Crushed
Redemption # 2
By: Lauren Layne
Releasing April 14th, 2015
Loveswept: Flirt
Blurb
Lauren Layne’s latest novel about the healing power
of redemption tells the story of a crush gone wickedly wrong, proving that what
you want isn’t always what you need.
Growing
up in New York, Michael St. Claire never expected to spend his twenties wearing
cowboy boots. But that was before he learned about his real father, a total
stranger with a family in Cedar Grove, Texas. Once in the Lone Star State,
Michael meets Kristin Bellamy, who is exquisitely refined and everything
Michael always thought he wanted in a woman. The only problem is that Kristin
is dating Michael’s new half-brother, Devon.
Kristin’s
mouthy, curvy sister Chloe has always been in love with Devon Patterson. So
when Michael offers to help Chloe break up Devon and Kristin, Chloe agrees to a
deal that seems too good to be true. Before long, Chloe finally gets her man,
only to make a startling discovery: She no longer wants the guy she had to fight
for—she wants the one who stood by her side.
After
all he and Chloe have been through, Michael swears he’s damaged goods. Can
Chloe convince him that love is worth the risk?
EXCERPT
When
things finally calm down enough for me to check on her a second time, her drink
has turned pink from the cherries and she’s about to launch into another
conversation with the couple on her left. I snap a finger in front of her face.
“Hey, I wanna talk to you about something.”
She sighs.
“Is it about the calories in this drink? Because I’ll give you another minute
on the treadmill to make up for it, but not a second more.”
I almost
smile. “No, it’s about the fact that you came here with your sister and her
boyfriend.” A quick glance across the bar shows that they’ve settled in with
their friends in the corner, and neither seems to be the least bit worried—or aware—that
one of their companions is all by herself.
Chloe
tilts her head, sending the curls tilting to one side. “What about it?”
I glance
down at my hands, not sure how much I want to give away. “It’s just . . . it
seems harmless now, but in the long run, you’ll hate yourself for it.”
She taps
her nails against the glass thoughtfully. “More cryptic ramblings from the
Beefcake.
Methinks there’s a story there.”
“No
story,” I lie. “Just . . . don’t settle for being the third wheel.”
She pushes
her empty glass toward me to refill and leans forward, studying me as I began
making her another drink.
“You wanna
talk about it?” she asks.
“Talk
about what?”
“About the
time you spent as a third wheel before getting burned?”
I grab a
cocktail pick and stab three cherries with more force than necessary, dropping
it into her drink before sliding it back to her. I ignore her question, because
the last thing I want to think about, much less talk about, is how much time I
spent trailing after my best friend and his girlfriend for most of my life.
“Look, you
need friends, Chloe.”
I say it a
little gruffly, not quite wanting to hurt her feelings but also wanting to get
through to her, but the girl’s like freaking rubber. Everything bounces right
off her. She blinks at me. “I have friends.”
“Well, you
need friends that you can go to a bar with on Friday night,” I snap, annoyed
that I have to explain everything for her.
Again with
that damn head tilt. “Why? And why do you care? Maybe I’m an introvert.”
Why do
I care?
And no,
she’s not an introvert. I give her a look, and she gives a sheepish smile.
“Okay, so I’m definitely not. But it’s weird enough that you inserted yourself
in my life as a personal trainer. Now you’re trying to be my social director?”
Her eyes
go wide and she holds up a finger as though she’s just had a brilliant idea.
“You have a crush on me!”
Oh, Jesus.
I lean
across the board, gently folding my fist over her finger. “I don’t
have a crush. Guys don’t get crushes past the age of eight, and I can tell you
right now that someone who never shuts up is not my type.”
She purses
her lips. “Right, right. You like ’em cool and bony.”
I say
nothing.
Author Info
Lauren Layne is the USA Today
Bestselling author of contemporary romance.
Prior to becoming an author,
Lauren worked in e-commerce and web-marketing. In 2011, she and her husband
moved from Seattle to New York City, where Lauren decided to pursue a
full-time writing career. It took six months to get her first book deal
(despite ardent assurances to her husband that it would only take three). Since
then, Lauren's gone on to publish ten books, including the
bestselling Stiletto series, with several more on the way in
2015.
Lauren currently lives in
Chicago with her husband and spoiled Pomeranian. When not writing, you'll find
her at happy hour, running at a doggedly slow pace, or trying to straighten her
naturally curly hair.
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