Blurb:
Can the quiet bookstore owner land the playboy?
Alyssa Duncan’s life revolves around books. If not for the fact the town’s playboy Connor Phillips has a secret reading addiction, she most likely wouldn’t be on his radar…or his friend. The two personalities just don’t mesh…or do they? She gets a chance to find out when a book-reading bet leads to dinner. Alyssa experiences a wide a range of emotions. She’s elated her beyond-friendship feelings seem returned, but his reputation precedes him. Is she just another gullible female in a string of women? As a relationship begins to develop with Connor, going past the limits of friendship, things grow muddled and complicated when an ex-boyfriend shows up in town and things aren’t what they seem.
When the dust finally settles, will Alyssa find true love with someone or end up with just another friend?
Excerpt:
As Alyssa opened the book to chapter one, her phone chirped, letting her know she’d received a text. She decided to ignore it. She never liked to be disturbed when she read. But whoever it was didn’t want to be ignored, since her phone chirped again.
Alyssa groaned, dug it out of her purse, and read the two messages.
Can I come up? – Connor
Put the book down and let me in. *wink wink* - Connor
She giggled and wondered what he stopped by for, especially since she’d just seen him on a date. The new book he wanted didn’t come out until next week. She made her way back downstairs to the bookstore, where she saw Connor standing at the door, smiling while holding two paper cups she assumed was coffee. God, he was a sight. Dark, almost black hair that he always wore with that just-out-of-bed look, with ice-blue eyes that bore into one’s soul.
She unlocked the door and let him in. “Hey, Connor. What can I do for you?”
He handed her a coffee. “It’s Sunday evening and you’re closed tomorrow, which means you’ll be on a reading binge tonight. Figured you could use some coffee.”
She grinned. He knew her so well. Too bad he’d never see her the way she did him. “I picked up a historical romance.”
“Did you try the book I recommend yet?”
Sci-fi wasn’t for her. She had tried it, but couldn’t get into it. “Soon.”
“I don’t believe you. Maybe we should take a bet.” He leaned against the wall.
“A bet? Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. I bet by the end of the week you still haven’t read it.”
She took a sip of her drink. Ah, her favorite. Mocha with a splash of raspberry. “What are the terms of this bet?”
“If you have, dinner’s on me. If you haven’t, dinner’s on you. And I warn you, I have expensive taste.”
Alyssa’s heart fluttered. Dinner? A meal together? They’d never gone anywhere. In fact, she didn’t know if anyone knew they were even friends.
Connor reached out, touching her shoulder. “Do we have a deal?”
Oh God, she was supposed to speak. She wasn’t sure that part of her was working any longer. “Uh-huh.”
Connor grinned at her, a dimple forming on his cheek. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?”
No, a cat did not have her tongue. In fact, if a cat did, she was pretty sure she’d be screaming right about now, not being mute.
“You kinda threw me off, asking me to dinner.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Was that something you weren’t interested in?”
Ha ha, there wasn’t a woman around who didn’t want to have dinner and more with Connor Phillips. She just never thought it would be her. “We have a deal.”
“Good.”
Alyssa wondered if this meant he might be interested in her. That he could possibly have eyes for her. As she stared at him with a God-knew-what kind of smile on her face, she didn’t notice at first the blonde bombshell she’d seen earlier was now standing outside waiting. Alyssa glanced back at Connor, who caught her focus and turned to glance at the woman.
“Crap, I forgot about her.”
Alyssa raised an eyebrow. “Date?”
“For this evening.”
Her heart sank. Connor wasn’t interested in her. She would never look like blondie out there. He wanted to take her out as a friend. That was it. It was time she realized it and the fact they would never be anymore than they were. And after tonight, the woman standing out in the cold would know the same thing.
“I guess I better get out there.” He took a sip of his drink and stepped away from the wall.
“Yeah, she seems a little mad.”
Connor leaned closed and whispered to her, “She’ll get over it.” He brushed a light kiss on her cheek. This was the first time he’d ever been that close to her.
The woman outside tapped on the door, obviously not liking what she had seen.
“You better go,” Alyssa said. “Besides, I think my dinner’s cold. I’d just taken it out of the microwave before you got here.”
“Enjoy your meal and the coffee as well.” He waved and then went back out the door, greeting the woman waiting for him.
Alyssa wanted to watch but didn’t. It was hard enough knowing the man she secretly fantasized about was once again out with another woman.
Review:
A bookworm after my own heart! Alyssa is living my dream of running a bookstore. She has always had a crush on the town badboy Connor and is delighted everytime she sees him. Connor is intrigued with the feelings that Alyssa inspire in him and would love to get to know her better. A simple bet starts them down the path.
I like Cody and think there is a story there as well. Lacey has a way of dragging you into the lives of the characters she creates. Diane is a self absorbed little witch but you ache a little for her and wonder what happened to make her that way. Matt is an ass that needs to be smacked but the humor of that whole situation, well you just need to read the book. :)
Rated 4 Kisses
Buy Links:
Amazon | Nook | All Romance
Author Info:
Lacey Wolfe has always had a passion for words, whether it’s getting lost in a book or writing her own. From the time she was a child she would slip away to write short stories about people she knew and fantasies she wished would happen. It has always been her dream to be a published author and with her two children now of school age, she finally has the time to work on making her dream come true.
Lacey lives in Georgia with her husband, son and daughter, their six cats and one black lab who rules the house.You can find Lacey at the following places:Website / Facebook / Facebook Page / Twitter / Pinterest
BLURB:
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…
Drew is the last person Skylar wanted to see across from her at a local bar. A month ago he’d wined and dined her all weekend, leaving her feeling fully in love, but then she awoke alone in an empty hotel room and she hadn’t heard from him since.
The weekend Drew spent with Skylar was phenomenal. There had never been anyone who made him feel as complete as she did. He shouldn’t have disappeared, he should have called, but his feelings for her scared him, so he distanced himself. But when he saw her again, he knew he couldn’t stay away any longer.
Skylar’s determined not to give Drew another chance to hurt her, but he’s just as determined to win her back. Although it won’t be easy, he’s up to the challenge, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goal.
EXCERPT:
What the hell was he doing there? Skylar was finished with her aerobics class. Grabbing a bottle of water and squirting some in her mouth, she checked her schedule. She had an hour before her next class. That meant she had an hour to figure out what he was doing at this gym.
Taking a towel, she wrapped it around her neck and wiped off the sweat. She headed out of the room, intent on finding him. He was easy to spot. He was in the cardio area, in the back row like a typical man, watching the ladies' butts jiggle as they worked out. Rolling her eyes, she started his way.
"Hi, Drew," she said sweetly.
He turned off his machine and grabbed his water bottle. She watched as he touched it to his full lips, taking in a long sip.
"If you're done, do you mind following me so we can talk a minute?" she asked. She knew a confrontation in the middle of the gym wouldn't look good for either her or the business.
"Sure."
Spinning around, she headed toward the staff only break room. Once there she stepped aside so he could come in. Luckily the place was empty. She shut the door and locked it.
"What are you doing here?" She placed her hands on her hips, trying to portray she was irritated by him, when all she really wanted was to feel his mouth on her again.
"Honestly, I had no idea you would be here."
"Yeah, and I should believe that. I haven't seen you in a month until last night and then today you show up at my work place."
He took a seat, clearly worn out from his run. "My company just switched gyms. I was having a tough morning, so I wanted to blow off some steam by taking a run."
"Sounds convenient," she retorted.
"Shit, I didn't know you would be here. It's a plus though." He eyed her belly, and she imagined his tongue there, licking her sweat off.
Silence filled the room. She didn't know whether to believe him or not. His explanation sounded logical, and she would hate to think fate worked this out. Fate was what she first thought brought him into her life to begin with. He seemed so perfect for her. When they made love, it was so hot it almost seemed like sparks were flying off their bodies. At least at the time she considered it making love. Now she knew it was just sex to him, nothing more.
"Come here." He motioned to her.
She snickered. "I don't think so."
"Please, I just want to feel you again."
"Ain't happening, buddy. You had your chance." She knew all she had to do was resist him; that was the hardest part.
He reached out, grabbed her arm, and pulled her to him. Yanking away from him, she took a step backward.
"Come on, Sky, I know you still have feelings for me."
"Oh, I definitely have feelings for you, just not the ones you're hoping for."
He chuckled. "You know, there's a thin line between love and hate."
"That line is pretty thick for me."
"I'm not so sure."
"I am." At least she hoped.
He stood, closing in on her. As he stepped toward her, she found herself once again flat against the wall. Shit, how does this keep happening? His mouth was too close for comfort. Her eyes drifted to it for just a second, knowing it was a mistake.
"This is not a good idea," she whispered. Desire stirred in her.
"I want to have you. I need to have you. You're all I have wanted."
Placing her hands on his toned chest, she pushed him back. "You're not doing this to me again, got it?"
"I will win you back," he said.
GUEST POST:
I am always so excited when I can get a guest post from an author! Thanks for joining us today, Lacey!
First I want to say thank you so much for hosting me today. I have just completed my first series, The Hot Bods series.
To be honest, I’ve never been a big series reader. And now when I sit back and look at my writing, I’ve realized I’m a series writer. I have the Hot Bods series, the Brookfield series, and a new one coming soon, Love Strikes series. The Hot Bods series is the only complete series at this point.
So you may be wondering, is this a series you have to read in order? My answer is no however I think if you did, you’d enjoy it much better. Mainly because of one character, Francesca. You’ll meet her in the first book, Fool Me Once and chances are you’ll dislike her. She reappears in the second book More Than Useful as the hero’s sister, and in the third book Accidental Love, the reader will get to see a whole new side of Francesca and begin to wonder if she is as bad as they thought she was. And finally, Opposites Attract and Francesca gets her story.
Now Francesca isn’t the only character. We have Skylar who is a big part of all the books, as well as Amy and Jane. All four girls will appear in each book and of course if you read it in order, you’ll get little updates on how each of them is doing.
I have found writing series is fun. I get to keep my characters longer and revisit them. And so does the reader. Many times when you put a book down, it’s over. But not with a series.
Opposites Attract is the only story to include an epilogue and I think I tied the series up with a nice bow. Of course if someone has real all four they may still be left wanting to know more, and hey, who knows what the future holds. Another book could be in store.
To check out more on the Hot Bods series, check it out:
Thank you so much for having me on today! I enjoyed being here.
REVIEW:
If you know anything at all about me, then you know that I am ALWAYS looking for new authors and I have discovered Lacey Wolfe (thanks, Lisa!). This woman knows how to start a book off right! I love the alley scene. The fact is I love a strong woman who takes what she wants and walks away. Skylar did it in less than five minutes!
This is a spicy story and I really like it. I have to give Drew credit for trying. There are a lot of men that would take only so much before they just walked away. I do have to say that there were a few moments when I wanted to tell Skylar to grow up. This was a spicy, sweet love story and I am excited to read more from this awesome author.
About Lacey Wolfe:
Lacey Wolfe has always had a passion for words, whether it’s getting lost in a book or writing her own. From the time she was a child she would slip away to write short stories about people she knew and fantasies she wished would happen. It has always been her dream to be a published author and with her two children now of school age, she finally has the time to work on making her dream come true.
Lacey lives in Georgia with her husband, son and daughter, their six cats and one black lab who rules the house.
You can find Lacey at the following places:
You can follow the rest of the tour HERE! Don't forget to enter the contest HERE!
