Publication date: January 15th, 2024
Synopsis:
When life took an unexpected turn, I decided to get out of New York for a while. What better place to go than the idyllic small town my father spoke about so fondly when I was growing up? Laurel Lake held the title America's Friendliest Town for seventeen years running, and friendly was just what I needed right now.
Unfortunately, friendly wasn't the welcome I got when I arrived.
Instead, I got Fox Cassidy. My tall, dark, and burly neighbor, who grunted at me instead of saying hello.
Okay, so I might've had his mailbox in my hands the first time we met. And it might've been a little crushed after removing it from under my tire. And I might've needed his help breaking into the place I was staying in after the key broke off in the lock. But still... he didn't have to be so grumpy.
As time went on though, I started to notice things about Fox other than his glares. Like how he watched me when he thought I wasn't looking, or how fire ignited in his eyes whenever we bickered. Though I was in Laurel Lake to escape my problems, not create new ones. And getting involved with a man like Fox screamed trouble, even if he was gorgeous and unlike any man I'd ever met.
But alas, problem seemed to be my middle name this year. So why not have some fun while I was here for the summer? It seemed like a good plan. At least until it was time to go home...
They say what happens at the lake, stays at the lake. But it's not so easy to walk away when what stays behind... is your heart.
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Excerpt
She smelled like damn summer.
And it pissed me off.
Plus, I was tired from a shitty night's sleep. I'd tossed and turned thinking about Little Miss Home Improvement wearing nothing but a pair of denim short overalls and work boots--no shirt, no socks, definitely no bra or underwear.
Josie hopped down from the last two steps on the ladder. "Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Are you always this grumpy in the morning?"
"I'm not grumpy."
"No? So this is what? Your idea of a sparkling personality? I asked if your coffee was okay, and you grunted at me."
"That wasn't a grunt. That was a yes."
Josie made a short, deep noise that sounded like a pig.
I arched a brow. "Is that supposed to be me?"
She made the sound again, this time adding some monkeylike arm movements and jumping around. "Gronk."
"Cute."
She jumped again. "Gronk. Gronk."
I tried not to react, but she was just too damn adorable.
Josie pointed at my face. "There it is again. The elusive Mr. Grumpy Pants smile. It's kind of... dare I say... nice." She made an exaggerated gasping sound and covered her mouth. "Oh no. I hope it's not too painful."
"Alright, wiseass. I get the point. How about you take your oinking ass out front and grab one of the small two by fours I left on the porch? I'll show you how to make an easy support to hold up the drywall while it gets screwed into the ceiling."
Josie strutted to the door. The woman was wearing a white tank top and long, pale pink, flowy skirt to do construction. It looked like she was going on a picnic date, rather than hanging sheetrock--though the tank top hugged her in all the right places, and there was something about her collarbone that I couldn't drag my eyes away from. She bent to pick up the wood out front, and the top of her tank gaped open, giving me a clear view down her shirt. I forced my head in the other direction, though my eyes managed to slant and continue looking.
"Jesus Christ," I grumbled to myself. "I need to get the fuck out of here."
VI KEELAND is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in over a hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-five languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
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