Love sometimes arrives in surprising ways...
LIFE OF THE PARTY
Calypso Falls #1
Kris Fletcher
Releasing Jan 17, 2017
Berkley Intermix
In this
all-new contemporary romance series, the five Elias sisters of Calypso Falls,
New York, discover that love sometimes arrives in surprising ways...
Jenna Elias was always the life of the party, coasting on her charm and beauty,
hiding the shame of the scandal surrounding her absentee father, a corrupt
politician. But the party ended all too soon with an injury that left her
partially paralyzed and a husband who simply left her. Now, at age thirty,
she’s back in Calypso Falls. She leads a simple existence working in her
sister’s coffee shop, but Jenna misses the joy she once had in her life. Then
Cole Dekker walks into the coffee shop.
As idealistic as he is sexy, the local lawyer is running for mayor of Calypso
Falls. Drawn to Jenna’s quick wit and radiance, he asks her to volunteer for
his campaign. As the two start working together, there’s no denying the
powerful attraction they feel for each other. A desktop makeout session leads
to much more. But when Jenna’s dad returns to Calypso Falls and wants to be a
part of her life again, the association could spell political suicide for
Cole—and the end of a once-in-a-lifetime chance at true love.
Don't Miss the Novella that started it all!
(Jenna) couldn’t quite stop staring at
him.
Her
rational brain ticked through the points—attractive guy, my age, waiting
politely—while something within her urged her to look harder. Deeper. Before
she missed something
vital.
Then he
raised his eyebrows and tipped his head, and she caught it. The flash of humor.
The air of expectancy. The feeling that, in this moment, she was the only thing
that mattered to him.
“Could I
get a coffee, please?”
Hello,
reality, you cruel bitch.
“Um . . .
sure. Sorry. I’ll be right with you.”
Okay. So
his desperate focus had been not on her, but the caffeine she represented.
Nothing wrong with that. Better, even, than the possibilities being offered up
by her imagination.
She returned to the register and focused on the order she needed to modify. It would be a lot easier if she wasn’t certain that he was following her every move, watching her hands glide across the keyboard like they held Harry Potter’s wand. Or maybe he was the one with the magic. It certainly took all of her resolve to stay on task when she had this sense that she was being compelled to turn back to him.
She returned to the register and focused on the order she needed to modify. It would be a lot easier if she wasn’t certain that he was following her every move, watching her hands glide across the keyboard like they held Harry Potter’s wand. Or maybe he was the one with the magic. It certainly took all of her resolve to stay on task when she had this sense that she was being compelled to turn back to him.
Lucky for
her, learning to walk again had taught her a few things about determination.
At last
the receipt was modified. She braced herself and returned to Mr. Compelling
with the practiced smile she kept in her pocket for any situation requiring
tact and/or faking.
“Sorry
for the delay. One coffee, right?”
“Right.
Milk, no sugar.”
“Let me
deliver these and I’ll get right on that.”
She
reached for the tray, but he placed a hand across it.
“Hang
on,” he said.
Well,
hell. There was nothing like watching a guy turn into an entitled, demanding jerk
to crash through the Hormone Net.
“I’ll be
right back.” She said it firmly, resisting the urge to explain playground rules
about taking turns to him.
“That’s
going to the table in the corner, right? The loud group?” At her nod, he added,
“I’m with them. Add my coffee to the bill, let me pay up, and I’ll do the
delivery myself.”
Her first
thought was that Aunt Margie had got things seriously wrong when she said that
all men were shortsighted asses who couldn’t see beyond the ends of their
peckers.
Her second
was that he’d caught her limping and felt sorry for her.
She
straightened her shoulders, her backbone, her hips. “Thanks, but I can manage.”
“Sure you
can. But I’m heading that way anyway.”
“That’s
very kind of you, but I’ve kept them waiting long enough.”
“Yeah,
well, I kept them waiting longer. If I come bearing gifts, they might be more
forgiving.” The grin flashed again. “In fact, why don’t you toss a few of those
muffins on the tray, too. I have a lot of groveling ahead. It might go better
if I feed the beasts before I throw myself on their mercy.”
How
was a girl supposed to resist that?
Kris Fletcher writes about small towns, big families, and the love that grows despite them. She has a thing for underdogs, which probably explains her lifelong devotion to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kris shares her central New York home - fondly known as Casa Kitty – with her husband, kids, two cats, and a large population of wild killer dust bunnies. You can learn more about Kris, her books, and the view from her balcony at www.krisfletcher.com.
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