Book 2
in the
On Hold
Series
Blurb
Having
it all is a fantasy, right?
Carrie
Shelton thought her boyfriend was too good to be true. Her best
friend's brother? A guy who loved antiquing? Who cuddled on the couch
while watching foodie YouTube clips and talking about artisanal
spices? Who helped her accessorize her outfits?
Right.
Fantasy.
So
when he ran off with Kevin, the owner of an antique shop, right
before his sister’s wedding, Carrie’s life went from fantasy to
nightmare.
As
maid of honor, she can’t back out of the wedding. And her ex is the
best man - but now he has his own best man.
She
needs a date. Stat.
Enter
Ryan. Sure, he’s a hot male stripper at the O Spa where she works
as junior designer, but he’s a few years younger and just, you know
-- a friend.
Perfect.
She needs a friend more than she needs a boyfriend.
A
weekend of playing her boyfriend so she can save face is a lot to
ask, but for some reason Carrie doesn't understand, Ryan's all in.
Enthusiastic, even.
Especially
when it comes to physical displays of affection.
Public
kisses turn to private confessions, and pretty soon, Carrie can't
tell the difference between fantasy and reality.
Because
if Ryan's just pretending he's in love with her, then why does the
chemistry between them -- and between the sheets -- feel so real?
Carrie
can't settle for almost, though. She's already done that. She's not
putting her life on hold anymore.
Turns
out Ryan won't, either.
He's
holding out for more.
Thank
You For Holding is a STANDALONE in the On Hold series. You do not
need to have read book 1 in the series, Our Options Have Changed, but
after reading about Carrie and Ryan’s friends-to-lovers adventure,
you’ll want to. ;)
Excerpt
CARRIE
I'm
going to be the maid of honor in my friend Jenny's wedding. You
probably saw that coming. I met Jenny at work here at the O Spa, the
women’s private club chain where I am the Assistant Director for
Design. O Spas are the “fourth space” for women. Home, work, and
other public venues are the first three.
We
are meant to be the ultimate space. From highly-trained, well-oiled,
hot massage therapists who wear g-strings that are outlawed in 111
countries, to a sex toy boutique with weekly workshops, to a new
coffee shop with lattes that are better than sex, the O Spa caters to
what women want.
A
break, a chance, and a friend.
Jenny
loved working for O, but she moved on a year ago, a promotion she
could only get by changing companies. We were never just work
friends. We're true best friends, and besides that, we could be
sisters-in-law someday. I'm dating her brother, Jamey.
Who
is standing in front of my desk right now, telling me about the
tickets he just scored to Straight No Chaser at the Wang Center in
November. We love a cappella.
"Fifth
row, Carrie! And it'll be near the holidays, so maybe they'll do
songs from their Christmas album!" His dark, wavy hair falls
over his forehead in a boyish little curl. His eyebrows are perfectly
arched. He gets them threaded more often than I do. His narrow chinos
are rolled at the cuff, exposing his bare ankles in brown loafers.
And is that my cotton scarf knotted around his neck?
I
smile at him. Jamey is a great boyfriend because he always wants to
do fun and unusual things. Has ever since we began dating two years
ago. Our friends rely on Jamey to keep them current. When Steve
Martin curated the Lawren Harris show at the MFA, we were the first
people in the door. When Juliet opened in Union Square, we were
tasting the tasting menu before anyone else had tasted it.
You
can see why a lavender flowered cotton dress -- with puffed sleeves
-- is of no use to me.
“We
can go back to my place after the concert and I’ll make cocoa. Bet
you’d enjoy something sweet and hot,” I say with a flirtatious
grin. I give him what I hope is a smoldering look. He’s holding my
hand and his eyes widen in mock excitement, then he looks away.
I
love Jamey.
Buy
links:
Author
Bios
New
York
Times
and
USA
Today
Bestselling
Author
Julia Kent
writes
romantic
comedy with
an edge.
From
billionaires
to BBWs
to new
adult rock
stars,
Julia finds
a sensual,
goofy joy
in every
contemporary
romance she
writes.
Unlike
Shannon
from
Shopping
for a
Billionaire,
she did
not meet
her husband
after
dropping
her phone
in a
men's room
toilet (and
he isn't
a
billionaire).
She lives
in New
England
with her
husband and
three sons
in a
household
where the
toilet seat
is never,
ever, down
Elisa Reed is a journalist-turned-fiction-writer whose snappy, irreverent prose combines with an irrepressible zest for the simpler, and often intimate, pleasures of life to produce fun(ny) contemporary romance with a focus on second chances. New England born and bred, Elisa Reed now lives, writes, and plays in New Orleans and along the sugar sands of the Gulf Coast.
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