Darcy Trent is lucky Cooper
Hudson is on hand to sweep her off her feet—literally—when she nearly drowns
while swimming in the ocean. But life-saving aside, Mr. Perfect's timing
stinks: Darcy's career is about to take her to the complete opposite side of
the Atlantic. Still, a little summer loving with the tall, blond and sexy
former cop is far too tempting to pass up.
When his plans to enter the
Secret Service went south thanks to a bum knee, Coop retreated to the family
beach house to mull his future. Romance is the last thing on his mind, until he
fishes a curvy brunette out of the sea. Now, spending time in Darcy's arms
seems like the ideal distraction, even if it is just for a week.
But with Darcy's departure
date fast approaching and their careers on the line, can they realize in time
that their beach fling might become the real thing?
Here's an excerpt to get you hooked:
“Thanks for the rescue. If you
hadn’t grabbed me, I’d still be doing somersaults underwater. In my book, that
qualifies you for hero status.”
An unreadable emotion flickered
across his eyes so fast she almost missed it. In a low mutter, he said, “Don’t
call me a hero.” He hit the hard-packed sand at the edge of the water and
stopped walking.
Modest, heroic and gorgeous. And it
didn’t take even a fraction of her eight years of training in cultural
anthropology to figure out he was attracted to her. They’d long since hit land,
and yet he made no move to put her down. Not that she was complaining. She’d
happily continue to sit cradled in his arms. It gave her an up-close view of
his chiseled cheekbones, sharp enough to etch glass. Her fingers brushed
through the salt-spiked tips of his blond hair. No doubt about it: she’d found
the man candy Trina had promised. One bite of him would be as sinful and addictive
as a chocolate honey truffle.
“Well, I can’t call you Mr.
In-The-Right-Place-At-The-Right-Time.” When his lips curled up showing off his
dimple, Darcy’s interest kicked up a notch.
“Good point. I’m Cooper Hudson.
Coop, to my friends.”
“Darcy Trent.”
“It’s been a long time since I met
an ocean virgin.”
“Oh, but only in the aquatic sense, I assure you.” What? Why wave her
long-vanished virginity under his nose? Now he probably thought she had the
morals of an alley cat. But hearing the hottest man she’d ever seen use the
word virgin threw her for a loop. Not
the standard nice-to-meet-you conversation, by a long shot.
He flashed an easy smile. “Don’t
worry. I hadn’t planned on delivering you as a virgin sacrifice to appease the
volcano gods over at the mini-golf course.”
Okay, now Darcy could add funny to
the list of his overwhelming awesomeness. Maybe she really had blacked out and
was hallucinating her ideal man while unconscious, underwater. What else could
explain such perfection?
“Darcy, what happened?” Trina’s yell
preceded her appearance in front of them. After a quick yank upward to her
scrap of a top, she rested her hand on Darcy’s leg. “Why’s he carrying you? Did
you get stung in the foot by a jellyfish? ’Cause if you did, I’ll pee on it.
That’ll take the sting away.”
That certainly settled the whole
am-I-hallucinating question. Never, ever would Darcy fantasize about her best
friend peeing on her. The situation had to be real. And if Trina in all her
adorable annoyingness was real, then her hot hero hunk had to be real, too.
To her dismay, Cooper lowered her to
the ground.
“Your friend’s fine,” Cooper
announced. “A wave almost rolled her, so she’s a little shaken up, but
uninjured.”
“You keep your distance,” Darcy
warned with a hand raised to keep Trina at arm’s length. “Don’t even think
about peeing on me. Not even if I get attacked by an entire school of
jellyfish.”
Trina wrinkled her nose. “Okay, but
if the situation arises, just remember that I would be willing to make that
sacrifice.”
“Friendship is a beautiful thing.”
Cooper’s sardonic tone belied the sincerity of his expression.
Sounds great, Christi!
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