(Broken Valor #1)
By Lexi Post
On sale for 99¢
He’s the right man at the wrong time
with an unwanted Christmas proposal.
As if cocktail waitress and horse trainer Lynzie Mullins
didn’t have enough problems, she discovers she’s pregnant just as her high
school crush rides back into town in time for Christmas. He’s a constant
reminder of the happily ever after she’d always dreamed of instead of the mess
she’s in now.
Cowboy veteran Ryan Crawford reluctantly returns to
Lucasville to help his grandfather sell his place. The town has changed and so
has Lynzie—from an awkward teenager to an attractive young woman with a caring
heart.
Despite his best efforts, Lynzie’s not interested in leaving
Lucasville, so Ryan offers her what she wants—his heart. Unfortunately, that
proves not to be enough. Now he has a decision to make. Give up his dream farm
or his dream girl.
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EXCERPT
Lynzie
smiled. “No. You are still the boy I liked in high school, just better.”
Ryan’s
grin was back. “That’s good enough for me. So would you like to come over this
weekend and give me a few pointers on Midnight and Toby?”
“I can
come by Sunday. I don’t work Sunday night.”
“Perfect.
You can stay for dinner.”
What was
she doing? “Sounds good.”
“It will
be. I’m cooking. You don’t want to eat anything Gramps cooks. I found that out
the hard way.”
She rarely
ran into Ryan’s grandfather, but she’d heard he was forgetting things. “You
know how to cook?”
He
shrugged. “I’ve picked up a couple tips here and there. My specialty is smoked
ribs. Do you like those?”
Oh, God
could the man get any better? “I love smoked ribs.”
“How about
twelve hundred hours? I’d like your opinion on a few things, but I know you
work late.”
Her
opinion? She ignored his use of military time. “Noon is fine.”
He gazed
into her eyes, a smile still on his face. “I’m really glad I came back here.”
Before she
could react to the thrill that buzzed through her chest, Ryan cupped her neck
and kissed her.
The second
his lips touched hers, her whole body came alive. At first the kiss was just a
brush of a touch, but as he lifted away, he hesitated then came back and really
kissed her, his tongue seeking entrance to her mouth, which she allowed.
As
teenagers, they had been awkward at best in their kissing, but Ryan knew what
he was about now as he commandeered her mouth with his tongue. She moaned as
she kissed him back, loving his new taste.
“Excuse
me.”
At the
sound of the strange voice, she pulled away and looked at the person who wanted
to go into the restaurant. She didn’t recognize the man, but still her cheeks
heated.
“I’m
sorry.” Ryan spoke to the man then stepped away from the doorway, taking her
with him, his hand at the small of her back, possessive.
She shook
her head, not quite able to form words yet.
“Good.” He
looked at his watch. “I better get going. See you Sunday?”
She
nodded.
He tipped
his hat and strode off, the hitch in his step not quite as noticeable as it had
been.
She
watched him until he turned the corner, unable to take her eyes off him.
Lifting her hand to her lips, she relived the kiss. Ryan Crawford had grown
into the perfect man, just like the ugly duckling grew into a swan.
And he had opened her eyes to life’s possibilities in just a few hours. If only—her doctor’s appointment was Friday. Maybe she would get lucky and discover her home pregnancy test had screwed up.
ABOUT LEXI:
Lexi Post is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of romance
inspired by the classics. She spent years in higher education taking and
teaching courses about the classical literature she loved. From Edgar Allan
Poe's short story “The Masque of the Red Death” to Tolstoy’s War and Peace, she's read, studied, and
taught wonderful classics.
But Lexi's first love is romance novels so she married her two first loves, romance
and the classics. Whether it’s sizzling cowboys, dashing dukes, hot immortals,
or hunks from out of this world, Lexi provides a sensuous experience with a
“whole lotta story.”
Lexi is living her own happily ever after with her husband and her two cats
in Florida. She makes her own ice cream every weekend, loves bright colors, and
you’ll never see her without a hat.
1 comment:
When Love Chimes sounds like the perfect holiday romance, Lexi. :)
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