Even the Score
by Kate Meader
and Texan, Dark, Tall
Publication Date: July 21, 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
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Synopsis: He’ll make her an offer she can’t refuse…
Actress Tess McKenzie is performing in the Tenth Circle of Showbiz Hell—dinner theater. All she really wants is to start a theater of her own. Then Tess receives an offer she can’t refuse. She’ll get her funding…if she pretends to be the fiancée to her nemesis, Texan property tycoon Hunter Dade. If she’s going to pull this off, she’ll need all the luck she can get.Break a leg, indeed.
On the verge of a big business deal, Hunter needs to hire a fiancée. He hasn’t quite forgiven Tess for ruining his wedding, but when their chemistry goes from combative to straight-up lust, the “no sex” clause in their mutually beneficial arrangement is tested. Which is a serious problem, because if Tess isn’t careful, she’ll go from breaking a leg to breaking her heart…
Excerpt
Tess’s opaque gaze cleared and was replaced by something more challenging.
Tess’s opaque gaze cleared and was replaced by something more challenging.
“And the
proposal was perfect.”
The
proposal? Shit, the proposal. With Jenna, he had
taken her to the Signature Room on the ninety-fifth floor of the Hancock, a
traditional place for romantic dates and the unveiling of engagement rings.
Soft music, so-so food, a stunning view of the city: all calculated accessories
to the perfect popping of the question. Sliding his ring on Tess’s finger ten
seconds before they arrived at the ranch had been the opposite of romantic.
Funnily, it
had felt a hundred times more real.
The ladies leaned
forward in expectation. “Tell us about the proposal!” Denise chirped. “I love a
good proposal story.”
“Yes, do tell,
honey,” Tess murmured, the little minx.
A few seconds
ticked over while Hunter scrambled for a likely tale. It would have to be
something unique, something worthy of this special woman. His neurons untangled
for a brief, illuminating moment.
“Tess is on
her feet a lot with this latest show of hers, so she’s rather partial to foot
rubs.”
“While eating
ice cream,” Tess added, quick as a whip. “Ladies, you haven’t lived until you
have your man rubbing your feet while you eat ice cream.”
“Sounds like
heaven,” Tawny said, a hint of green in both her skin tone and voice.
“So we were on
the sofa at home, just our usual. Foot rubs, ice cream, chatting about our
day,” Hunter went on, warming to the tale while his palm heated on the silky
soft skin of Tess’s ass. A flash fantasy of their “usual” becoming a reality
tried to take hold, but he shoved it deep into his brain’s attic. “And I
slipped the ring on her pinky toe.”
He looked into
Tess’s eyes, seeking approval. The catch in her throat and the bloom on her
cheeks were his answer. Relief flooded his veins at pleasing her. Raising her
left hand, she rocked the perfect Home Shopping Network move with her
fingertips on his chest, displaying the sapphire engagement ring to perfection.
Atta girl.
“I asked her
if she’d be okay with me giving her foot rubs for the rest of her days and—”
“I took
another bite of Phish Food first.” Tess sounded a tad breathless. “For strength,
and well, no life-changing decision should be made without the benefit of ice
cream. Amirite, ladies?”
The ladies
nodded in awe, even the usually skeptical Buffy who hung on every single word.
Christ, they were knocking this out of the park.
“Hunter had
already eaten all the chocolate fish, so I had to have a serious think about
whether I was prepared to spend my life with someone who steals the best part.
But…” She paused, her eyes filled with warmth and love. Hell and damn, she was something
else. “I decided he’d already stolen my heart and soul. And I deserved those
foot rubs.”
About Kate Meader
Originally from Ireland, Kate cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Mills & Boon thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron or a fire hose, and she’s there. Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemporary romance with alpha heroes and strong heroines who can match their men quip for quip.
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