Spotlight: Part-Time Husband (Trophy Husbands, #1) by Noelle Adams

Melissa Greyson asked Trevor Bentley to be her husband for a year. Can she avoid giving him her heart or will this marriage of convenience lead to more? Contemporary Romance fans will love this sexy new release from New York Times Bestselling Author Noelle Adams!

On a Wednesday afternoon, I ask Trevor Bentley to marry me. He might be the most arrogant, obnoxious man I know, but I need him to be my husband for a year.

There are reasons.

He's not going to be a real husband. Just part-time. Yes, I have to live with him. And, okay, I also have to share his bed. And, sure, he's the sexiest and most exciting thing to ever happen to my controlled, organized life.

But still... It's only a part-time marriage. I'm not going to give him my heart. I know what I'm doing, and I'm too smart to fall for my husband.

I hope.

Excerpt

Copyright© 2018 Part-Time Husband

The flash of annoyance I feel at his smug expression is enough to get me going again. I say in my most poised voice, “I have a proposition for you.”

No sense in wasting time in small talk. That’s not my way or Trevor’s.

He leans back in his chair, his eyes lingering on my face. Instead of looking like he’s descending from a pedestal, now he looks more like he’s solving a riddle. “A proposition?”

“Yes. A good one.”

“I realize Pop’s needs help with advertising, if those tacky commercials you’ve been running are any indication, but you have to know I’m no longer interested in working for you.”

My fingers tighten around the portfolio I’ve just picked up again, but I manage not to display my resentment on my face.

Tacky commercials.

He just said it outright to my face.

Yes, I happen to agree with his assessment, but still… Who does that?

“I’m not offering you a job with Pop’s,” I say, my voice almost prim in its coolness. “I actually have a favor to ask you, and so I’ve got something to offer you in return. Something you’ll want.”

His lips part just slightly, and I notice because my eyes keep slipping down to his lips.

So kill me. He’s got the sexiest mouth I’ve ever seen.

“What do I want?” he asks after a moment’s pause.

This part is easy. I slide a contract out of my portfolio and hand the stack of papers to him. He reaches to take it and then scans the top sheet with a bullet-point summary of the contract.

Basically, it’s an agreement for his company to develop a regional advertising campaign for Pop’s for a very large amount of money. I had to pull from other budget lines to find the financing for it, but I know any campaign Trevor puts together will at least double the money expended. He’s that good.

Both his eyebrows go up as he reads.

Very slowly his eyes (like dark chocolate) rise again to my face. “You must need a very big favor.”

“I do.”

While I don’t know the ins and outs of Trevor’s contracts with other companies, I have a general sense of the level he’s working at. He’s good enough that he could have made a success of it in New York or LA, but for some reason five years ago he moved back to Charleston, where he was raised. Most of the jobs his agency handles are local or statewide. The one I’m offering him has to be bigger than anything else he’s done yet.

He looks back down at the top sheet. “This is for real?”

“Yes, it’s for real.”

“Pop will never go for this. He despises me.” It’s not at all surprising that Trevor knows Pop’s opinion of him. Everyone knows.

“Yes, he does. But advertising got moved last year, and now it’s under me. I make the decisions. This is real. I’m willing to sign that contract right now.”

“But it’s not just because I’m so good.”

“No. It’s not because you’re so good. We need some better advertising, but we’re not desperate. I’m going to have to put up with a lot a grief from my in-house folks and from Pop to make this deal with you, so I need something in return.”

“A favor?”

“Yes. A favor.”

I’ve been killing it so far—sounding cool and professional and exactly on his level. I’ve even managed to keep my expression perfect and not blush the way I sometimes do when I’m emotionally discomposed.

But now the moment has arrived, and the truth is I’m nervous.

More than nervous. Scared as hell.

I’m about to ask this arrogant man to marry me.

Trevor waits a beat. “Are you planning to tell me what the favor is?”

It’s time. I have to just say it. “I need you to marry me for a year.”

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About Noelle Adams

Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

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Spotlight: Mine After Dark by Marie Force

He barely knew her, and he can’t forget her…

It’s the dead of winter on Gansett Island, and Riley McCarthy’s mood matches the lousy weather as he and his family work to bring their new business, McCarthy’s Wayfarer, back to life. He can’t deny that he’s been in a funk since Nikki Stokes and her twin sister, Jordan, left the island last fall without saying goodbye. Riley, who’d been hired to fix the leaking roof at their grandmother’s home, had liked talking to Nikki and had been looking forward to getting to know her better when she disappeared. Months later, he still thinks of her every day, even if he wishes he didn’t. She’s hard to forget.

As the manager for Jordan’s reality TV career, Nikki finds herself square in the middle of the kind of drama she’s had more than enough of, especially since her sister plans to go back to the husband who released a sex tape that devastated Jordan last fall. Enough is enough for Nikki, who quits her job and heads for her happy place—her grandmother’s oceanfront home on Gansett Island, hoping she might run into the sweet, sexy guy who fixed the roof last fall. She liked talking to him and wonders if he stayed on the island for the winter. She really hopes he’s still there.

The minute Riley hears that Nikki has come back to Gansett Island, he has to see her. He has to know if the spark of attraction he’d felt for her is still there, and more than anything, he’d love to know why he’s thought more about a woman he met exactly twice than he ever has about anyone else. Come back to Gansett Island for Riley and Nikki’s sweet, sexy story and catch up with many of your favorites, including Mac and Maddie, Adam and Abby, Shane and Katie and Kevin and Chelsea!

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About the Author

Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, including the indie-published Gansett Island Series and the Fatal Series from Harlequin Books. In addition, she is the author of the Butler, Vermont Series, the Green Mountain Series and the erotic romance Quantum Series. In 2019, her new historical Gilded series from Kensington Books will debut with Duchess By Deception. 

All together, her books have sold 6.5 million copies worldwide, have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list many times. She is also a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller, a Speigel bestseller in Germany, a frequent speaker and publishing workshop presenter as well as a publisher through her Jack’s House Publishing romance imprint. She is a two-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award for romance fiction. 

Her goals in life are simple—to finish raising two happy, healthy, productive young adults, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can and to never be on a flight that makes the news. 

Join Marie's mailing list for news about new books and upcoming appearances in your area. Follow her on FacebookTwitter @marieforce and on Instagram. Join one of Marie's many reader groups. Contact Marie at marie@marieforce.com.

Spotlight: On Highland Time by Lexi Post

For fans of sexy Scottish Highlanders who know how to treat a woman like a lady.

When someone changes history, affecting the future, Diana Montgomery, the most experienced agent of Time Weavers, Inc., travels back to 1306 Scotland to change it back. Her mission, to find the culprit and ensure a minor clan chief dies in battle as he originally had.

Diana is well-prepared to infiltrate the small MacPherson clan. What she’s not prepared for is Torr MacPherson, the ruggedly handsome warrior with a kind heart and a steadfast loyalty—the Laird she’s supposed to ensure dies.

Excerpt

Torr took her reaction in stride and began a tender assault on her neck.

She pushed against him, and he allowed her a little space. She was grateful because despite her training, she doubted she could do much to take down such a huge man, especially if she didn’t want to hurt him. But he kept his arms about her waist.

“What is it, lass?”

It was everything. She wanted to cry and laugh at the impossible situation she found herself in, even as her body shivered with a growing need. She simply shook her head and tried to step back, but he held her with gentle strength.

Didn’t he understand? She needed to put more space between them, in so many ways. Her breaths came quickly, her body flushed from the desire he’d ignited. A desire she never remembered experiencing before. She closed her eyes and tried to think of the rolling mountains beyond the castle walls, but they faded quickly and instead she envisioned Torr, cupping her breasts.

She snapped open her eyes to find him staring at her, a crooked grin on his face.

“I want ye, Diana. Ye have a fire in ye that calls me like the spring sun to the seedling.”

Oh, Shakespeare, now he was a poet, too? She couldn’t do this. He was due to die… She had to find the Disruptor… She had to—

His deep voice soothed her. “I understand. Life here at Gealach is new and strange, and I have possibly presumed too much, too soon. “Ye miss yer clan, do ye not?”

She didn’t say anything. His kindness causing a lump to form in her throat. His warm, big body so close to hers with the scent of leather and the clean smell from his bath was so primitively male, he had her feeling safe, protected.

He pulled her body against his again. Instead of feeling physical attraction, she wanted to simply snuggle in. Hesitantly, she let her head fall against his shoulder.

As they stood there, his chest rising and falling in steady rhythm beneath her cheek, memories of her dad doing the same calmed her. When she’d done poorly on a test, not made the volleyball team, or when she was dumped by her first boyfriend in ninth grade, dad had held her just like this. Torr would make a good father…except he was destined to die.

She stiffened. Did Torr have any children after the Disruptor saved him? He deserved children.

He reacted to her body language and stroked her back. “I know it is hard. I too have lost many of my family.”

She pulled back to look at his face, anxious to hear what he’d reveal.

“Unlike ye, I didn’t know my mother. She died shortly after Kerr was born. Five sons took too much out of her. But my brothers and my father made a family.”

She put her hand on his chest, feeling the sadness behind his words. This man deserved comfort more than she did. He had endured so much, and yet still offered more to others.

He covered her hand with his and sighed. “The war has taken all but Kerr from me. Him and the few left in our wee clan. I’m glad ye joined us. I hope ye will eventually feel this is yer home.” His inner sadness called to her in a different way from his persuasive sexual advances. In that moment, he touched her heart.

“I’m sure I will. It is the only home I have now.” She grimaced inside at such a bald-faced lie.

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About the Author

Lexi Post is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of romance inspired by the classics. She spent years in higher education taking and teaching courses about the classical literature she loved. From Edgar Allan Poe's short story “The Masque of the Red Death” to Tolstoy’s War and Peace, she's read, studied, and taught wonderful classics.

But Lexi's first love is romance novels. In an effort to marry her two first loves, she started writing romance inspired by the classics and found she loved it. From hot paranormals to sizzling cowboys to hunks from out of this world, Lexi provides a sensuous experience with a “whole lotta story.”

Lexi is living her own happily ever after with her husband and her cat in Florida. She makes her own ice cream every weekend, loves bright colors, and you will never see her without a hat.

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Spotlight: Fool for Love by Marie Force

Sometimes you have to rock the boat . . .
 
Joe Cantrell, owner of the Gansett Island Ferry Company, has been in love with Janey McCarthy for as long as he can remember. And for just as long, Janey has had a boyfriend—now fiancé—
doctor-in-training, David Lawrence. But when things go terribly wrong and the engagement is broken, Janey decides that a few days on the mainland with Joe—who she calls her “fifth brother”—is just what she needs before she goes home to the island to face her family with the bad news . . . 
 
Loving Janey from afar was tough enough on Joe, but having her in his house is pure torture. Will he keep himself in the friend zone? Or will he take advantage of this opportunity to show Janey what they could have together? And what will his best friend—Janey’s protective older brother, Mac—have to say about it? Now Joe will finally have to decide if it’s time to leave safe waters and set his own course . . .

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About the Author

Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, including the indie-published Gansett Island Series and the Fatal Series from Harlequin Books. In addition, she is the author of the Butler, Vermont Series, the Green Mountain Series and the erotic romance Quantum Series. In 2019, her new historical Gilded series from Kensington Books will debut with Duchess By Deception. 

All together, her books have sold 6.5 million copies worldwide, have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list many times. She is also a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller, a Speigel bestseller in Germany, a frequent speaker and publishing workshop presenter as well as a publisher through her Jack’s House Publishing romance imprint. She is a two-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award for romance fiction. 

Her goals in life are simple—to finish raising two happy, healthy, productive young adults, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can and to never be on a flight that makes the news. 

Join Marie's mailing list for news about new books and upcoming appearances in your area. Follow her on FacebookTwitter @marieforce and on Instagram. Join one of Marie's many reader groups. Contact Marie at marie@marieforce.com.

Giveaway

Enter Marie's Reader-get-a-Reader Giveaway: http://marieforce.com/getareader/

Spotlight: The One You Can't Forget by Roni Loren

“Absolutely unputdownable, delivers all of the feels! Roni Loren is a new favorite. Loved this.”—COLLEEN HOOVER, #1 New York Times bestseller

Most days Rebecca Lindt feels like an imposter…

The world admires her as a survivor. But that impression would crumble if people knew her secret. She didn’t deserve to be the one who got away. But nothing can change the past, so she’s thrown herself into her work. She can’t dwell if she never slows down.

Wes Garrett is trying to get back on his feet after losing his dream restaurant, his money, and half his damn mind in a vicious divorce. But when he intervenes in a mugging and saves Rebecca—the attorney who helped his ex ruin him—his simple life gets complicated.

Their attraction is inconvenient and neither wants more than a fling. But when Rebecca’s secret is put at risk, both discover they could lose everything, including what they never realized they needed: each other

She laughed and kissed him. This morning she'd melted down. But somehow this man had her laughing and turned on only a few hours later. Everything inside her felt buoyed.

She felt…light.

She'd forgotten what that felt like.

Excerpt

Wes parked the van in front of the house and cut the engine. “Well, I’ll take it as a good sign that your car is still here. If those guys showed up with your keys, they would’ve taken your ride.”

Rebecca frowned. “No. I didn’t have my car keys with me since I walked today, but at least everything looks the same as how I left it. Plus, my car keys are hanging on a peg in the kitchen. They wouldn’t be hard to find.”

Wesley eyed her. Her voice was confident, but she kept smoothing the leg of her scrubs, her hands like nervous birds not knowing where to settle. He had the weirdest urge to hug her and tell her it was going to be all right, to take that fear from her. But a sure way to freak her out even further would be for some strange dude she’d just met to hug her. He was freaked out enough for both of them that he even had that urge. “Hey, why don’t you tell me where your spare key is hidden, and I’ll go in and check the house for you first.”

There. That was a reasonable, not weird way to help.

She glanced his way, frowning. “If the alarm’s on, I need to turn it off, and I don’t want to sit out here. That’ll stress me out more than going in with you. I’m the only one who will be able to tell if anything’s been moved anyway.”

“Fair enough. Whatever makes you feel most comfortable is fine. But the minute something seems off or out of place, we bail and call the cops. Pinch my arm or something to signal me.”

Her frown deepened, a little line appearing between her brows, as if she couldn’t quite figure him out.

He couldn’t stop his smile. “What’s wrong? You look like you’re trying to figure out a really hard math problem.”

“I wouldn’t make this face for math. I’m good at math.” She let out a breath. “I guess I’m just trying to figure out why you’re being so nice to me. You don’t…know me.”

“Does that matter? If I knew you, would I not want to help you out?”

She stiffened. “What?”

He tilted his head. “I mean, are you secretly some evil comic-book villain who’s about to take over the city? Or do you have plans to kill me and store my body in your basement when we get inside?”

Her pinched expression flattened into something droll. “Austin houses don’t have basements.”

“Whew.” He wiped his brow. “I’m safe.”

She snorted and then covered her nose and mouth like she was surprised the sound had escaped. “You’re kind of strange, Wesley Garrett.”

He shrugged. “I get that a lot.” And that was a helluva lot better than what most people probably called him these days. “Now, are we going to bravely search your house like two TV detectives? Because I am so down for that right now. I need to bang open doors and yell, ‘Clear!’”

She laughed, the soft, husky sound filling the space between them and sending a pleasant ripple through him. The feeling was so unfamiliar that it stalled his breath for a second. How long had it been since he’d been around someone he could simply joke with and relax around? Someone who wasn’t looking at him like he was damaged goods? Or who wasn’t checking him for signs of a backslide?

He didn’t get clean-slate conversations like this anymore. Not with his family. Not with friends. Not even with himself. Rebecca felt like a gulp of clean, fresh air. He wanted to close his eyes and inhale. In this moment, he could be a man with no past. He could be whoever he wanted to be. And right now, he wanted to be the guy who was making this woman laugh.

She cocked her head. “You say that like you’ve been planning to do this TV detective routine for a while.”

“It’s a life goal,” he said solemnly. “I mean, I’ve done it at home alone, but that really isn’t as fun. Plus, it pisses off the neighbors. All those banging doors.”

She laughed again, and he felt like he’d won some kind of prize. She seemed like someone who didn’t give those laughs away easily.

“Now all we need are weapons,” he declared.

She reached into the bag of takeout and pulled out the eco-friendly cornstarch forks Dev used in place of plastic cutlery. “How’s this?”

“Perfect. We can go for the eyes.” He took his fork and grabbed the keys. “Let’s do this.”

“I’m ready.” Some of their playing around must’ve distracted her from her nerves because when Rebecca got out of the van, her shoulders seemed looser and there was a tentative smile on her face. She nodded toward the house and set her fork on the hood. He followed suit, since if he really had to take action, he’d need his hands free. “My extra key is by the back door.”

They headed around the house and into the small backyard. She hunched near an overgrown herb garden and fished around, finally coming up with one of those fake rocks. She flipped it over and keyed in a three-digit code on a spinner combination lock.

Wes snapped a leaf off one of her plants and inhaled the scent. “Mmm, lemon thyme. You’ve got quite a collection out here. Cilantro. Oregano. Italian parsley. I’m a little jealous.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him. “I honestly have no idea what most of them are or what to do with all of them. I had the house landscaped when I moved in, and I guess the gardeners picked the perfect spot because they grow like crazy. Except the basil, which was the one I actually knew how to use. That one was a goner during the first hundred-degree day of summer.”

“Basil is a sensitive soul.” It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her he could show her how to use the herbs, but he held the offer back. His brother had been right. Making her laugh was like some weird sort of drug to his starved system, but she didn’t need a guy flirting with her right now. It couldn’t go anywhere anyway. He didn’t date, for one. And even if he was doing the casual hookup thing these days, she didn’t strike him as the type who’d be down for that, especially with someone like him. He had nothing to offer her besides garden-care tips.

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Spotlight: Lock 'N' Load by Tee O' Fallon

Crack CIA analyst Trista Gold is a whiz with the computer, but not so much with people. She hides behind her job, analyzing Top Secret code and making recommendations on national security. She doesn’t need a man in her life. But she will, very soon...

CIA K-9 officer Sgt. Matt Connors suspects that beneath Trista’s uptight appearance, there’s a sexy woman itching to cut loose. But he doesn’t dare act on his attraction. He’s a loner and always will be. Keeping away from Trista is a must-do directive. Until he doesn’t have a choice...

During a routine assignment, Trista stumbles across a cryptic exchange. She doesn’t think much of it...until someone tries to murder her—twice. Both times, Matt had been there to save her. But now she has to hide. And her new bodyguard, Matt, and his K-9 are the only hope she has against the powerful forces that want her dead.

Excerpt

“Are you all right?”

Trista jerked her head around to find Sgt. Connors crouching on the floor beside her, his face only inches from hers, his incredibly broad shoulders blocking out all else. Big brown eyes pinned her and she couldn’t tear her gaze away. No, his eyes were more like cocoa, coffee and caramel all rolled into one. Yummy.

The look he continued to give her was intense. His dark brows drew together as he searched her face, as if looking for injuries.

“Are you all right?” he repeated, frowning. Actually, it was more of a scowl.

Yes, she wanted to say. But her throat was clogged again, and no matter how much she tried, her lips wouldn’t move.

She took a deep breath, praying it would kick her brain into gear. It didn’t. The only thing it did, was send his sexy, way-too-appealing aftershave directly to her lungs and her brain.

Say something, stupid.

“I—” She swallowed. Lord, she’d thought he was good looking before, but this close …OMG. She might not be able to speak to certain men, but that didn’t mean her libido was dead. For a man, he was utterly stunning. In a tough, rugged kind of way.

“Do you think you can get up?” Sgt. Connors held out an enormously large, incredibly strong-looking hand. “Let me help you.”

Now staring stupidly into his eyes, she placed her hand in his, noting several thick scars on his hands and forearms. As he began pulling her to her feet, an inhuman snort ruffled her hair.

A large brown and black muzzle thrust its way into her peripheral vision. Trista gasped and scrambled in the opposite direction—straight into Sgt. Connors’ hard chest.

Her pulse pounded. Her body trembled a she took in quick breaths. The dog stared at her steadily from amber-gold eyes, a shade lighter than Sgt. Connors’.

She tried pushing herself farther from the dog, but not only weren’t her sensible shoes gaining traction on the shiny granite floor, but Sgt. Connors’ body was an immovable mountain of muscle.

Still holding her hand, he hugged her tighter against his body, wrapping his other arm around her waist. “It’s okay...” His deep voice rumbled in her ear. “Sedni.” In response to his command, the dog sat. “Sheba won’t hurt you. She’s here to protect you.”

“I d-doubt that.” Cynophobia—fear of dogs—was something she’d lived with since she was six years old.

He gave a slight tug and pulled her to her feet. Blood rushed to her head and she wavered, instinctively putting out a hand for balance. Her fingers contacted the center of his chest. His shirt felt odd, and it occurred to her that he was wearing a protective vest under his uniform. That, and he smelled really, really good. Like cedar, leather, and dark rum all rolled into one intoxicating scent.

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About the Author

Tee O'Fallon has been a federal agent for twenty-two years, giving her hands-on experience in the field of law enforcement that she combines with her love of romantic suspense. Tee's job affords her the unique opportunity to work with the heroic and sexy men in law enforcement on a daily basis. For Tee, research is the easy part!

Besides reading and writing, Tee loves cooking, gardening, chocolate, lychee martinis, and her Belgian sheepdog.

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