Friday, August 23, 2019

Friday Feature: Excerpt from Breaking the Rules, by Katie O'Sullivan


My new book for the summer is a paperback compilation of three novellas - 
Breaking the Rules
Bending the Rules
Changing the Rules 

Together, the series - and the paperback - is titled Cape Cod Dating Rules.

I thought it was a clever title, until I started doing book events.
People thought it was some kind of "How To" Rule Book for Dating.

Um, no.

It's fiction. It's three friends who each have rules about dating, designed to keep their hearts safe.
And the hot guys that convince them to break those rules.

Excerpt:


Recognition jolted through Abbie like an electrical surge. Whatever she was about to say to the captain evaporated from her mind while she stared into the most gorgeous blue eyes she’d ever seen.
What was the hot blond god from the bar doing in her boss’s office?

Her first thought was that he’d tracked her down, but she quickly dismissed the idea. They hadn’t even spoken last night, something she’d regretted all the way home. She cleared her throat and was about to introduce herself when Captain Nickerson interrupted.

“Abbie, I didn’t realize you’d already met my, uh, nephew. He’s on Cape looking for a job. We were discussing the possibilities with John.”

She furrowed her brow and dragged her eyes away from the depths of the blue pools. “I didn’t know you had any nephews besides my brother, Uncle Charlie.”

Nickerson chuckled and twisted his silver watch band. “Jake’s dad is an old family friend, just like your dad and me, Abigail. When the boy needed to get out of Boston for the summer, his dad requested my help.”

Her eyes slid back over to Jake, appraising him. He looked like he was about her age, give or take a few years. Strong jawline, sculpted lips, wide shoulders, capable looking hands… she drank him in from top to bottom, every nerve ending in her body kicking into overdrive. Well-dressed and clean shaven, he certainly didn’t look like some punk kid whose father needed to call in favors to find him a job. And those eyes… she dared another glance at his face and found him looking straight at her, amusement twinkling within that sea of blue. She could happily drown in eyes like those. She wondered whether he was seeing anyone. Not that she’d had much time to date recently but for the right guy she could make time. Maybe. Her gaze slid along angular cheekbones to the scruff on his jawline… yeah, she should definitely carve out some time to get to know this guy.

She wondered what those sculpted lips would taste like, how they would feel on the sensitive skin along her neck… her cheeks blazed anew at the sudden and intimate direction of her thoughts. Nerves jangling, heart suddenly beating faster, she almost missed the rest of what Uncle Charlie was saying.
“…and at least now he’s learned his lesson about making time with the owner’s daughter. Unfortunately, come to find out the man has unsavory connections so we all felt it would be safer for Jake to make himself scarce for a few months. Thanks for offering him a position in the kitchen, John.”

Her eyes widened as she processed the meaning behind the words. “Wait a sec, Uncle Charlie. Let me get this straight. You want to hide a playboy who can’t keep it in his pants at work… hide him from the mob… and put him on my kitchen staff?”

Captain Nickerson chuckled. “Abigail, you’re being overly dramatic. No one calls them ‘the mob’ anymore, like something out of a Godfather movie. Besides, the boy is experienced in the restaurant business. Right, Jake?”

The “boy” in question cleared his throat, looking suddenly sheepish despite his rugged good looks. “I don’t think we need to share quite so many details, Uncle Charlie. And yeah, I know my way around a kitchen.” He kept his gaze trained on her, as if willing her to see it was all some sort of misunderstanding.

A strangled noise of frustration escaped from Abbie, realizing the blond was a player. Of course he was. He probably had lots of practice smiling at women in bars and seducing them with the kind of soul-searing kisses she’d just been daydreaming about. Yeah, totally not the kind of distraction she needed this summer on top of everything else. 

 Grab this first story on Kindle for 99 cents

...or get the paperback of all 3 stories for the beach.




No comments:

Post a Comment

Go ahead - leave a comment! You know you want to! But don't be Anonymous - that'll just get you deleted. And who wants that?