Showing posts with label Andrea Laurence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andrea Laurence. Show all posts

Monday, 12 October 2015

RELEASE DAY AND REVIEW for STIRRING UP TROUBLE by ANDREA LAURENCE

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Book Information
Title: Stirring Up Trouble
Author: Andrea Laurence
Release Date: October 12, 2015
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Stirring Up Trouble
Summary

When a prim and proper baker and a laid-back bartender have a neighborly disagreement that gets them both in trouble with the law, a sweet reconciliation is stirred up in the playful third romance in Andrea Laurence’s sexy Rosewood series.

Maddie’s life is perfectly sweet. Her bakery’s tasty treats are rising to the top of every must-have list in town, and her commute is just a block away by foot. She loves everything about her little downtown Victorian bungalow—except for her unbearably noisy neighbor, Woody’s. The bar’s obnoxious and sexy owner, Emmett, seems to live to aggravate Maddie. But he mostly thinks she could use a stiff drink to dislodge the stick up her ass. He’s just trying to run his business. Bars stay open late, they play music, they serve alcohol. If she doesn’t like it, why did she buy a house across the street?

When Maddie and Emmett’s battle lands them in front of the local judge, they’re ordered to do several weeks of community service cleaning parks and painting over graffiti. As they scrub away the latest works of art by the town’s anonymous “Penis Picasso,” the baker and the bartender slowly begin to see there’s more to each other than meets the eye. So what happens if they wave the white flag and surrender into each other’s arms?

Buy Links
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1P1TrYV
AndreaLaurence
Author Biography

Andrea Laurence has been a lover of reading and writing stories since she learned to read at a young age. She always dreamed of seeing her work in print and is thrilled to finally be able to share her special blend of sensuality and dry, sarcastic humor with the world. A dedicated West Coast girl transplanted into the Deep South, she's working on her own "happily ever after" with her boyfriend and their collection of animals including a Siberian Husky that sheds like nobody's business.

Social Networking Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Andrea_Laurence
Message From the Author:
Hey everyone. I’m excited to be here today to tell you about my latest sassy, sexy Rosewood romance – Stirring Up Trouble. This is the third book in the series, featuring the great characters you’ve grown to love and a few you’ve grown to hate. This book features Chamberlain sister and prissy princess, Maddie. She’s purchased an old Victorian home across the street from the town bar, owned by laid back bartender, Emmett Sawyer. These two couldn’t be more different, from the hours they keep, to their ideas of a good time, but sometimes opposites attract and for these two, it’s explosive. But first, they’ve got to stop trying to make each other miserable and that’s going to require the help of the town judge, some sweet treats and the infamous town vandal, the Penis Picasso. Here with me today are Maddie and Emmett. We’ve asked them what sweet treat or frosty drink reminds them of one another, so I’m going to turn it over to them!
Maddie: It just so happens that it’s also Emmett’s favorite treat, but I’d say he’s one of my homemade MoonPies. Now, for those of you who’ve had a MoonPie, they don’t look like much of a gourmet treat on the outside and frankly the ones you get at the gas station really aren’t. They’ve got a reputation as being a little country - but like Emmett - looks can be deceiving and the MoonPies I make in the shop have so many layers of surprising, refined flavors. They’re made with homemade marshmallow cream, sandwiched between freshly baked gingersnap cookies. Then I dip them in a dark chocolate ganache and sprinkle the edges with some crushed, candied pecans. They’re a little spicy and very sweet, just like Emmett. I just can’t get enough of him.

Emmett: Hey, folks. So, if I had to sum up Fancy in a drink... she would be imported French Champagne. The good stuff, not some knockoff sparkling wine. She would be a little sweet, a little dry. If you’re not used to her, she can give you a headache. Some people thinks she’s too fancy for everyday consumption, but once you’ve tasted her, nothing else quite measures up. That’s my Maddie in a glass.

***

Stirring Up Trouble Excerpt

“You know, Fancy Pants, that’s your problem.”

Her eyes widened as he used his new favorite nickname for her. He didn’t know why it would offend her. She was a fancy pants, through and through. “I don’t have a problem.”

“Yes, you do. You think you’re so much better than everyone else, but you’re not. So what? You studied in Paris. Estelle was a self-taught baker using her grandmother’s recipes, and her chocolate chip cookies were better than yours.”

Maddie gasped. “My chocolate chip cookies are made with vanilla beans from Madagascar and chopped milk and dark chocolate from Switzerland!”

“It’s a cookie, not a piece of art that needs provenance to display in a gallery. Some people just want what’s familiar. Nobody’s grandma used vanilla beans from Madagascar. Importing all that fancy stuff might make you feel special, but it doesn’t make you better. Frankly, I think it would hurt your bottom line. You think you’re going to pay back your daddy for this place while you blow money on embossed pink pastry boxes and imported chocolate? This isn’t a patisserie on the Champs-Élysées, Fancy Pants. You might think it sets you apart, but to be successful, you need to know your customer. People around here don’t care where Madagascar is, much less if that’s where your vanilla comes from.”

“People want high-quality products, and that’s what I’m going to give them. My clientele is a little more sophisticated than yours. I suppose you’re well versed in your customers and what they want, right? Beer and football.”

“Damn right, and that’s what I give them.” Emmett turned to face her and leaned down so she heard every word he said. “They want a place to relax and unwind. They want to watch sports and listen to music. You might think that I started bringing those bands in just to keep you up at night, but you’re giving yourself a little too much real estate in my brain, Fancy. It doesn’t have anything to do with you. You’re just an unwelcome distraction.”

Maddie looked up at him, her full bottom lip trembling slightly as he railed at her. “Earlier you said I was beautiful—a sadist—but beautiful. Am I distracting because I drive you crazy or because I’m beautiful?” she asked in a breathy voice that made his chest and his pants tighten at the same time.

Those pouty lips made him want to run the pad of his thumb across them and kiss away her frown. It was a ridiculously unhelpful thought, but like he’d said, she was a distraction in a variety of ways. He wished she wasn’t so attractive because that just crossed the wires in his brain. He’d much prefer her outsides matched her annoying insides, then it would be easy to ignore her.

She had the shiniest hair he’d ever seen. It was always up in a ponytail or a bun, which was a shame because it was like shimmering chestnut silk. He wanted to know what it would look like if it fell free around her shoulders. He wondered how it’d feel to run his fingers through it. Her skin was like porcelain and her eyes like the shells of a robin’s egg. Maddie’s every feature was delicate and feminine, rousing a protective nature in him he wasn’t used to.

And then she opened her mouth and ruined everything.

“Both,” he said.

***
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I received a copy of this book for an honest review, well what can I say, buy, buy, buy. I loved it. This is the 3rd book in the Rosewood series and you do learn abit about the second characters in the other books so I would start with book 1 so you do not miss out on the development of these characters.

Madelyn Chamberlain has always been known in town as one of the mean girls so when she opens her bakery, she knows that she has to change. Maddie has also purchased a victorian home which she adores - except for it being opposite a noisy bar called Woody's owned by Emmett. Because she owns a bakery Maddie has to get up very early to start her baking for the day and having a bar opposite is not what she needs - so war starts when she reports Emmett for noise pollution to the police, and this is where the games begin.

Emmett is not happy when the police arrive and fine him for the noise that any bar produces and knows instantly who reported him, he is not happy but pays the fine which turns into fines as Maddie keeps reporting him. They end up arguing in front of the police and are then arrested for disturbing the peace, they are then charged and up in front of the judge who tells them that they have to complete community service TOGETHER to pay their debt.


This is where the combustible chemistry, humour, friendship starts to develop, secrets are revealed and Maddie has her eyes opened to certain aspects of what your actions can cause.

I loved the style of Andrea's writing, how she kept me entertained with all the other goings on in this book. The characters in the book are all great and I could not put this book down. So I would definitely call it A MUST READ for romance lovers out there. 

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

Monday, 16 March 2015

HAPPY RELEASE DAY ANDREA LAURENCE for FEEDING THE FIRE & GIVEAWAY

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Book Information
Title: Feeding the Fire
Author: Andrea Laurence
Release Date: March 16, 2015
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Summary

Pepper has no interest in Grant Chamberlain…until she accidentally wins him at a school auction and finds the mega-hot firefighter impossible to ignore. Find out what happens next in the second playful and sexy ebook romance in the Rosewood series!

Living in the small town of Rosewood, Alabama, hairdresser Pepper Anthony has one rule—never date a Chamberlain. She’s always said, “the only thing worse than being ignored by a Chamberlain is being dumped by one.” But Grant Chamberlain, town fireman, isn’t used to rejection, and Pepper has consistently turned him down since high school. She isn’t intimidated by his family; she’s one of the few who refuses to take their crap.

When Grant volunteers at the charity bachelor auction, to his surprise, Pepper buys him. She hadn’t meant to, but Adelia Chamberlain dropped a cold drink in her lap, sending her leaping into the air at precisely the wrong moment. Suddenly she had a massive bill to the town and Grant at her disposal. Since the money has to come from her “restore the house” fund, she decides to use Grant for manual labor instead of romantic dinners. Grant is happy to help, sweaty and shirtless, because one way or another, he’s going to get Pepper to admit she’s attracted to him. All it takes is a small spark, and soon they’ll be fanning the flames.

Excerpt

Grant stepped out from behind the curtain to a roar of applause. The minute the lights hit him, Pepper felt her heart skip a beat in her chest like she’d been hit with paddles of a defibrillator. He was wearing a black, slim-fit suit with a black shirt and tie. Even though he was indoors and it was nighttime, he was wearing his trademark Ray-Ban sunglasses. The glasses always seemed to accent the square line of his jaw and the sharp angle of his nose.
His full lips curled into his charming smile, with the slightest hint of a dimple visible on his cheek. It reminded her of him looking at her, just like that, from between her trembling thighs.
Damn him for being so sexy. His confidence made him that much more attractive. And frustrating. And irritating. Her fingers itched to reach for her paddle, but she resisted. She wasn’t going to pay for his time, even when he smiled at her that way.
“The lucky lady with the winning bid will go with Grant to a romantic dinner at Brio’s in Birmingham and if she likes, he’ll take her on an exhilarating ride down a windy country road on the back of his motorcycle.”
Pepper could almost see all the wild fantasies rushing through the heads of every woman in the room. It was a nice thought—hair blowing in the wind, thighs clamped around Grant’s narrow hips, arms wrapped around his waist. Even she could imagine the hard feel of his abs beneath the thin cotton of his T-shirt and the vibration of the engine against her most sensitive parts. There was a rumble of approval as they readied their paddles and sized up their competition.
Good luck to them, Pepper thought.
Like a beach ball bouncing around the room, the bids flew fast and furious. Before long, they’d topped three thousand.
Suddenly Pepper felt awkward. Even though she and Grant weren’t dating, she didn’t exactly want to sit around and watch other women battle for him. Looking around the room, she spied Adelia Chamberlain coming back to her table with a glass of ice water. Maybe another drink would help. Or perhaps it was the right time for a restroom break. She could beat all the other women that would rush the ladies’ room when the auction ended.
Pepper slipped her purse onto her shoulder and picked up her paddle so she could dump it in the bathroom trash can. “I’m going to get some air,” she whispered to Ivy, then started to get up.
The ambush was sudden and unexpected. When they first came in Pepper had noticed the cable that the A/V people had taped to the floor, but the room was much darker now. Adelia didn’t see it and caught the toe of her shoe on it. She didn’t fall, thank goodness, but she did stumble, slinging her full glass of ice water into Pepper’s lap.
With a cry of surprise and alarm, Pepper leapt out of her chair, holding her arms high to avoid the water that practically covered her from neck to knees.
“Four thousand!” Allison Price announced from the stage.
The MC’s words were an even larger shock to Pepper than the water. She turned her head toward Grant and the action onstage. He was looking straight at her with a wide smile of confidence across his face. He winked at her, and Pepper felt her stomach sink into her boot. Allison was pointing in Pepper’s direction, trying to coax a higher bid out of the audience.
Yes, please, she screamed in her head. Make it forty-five hundred. Hell, make it four thousand and one penny. Just outbid her. She was answered with deafening silence. The only one in the room making a sound was Allison up on stage. It seemed that suddenly, all the battling women seemed to give up. Even Grant wasn’t worth that much, it seemed, and she agreed.
“No!” Pepper shouted, but there was no stopping it.
“Going once . . . going twice . . .”
“I didn’t mean to—”
“Sold! To the lady in the blue sweaterdress, paddle twenty-two!”
Pepper looked down at her dark blue sweater, suddenly made even darker by the spreading water mark. Her damned paddle, the one she never wanted to begin with, was still in her hand. She watched as it slipped from her fingers, clattering to the ground in slow motion as the gravity of the situation caught up with her. Four thousand dollars. She’d just bid four thousand dollars. Because of well-aimed ice water.
“Oh, Pepper,” Miss Adelia fussed, dabbing her with an inadequate cocktail napkin and shaking off the well-meaning hands of the folks that were more concerned about the older woman nearly falling. “I am so sorry. I didn’t even see that silly cord,” she said. “Is your dress okay?”
She couldn’t respond. All Pepper could do was close her eyes and try to keep the tears of frustration and aggravation from rushing down her cheeks.
She had just paid four thousand dollars for a date with Grant Chamberlain.
Buy Links

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1MDRNsN
AndreaLaurence
Author Biography

Andrea Laurence has been a lover of reading and writing stories since she learned to read at a young age. She always dreamed of seeing her work in print and is thrilled to finally be able to share her special blend of sensuality and dry, sarcastic humor with the world. A dedicated West Coast girl transplanted into the Deep South, she's working on her own "happily ever after" with her boyfriend and their collection of animals including a Siberian Husky that sheds like nobody's business.

Social Networking Links


RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

Friday, 27 February 2015

Small Town Romance at its Best, Feeding The Fire by Andrea Laurence

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5 Star Review

Feeding the Fire is book no.2 in the Rosewood series, the first being Facing The Music (5 star Read Too), I just love small time stories as you get to know the characters in the town where it is based and this series is no exception.

This story is about Pepper Anthony and Grant Chamberlain, they have known each other since school and Grant has always wanted Pepper but she has always managed to avoid him like the plague. Grant comes from an influential rich family and Pepper comes from the poorer side of the tracks, for some reason Peppers mum has always hated the Chamberlains and tells her children to stay away from them, so Pepper tries her best but her willpower is slowly losing to the pull of Grant Chamberlain. 

Grant is one of the local firemen and Pepper works as a hairdresser in the local salon. The town arranges a valentine bachelor auction to raise money to be put away in case of emergencies that may happen and Grant has been roped in to being auctioned off this night, Pepper hears some of the towns senior citizens saying how they would like to bid on him so he would be at their beck and call for a night - Pepper wants nothing to do with it.

On the night of the auction Pepper is sat with her friends watching all the bidding and when it comes to Grant she decides she does not want to watch, she is just leaving her chair when an incident happens and she ends up winning the auction for him and losing most of her savings in the process that she needs for home improvements. Pepper is distraught but Grant is over the moon till he realises that she did not mean to bid on him, so he tries to find a way to help her.

This story continues were Pepper sees the true side of Grant and realises that he is a really nice guy but some of her family are not happy about their relationship and give her an ultimatum - him or them. 

This is a story of secrets, lies, fires and true love and a really hot fireman who wants to help in anyway he can. I loved this book and can not wait for Maddie's (Grant's sister) story to be released, as Andrea's books are a definite MUST READ in my book. Congratulation Andrea on another fantastic feel good romance.

BUY LINKS
Amazon .com:    http://www.amazon.com/Feeding-Fire-Rosewood-Andrea-Laurence-ebook/dp/B00IWUSU6G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1424980620&sr=8-2&keywords=feeding+the+fire
Amazon UK:    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feeding-Fire-Rosewood-Andrea-Laurence-ebook/dp/B00IWUSU6G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1424980620&sr=8-2&keywords=feeding+the+fire
iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/feeding-the-fire/id837626976?mt=11
Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/feeding-the-fire-andrea-laurence/1119740452?ean=9781476776439&itm=1&usri=9781476776439&r=1
Simon & Schuster:  http://books.simonandschuster.com/Feeding-the-Fire/Andrea-Laurence/The-Rosewood-Series/9781476776439
Books A Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Feeding-Fire/Andrea-Laurence/Q741029248?id=6030195058464
Google Books:  https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Andrea_Laurence_Feeding_the_Fire?id=DAmFBAAAQBAJ

AndreaLaurence

Author Biography

Andrea Laurence has been a lover of reading and writing stories since she learned to read at a young age. She always dreamed of seeing her work in print and is thrilled to finally be able to share her special blend of sensuality and dry, sarcastic humor with the world. A dedicated West Coast girl transplanted into the Deep South, she's working on her own "happily ever after" with her boyfriend and their collection of animals including a Siberian Husky that sheds like nobody's business.
Social Networking Links
Website: http://andrealaurence.com 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAndreaLaurence 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Andrea_Laurence 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5398672.Andrea_Laurence
Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrea-Laurence/e/B0065U4ZXM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Friday, 23 January 2015

REVIEW AND EXCERPT FOR THIRTY DAYS TO WIN HIS WIFE BY ANDREA LAURENCE

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THIRTY DAYS TO WIN HIS WIFE
  • Print Length: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Mills & Boon Desire
  • RELEASES:  February 1, 2015
MY REVIEW
Thirty Days to Win His Wife by Andrea Laurence was well worth the time I spent reading it. It is about Amelia and Tyler, they have been best friends forever.
It starts where they both attended a class reunion in Vegas, where Amelia found herself lacking because she was not married, this leads to a lot of alcohol, a remembered pact that two adolescents made, a marriage chapel and Tyler and Amelia find themselves married and after one really hot night of passion Amelia returns home and Tyler goes back to New York to jet off to his next business meeting.
Amelia had her heart set on the big fairy tale wedding, she had been planning it from the age of 5, for a man who will love her with his whole heart and a drunken night and a Vegas Wedding Chapel was not it. Tyler had had his heart hurt by his ex and did not think that he would ever love again so marrying his best friend meant he did not have to put his heart on the line again. How wrong he was.
When Tyler finally gets in touch with Amelia after their torrid night, he finds out that he going to be a father and Tyler then says to Amelia that he will not give her the divorce she wants so Amelia gives him an ultimatum 30 Days to make them both fall in love = Thirty Days To Win His Wife, or else they divorce and stay friends. Tyler loves a challenge and sets about making Amelia fall in love with him.
I do not want to give too much away but Andrea manages to make you fall in love with these characters, you feel their happiness, pain and sorrow. I would definitely recommend this book to all romance lovers out there. This is one of my MUST READ books.

 

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"Amelia," Gretchen pressed, "tell me you didn't elope in a Las Vegas wedding chapel."
Amelia took a deep breath and slowly nodded. Her stomach was turning somersaults, but she managed to get the words out anyway. "I did," she admitted. "The details are a little blurry, but I woke up married to my best friend."
"Wait." Bree held up her hands in disbelief. "Did you just say you're married? Married?"
Amelia looked at her two friends and coworkers, not entirely certain she could repeat the words. It had been hard enough to say them the first time. She actually hadn't admitted it aloud until that very moment. The past few weeks it had all seemed like a fuzzy dream, but with Gretchen and Bree staring at her as though she'd grown a second head, it was suddenly very, very real.
"My high school reunion didn't go the way I planned," she explained. "I thought going back to Las Vegas would be fun, but it wasn't. Everyone was passing around pictures of their wedding days and their kids… " Her voice trailed off.
The sad state of Amelia's love life had hit her hard that night. She'd been in the dating scene for ten years with nothing to show for it but a string of almost-but-not-quite relationships. It wasn't for lack of trying—she put herself out there time after time, but with no luck. She refused to settle for anything less than a timeless love, and it seemed just out of her reach.
Her hectic career hadn't helped matters. She'd spent the past few years since college focusing on building the business she and her partners had founded, From This Moment. Running a wedding facility was a stressful job, and her area of expertise—catering—was no small task. Between menu tastings, prep work and wedding cakes, the wedding day itself was the least of her troubles. She loved her job, but it left little time to seriously dedicate herself to finding the love and family she'd always fantasized about.
She was only twenty-eight. Hardly old-maid material. But then she'd gone to the reunion and found that her schoolmates had left her in their familial dust. Even dorky Dave Simmons had come with his wife, and she'd been certain he'd never find a woman. Not even having Tyler there—equally single—helped. He was single by choice, too happy to play the globe-trotting CEO to have the burden of a serious relationship.
"I was feeling sorry for myself. My best friend, Tyler, kept bringing me drinks, and eventually we decided to blow off the party and go down to the Strip."
"Skip to the part where you eloped," Gretchen pressed, with an odd mix of wonder and glee on her cherubic face. She enjoyed living vicariously through others.
Amelia shook her head. "It's kind of a blur, but Tyler reminded me about this stupid pact we made on graduation night. We swore that if we weren't married by our ten-year reunion, we would marry each other."
"You didn't!" Bree said, her large blue eyes growing wider by the minute.
"We did." She couldn't believe it either, but they'd gone through with it. When Amelia woke up the next morning, the giant diamond ring on her hand and the naked man beside her in bed had confirmed her worst fears. The night before had not been just a vivid dream. It had really happened. She was married to her best friend.
"We did it for a laugh, you know? In high school, the two of us were always coming up with crazy ideas. I think Tyler was trying to cheer me up, offering to marry me so I wouldn't feel like the single one at the reunion anymore. It seemed like a brilliant solution at the time."
"It always does," Gretchen noted, as though she'd had her share of impetuous experiences.
"What the hell kind of liquor were you drinking?" Bree asked at last, sliding away the bridal magazine she'd been reading to plan her own upcoming nuptials.
"Anyway," Amelia continued, pointedly ignoring Bree, "the plan was to annul it as soon as we can. He lives in New York. I live here. It's obviously not going to work long-term."
Work? What was she even talking about? Of course it wasn't going to work. She'd just married her best friend from high school! Tyler. She knew everything there was to know about him and she was certain Tyler was not husband material. He worked too much, he traveled constantly and he had a bad habit of falling off the face of the earth for weeks at a time. She loved him, but she couldn't count on him. And yet, here she was. Married to him.
"So far the annulment plan isn't panning out the way I'd like. Turns out you can't annul a marriage in Tennessee just because it was done on a whim. New York may have better laws, but if not, that means a full-on divorce. Either way, Tyler has been traveling too much to start the process. I've only gotten a few texts from him in between stops in Belgium, Los Angeles, India. I haven't even spoken to him on the phone since I left Las Vegas."
"So do you think he's really busy, or is he avoiding you?" Gretchen asked. "I would think that might be an awkward situation to deal with. I can't even imagine sleeping with one of my guy friends from high school. If the sex was bad it would be hard to face him later. If the sex was good…that might be even worse."
"The sex was amazing," Amelia confessed, quickly clamping a hand over her mouth. Had she really said that out loud? She shook her head. The words had spilled out because they were true. Tyler had been the most talented and attentive lover she'd ever had. Their wedding night had easily left her top five encounters in its dust. She wasn't entirely sure what to think about that.
"Well, then," Bree noted with a smile twisting her lips. "Do tell."
"Oh, no," she said. "I've already said too much."
"Maybe he's dragging his feet in the hopes of getting some more of that sugar," Gretchen suggested.
"There's no more sugar to be had. That was a one-night thing and we both know it," Amelia argued, even as she felt the untruth of her words. She wanted more, she just knew she shouldn't. "He's just busy. He's always busy."
Tyler obviously wasn't that concerned with fixing this.
In the few texts she'd received, he'd told her to relax. If annulment was off the table, there was no rush, so unless she was madly in love and needed to marry someone else right that minute, it wasn't a big deal. He, of all people, knew about her relationship struggles and knew that the odds of that were extremely low.
But it was a big deal to her. Especially considering the extenuating circumstances. She couldn't even wrap her brain around that, so she continued to ignore it. It wasn't a pressing issue…yet.
"So you're really just going to walk away from the man that gave you the greatest orgasms of your life?" Gretchen frowned. "I don't think I could do that, even if I couldn't stand the guy. You and Tyler love each other, though. It's not much of a hop from friends to lovers, is it?"
"It is a huge hop over a massive chasm, I assure you." Amelia knew for certain they shouldn't go there again. Tyler had been her best friend since ninth grade, but she had never really allowed herself to consider anything between the two of them. For one thing, there was no way she wanted to risk their friendship in an attempt to take it to the next level. If it failed—and the odds were that it would—she'd lose the most important person in her life.
For another reason, there was a big difference between being friends and being lovers. Being friends was easy. She tolerated Tyler's jet-setting, bossiness and extended radio silences just the same as he tolerated her romantic drama and pickiness. It wasn't a big deal because as friends, it didn't impact them directly. Dating someone magnified those personality quirks, and suddenly they were deal breakers.
Her raw emotional state at the reunion had apparently forced all those concerns out of her mind. The next thing she knew, she was on the verge of consummating her marriage. In that moment, nothing mattered more than peeling away Tyler's clothes and getting a taste of the forbidden. His hard body and sure touch had been an unexpected surprise, and she hadn't been able to get enough of him. Even now, the mere thought of touching him again sent a thrill through her body, awakening parts of her that should never, ever throb with need where Tyler was concerned.
Since she'd gotten home from the reunion, their night together had haunted her. The marriage could be undone. But the memories… Those couldn't be erased. The way he'd touched her. The way he'd coaxed pleasure from her body as though he'd studied his whole life for that moment… She could never go back to the blissful ignorance they'd once had. They had eaten the forbidden fruit.
A chime like a kitchen timer went off on her phone, rousing her from the mental spiral she'd just dived into. It was a new text. She frowned down at her phone when she saw the name. Speak of the devil, she had finally gotten another text from Tyler. Unfortunately, it didn't address her million questions or make up for the weeks of waiting he'd put her though since they'd married. All it said was, Are you at work?
He must be ready to talk about all this at last. Perhaps his jet-setting had abated for a few days and he was finally able to move forward.
Yes, she replied to his text. She would be able to call him back after the staff meeting was over. At that point, she could go into her office, shut the door and have the much-needed discussion to put this behind them. Natalie, the wedding planner and office manager, would arrive any moment with coffee, as she did every Monday morning. Not even Amelia's latest life catastrophe would throw off Nat's schedule.
On cue, Natalie pushed open the door of the conference room and stopped in the doorway. She had the cup holder clutched in her hands, four paper cups held tightly in place, as usual. But there was a strange look on her face. Her normally calm expression was pinched, her mouth tight. Something was wrong.
"What's the matter, Natalie?" Bree asked.
Natalie turned from Bree to look at Amelia, her long dark ponytail sweeping over one shoulder. "There's an incredibly hot guy here to see you, Amelia. He says that he's your,uh…husband"
Someone gasped. Amelia wasn't sure which of them it was. Probably her. She launched up out of her chair, her expression no doubt panic-stricken. He couldn't possibly be here. He'd just texted her and hadn't made any mention of being in Nashville. Natalie was surely mistaken.
"What does he look like?"
Natalie's brow shot up. "Five minutes ago, I didn't think you had a husband, period, much less so many that you wouldn't know who he was immediately when I mentioned him."
"Tall, dark blond hair, bushy eyebrows, icy blue eyes?"
Natalie nodded slowly. "That would be him. He's waiting in the lobby with a shiny wedding ring on his hand. Have I missed something?"
"Oh, yeah." Gretchen snorted.
Moving into the room, Natalie set the drinks on the table and then crossed her arms over her chest. "You're married? To the guy in the lobby?"
"Yes," she admitted.
"Amelia—the one who's had her wedding planned since she was five? Amelia—the one who just a few weeks ago was complaining that there was no one special in her life? I mean, you are the same person, right? You're not a pod person that just looks like Amelia?"
She wished she could blame her rash behavior on alien influences, but it was all her doing. Natalie was right to be surprised. Amelia quite literally had had a wedding planned for twenty-three years. Her files of cartoon drawings and magazine cutout collages had evolved into Pinter-est boards and spreadsheets, but the content was basically the same. And considering she had never been engaged, it was an excessive level of detail. She occasionally updated the color palette, but the rest was the same. She'd always fantasized about a big wedding with hundreds of guests, tons of good food, dancing and all the elegant touches she adored. All she needed was the love of her life to slip into that Armani tuxedo and make her dreams a reality.
To throw all that away so she could get walked down the aisle by Elvis and marry her best friend was…unthinkable. But Vegas seemed to have that power over people. "It's a long story. They can fill you in." Amelia started toward the door.
"Do you at least want your coffee?" Natalie asked, holding up the paper cup with her white chocolate-caramel macchiato.
Amelia started to reach for it, and then she caught a whiff of the strong aroma. Her stomach immediately started to turn, making her wince and step back. "Ugh—no, thanks. Maybe later. I just can't face it right now."
Turning quickly, she disappeared down the hallway. Natalie's voice easily carried the distance. "Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"
Tyler Dixon waited longer in the lobby than he expected to. When the dark-haired woman disappeared down the hallway to deliver his message, he was certain Amelia would come rushing out to him immediately. She would run and jump into his arms, greeting him with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek the way she always did.
Glancing down at his Rolex, he started to wonder if he'd miscalculated. He'd known she was here, even before she'd texted him back—he'd recognized her car in the parking lot. That meant she was either angry and making him wait for ignoring her, or she was avoiding him because she was embarrassed by the whole sex thing.
He didn't know what she had to be embarrassed about. With a body like hers, walking around naked could be considered a public service. Sure, they'd crossed a line, but they could work through that. They'd weathered rough patches in their friendship before.
It probably had more to do with him not calling her back. His schedule had been pretty hectic since the reunion, but it had to be. He'd bought some raw diamonds and taken them to India to be cut. He'd hit an auction in Belgium and picked up an antique sapphire brooch formerly owned by French royalty before the revolution. He'd closed a huge deal with a Beverly Hills jewelry designer to provide diamonds for their pieces. Whenever he'd thought to call her, the time zones were off. She wouldn't have appreciated getting those calls at 2:00 a.m.
This was why he didn't get in serious relationships anymore. He'd gotten burned with Christine and learned his lesson. He knew that most women didn't appreciate his schedule, even if they appreciated the money that resulted from it. At first, his diamond airline status and exotic travels seemed exciting, but it didn't take most women long to realize that meant he was always on the go. No, he wouldn't be able to go to that work thing with you. No, he couldn't talk about your crappy day when he was ten times zones behind and busy working.
Amelia had never minded his schedule before. Had that changed along with their marital status?
What was the rush anyway? She hadn't found Prince Charming in the ten years leading up to now. Certainly she hadn't found him in the past month while he'd been gone. He loved Amelia, but she wasn't known for her successful relationships. He'd only met one woman in his whole life who was as high maintenance as she was, and that was his ex. He'd known that about Amelia going into this, but she was his best friend and he would do anything to make her happy. Apparently.
They'd take care of the divorce. That was why he was here at his first opportunity. Despite what Amelia might think, Tyler wasn't deliberately dragging his feet. Although, if he was honest with himself, there was a part of him that was sad that he'd never get to touch those soft curves again. He'd always been happy to be Amelia's friend, but he wouldn't mind spending a little more time exploring her body before they went back to being just friends. He'd only had one brief taste, and that wasn't nearly enough for a woman like her.
 
 
Author Biography
Andrea Laurence has been a lover of reading and writing stories since she learned to read at a young age. She always dreamed of seeing her work in print and is thrilled to finally be able to share her special blend of sensuality and dry, sarcastic humor with the world. A dedicated West Coast girl transplanted into the Deep South, she's working on her own "happily ever after" with her boyfriend and their collection of animals including a Siberian Husky that sheds like nobody's business.
AndreaLaurence
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