Buy Links:
Betting On It Synopsis:
Recent college grad Blair Bartlett thought she had it all—until one near-death experience destroyed everything. Now she’s starting over halfway across the country with zero confidence, zero trust, and zero in the bank.
On the eve of her canceled wedding, her so-called friends formulate a bet to dig Blair out of her rut: in the next thirty days, she has to complete ten erotic dares that would make most married women blush. The stakes are high, and this is one bet she can’t lose.
Wary of messy entanglements, she recruits her best friend’s older brother—and longtime friend—Sawyer Callahan. Deemed Colorado’s most eligible bachelor, he’s successful, fun-loving, and knows exactly how to make a girl, um…swoon.
But as the weeks tick by, Blair knows the friendship has become much more than she’s bargained for. And something dark in Sawyer’s past is threatening to ruin their future before it even had a chance.
On the eve of her canceled wedding, her so-called friends formulate a bet to dig Blair out of her rut: in the next thirty days, she has to complete ten erotic dares that would make most married women blush. The stakes are high, and this is one bet she can’t lose.
Wary of messy entanglements, she recruits her best friend’s older brother—and longtime friend—Sawyer Callahan. Deemed Colorado’s most eligible bachelor, he’s successful, fun-loving, and knows exactly how to make a girl, um…swoon.
But as the weeks tick by, Blair knows the friendship has become much more than she’s bargained for. And something dark in Sawyer’s past is threatening to ruin their future before it even had a chance.
Excerpt:
The moment they disappeared he turned the heat down. Way down. Like he
could’ve just doused me in Freon. “That’s the thanks I get for treating you to
hair-of-the-dog?”
“How many times did I drag your hungover ass to IHOP for breakfast, Mr.
Eligible?” So I might’ve been regretting my decision to tease him. But what I’d
dished up he more than gave back.
He still hadn’t let go of my hand. “It was supposed to be a business
article about my new role of COO at the brewery.”
“You have to admit this one sells more copies. You already have
fangirls.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Think of it as helping the economy,” I said, and drank from my Bloody
Mary.
“How so?”
“I bet they’ll sell out this print run. You’re single-handedly boosting
Colorado’s economy, my beloved.”
“If we weren’t in public…”
I couldn’t tell if he was trying to sound threatening, or if my own
naughty fantasies begged to know what he’d do to me if we weren’t in public.
Damn bet. It gave everything double entendre now.
I became far too aware of the way his fingers constricted around mine. Focus. “I’m just trying to help you see
the silver lining.”
“You have no idea what a pain in the ass it is having your family and
friends try to help you out of your doomed bachelor life,” he said. “My aunt
has made it her life’s mission to pair me off. Do you even know what that’s
like?”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure I do. Hello? Recently minted single girl, right
here. I should hang a neon sign from my neck that flashes Pathetic 24/7.”
He groaned and sank into his seat. As if a guy his size could hide in a
restaurant booth. “You win.”
I shrugged. “At least they didn’t put me on the cover of a magazine.”
“I thought you were doing the silver lining thing?”
“You’re right. Sorry. Still drunk.” I held up my empty Bloody Mary and
jiggled the ice in the glass.
A waitress came over. “Another?”
I hadn’t meant to call her over like that. How freaking rude. “Yes, thank
you. And one for my most eligible friend here, too, please.”
“This is a disaster.” A long whoosh of air, too long to be a sigh,
escaped his lips and he closed his eyes as if he were trying to imagine himself
in his happy place.
“Please. I’m surprised FEMA hasn’t set up a tent in my living room.”
He allowed an indulgent chuckle. “That bad, huh?”
“Worse than you can imagine,” I confirmed with a somber nod.
“I don’t have time for this. I have breweries to run, and somewhere
between that, I have to sleep. This is the worst possible time for anybody to
think I’m eligible.”
“Just get a girlfriend for a few months until this dies down. Problem
solved.”
His eyes snapped open. “Problem solved? Do you know how hard it is
keeping a girlfriend happy when you work ninety hours a week? What do you think
this is, a rom-com?”
“Yeah, well, think of all the fangirls who’re going to come out of the
woodwork once they see your mug everywhere, attached to the whole
millionaire-COO-philanthropist-playboy thing you have going for you. You’re
like the Colorado version of Tony Stark.”
“Ha ha,” he drawled. “And I’m not a playboy. I don’t have the energy to
be a playboy.”
“So you’re impotent.” I seriously doubt the things I was saying would’ve
rolled off the tongue so easily if it hadn’t been for the booze. When the
alcohol and hangover wore off, I’d have a lot of apologizing to do. Still, I
had to admit goading him was kind of fun.
“Impotent? Don’t think I didn’t notice you getting all lusty-eyed
earlier.”
“What are you even talking about? I’m not the lusty-eyed type of girl.
That shit’s for…for…romantics. Of which I am not.”
He leaned forward and moved in for the kill. “If those ladies hadn’t been
here, and if we hadn’t been in a restaurant, you would’ve jumped my bones when
I was holding your hand.”
Maybe. I’d have to work on being more discreet.
“Ooooh, now I’ve heard everything,” I said, hating that my cheeks burned
hotter than the salsa. “What you think you saw was actually me fighting nausea.
Did you hear the way they were fawning all over you? We were stuck in cougar
city, my friend, and you were a baby deer. Besides, if you want to talk about
jumping bones, you should’ve seen the way you looked at my painting. If I
hadn’t come out when I did, there would’ve been a hole cut into that thing.”
His head fell back and he let out a hearty laugh, clutching his belly and
everything. “A hole? God, you have imagination.”
“Oh, so you’re saying I’m not worthy enough to get off to?” I popped a
nacho in my mouth, faintly disbelieving I’d actually asked.
He waited for the waitress to fill our water glasses, then leaned
forward. “This is not the conversation to have while you’re drunk.”
“Why not? It’s the perfect time. Maybe we could help each other out.” I
closed my eyes. Okay, so not what I meant to say. “What I mean is, we’re both
in the same quandary. We should…”
“We should…” He rested his chin on his palm and waited for me to finish,
amusement lighting up his face like the Vegas strip.
“We should introduce one another to nice, eligible people who won’t screw
us over.”
“Hm. Not exactly what I had in mind,” he said. He stroked his golden
stubble, making me jealous of his fingertips.
So what if my head tilted and I admired the angles of his features? And,
yeah, I might’ve sighed just a wee bit, thinking of how it might feel against
my skin. And fine. There was a chance I caught myself grinning at him like a
complete fucking idiot.
He laughed and shook his head, turning his attention to our plate of
nachos.
That delicious sensation I’d felt earlier when he touched me came back
full force. Good-bye, panties. Whatever. Time to change the subject before I
really did have to change my underwear. “Anyway, you either need to disappear
for a month to escape the hordes of women who’ll come after you, or find a
stand-in girlfriend to fight for your honor.”
“I’ll take that into
consideration.” He slapped a fifty on the table. “In the meantime, somebody has
a bender to sleep off.”
Violet Blake Bio:
Violet grew up wanting to be many great things. However, she quickly found out she was too accident-prone to be an astronaut, veterinarian, or surgical nurse, and had to take some time off from college to formulate a Plan B. By the time she got to Plan X, she settled on a degree in public health. But while she was supposed to be studying for a pathophysiology test, she took up writing romance.
Career commitment issues aside, she is fiercely dedicated to her family, and those who are patient enough to overlook a few...quirks. And no, she's not going to swap writing (Plan Z, if you're keeping track) in for a new career any time soon. She's run out of letters, for one. Violet loves to write contemporary and fantasy, and one day hopes to get up the nerve to dive into futuristic.
Links:
Rafflecopter Embed Code:
http://www.rafflecopter.
No comments:
Post a Comment