Do Me A Favor by Christina Hovland
Series: Mile High Matched #4
Publication date: April 17th, 2020
Synopsis (according to Goodreads):
Some days things just click. Today is not that day.
Love is a battlefield, and divorce attorney Sadie Howard is entrenched on the frontlines. She thought she might have met the right man once, but he was a career military guy who got shipped overseas and left her heart on the tarmac. These days, the only commitment Sadie wants is the one she's made to her Denver law practice.
Combat photographer Roman Dvornakov is back. Fresh out of the U.S. Army, he's using family connections to snap photos at a few weddings while he builds his civilian photography practice. After all he's captured on film, a few posed wedding shots should be a cakewalk. Seeing so much death through the camera lens, he's now ready to build something worth living for. A thriving photography business, definitely. But he's certain his new mission also includes Sadie, the girl who slipped away.
Sadie isn't convinced, and she's not willing to open her heart anytime soon. Besides, she's got a high-profile divorce case taking up all her attention. Winning the case for her client will make or break her practice. So what if it's a custody dispute over a ridiculously expensive fish tank? When Roman discovers the soon-to-be divorced couple are still in love, he and his slightly-nutty grandmother, Babushka, are determined to convince them to cancel the proceedings. He's not camera shy when it comes to matters of the heart, but interfering with Sadie's clients could wreck her career and any chance they'll ever have together...
WARNING: READ ONLY IF YOU LOVE A STRONG HEROINE, AN ALPHA HERO WITH A HEART OF GOLD, FAMILY MEDDLING, AND A GUARANTEED HEA. IF LAUGHING SO HARD THAT THOSE AROUND YOU ASK IF YOU ARE OKAY IS YOUR THING, THEN THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU.
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"I'm glad I got to see you," he clarified, stretching his arm behind her along the top edge of the sofa it was the most natural thing in the world.
He was so... He just hadn't changed.
Suddenly, her hair felt too tight pinned against her scalp. She wanted to yank out all the bobby pins. Cuddle up in her extra comfy Hello Mello pajamas. Go to sleep and stay there until Marlee and Eli announced the birth of her nephew.
That was, of course, easier thought than done.
Mostly because Roman was sitting right there.
Also, this was Roman. Roman just wasn't the kind of guy a girl could forget. His scent, his body. His everything.
The tattoo was new, but he still smelled the same. He still looked the same. He still made her insides feel like she had just finished jury selection and instinctively knew she was screwed when it came time for the trial deliberation.
He shifted so their knees nearly touched.
Roman caught her stare and held it. "I'm proud of you, Sadie."
Her parents told her that often. Heck, even Eli had told her the same. But when Roman said it, her insides went all melted honey in chamomile tea.
"Why?" She picked at the hem of her dress.
He didn't even know her. What did he have to be proud of?
His gaze bore into her. "You did what you set out to do. You were set that you'd change the world with the law. That's what you're doing."
Not exactly. Mostly, she settled arguments for clients and tried to get them as much money as she could. Being a divorce attorney wasn't exactly saving the world the way she'd hoped. She did believe that her work mattered, and she enjoyed family law. But nothing was what she'd expected--in her career or in life.
The fact that she'd become a divorce attorney had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the fact Roman had walked away. That was simply the first step in a long line of steps that brought her to this particular professional choice.
"Thanks." She glanced away. His intense gaze was just too much.
They sat together in silence, Lothario hopping to her lap and settling there before nudging her so her hand rested on top of his little head.
She could feel the fissure forming in the mask she prided herself on. The one that she'd perfected. The one no one had ever been able to see through. Roman didn't seem to realize how bare she'd been stripped. Nerves exposed, she wished the sofa would swallow her whole.
Roman moved closer to her on the cushions.
Sadie didn't scoot away. Didn't want to.
"I want a shot." Roman's voice was softer than she'd ever heard it before. "With you. I want a shot."
That determined focus Roman could direct at a person hit her straight in the chest. There was a time when she'd have given anything for a lifetime of that kind of focus.
She reached out to him, gifting herself with this one moment. She traced the pad of her thumb over his lips and along his jaw, reacquainting herself with the sculpture of his face.
Exposed nerve endings all over her skin fired and purred. We're touching Roman Dvornakov! They seemed to hum. We like it. Keep touching him.
He turned his cheek in her palm so his mouth pressed against her fingers. Then he picked up her hand in his and linked them together.
Sadie moved closer to him, tipping her face so it aligned with his, allowing herself to run the tip of her nose along the length of him. Their breaths mingled. She was pretty sure he was going to kiss her.
Damn it all, she couldn't let that happen.
"I can't," she said.
Roman didn't pull back. "Give me one reason."
"I'm committed to..." What could she say? Her job? Yes, she'd decided when she moved back that her focus had to be on her work. It was what mattered and guys like Roman--or any relationship at all--interfered with that commitment.
"I just... there's just..." She pushed against his shoulders, finally moving away. "I'm not on the market." Her body screamed at her that this was ridiculous. Her career couldn't do the things that she knew from experience Roman could accomplish.
She had decided, after an abundance of stilted relationship attempts and abrupt stops, that she was 125 percent committed to her career.
He was so... He just hadn't changed.
Suddenly, her hair felt too tight pinned against her scalp. She wanted to yank out all the bobby pins. Cuddle up in her extra comfy Hello Mello pajamas. Go to sleep and stay there until Marlee and Eli announced the birth of her nephew.
That was, of course, easier thought than done.
Mostly because Roman was sitting right there.
Also, this was Roman. Roman just wasn't the kind of guy a girl could forget. His scent, his body. His everything.
The tattoo was new, but he still smelled the same. He still looked the same. He still made her insides feel like she had just finished jury selection and instinctively knew she was screwed when it came time for the trial deliberation.
He shifted so their knees nearly touched.
Roman caught her stare and held it. "I'm proud of you, Sadie."
Her parents told her that often. Heck, even Eli had told her the same. But when Roman said it, her insides went all melted honey in chamomile tea.
"Why?" She picked at the hem of her dress.
He didn't even know her. What did he have to be proud of?
His gaze bore into her. "You did what you set out to do. You were set that you'd change the world with the law. That's what you're doing."
Not exactly. Mostly, she settled arguments for clients and tried to get them as much money as she could. Being a divorce attorney wasn't exactly saving the world the way she'd hoped. She did believe that her work mattered, and she enjoyed family law. But nothing was what she'd expected--in her career or in life.
The fact that she'd become a divorce attorney had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the fact Roman had walked away. That was simply the first step in a long line of steps that brought her to this particular professional choice.
"Thanks." She glanced away. His intense gaze was just too much.
They sat together in silence, Lothario hopping to her lap and settling there before nudging her so her hand rested on top of his little head.
She could feel the fissure forming in the mask she prided herself on. The one that she'd perfected. The one no one had ever been able to see through. Roman didn't seem to realize how bare she'd been stripped. Nerves exposed, she wished the sofa would swallow her whole.
Roman moved closer to her on the cushions.
Sadie didn't scoot away. Didn't want to.
"I want a shot." Roman's voice was softer than she'd ever heard it before. "With you. I want a shot."
That determined focus Roman could direct at a person hit her straight in the chest. There was a time when she'd have given anything for a lifetime of that kind of focus.
She reached out to him, gifting herself with this one moment. She traced the pad of her thumb over his lips and along his jaw, reacquainting herself with the sculpture of his face.
Exposed nerve endings all over her skin fired and purred. We're touching Roman Dvornakov! They seemed to hum. We like it. Keep touching him.
He turned his cheek in her palm so his mouth pressed against her fingers. Then he picked up her hand in his and linked them together.
Sadie moved closer to him, tipping her face so it aligned with his, allowing herself to run the tip of her nose along the length of him. Their breaths mingled. She was pretty sure he was going to kiss her.
Damn it all, she couldn't let that happen.
"I can't," she said.
Roman didn't pull back. "Give me one reason."
"I'm committed to..." What could she say? Her job? Yes, she'd decided when she moved back that her focus had to be on her work. It was what mattered and guys like Roman--or any relationship at all--interfered with that commitment.
"I just... there's just..." She pushed against his shoulders, finally moving away. "I'm not on the market." Her body screamed at her that this was ridiculous. Her career couldn't do the things that she knew from experience Roman could accomplish.
She had decided, after an abundance of stilted relationship attempts and abrupt stops, that she was 125 percent committed to her career.
About the Author:
Christina Hovland lives her own version of a fairy tale--an artisan chocolatier by day and romance writer by night. Born in Colorado, Christina received a degree in journalism from Colorado State University. Before opening her chocolate company, Christina's career spanned from the television newsroom to managing an award-winning public relations firm. She's a recovering overachiever and perfectionist with a love of cupcakes and dinner she doesn't have to cook herself. A 2017 Golden Heart finalist, she lives in Colorado with her first-boyfriend-turned-husband, four children, and the sweetest dog around.
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