this.”

I swallow, my pulse racing. “I just took a bath.” I want to seem calm and confident, but he’s got me completely off-balance. “I wasn’t expecting visitors.”

“No, I can see that.” A faint smile appears on his lips, softening the hard line of his mouth. “Yet you let me in. Why?”

“Because I didn’t want to continue talking through the door.” I take a steadying breath. “Can I offer you some tea?” It’s a stupid thing to say, given what he’s here for, but I need a few moments to compose myself.

He raises his eyebrows. “Tea? No, thanks.”

“Then can I take your jacket?” I can’t seem to stop playing the hostess, using politeness to cover my anxiety. “It looks quite warm.”

Amusement flickers in his wintry gaze. “Sure.” He takes off his down jacket and hands it to me. He’s left wearing a black sweater and dark jeans tucked into black winter boots. The jeans hug his legs, revealing muscular thighs and powerful calves, and on his belt, I see a gun sitting in a holster.

Irrationally, my breathing quickens at the sight, and it takes a concerted effort to keep my hands from shaking as I take the jacket and walk over to hang it in my tiny closet. It’s not a surprise that he’s armed—it would be a shock if he wasn’t—but the gun is a stark reminder of who Lucas Kent is.

What he is.

It’s no big deal, I tell myself, trying to calm my frayed nerves. I’m used to dangerous men. I was raised among them. This man is not that different. I’ll sleep with him, get whatever information I can, and then he’ll be out of my life.

Yes, that’s it. The sooner I can get it done, the sooner all of this will be over.

Closing the closet door, I paste a practiced smile on my face and turn back to face him, finally ready to resume the role of confident seductress.

Except he’s already next to me, having crossed the room without making a sound.

My pulse jumps again, my newfound composure fleeing. He’s close enough that I can see the gray striations in his pale blue eyes, close enough that he can touch me.

And a second later, he does touch me.

Lifting his hand, he runs the back of his knuckles over my jaw.

I stare up at him, confused by my body’s instant response. My skin warms and my nipples tighten, my breath coming faster. It doesn’t make sense for this hard, ruthless stranger to turn me on. His boss is more handsome, more striking, yet it’s Kent my body’s reacting to. All he’s touched thus far is my face. It should be nothing, yet it’s intimate somehow.

Intimate and disturbing.

I swallow again. “Mr. Kent—Lucas—are you sure I can’t offer you something to drink? Maybe some coffee or—” My words end in a breathless gasp as he reaches for the tie of my robe and tugs on it, as casually as one would unwrap a package.

“No.” He watches as the robe falls open, revealing my naked body underneath. “No coffee.”




About the Author
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Anna Zaires fell in love with books at the age of five, when her grandmother taught her to read. She wrote her first story shortly thereafter. Since then, she has always lived partially in a fantasy world where the only limits were those of her imagination. Currently residing in Florida, Anna is happily married to Dima Zales (a science fiction and fantasy author) and closely collaborates with him on all their works.

After graduating from the University of Chicago with a degree in Economics, Anna spent eight years on Wall Street analyzing stocks and writing research reports. In 2013, she became a full-time author, pursuing her lifelong dream of writing romance novels.

Dima Zales is the love of her life and a huge inspiration in all aspects of her writing. Every book Anna writes is a product of their unique collaborative process.

In addition to reading and writing, Anna enjoys drinking tea (coconut oolong, anyone?), watching addictive TV shows, and discussing book ideas during long walks with her amazing husband.

She loves hearing from her readers, so please don't hesitate to contact her through her website or connect with her on Facebook, where she hangs out way too often. Also, please visit her husband and collaborator, Dima Zales, at www.dimazales.com and check out their fantasy & science fiction books.


Connect with Anna
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Fault Lines
(Adirondack Pack #2)
by K.C. Stewart
Publication Date: September 28, 2015
Cover Design: Mayhem Cover Creations
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Synopsis

Mira James is on a mission to smack her sister senseless. Recently, her life had come crashing down around her and she needed her sister. But contacting her was getting harder and harder to do. It hurt. Her best friend was barely in her life anymore and Mira was done with giving her space. All that was separating them now was a giant man with a smirking grin. The brute was going to get his ass handed to him if kept Mira from her sister.

Owen Purcell was the Adirondack Pack alpha and had just met his match. Sadie’s younger sister was a sassy little thing and he couldn't help but smile around the Rabbit. It may not be the wisest thing he’s ever done but there was chemistry between them that couldn't be ignored. Getting her on board may not be the hard part, but keeping her around would be.

Canidae has upped their antics and plan to hurt Owen where he feels it most. He’ll need to protect those in his pack and the little Rabbit that has found herself in the wolf’s den.


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Amazon CA - http://goo.gl/j4K88L
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Meet the Author



K.C. Stewart is the self published author of the Hailey Holloway series and most recently, the Adirondack Pack series. All her life she had fantasized and day dreamed on a regular basis but it wasn’t until she began writing flash fiction and that she made those fantasies a reality. Now she has graduated to novels but still dabbles in the occasional flash fiction and short story. Because of her love for reading and the written word, K.C. is currently continuing her education at Clarion University for Library Science. When she isn’t taking photographs, studying or writing, she is supporting a very real gummy bear habit. Currently, she lives with her boyfriend, german shepherd and cats in central Pennsylvania.

Social Media Links

Website - www.authorkcstewart.com
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/kcstewart
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kstewartauthor?ref=br_rs
Tsu - https://www.tsu.co/KCStewart

Giveaway

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All I Want
Chapter 1
Zoe Stone had tried on everything in her closet and not only did her room now look like an explosion in a mattress factory, not one single item of clothing had worked for her.
She was still standing there eyeing the carnage when her sister, Darcy, appeared in the doorway, arms loaded with clothing. “Got your 911 freak-out text. Here’s all the stuff I’ve ever borrowed from you.”
“You mean stolen?”
“Tomayto, tomahto.” Darcy dumped the entire pile of loot in the only space available—on top of the slightly tubby Bernese mountain dog snoring in the center of Zoe’s bed.
“The pretty little black dress of yours is in there,” Darcy said. “You should absolutely be wearing that for your date instead of the granny dress you’ve got on. Seriously, how old are you, eighty-five?”
She’d just had the first anniversary of turning thirty, thank you very much, but Zoe looked down at herself. Her floral print dress was soft and clingy, fell to just past her knees, and hid a multitude of sins—such as the fact that she’d been stress-eating her feels all week. “It’s not that bad.”
“Zoe, you could walk into any Denny’s before five o’clock and get a discount.”
“I like this dress,” Zoe said, “and so does Oreo.”
Oreo, the aforementioned Bernese mountain dog, cracked open an eye and looked up at Zoe with love and adoration. “See?” she said, ruffling the dog’s big head. “And not that I have time to change anyway, but I don’t see what’s wrong with this outfit.”
“Absolutely nothing,” Darcy said, “assuming that you don’t care if you ever get laid again. And for God’s sake, stop taking fashion advice from a dog who rolls in bear poo and thinks he smells good.”
Panting happily, Oreo smiled up at the both of them.
Through the open window came the sound of a vehicle pulling up. Darcy moved to the second-story window and peered out. “Looks like your blind date’s here. What’s his name again?”
“Newman Taylor.”
“Well, Newman’s in a black Jeep with the top off. Not his top, the Jeep’s top, but still very nice—Whoa.”
“What?”
Darcy’s nose was glued to the window now. “Holy crap on a stick—he’s hot for a guy named Newman. Way too hot for that dress you’re wearing. Quick,” she said, waving a hand at Zoe. “Exchange it for the LBD.”
“I’m fine in this,” Zoe said. Maybe because she couldn’t wear the LBD; she hadn’t shaved her thighs—her own little insurance policy against making any rash decisions tonight such as getting naked. No way would she be tempted knowing she had hairy thighs. “And get away from there and stop spying on him.” But then she moved to the window next to her sister and sucked in a breath because Darcy was right, Norman was hot. Dark hair, a little wavy, a lot wind tousled. Black shirt that fit him well enough to define broad shoulders. Dark jeans. An easy gait that said confident male.
Butterflies took flight low in her belly and she pressed a hand to it. “Oh boy.”
“And I bet he’s got a six-pack, too,” Darcy whispered. “Maybe even an eight-pack. I’m going to need you to remember every detail for me.”
For Darcy, abs were a requirement in a man.
But Zoe had learned a lot for a woman who’d just had her thirtieth birthday—again. She had a completely different list of requirements. Honesty and kindness. That was it. Easy to remember and simple. But she’d also learned that nothing about men was simple.
“I wonder what color his eyes are—” Darcy broke off as the guy stopped on the path to the house and unerringly looked up at the window where the two of them stood staring at him.
With a commingled squeak, they dropped to the floor.
Afraid he was missing some fun new game, Oreo barked happily and leapt off the bed and right on top of them.
“Oomph.” Darcy pulled the silly dog in for a hug. “You big lug. You need a diet.”
Zoe pushed Oreo’s tail out of her face. “Think he saw us?” she asked, panicked.
“Nah,” Darcy said.
Zoe let out a relieved breath. “Really?”
“No.” Darcy grinned and sat up. “He totally saw us.”
Oh for God’s sake. The guy’s a dentist, she reminded herself. By definition, that meant he most likely was a people person, right? Right, she decided. And him being a people person was a good thing since one of them needed to know what they were doing.
She and Darcy—and Oreo—crawled away from the window and stood.
“Feels a little like old times, doesn’t it?” Darcy asked, dusting herself off. “Remember when we sneaked out of the house to do that midnight full moon climb up White Eagle with the Connelly brothers? We climbed out the window and got caught by Grandpa and were grounded for the rest of the summer.”
“That was you and Wyatt,” Zoe said. Their brother had always been able to find trouble. “I never got grounded.”
“That’s right. Wyatt was way more fun than you.”
Zoe slipped into a pair of flats and Darcy rolled her eyes.
“What’s wrong with the flats?” Zoe asked. “You wear flats all the time.”
“Yes, because I have a spinal injury that makes me want to drop to the floor and curl up in a ball whenever I wear heels,” Darcy pointed out. “You don’t have such an excuse. Plus you have legs a mile long that look amazing in heels, which makes me hate you just a little bit.”
“Flats,” Zoe insisted.
“Fine. So what do we know about this guy?”
“He’s a dentist from Hennessey Flats,” Zoe said. “Karen set me up with him, he’s her neighbor.”
“The Karen who does your hair, the Karen who’s been married and divorced three times?” Darcy asked.
“Yeah, so?”
“Sooooooo,” Darcy said, “don’t you think if her neighbor was hot, she’d date him herself, if not make him husband number four?”
Well, crap. She hadn’t thought of that.
“Plus . . . a dentist?” Darcy asked doubtfully.
“What’s wrong with him being a dentist? At least he’s gainfully employed.”
“Nothing’s wrong with it at all,” Darcy said reasonably. “If you want to sleep with a guy whose hands have been inside other people’s mouths all day long. Do you know how many germs that is? A million. A million trillion.”
Zoe shuddered. “Great. Thanks for that. Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
“Yep,” Darcy said, but moved back to the window. “You got a reprieve; he stopped to take a call.”
Zoe grabbed her purse and turned to Oreo. “Hold down the fort for Mommy, okay?”
Darcy snorted. “If a bad guy showed up, he’d hide in your closet.”
This was probably true but the big, goofy dog was the only home security system she had right now. In the past few months both Wyatt and Darcy had moved out, Wyatt to live with his fiancée, Emily, and Darcy to live with her boyfriend, AJ.
Zoe had told herself she was good with that. Sure, she missed bossing them around as she’d been doing since the dawn of time because one, their foreign diplomat parents had never seemed to notice that they’d had children, and two, well, Zoe kind of just loved to boss people around. But she wasn’t going to complain. Not when she’d seen just about every corner of the world and knew exactly how good she really had it right here in Sunshine, Idaho, alone or not.
Besides, with her newfound freedom she had a lot planned for herself. She wanted to fix up the house, although she admittedly had very little talent in that area. She wanted to learn to bake, even though she had even less talent in that realm. She wanted to date—where she had absolutely zero talent.
It might seem silly, but to a woman who’d been uniquely unlucky in her love life, Zoe had never gotten the hang of dipping her toes into the wading pool, especially with the audience of her siblings.
But now, with the house empty, it seemed like a perfect time.
Hence blind date number one. And she was ready. She wanted this. She totally almost did.
“He’s off the phone,” Darcy reported, back at the window.
Oh God. “I changed my mind,” Zoe whispered.
Darcy turned to her. “No.”
“Yes!”
“Then why did you tell everyone to set you up with blind dates so that you could get laid?”
“I never said that! I really wish you’d stop saying it.”
“What?” Zoe asked. “That you want to get laid?”
Zoe shot Darcy a look that went completely ignored. “And that’s not why I wanted to go out, I just wanted . . .” She trailed off, because what she wanted was much more complicated than her short list of man requirements.
She had a job she loved: being both a pilot-for-hire and giving flying lessons out of the small regional Sunshine Airport. Sunshine was a sleepy ranching town at the base of the heart-stopping Bitterroot Mountains and didn’t see a lot of action, but she managed to keep busy enough to eek out a living.
She had Wyatt and Darcy, whom she loved fiercely even though on any given day she felt like strangling and/or smothering them, but she was working on that.
And then there was the ancient—and some might argue dilapidated—150-year-old Victorian house that her grandparents had left the three of them, which she loved with the same fierceness with which she loved her annoying siblings.
Not to mention Oreo, whom she’d rescued not all that long ago and who’d quickly become her favorite family member.
So yeah, her life was good and she was happy, blah blah blah.
But something had been missing for a while now.
Fun.
She’d never given that particular emotion much thought before. She’d always been too busy keeping things together. But now that she had an empty nest, so to speak, she’d decided she was due. Past due—
At the knock on the front door downstairs, she nearly leapt out of her skin.
Startled, Oreo gave a loud bark and farted at the same time, and then as he did every single time this happened, he whipped his big head around to stare at his own hind end in surprise.
Darcy grinned. “Killer protective instincts, this one.” She rumpled Oreo’s fur. “I’m going to sneak out the back door, okay?” At the door, she blew Zoe a quick kiss and then smacked her own forehead. “Oh, almost forgot! Wyatt told me to remind you that his friend Parker could be showing up any time over the next few days. And change your dress and shoes!”
“I’m not going to change!”
Darcy sighed the put-upon sigh of a sister who thought she knew everything. “Fine. But do me a favor?”
“Anything if you’ll leave.”
“For once,” Darcy said, “just once, act spontaneously, okay?”
“Spontaneously?”
“Yeah, like if when you open the door and he’s even hotter up close, step outside your comfort zone and kiss him. Right up front, you know? Set the mood.”
Zoe just stared at her. “Are you completely nuts?”
“Well, obviously,” Darcy said. “But what does that have to do with anything?” She laughed, but then her smile faded. “Listen, most people spend a first date filled with anxiety, obsessing over the good-night kiss. Will there be one, won’t there be one . . .”
“I don’t obsess,” Zoe said.
“Are you kidding? You’re the queen of obsessing. So just get it out of the way, okay? Act spontaneously. And then relax and go with the flow.”
“I always go with the flow,” Zoe said.
Darcy laughed. “You go with the flow never. Try it my way? Just this once? Trust me, if there are sparks, you’ll thank me.”
“And if there aren’t?” Zoe asked.
“Then you don’t need to worry that that dress makes you look like a grandma.”
And then the whirlwind that was Darcy was gone.
Zoe took one last look at herself in the mirror. Okay, so maybe the dress didn’t scream sex, but that was okay. She wanted a guy to want her for her, right?
Right.
The knock came again. Solid. Firm. And the butterflies in her belly once again took flight.
Oreo’s, too, given that he gave another ear-piercing bark and scrambled to hide under her bed. All he could fit under there was his big, fat head, which left the rest of him sticking out.
She thought about joining him, but she’d never been much for hiding her head under the bed. So she made her way down the creaky stairs, her dress catching on her legs. Dammit. Darcy was making her doubt the choice, but it was too late now. Still, if the dress wasn’t going to make a statement, then she’d have to make do with her personality.
No pressure or anything . . .
Oreo followed her, hiding behind her legs as she opened the front door and got her first look at her blind date and . . . stopped breathing.
Damn. He was even better looking up close. Tall, and that leanly muscled build of his spoke of a man who worked with his body, not a guy who sat on a stool with his hands inside his patients’ mouths all day. He had sharp, light green eyes that crinkled in the corners, like maybe he spent a lot of time in the sun or, better yet, smiled a lot. A scar bisected his left eyebrow, giving him a dark and mysterious air. His square jaw had a slight shadow of growth, shown off when his mouth curved at her scrutiny, and this time her heart kicked hard because he also had a killer smile.
“Hey,” he said in a deep, warm masculine voice.
“Hey,” she mirrored back as Darcy’s words flashed in her head. Act spontaneously. Step outside your comfort zone.
Kiss him.
Heart pounding, Zoe let out a breath and moved forward, having to go up on her tiptoes to brush her mouth across his.
His lips were warm, firm, and yet somehow giving at the same time. She could have easily lost herself in him, but sanity returned and stepped back.
His smile got a whole lot warmer, but he didn’t speak.
“Thought I’d get that out of the way,” she managed. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve never met a dentist without having to be in a dentist’s chair.” Great, and now she was rambling. She bit her tongue to keep it from running off with the last of her good sense.
“Nice to meet you, too,” he said. “Who’s the dentist?”
Zoe’s smile congealed and her heart stopped, just completely stopped. “Uh . . . you,” she said, “You’re the dentist.”
Still smiling, he shook his head. “Not me.”
Oh God. “You’re not Newman Tyler,” she whispered in horror.
“No,” he said. “But if your next guess is Parker James, you’d be right.”
Oh God. Wyatt’s friend, to whom she’d agreed to rent a room for the few weeks he was in town. She’d had mixed feelings about it, but Wyatt had vouched for the guy, and Zoe could really use the money for some desperately needed renovations. “You’re my brother’s old friend.”
“Not all that old, really,” he said, and looked at her mouth.
The mouth she’d kissed him with. Good God, I kissed him.
He grinned.
And . . . she’d said that out loud. Perfect. She covered her face. “I’m sorry, I—”
“Don’t be sorry,” he said. “That kiss was the best thing to happen to me all week.”
Behind her fingers she moaned a little, and he laughed at her. “Wyatt didn’t mention the welcoming committee,” he said. “He did say you might be grumpy. I like this better.”
She was going to have to kill her brother, but since he was out of town for the weekend at a vet conference, that pleasure would have to wait.
Maybe she could just move to Iceland. Iceland might be far enough to escape the humiliation, but probably not. Dammit. She’d kissed a perfect stranger, just accosted him on her doorstep. And . . . now her chest hurt. Maybe an impending heart attack would explain her behavior. Still holding her chest, she used her other hand to point at him to stay. “I just need a minute,” she said.
And then slammed the door in his face.
Behind her, in the living room, a brick fell from the ancient old fireplace. It did that every time she slammed the door. She’d tried to get someone out here to fix it but the contractor had wanted her to promise her firstborn, so she’d just decided not to slam the door anymore.
But she kept forgetting. Note to self: Stop kissing strangers, and stop slamming the door. She ran to the kitchen, where she’d left her cell phone, and pounded out her brother’s number.
“Yo,” Wyatt said in greeting. “Hear you’re going out with some dentist guy tonight. Watch where he puts his hands. You don’t know where they’ve been.”
Oh, for God’s sake. Her siblings gossiped like a pair of old ladies. “You’re a veterinarian,” she pointed out. “God knows how many worse places your hands are all day long. Maybe I should tell 
Emily to watch where you put your hands.”
Wyatt just laughed. Since Emily—the love of his life—was also a vet, it had been an idle threat and they both knew it.
Zoe sucked in a deep breath. “Listen, about your friend, the one who’s coming to stay—”
“Yeah, Darcy told you he’s coming early?”
“Uh-huh,” she said with what she thought was a perfectly even voice.
But Wyatt had been seeing right through her for years. He was the only one who could. “Zoe,” he said in his most annoying brother voice. “You’re going to be nice. You promised. At least until I get back to Sunshine.”
“Yeah,” she said, and grimaced. “About that . . .” She closed her eyes. “I might be a little short on nice as it turns out.” Try hoochie-mama on for size . . .
“Shit, Zoe. He’s there already? What did you do?”
“Hey, I didn’t do anything.” Well, except kiss him.
And then slam the door on his nose . . .
Crap. “So . . . just how good a friend is this guy again?”
“Very,” Wyatt said. “We met in college when we were bartenders at the same place. On my first night, we got jumped at closing by five drunk assholes. Parker saved my ass. Haven’t gotten to see him in years, though, so don’t chase him away before I get home.”
She grimaced again. “Gotta go.”
“Zoe—”
She disconnected. “Ooops,” she said. “My bad.” She glanced at herself in the microwave glass door. “Go make nice,” she told her reflection. She turned to do just that, stopping to grab one of the cooling chocolate chip cookies she’d baked earlier. She was a great cook but she’d never been much of a baker. Determined to change that, she’d used one of her grandma’s recipes—Zoe’s first-ever batch that wasn’t from the grocery store’s frozen aisle. She took a bite . . . and nearly gagged. They tasted like baking soda.
She spit the disgusting thing out in the sink and rinsed it down. Okay, so her baking needed a lot more work.
And maybe your attitude.
Brushing the crumbs from her hands, she went back to the living room. She let out a heavy breath and once again opened the front door.
Parker was crouched low, chuckling over Oreo, who’d stayed outside with her new roommate and was sniffing at the guy’s proffered hand.
“He’s not much for new people,” Zoe warned. “And especially not much for men. He’s a rescue and—”
And nothing because Oreo jumped up onto his two hind legs and licked Parker’s chin.
Traitor.
Parker winced, but the pained expression vanished so fast Zoe wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it. “Are you hurt?”
“Cracked a few ribs a couple of weeks ago,” he said lightly. “Still a little sore, that’s all.”
“How did you do that?”
“Wrangling some big-game poachers.”
She stared at him. “Is that code for none of your business?”
“I don’t talk in code.” Mr. Mysterious rose to his feet, Oreo in his arms like he weighed nothing instead of one hundred pounds of tubby Bernese mountain dog.
“Careful,” she said. “You’ll hurt those ribs.”
“I’m fine.”
The statement was so alpha male to the core that she laughed. “Of course, you’re fine. You’re a man. Good to know you’re all equally pigheaded.”
Not insulted in the least, he grinned. “You have us all figured out, then?”
“Not that much to figure out,” she said.
Those sharp green eyes held hers. “Maybe I’ll surprise you.”
The words brought a quiver to her long-neglected lady parts, but she was pretty confident he couldn’t surprise her. But then he let Oreo lick his face again.
“A real watchdog you’ve got here,” he said fondly, and set Oreo down with one last body rub.
Well, damn, she thought reluctantly. She had to give him at least a few brownie points for loving up on her big old silly dog. “Yeah,” she said. “He’s a real killer.” She slid the killer a long look.
Oreo pretended not to see it, which only served to prove her point about men. . . .
“So,” Parker said straightening. “Can I come in yet or do you want to slam the door on my nose again?”
She felt her cheeks flush but met his gaze.
He held it prisoner with his warm, patient one and waited her out.
Great, he was also a man who knew the value of silence. She’d never met anyone like him, that was for sure. “Okay,” she said, deciding to pretend that the past few moments had never happened, hoping that he’d already forgotten it.
Denial wasn’t just a river in Egypt. . . .