With: Kathy Lyons
Congratulations to "Cassandra D.", the winner in Kathy's giveaway. Please contact JUST CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE to claim your prize.
Congratulations to "Cassandra D.", the winner in Kathy's giveaway. Please contact JUST CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE to claim your prize.
Giveaway:
After
the excerpt, feel free to leave a comment on whether you think rejection
therapy is silly, pop science or if you think it could work for someone. Or if
you’d rather, just say how fun you thought the excerpt was! One lucky commenter
will win a limited edition Locker Room
Diaries mug and a signed copy of Hitting
It, the first book in the series.

Sliding Home
by Kathy Lyons -- excerpt
“God, just say no already,” Ellie
huffed. “Then I can get back to my regular life.”
This was getting curiouser and
curiouser. Jake leaned forward on his lawn chair while beside him, the guys on
the team perked up with interest. “Are you asking me to say no, or asking me
out on a date?”
Now she was even more uptight. “I
know I’m not your usual type.”
True that. She was the complete
opposite of the bold, fast f**k I usually enjoyed.
“And with my rules,” she continued,
“I’m nothing like the kind of girls you usually date.”
The guys snorted at that, and now I
was the one feeling indignant. “I’ve gone on normal dates before.” Just not
since the AAs.
“I’ll even help you out,” she said.
“Pick an answer: A--Connor would kick your ass if you dared get me alone for an
intimate dinner.”
I snorted. “Connor could try.”
“How about B then? You’ve got to
train or have an early curfew tomorrow.”
“Nah. Just the game, but we should
be done by six.”
“Okay then, what about C? You’ve got
an appointment with a different lovely lady.”
“Just how many ways have you
imagined me rejecting you?”
Her eyes narrowed but her cheeks
pinked. I could tell she’d run through this scenario hundreds of times in her
head.
“Okay, then there’s D. You’re just
not into me.”
That wasn’t true. I’d been into her
from the moment she’d walked into the backyard carrying a fruit salad. She’d
hugged her mother and kissed her father’s cheek while her freckles fought with
her dimples for most adorable feature on her face. There’d been absolutely
nothing sexual about her, just an overall sweetness, and I had been hit by a
wave a lust that nearly ripped through my jeans.
The thing is, she was exactly
my type, which is why I didn’t date girls like her. Sweet, wholesome girls
usually started asking about meeting my crappy family by date three, and I just
wasn’t going there—with anyone. It was much better to have my fun with someone
who didn’t count on a morning after.
The problem was that Ellie clearly
expected me to let her down, and I just wasn’t that kind of guy. There was some
stupid genetic thing going on in my firefighter family that made us all want to
be heroes. We did our best to save the day in the worst way...which meant I had
a nearly pathological desire to make good girls happy. I could no more turn
Ellie down than I could let her burn to death in a fire. And that’s why I
usually avoided good girls. And why I shouldn’t have come to this family
barbeque, even though the entire team was here.
“Then we’re down to E. You’ve been
struck dumb with shock.”
Not shock. I was just trying to
strangle my better nature. But it wouldn’t be silenced and suddenly, I was
answering her in the worst possible way.
“Seven,” I rasped.
She looked startled. “What?”
“Seven. As in, I’ll pick you up
tomorrow at seven.”

Shy and reserved, good girl Ellie McDonald is determined to break out of her shell–and her relationship rut. First order of business, woman up and finally ask her longtime secret crush, Jake Armstrong on an old-fashioned date. She's not at all his type–which is great. Once Jake turns her down she can finally move on. Except he says yes...
MVP short-stop Jake Armstrong has tried to keep his bad boy nature under wraps. But there's nothing he likes more than tempting sweet Ellie to the dark side. No one need know.
But when the hotel catches fire and their rescue–while nearly naked–is caught on camera, the two have a PR problem. Jake's solution is a fake relationship, just for the season. Only for Ellie, there's nothing fake about it…
Giveaway:
After the excerpt, feel free to leave a comment on whether you think rejection therapy is silly, pop science or if you think it could work for someone. Or if you’d rather, just say how fun you thought the excerpt was! One lucky commenter will win a limited edition Locker Room Diaries mug and a signed copy of Hitting It, the first book in the series.
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST Aug. 15th. Due to GDPR regulations you no longer need to submit your email address in the comments. If you have been selected as a winner your name will be posted at the top of the post. You may then contact maureen@JustContemporaryRomance.com to claim your prize. Your email address will be shared with the author/publicist providing the giveaway.
Enjoyable banter between these two plus some interesting backstory slipped in there. Are all your books written in first person from the male's POV? Is the first book written in first person?
ReplyDeleteOh I loved that snippet... I kinda look at things from all angles, wonder what ifs, but never about rejection... definitely want to read more! :)
ReplyDeleteThe excerpt is very nice.
ReplyDeleteodd
ReplyDeleteI think rejection therapy would work for some people.
ReplyDeleteIt may work for some people
ReplyDelete