THE ONE I'M WITH
by J.
Lynn Rowan
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
BLURB:
Interior
designer Marissa O’Brien has sworn off long-term relationships, instead
protecting herself from a broken heart by following a specific set of rules
when it comes to her many flirtations and first dates. She’s content to just
have fun in the world of romance, but all her rules fly out the window when she
grabs the attention of a sexy, international stranger during her weekly Girls’
Night Out.
Josh Mattingly has
spent the last two years trying to turn over a new leaf, focusing on his role
in the family corporation and erasing his womanizing reputation. In Asheville,
North Carolina, on business, the last thing he’d planned on was getting involved
with a local girl. But one encounter with Marissa has him hooked. He soon falls
hard for the designer, and now he’s terrified to reveal his romantic past for
fear she’ll bolt.
Marissa recognizes a
playboy when she sees one and tries to keep her attraction to Josh under
wraps–until they share a passionate kiss that leaves both of them singed.
Still, she knows their love affair has an expiration date, and everything is
destined to end once Josh finishes his business in Asheville. Now, along with
showing his family that he’s left his old habits behind, Josh has a new
challenge–proving to Marissa that she can trust him with her heart.
Excerpt:
After I climb up the three brick steps,
I pause and face him. “Listen, Josh . . .”
Thankfully, my words halt him at the
bottom of the steps. He hooks his thumbs into his jeans pockets and tips his
head to one side, smirking. “Uh, oh. That doesn’t usually precede something a
guy wants to hear after a first date.”
“Oh, no. I wasn’t going to say . . .
Let me start over.” Closing my eyes, I draw a huge breath. Then I release it
slowly, willing my skittishness to go with it, and look at him again. “People
who know me—or at least know of me—will tell you I date. A lot. My friends will
even tell you that, and they give me shit about it all the time.”
“There’s nothing wrong with dating a
lot,” he says, frowning a little.
“No, of course not. But to most
people, it seems like I, well . . .” I pause, thinking how to phrase things. “I
don’t exactly have a reputation, if you know what I mean. But I haven’t dated
anyone seriously in a really long time.”
A perplexed line forms between his
brows. “How long are we talking?”
“Three years.”
He lets out a soft whistle.
“But like I said, I’ve dated.
Nothing long term. Four or five dates at most. I just— I have my reasons.”
Josh gazes at me for a few seconds,
then climbs up the first two steps to my porch. The move brings him within six
inches and manages to knock the air out of me without him even touching me. We
aren’t quite at eye level, but it’s close. He’s still taller.
“So we’ll take it slow,” he murmurs.
“You decide when and where. We get to know each other. We have fun. And if we
get past four or five dates . . .”
I don’t think I’ve breathed in the
last sixty seconds. My head spins. “Then what?”
“Then . . .” He leans forward until
his smooth-shaven cheek brushes mine, his lips drifting close to my ear. Sparks
fly across my skin as his breath tickles my neck. “Let’s just say it’ll be a
nice change of pace for both of us.”
How can a whisper feel like an
intimate caress?
A series of twitches flicker down my
arms as the impulse to grab ahold of him and steal a kiss races through my
muscles. But before I do anything, he backs down the steps, a look of
satisfaction on his face.
Neither of us says anything else as
he returns to his car, climbs in, and drives away with a quick triple-beep of
the horn.
I can’t move until his taillights
disappear from the end of my driveway.
AUTHOR BIO:
J. Lynn Rowan started writing stories as a small child, usually
starring her favorite cartoon characters. Most of her work through middle and
high school was filled with typical teenage angst and melodrama, and usually
mirrored the books she loved to read. But eventually she found her own author’s
voice and decided to seriously pursue a writing career.
Historical fiction remains J. Lynn’s “first love”, but she has
enjoyed the journey to becoming an author of romance and chick lit. She is a
member of Romance Writers of America, the Central New York Romance Writers, and
the Historical Novel Society. She is also a teacher who tries to instill a love
of learning, reading, and writing in her students.
When she’s not writing, J. Lynn enjoys travelling, gardening
poorly but enthusiastically, studying various topics in American history for
her own expertise, and channeling Julia Child every time she steps into the
kitchen.
A native of Oswego, NY, she now lives in Charlotte, NC, with her
own Romantic Hero of a husband and the most adorable toddler on the planet.
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2 comments:
Thanks so much for hosting me today!
I enjoyed the excerpt.
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