Spotlight: Wreckless by Katie Golding

Publication Date: 5/25/2021

She is my rival. My Tigrotta. My dearest enemy…and the greatest love of my life. But this, I can never let her know.

I’ve spent years as a professional motorcycle racer vying to prove myself to the world, even as I fought to save my family from the clutches of a man who would like nothing more than to see me fail. He’s not the only one. My Lorina—America’s Sweetheart Lorelai Hargrove—would also like me to eat her dust.

But this is the game we play. She pretends she hates me, and I wind her up as I pretend she’s not all I think about. And yet after a deadly wreck, her confidence is so shaken, my Lorina needs me to stop being her favorite enemy and remind her there is a tiger within who will do anything to win. That I want to spend the rest of my life chasing her to that finish line again and again and again.

If only the battle to make it to the podium didn’t cost us everything our hearts desire.

Excerpt

“More! Harder!” 

Massimo pants out a raspy groan that brings me endless satisfaction, his sharply defined arm muscles glistening with sweat. My back arches at the next hit, my hips bowing to pure power, and I cry out with all the air in my lungs, harnessing my stamina and endurance and focusing only on the sweet release of victory. 

“More!” 

“Basta! Enough, Lorina!” 

Frank chuckles from where he’s standing guard over us in my home gym, placing another sandbag on each of our lower backs—the fifth since we’ve started doing weighted planks. Massimo’s roar on the gym floor next to me grows louder, fire burning through my abs and singeing its way through my arms and legs. 

“Come on, Peanut!” my dad cheers me on. “You almost got him. He’s shaking! He’s about to drop!” 

“Get those hips up, Lori,” Frank counters. “Good job, Massimo. Nice form.” 

I grit my teeth through the growl tearing its way up my throat, glancing at Massimo next to me. His hands are fisted so tight, his knuckles are white, the bump of his bicep and triceps and deltoids trembling above his elbows. The scythe on his ribs bleeds a fresh drop of sweat as he strains to keep his hips up from the floor, a stack of sandbags covering the Madonna on his back. 

I look away from temptation incarnate, focusing on the row of my promo posters hung on the gym wall. Massive images of me in all my different leathers over the years, flags and banners strung from the ceiling. I duck my head under another groan, determined to remember I’m home to heal and get better. 

Me first. Career first. Just like Mama taught me. 

Even if she no longer agrees. 

“More!” I shout. 

Massimo barks out something in Italian as my father puts another bag on his back, looking a little too happy about the painful noise Massimo is making. My mother, however, totally tried to set him up to stay in my room, which he super awkwardly had to decline because no, we’re not sleeping together. 

Yet. 

The weighted bag I called for hits my back, my core screaming as my hips sink, and I am an idiot for pushing us this far. But he’s been acting like a child all day: exercise after exercise, circuit after circuit, he won’t stop daring me into seeing who is stronger. And even though I’ve kicked his ass the whole way through, he still won’t give up. 

“More,” Massimo growls, sneering at me while Frank places another bag on my spine. 

A strained yell pours from my lungs. “Dick!” 

“Lorelai,” my father rumbles, placing another bag on Massimo’s back. 

“No more,” Frank announces. “Y’all are gonna end up hurting each other before—” 

Massimo collapses almost the moment I do, but he gave out first. Sucker. 

“Good job, Lori,” Frank says, already sweeping the bags off my back. A pocket of air rushes into my lungs, and holy hell, those were heavy. I am so going to regret this tomorrow. “Way to tough it out.” 

“That was ridiculous,” Massimo pants out, rolling over to catch his breath. My father extends his hand, helping him to his feet. 

“You’re just saying that ’cause you lost.” I push myself to standing, sweat trickling down my back and flooding the bottom of my sports bra and the waist of my leggings. I take a towel from Frank, wiping off my face and the back of my neck. I finish in time to see Massimo squirting a stream of water into his mouth, his whole upper body swelling and sinking with every breath, and it only exaggerates how freaking cut his hips are. 

God, I’m totally going to end up sleeping with him. If I don’t, it’ll be a miracle. 

“I did not lose.” He shakes out his hair before running his hand through it. “I made the decision that it was not worth it to keep going. I put me first.” 

I scoff, taking a drink from my own water bottle. “Says the loser.” 

My dad chuckles from where he’s finished helping Frank clean up the sandbags, bumping his shoulder. “Is it weird that I want to put them in a boxing ring and let them go at each other?” 

Frank stares down my father. “Yes.” Then he looks to me and Massimo, clapping his hands in the signal for more torture to come. “Okay, tough guys. Since you’re still more concerned with outdoing each other than focusing on your workouts, time for jump ropes.” 

“Ugh,” Massimo complains, toweling off his chest. “I am not the one distracted. Lorina can hop. She is the one who cannot—” 

“Tell you what,” Frank interrupts in his I-am-so-over-this-shit voice he uses on Mason. I take another sip of water, waiting for the smackdown. “Considering I am under specific instructions from Vinicio to run your ass into the ground and keep you focused on Brno while you’re here? Five miles, now, or it becomes ten.” 

Massimo glares at my manager, then points at me. “See what you have done?” 

I shrug innocently with a grin so big, my face feels cracked in half. “Nope.” 

***

Excerpted from Wreckless by Katie Golding. © 2021 by Katie Golding. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

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About the Author

Katie Golding is a sports fan with a writing problem. Based in Austin, TX, she publishes contemporary romance novels with the support of her loving husband and son. She is currently at work on her next romance novel, unless she’s tweeting about it.

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Spotlight: Undercover Wolf by Paige Tyler

Publication Date: 5/25/2021

When these two agents are under fire, they’ll have to reconsider everything they know...

Werewolf Harley Grant isn’t exactly comfortable with her inner wolf. Even though she’s on a STAT team where she can use her abilities openly, she refuses to do so, putting herself—and sometimes her teammates—at risk.

Alpha werewolf Sawyer Bishop would give anything for his MI6 team to know about his inner wolf, but his teammates are mistrustful of anyone or anything with inhuman abilities. When he meets Harley on an overlapping case and realizes she’s a fellow wolf, he’s more than a little intrigued.

Now that STAT and MI6 have to team up to stop a crew of supernatural bad guys intent on causing a nuclear meltdown, Harley can no longer deny her wolf and Sawyer can no longer hide his. As they grow closer to resolving the case and grow closer to each other, they discover things aren’t what they seem and revenge could cost them their lives.

Excerpt

Harley caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of her eye that made her snap her head around, but she didn’t see anyone. Sure she’d seen something, she skirted the outside of the dance floor in that direction. She was starting to question herself again when she spotted a tall, attractive guy with broad shoulders, casually disheveled brown hair, and scruff on his square jaw. He was circling the dancers on the floor in much the same way Harley was but in the opposite direction, keeping pace with her so they stayed exactly opposite each other. 

Yeah, like that’s a coincidence. 

A little voice in the back of her head told her to get on the radio and call Caleb and the rest of her teammates, but she ignored it, too mesmerized by the handsome man across the room from her. Every few seconds, piercing blue eyes locked with hers, making something inside her—maybe her inner wolf—feel a sensation she didn’t recognize. 

Even if she hadn’t picked up on the scent, Harley would have known he was a werewolf from the graceful, animalistic way he moved. 

He was a predator, no doubt about it. 

Was he a kidnapper as well? 

She wanted to say he’d never do anything like that, which was an asinine thing to consider about a man she’d never met. 

Tired of stalking in circles, Harley stopped, turning carefully to keep her eyes on the big werewolf as he moved closer. She wasn’t sure, but for a brief moment, she thought she caught sight of what might have been a smile tugging at his sensuous mouth. The other werewolf—an alpha most definitely—strode past the last few people separating them and came to a halt a few feet away. Harley couldn’t ignore that the man in front of her was possibly the most gorgeous guy she’d ever seen. 

Which pretty much guaranteed he was one of the bad guys. 

Because that was how her luck worked out when it came to the  opposite sex. 

Harley took a single step forward and felt a tingle in her stomach when he did the same, that dangerous smile showing up again. She took another few steps toward him when his head whipped to the side. She looked that way, too, trying to see what had attracted his attention, and caught sight of two men slipping behind a black velvet curtain covering a section of the far wall. The second guy cast a furtive glance over his shoulder before disappearing. 

That isn’t suspicious at all. 

She turned back to the alpha werewolf, but he was already striding in that direction. She quickly followed, knowing she should call the rest of the team, but once again, her instincts insisted she hold off. By the time she slipped behind the curtain, all she saw was another set of stairs. The mysterious werewolf was nowhere to be found. 

She paused long enough to slide a hand under her dress and pull the small frame Glock 9mm from the tiny holster strapped to her upper thigh, chambering a round as she started down the steps, rather proud of how comfortably she handled a loaded weapon. Considering that before joining STAT she’d never even held a gun, she thought she was doing rather well. 

From down below, she heard the rhythmic sound of rapid footsteps along with the soft murmur of voices but no music or partying people or anything else to make her think this was a part of the dance club open to the public. Whatever the hell those two guys had come down here for, it probably wasn’t on the up-and-up. 

Lit only by three low-watt bulbs mounted in cobweb-covered fixtures hanging from the rough stone ceiling, the room at the bottom of the steps was filled with crates, racks of empty bottles, and bags of trash. The dim glow was barely enough to throw shadows, but Harley didn’t need a lot of light to see the werewolf standing a few feet away, his broad back to her, a pistol down at his side. 

“You always bring a gun when you go to a nightclub?” he asked without looking at her. 

His voice was as deep as she’d imagined it would be, a little rough with a hint of a British accent, like he’d traveled extensively for much of his life and lost a bit of the distinctive sound over time. 

“A girl has to be careful these days,” Harley said, smiling even though she was standing in the middle of a filthy storage room twenty feet underground with an alpha werewolf who’d probably lured her down here with kidnapping in mind—or worse. “I’ve heard big cities can be dangerous.” 

The man turned to look at her, blue eyes piercing even in the dimness as they slid up and down her body. “If you think it might be dangerous, why come to Paris? And all the way from America, if I’m not mistaking the accent.” 

The Brit’s perfectly sculpted nose lifted a little, his nostrils flaring the slightest bit, like he was trying to take in a scent he found tantalizing. Harley knew he was picking up her pheromones and couldn’t help wondering what she smelled like to him. 

Did he like her scent? 

Did she care if he did? 

“You know the song ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun,’ right?” She approached him slowly, glancing around and trying to figure out where the other two men had gone. “Maybe visiting potentially dangerous places is how I have fun.” 

“Strange hobby,” he said, his voice dropping down an octave to practically make her tummy vibrate…as well as regions a bit farther south. “I prefer reading, but whatever. You do you.” 

Harley lifted a brow, lowering her gun to a safe position. “Is that what you’re doing down in this dank, dark room?” She stepped to the side a little, making him circle to the right as they resumed the little dance they’d done upstairs. “Looking for a good book?” 

He snorted, coming to a stop again a few feet away. “We both know that’s not what I’m doing down here any more than you’re here looking for some fun. So, as entertaining as this banter is, I think it’s time we get on with what really brought us here.” 

Harley was almost disappointed but knew the man was right. While she’d enjoyed their verbal jousting, she was here for more important things. 

***

Excerpted from Undercover Wolf by Paige Tyler. © 2021 by Paige Tyler. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

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About the Author

Paige Tyler is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sexy, romantic fiction. Paige writes books about hunky alpha males and the kick-butt heroines they fall in love with. She lives with her very own military hero (a.k.a. her husband) and their adorable dog on the beautiful Florida coast.

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Spotlight: Cowboy Fire by Kim Redford

Publication Date: 5/25/2021

This cowboy is more than just a perfect face...

Violet Ashwood arrives in Wildcat Bluff County with one agenda: convince the hunky Mr. July from the Wildcat Bluff Fire Rescue’s annual benefit calendar to be the face—and body—of her new lonely hearts online dating service. She didn’t count on his firm refusal, nor did she count on seeing him again. Until she discovers he’s her new landlord.

Kemp Lander, aka Mr. July, wants nothing to do with Violet’s schemes to make him a model for her Cowboy Chat Corral, particularly once he finds out she fudged the truth on her rental contract by claiming she was a cowgirl. He’s got enough problems trying to keep trespassers off his ranch and doesn’t need the distraction of his sexy renter.

All Violet and Kemp want is to save their livelihoods and have their lifelong dreams realized. But it’ll take joining forces and discovering they’re better together to finally meet their goals.

Excerpt

“I need to get Heart-to-Heart Corral up and running.” Violet Ashwood glanced at Kemp Lander where he sat across from her at the dining table.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “You haven’t given up on me representing your lonely hearts club, have you?”

“No. Your photo in the Wet & Wild Cowboy Firefighters calendar drew me here. That hasn’t changed one bit since I got here. ”

He nodded, then pulled the plate with his piece of pie close to him and dug in with a fork.

She followed his action, but she didn’t feel hungry now.

He ate a couple of bites before he set down his fork. He looked out the windows, then back at her. “Maybe we can compromise.”

“What do you mean?” She felt her taste come back with the advent of sudden hope.

“You’ve invested a lot of time and effort in something you’re obviously passionate about.”

“I am. Everyone deserves true love.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What about you?”

“Me?”

“True love.”

“I’m looking for others…not myself,” she said.

“Why not?”

“It’s just that I’ve never been lucky in love.”

“I can’t imagine why not.”

“Let’s let it go at that.” She forked a bite of pie into her mouth, but she’d lost her taste for it again.

“I don’t see how you can promote something you don’t believe in.”

“I do believe in it.”

“Prove it.” He leaned toward her with a challenging gleam in his green eyes.

“Prove it?” She didn’t trust that gleam. “How?”

“Kiss me.”

She took a deep breath, wanting that very thing and not wanting it at the same time. Mr. July was getting more dangerous to her heart every moment she was in his company.

“You’re not willing to put yourself on the line?”

“I didn’t think you were interested in—”

“I’m not interested in posing for your website, but I am interested in you.”

“Oh.” She felt her face flush at his words as heat rushed through her entire body.

“I thought you might be interested in an experiment, seeing as how you’ve come all this way from San Antonio.”

“Experiment?”

He tossed his napkin on the table, stood up, and held out his hand to her. “Let’s go out on the patio and discuss our options.”

She gestured toward the dirty plates and table full of dishes. “Shouldn’t we clean up?”

“It can wait. I can’t.”

She grasped his hand, palm to palm, as she stood up. She could feel the roughness of his skin, see the stubble of his beard, and smell the soap he’d used in his shower. It was all heady stuff.

He led her into the sunroom, turned on a lamp for soft illumination, and opened the back door so that pale light spilled outside. The scent of roses in bloom filled the night air and moonlight cast a silvery glow over the patio.

“Why don’t you sit on the glider while I go back and get our wine?”

“Okay.” She really couldn’t say more as she watched him go inside because she felt as if her heart were in her throat.

When he returned, he handed her a glass, clinked hers with his, and nodded as if he’d made a decision.

She took a sip and returned his smile. She felt good, happy, contented. It was a mild, sweetscented spring night with a handsome man by her side. If she could convey this setting, this feeling, to her lonely hearts club, she felt sure people would positively respond in droves.

He leaned toward her. “Now, about your lonely hearts club…”

She leaned toward him. “Yes?”

“Do you really need me?”

“I want you.” She immediately wished she’d chosen different words.

“I want you, too.” He set down his glass. “What are we going to do about it?”

“I meant—”

“I know what you meant, but can’t you mean something more, something personal, something just between us?”

She felt her heart pick up speed. She caught his gaze…and felt as if she’d always belonged here in this moment with this man.

“Something special?” he asked.

She had to respond, but she couldn’t find the words. If he looked at her with any more heat in his eyes, she might spontaneously combust. “I…” And then she threw caution to the wind, leaned forward, and kissed him. It was just a soft, fleeting, tender touch before she moved back.

“I hope that was only an appetizer.” He clasped her shoulders with both hands and gently tugged her toward him.

She leaned into him, feeling his heat, his strength, his power. She wanted it all. She didn’t want to compromise. She raised her face, waiting for his kiss…waiting…waiting…

“I want you to know I don’t do this lightly. I know you really only want me for your lonely hearts club. I know you’ll go back to San Antonio when you get what you want here. I know all that, and I still want to kiss you. I need to kiss you. I plan to kiss you. It’s just that I’m a serious kind of guy.”

“Kemp, I swear if you say one more word, I’m taking the pie and going home.”

He grinned, chuckling. “You’d take the pie? That’s serious.”

“Yes, it is. And I’m serious, too.” She put her palms on each side of his face. “Please, just kiss me.”

And he did…tender at first, then with growing passion until he lifted her up, set her on his lap, leaned her head back against his arm, and held her tightly.

She felt his heat and strength and desire build as one kiss followed another and he delved deeply into her mouth, hugged her closer and closer as if desperate to meld their bodies so they could never be separate again.

Finally, he raised his head, kissed the tip of her nose, gave her a slight smile. “And I thought that fire I just fought was hot.” 

***

Excerpted from Cowboy Fire by Kim Redford. © 2021 by Kim Redford. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

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About the Author

Kim Redford is a bestselling author of contemporary Western romance novels. She grew up in Texas with cowboys, cowgirls, horses, cattle, and rodeos. She’s a rescue cat wrangler and horseback rider—when she takes a break from her keyboard. Kim Redford currently divides her time between homes in Oklahoma and Richardson, Texas.

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Spotlight: Gulf of Deception by Kelly Ann Hopkins

(Gulf Shores Mysteries, #1)
Publication date: May 17th 2021
Genres: Mystery, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Beach life is killer, literally.

On the cusp of her high school graduation, Lily Harmony needs to figure out how to break it to her lawyer parents that she doesn’t want to follow in the family footsteps–especially with her band in high demand on the Fort Myers beach scene.

But when her father is killed inside his office and their mother accused of his murder, Lily and her estranged sister Annabelle are convinced the police have the wrong person. Clues are hard to come by until a mysterious man hands Lily a flash drive and warns her the information contained on it might get her killed. As Lily works to unravel what the files and pictures mean, a stunning discovery reveals the murderer might be closer than she thought.

With the help of her gamer BFF and maybe something more, Lily and her sister scour the Everglades for connections to her father’s killer. But what they find hidden in the canopy of cypress tress is more dangerous than they ever imagined—a long-lost secret worth millions—and worth killing for.

Excerpt

Sunlight streamed through the windows, and pang thudded deep in my chest. Hard to believe I was leaving this stunning scene in a few short months for college. A thousand miles north in Boston, away from the sun, the sand, and the balmy breeze. At least the ocean was nearby—except it would be the lumbering, lead-colored, frigid Atlantic, and I’d be wearing an unflattering parka with boots up to my knees. Maybe when the snow melted in June, I could trick myself into believing I was standing on the Gulf.

All so I could one day add my name to the Harmony Law letterhead. Except that was the last thing I wanted.

My feet stopped short as a shock reverberated through the walls, like something heavy crashed down in another part of the building. But there were no other offices on the top floor. I pulled my headphones from my ears and turned off the music.

At the office door, I peered into the hall. A gust of humid air rushed down the narrow passage and ruffled my hair. Now where had the breeze come from?

Delicate music came from the speaker system—some unnamed melody that sounded familiar and should have vocals. Another blast of breeze hit me as if someone had forgotten to shut a window.

“Mom?” I called. The law office answered me with soft strains of piano wafting down the hall.

“Dad?” My father’s door stood ajar at the far end of the building. Next to it, my mother’s office door was shut. Maybe they were both in Dad’s office. His was the only one with a balcony. They could have gone outside and left the door open.

Another violent crash came from the direction of his office. A gunshot rang out. Then another. Followed by a blood-curdling scream.

Mom!

Dad!

Terrified, I crept down the hallway, my back pressed against the wall, my cellphone pulled from my pocket and clutched in my shaking hand. My heart pounded, making me faint. I blinked away the sensation. Sharp blasts of unintelligible conversation drew me toward the office as wind whipped down the corridor.

I hesitated at the door and gasped.

Mom knelt beside Dad, a gun in her hand. Blood colored the front of his polo shirt—a crimson stain spreading from his chest and down his left side on a backdrop of stormy blue fabric. Strangled sobs ripped from my lips. I rushed in, dropped to the floor beside my father, and took his limp hand.

Glass shards bit into my knees as a terrible gurgle erupted from his throat. Bloody froth colored his chin and lips. The room spun around me.

“Dad? Please, Dad. Can you hear me?” Spots popped in my brain, and another wave of vertigo hit as my abdomen heaved. I forgot how to inhale.

His bewildered eyes were wide, his mouth moving soundlessly, his fingers splayed against the floor. I couldn’t tear my gaze from his face as I laced his fingers in mine and squeezed. “Dad! What should I do?”

“William?” Mom whispered. She pressed a wad of orange fabric—the scarf she’d worn this morning—over the wound on his chest. Fresh terror gripped me as blood dripped down her cheek, and I couldn’t tell if it belonged to him or her.

Dad struggled to lift his other arm, but it fell back to the floor.

“He’s gone, William,” she said. “You’re going to be fine.”

Somehow, I unlocked my words. “Who’s gone?”

She ignored my question, or maybe she didn’t hear me. Tears and blood trickled off her chin, making pink spots on her white shirt. “Call for an ambulance. Oh God.” The gun slipped from her hand and landed on the carpet with a thud. “William.” Her voice broke on his name.

My heart tore from its moorings on a crash of agony. “Dad? Dad.” For a split second, his gaze fixed on mine, then he was gone as if a candle extinguished in a sudden, sharp wind.

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About the Author

Kelly Ann Hopkins is the author of Misled (coming 2021) and Buried Beneath (coming 2022). She spends her days as a high school librarian and creative writing teacher, where she challenges her students to read with abandon. When she’s not creating perilous adventures for her characters, she is dreaming of her next trip to the Florida Gulf Coast. Kelly lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two children, and too many books.

Connect:

https://khopkinswriter.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/khopkinswrites/
https://twitter.com/khopkinswrites
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21076602.Kelly_Ann_Hopkins

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Spotlight: Redemption on Rivers Ranch by Kathy Douglass

Stand-Alone: yes

Series: Sweet Briar Sweethearts Book 9

Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition

Publication Date: May 25 (print), June 1 (ebook)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Heat Level: Sweet

Book Summary

The return of his childhood friend

leads to the fresh start he never expected

Horse rancher Carson Rivers has his own emotional demons. There’s no place in his life for a divorced single mom pulling at his heartstrings. But when Gabriella Tucker and her adorable children move next door—the place of her favorite childhood memories—Carson’s tempted to help the heart-guarded beauty make more adult memories. Maybe Gabriella and her kids are the healing balm he’s been yearning for…

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Paperback

About the Author

Kathy is a born reader who as a child always had her nose in a book. She went from reading Bobbsey Twins to romance novels. One day she stumbled upon The Shining by Stephen King and was hooked on horror. When she caught herself checking under the bed and looking in the closet for monsters, she knew it was time to put down the horror and return to romance novels.

Her return was short-lived. She started law school and soon her reading was limited to legal opinions. Then she discovered Harlequin romances. They were short enough to read in a week and she wouldn't have to search her room before she went to sleep.

When her first child was born, she became a stay at home mom. Her second child soon followed, and reading was limited to children's books.

All too soon her kids were attending pre-school. Kathy spent those hours renewing her relationship with romance novels. Soon she felt the urge to write the stories she wanted to read. In 2016, Kathy sold to Harlequin. Her first book, How to Steal the Lawman's Heart, was released in February, 2017. Since then, she has released several more books with Harlequin.

CONNECT WITH KATHY DOUGLASS: AUTHOR SITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | NEWSLETTER | GOODREADS | BOOKBUB | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

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Spotlight: Opposites Attract by Jacqueline Lee

Publication date: May 27th 2021

Genres: Adult, Comedy, Romance

Synopsis:

Megan is nerdier than all of the characters on The Big Bang Theory combined. But it’s a fabulous form of revenge that the same traits she was tormented for in high school have helped her land her dream job as a science journalist in New York and her dream apartment with fellow nerd, Josh, who is potentially her dream guy. The only problem is Josh’s brother, Brandon, is constantly around blocking any attempts to create a romantic atmosphere. Megan nurses an oversized grudge against jocks due to a past traumatic experience. The fact that Brandon’s a professional football player whose new favorite sport is mocking her only increases her fantasies of feeding him to a giant carnivorous plant.

Brandon’s life might look perfect, but he’s got a massive hang-up about his intelligence, a hang-up which is aggravated by all the verbal sparring with Josh’s new roommate. Even worse, it appears Science Barbie is falling for his deeply closeted brother. Why does he care so much about preventing the impending disaster? But the more time he spends with Megan, the more he realizes the sparks between them have the potential to ignite into something amazing.

Excerpt

Living with Josh is as great as I expected. We move from roommates to friends seamlessly over the next fortnight, and inside me there’s a little spark of hope that the next progression might happen just as naturally.

Unfortunately Josh shows no sign of being interested in me romantically. And trust me, I’ve been searching for signs more actively than UFO enthusiasts search the night sky. Because there is no way I’m going to put myself out there and risk all the potential awkwardness unless I’m absolutely certain my feelings are reciprocated.

One Saturday night we’re heading out the door together when Brandon arrives. I swear Brandon spends more time at our apartment than he does at his own. Josh seems to enjoy his company, so I’ve bitten back my complaints.

“We were just going to grab some frozen yogurt. You want to come?” Josh asks him.

Brandon flinches. “Probably not a good idea.”

I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding. It’s not just that I want to spend time alone with Josh. Somehow, when Brandon’s around there’s always this weird tension buzzing between him and me, and not just when we’re trading insults. It’s like antimatter—one of those phenomena science can’t find an explanation for.

Josh ducks back into his room and emerges holding a red baseball cap and dark sunglasses. “Here.” He thrusts them at Brandon, who puts them on.

I raise an eyebrow. “Is there a reason why you’re dressing Brandon up like that even though it’s mid-January, forty degrees, and dark outside?”

“We’ve got to cover up Brandon’s beauty or the girls start mobbing him,” Josh says.

I roll my eyes. I have to concede, Brandon is male-model gorgeous. However it’s egotistical of him to assume that females can’t control themselves around him.

“Yeah, I understand. I struggle with the urge to mob Brandon daily.” My words are deep-fried in sarcasm.

“And yet you find the strength to resist,” Brandon says.

“It’s my superpower,” I reply.

We head into the elevator, also known as taking your life into your own hands. I swear the metallic groaning and creaking gets worse every time.

Brandon stands next to the door, and as I lean past to press the button I catch a hint of his cologne. He smells like a fresh mix of lemon and cedarwood, two of my favorite scents. I have to restrain myself from shuffling closer to him. After just mocking the idea of mobbing him, planting my nose on his skin might be slightly hypocritical.

We make it to Frozen Palace and I volunteer to queue up while Brandon finds a booth near the back and Josh heads to the bathroom.

I’m studying Frozen Palace’s poster that’s inviting me to suggest my own new flavor of yogurt, when a guy sidles up behind me.

“Excuse me, is that Brandon Seaton you just came in with?”

I turn to look at the guy. He’s the pure definition of a jock, in letterman jacket and jeans. His two friends standing beside him are dressed identically.

“Um…yeah.” My shoulders have hunched up automatically. I force myself to unclench.

“Oh, my God, I thought so.”

“Do you know him from somewhere?” I ask.

He gives me a weird look. “Yeah, I know him from football.”

“Oh, do you guys play on the same team?”

The guy’s look morphs into astonishment, and he starts to chuckle. “Yeah, sure we play on the same team. I’m the starting receiver, didn’t you know?”

He and his friends crack up laughing. Heat tracks up my cheeks. Jocks. I frigging hate them. Especially when I’m the butt of a joke I don’t understand.

And I really don’t understand what’s going on now, because as I collect our orders and weave my way back to the table it’s like I’ve stumbled into one of the sixth dimension’s alternative universes. I can hear Brandon’s name echoing around, like the walls are whispering it. I put the tray on the table with a thump.

Brandon looks at my face and frowns. He’s taken off his sunglasses but his cap remains in place. “What’s up?”

I don’t want to admit I’m hallucinating his name. I’m about to tell him I ran into his friend, when suddenly the friend turns up at our table.

“Sorry to disturb, but can I grab an autograph?” He thrusts a pen and napkin at Brandon.

My forehead wrinkles in confusion as Brandon puts on a smile. I know Brandon well enough to know it’s a fake smile. But he obediently picks up the pen and signs the napkin.

“Your friend wanted to know if we play on the same team,” the guy chortles.

Brandon glances at me. I give him a flat glare back.

“Yeah, she’s not really into football,” he says.

Sidling back in my seat while he talks to the idiot guy, I shield my phone from scrutiny while I google Brandon. What I read makes me swallow hard. Twice.

Right, so apparently there are some negatives about determinedly remaining ignorant about everything in the football universe.

Like not knowing your roommate’s brother is the FREAKING STARTING QUARTERBACK FOR THE NEW YORK GOLIATHS.

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Jacqueline Lee is an award-winning romance author who writes stories with heart and humor. She loves writing characters who have fun with each other while building a deeper connection. Formerly a high school biology teacher, Jackie is living her own version of happily-ever-after with her husband and three children in New Zealand.

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