Fiancé by Fate
by Jennifer
Shirk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Their
fake relationship is a twist of fate.
Sabrina
Cassidy believes in fate. So when her fiancé breaks off their engagement, she’s
convinced they’ll get back together eventually. But fate was not on her side
when it brought Jack Brenner into her life—and work. Frustrating, gorgeous, and
cocky, Jack has an offer that Sabrina can't refuse. Not if it means getting the
life she’s always imagined.
Despite
being one of the town’s most eligible bachelors, Jack has a reputation that’s
working against him. He has to convince his father—and his company’s board—that
he’s ready to settle down if he wants a promotion. But convincing Sabrina to be
his fake girlfriend turns out to be the easiest part. What he didn’t count on
was their intense attraction and how easily their lie would escalate.
Sabrina’s
still hung up on her ex, and Jack will never settle down.
But
fate has other ideas…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
“Will you
relax,” he told her. “You’re making me anxious, and I’m never anxious.”
Although he was anxious to get their plan started, but he was also hungry. He
opened his desk drawer to his new stash of beef jerky he had on hand for such
an emergency and pulled some out.
Sabrina
threw her hands up in the air. “Oh, great. This is so completely fitting with
you. While I’m stepping into a web of lies, you’re stepping into a Slim Jim.”
He looked
at the beef thoughtfully, then held it out to her. “I’m sensing you need this
more than I do.”
“I’m a
vegetarian.”
“Now that
explains a lot.”
She
bristled. “That’s it. Forget it. This is so stupid. We’re never going to
convince anyone that we like each other, let alone that we’re dating.” Shaking
her head, she was on her feet before he could blink and looked about ready to
hightail it out of his office.
“Wait,” he
said quickly. Where was his normal finesse when it came to women? She had a way
about her that brought out his worst. But she was right. If he didn’t watch
himself, he’d ruin everything.
“I’m sorry,
Sabrina. This will work. How about we both try to keep the smart comments to a
minimum?”
She sat
back down but her shoulders were still stiff. “All right then. Let’s just
figure this plan out so I can get back to work.”
Damn, there
was a lot of pent-up energy going on in that tight little body of hers. It was
kind of amusing to watch, especially the way she tried to quiet her
hyperventilating breaths so he wouldn’t notice. Call him a jerk, but he
noticed. Her chest was going in and out like a runaway steam engine and it was
all he could do not to stare. And he liked what he saw.
“What do
you want me to do?” she asked, breaking into those thoughts. She nibbled one
corner of her lip, her hair hanging loosely as she cocked her head to the side.
“Well, I…”
Their gazes met and held.
Have her
eyes always been that blue? Hell. He knew she was pretty, but he never realized
she was that pretty.
He cleared
his throat and reached for more beef jerky.
“You do
have some sort of agenda, right?” she asked.
“Agenda?”
“A list of
dos and don’ts.”
He rolled
his eyes. Sabrina was definitely not a play-it-by-ear kind of woman. He should
have known she’d want an itemized list of how he expected her to act.
She licked
her lips. “Nothing over the top, I hope. Oh, and I guess I should have
mentioned this before, but I don’t want to have to, uh…”
“Don’t want
to have to what?” he asked, popping another piece of jerky in his mouth.
“Kiss you,” she finished.
Jack froze
midchew, then swallowed. “What?”
She shifted
in her chair. “I don’t want to have to kiss you.”
“Absolutely not. That’s
nonnegotiable. You have to kiss me. What kind of fake girlfriend are you,
anyway?”
She lifted
her chin. “One that doesn’t believe in public displays of affection.”
“That’s
ridiculous.”
“No, it’s
not. Look, you’re the one who wants to change your reputation. Kissing and any
other type of manhandling—fake or not—in front of people is not a way to show
them you’re in a serious relationship. I won’t be treated like all your other
bimbos. We’ll just have to be convincing in other ways.”
Jack sat
back and grunted. Little Miss Perfect had a point, as per usual. Kissing was
not something they could be caught doing at work, and even if they were out on
a fake date, at their age, they wouldn’t be lip-locked at some restaurant. But
the idea still didn’t sit well with him. Who knew that he’d actually be
disturbed he wouldn’t be able to kiss her?
And the
more he thought about how it disturbed him, the more disturbed he became.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Jennifer
Shirk has a bachelor degree in pharmacy-which has in NO WAY at all helped her
with her writing career. But she likes to point it out, since it shows
romantic-at-hearts come in all shapes, sizes, and mind-numbing educations.
She
writes sweet (and sometimes even funny) romances for Samhain Publishing,
Montlake Romance and now Entangled Publishing. She won third place in the RWA
2006 NYC's Kathryn Hayes Love and Laughter Contest with her first book, THE
ROLE OF A LIFETIME. Recently, her novel SUNNY DAYS FOR SAM won the 2013 Golden
Quill Published Authors Contest for Best Traditional Romance.
Lately
she's been on a serious exercise kick. But don't hold that against her.
Feel
free to follow her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/jennifershirk) or become a
friend on Facebook
(http://www.facebook.com/people/Jennifer-Shirk/100000745044647)
Website:
https://www.jennifershirk.com
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/jennifershirk
Sign
up for her newsletter:
http://jennifershirk.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=5dcb9356ee9c77b69a835f0ea&id=3199d4b772
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giveaway:
Jennifer will be awarding a $25 Amazon or
B&N GC plus an ebook of first Bliss romance book: Kissing Kendall to a
randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
The more you comment, the better your chances of winning!
Follow the tour HERE
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! <3
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt. This sounds like a really fun story.
ReplyDeleteLove the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt, I would love to read this book. Entering under the name of Virginia
ReplyDeleteawesome giveaway! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDelete