HANGING BY A THREAD
Riley O'Brien & Co. #3
Jenna Sutton
Releasing June 7th, 2016
Berkley Sensation
Thirty-year-old Bebe Banerjee is
desperate to get rid of two things: her fiancé and her virginity. Escaping her
arranged marriage might be impossible, but she refuses to give her firsts to an
entitled jerk who lives on another continent. Instead, she devises a plan that
guarantees another man will get her momentous firsts. But she never imagined
that man would be Cal O’Brien, the gorgeous heir to the Riley O’Brien & Co.
denim empire…
Although Cal has always been
fascinated by Bebe’s brilliant mind and beautiful eyes, he’s never pursued her.
She can’t stand the sight of him, and every time they’re in the same room, they
end up trading insults. Yet when he finds out about Bebe’s bold plan, he makes
his move, unaware of her upcoming nuptials. He promises to make her firsts unforgettable,
but he doesn’t know how hard it will be to forget her when their arrangement
ends.
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Chaste.
Untouched. Maiden. Pure. Innocent. The
words that described a virgin might sound pretty, but the truth was downright
ugly, at least in Bebe Banerjee’s opinion. She was convinced her virginity was
the reason her heart raced, her breath seized, and her palms sweated whenever
she was near Cal O’Brien.
Bebe
surreptitiously studied Cal, trying to ignore the wave of lust that surged over
her. If she’d had some experience between the sheets, she was sure she’d be
able to handle the way he made her feel.
If she had
gotten naked with a few guys, maybe she wouldn’t obsess about his glacier-blue
eyes and his thick, dark hair. Maybe she wouldn’t notice the way his jeans
clung to his tight behind and long legs. Maybe she wouldn’t fantasize about his
lips, his smile, his big hands . . .
Bebe
desperately wished she could just avoid him, but his little sister, Teagan, was
her best friend. If she wanted to spend time with Teagan, she had to put up
with Cal. She said no to a lot of Teagan’s invitations to hang out because of
him, and she had to be very careful not to offend her best friend.
That was why
the object of her X-rated fantasies stood next to her in a club-level suite at
PacBell Park. The San Francisco Giants were in the playoffs, battling against
the Atlanta Braves to win the National League pennant, and Teagan had invited
her to attend the game in the Riley O’Brien & Co. suite.
Founded by
Teagan’s great-great-grandfather, Riley O’Brien & Co. was the nation’s
oldest designer and manufacturer of blue jeans. Americans had worn Rileys for
nearly two centuries. In fact, Bebe was wearing a pair right now.
Teagan and
her brothers were involved in the day-to-day operations of Riley O’Brien &
Co. She managed the company’s law department, while her oldest brother, Quinn,
served as president and CEO, and Cal handled global marketing and
communications. Even Quinn’s wife, Amelia, was involved in the company, heading
up the women’s division.
Beside her,
Cal shifted slightly and took a pull on his Shiner Bock. He was close enough to
touch, and she clenched her hands into fists just in case her fingers suddenly
decided to act out her secret fantasies. He didn’t even look her way, and he
probably wouldn’t unless he felt the need to toss an insult at her.
“How was
Antigua?” Cal asked, directing the question to his sister and her new husband,
Nick Priest.
“It was the
most amazing place I’ve ever been,” Teagan said, her blue eyes shining and her
glossy lips turned up in a smile.
Teagan and
Nick had just returned from their three-week honeymoon to the Caribbean island.
Both of them were glowing from their tans and their newlywed status.
“We were
lucky we had our own private beach because Nick is apparently an
exhibitionist,” Teagan added with a lustful gleam in her eyes.
Nick was a
former professional football player, and he had been voted as one of the
“Sexiest Men Alive” by People magazine. With his blond hair and bright green
eyes, he was gorgeous, no doubt about it. But in Bebe’s opinion, he wasn’t
nearly as gorgeous as Cal.
No one is as gorgeous as Cal.
Nick leaned
down and whispered something into Teagan’s ear, something that was obviously
naughty because her face turned the color of cherries. When he straightened to
his full six-five and saw her red cheeks, he chuckled.
“You’re so
bad,” Teagan muttered, lightly slapping Nick’s chest. In response, he grabbed
her hand, hauled her up against him, and kissed her . . . with
tongue.
Cal made a
gagging noise. “Jesus Christ,” he groaned, “do you have to do that in front of
me?”
Teagan pulled
away from Nick. “Please,” she shot
back, her voice full of disgust. “Do know how many times I had to listen to my
high school friends talk about you and your big—”
Much to
Bebe’s disappointment, Cal covered his sister’s mouth with his hand and cut off
the rest of Teagan’s sentence. She tried to pull his fingers away, and finally
she got free by elbowing him in the stomach.
Laughing, Cal
stumbled sideways into Bebe, almost knocking her over. He grabbed her forearm
to steady her, his hand hot against her skin, and she gasped. Even the
slightest touch from him made her pulse pound, and she tugged her arm to get
away from him.
Instead of
releasing her, his fingers tightened. She looked up . . . way
up. He was almost as tall as Nick, and he loomed over her by more than a foot.
He was a little leaner than Teagan’s husband but still solid muscle. His faded
Giants T-shirt showed off his broad shoulders, impressive biceps, and ropy
forearms. He’d paired the shirt with ancient Rileys that fit him like a glove
and well-worn boots.
“Sorry about
that, Cookie,” Cal apologized offhandedly.
“I told you
not to call me that,” she snapped, trying to jerk her arm free.
She hated it when he called her Cookie, and
he knew it. Of course, that was why he did it.
He had come
up with the nickname right after he’d found out she had a medical degree in
addition to her MBA and law degree. He’d claimed it was a better moniker than
Bebe since she was such a smart cookie, but she knew it wasn’t a compliment.
“I thought
you liked nicknames.” He smiled angelically and widened his eyes to look
innocent. “You call Teagan kanya all
the time.”
Kanya was Bebe’s nickname for her best
friend. It meant “girl” in Hindi, the native language of her Indian ancestors.
She had been born and raised in the United States, but using Hindi words was
one way she stayed connected to her heritage.
“Teagan and I
are friends,” she pointed out.
He got her
message loud and clear because his eyes got all squinty. “I can be friendly.”
Yes, he could
be friendly. In fact, he was friendly to everyone
but her. He never had anything nice to say to her, and she returned the
sentiment.
She wasn’t
sure who had struck first, probably her, but now they launched verbal missiles
at each other with frequency and precision. He went out of his way to be rude
and antagonistic, and she did the same.
Bebe knew the
real reason she acted like such a bitch around Cal. She liked him, and she
didn’t want him to suspect how she really felt. She didn’t want to be the pathetic
geeky girl with a crush on the hot guy.
Before Cal,
she had never been attracted to any man. She’d never even experienced a high
school crush because she had entered the ninth grade when she was twelve and
had graduated when she was fifteen. She had immediately headed off to college,
and she’d obtained two bachelor’s degrees in three years.
By the time
she had been able to vote, she had been in her first year of medical school.
She’d become accustomed to being viewed as a study partner rather than a sex
partner.
She wasn’t
oblivious, though, and over the years, she had noticed good-looking men. But
she had never felt that zing of sexual attraction until she had met Cal four
years ago. She hated the way he made her feel: gauche, nervous, and overstimulated.
When he was near, sounds were louder, colors were brighter, and smells were
stronger.
Right now,
she could smell him, a panty-soaking aroma of warm male and expensive cologne.
It was so delicious, she could barely concentrate on the conversation swirling
around her.
“Even though
Antigua was amazing, I’m glad to be home,” Teagan said, ignoring Cal and Bebe’s
sniping. “I missed everyone. Mom and Dad. Quinn and Amelia. Bebe. Letty.”
“You didn’t
miss me?” Cal asked, feigning hurt feelings.
Bebe knew
Teagan had intentionally excluded Cal, trying to annoy him. The O’Brien
siblings teased one another mercilessly. Their relationship was so different
from the one Bebe had with her older brothers.
She rarely
talked with Pritam and Ranjit, and when she did, they definitely didn’t tease
her. They didn’t even call her Bebe. They insisted on referring to her by her
full name, Bindu, which she hated.
“No. I missed
Kim more than I missed you,” Teagan replied, referring to the woman who did her
nails at the swanky spa she frequented.
Teagan’s
snarky response made laughter well in Bebe’s throat. Before she could choke
them back, giggles escaped her. Cal stiffened next to her, and she mentally
prepared for their next verbal battle.
Ready. Aim. Fire.
Jenna Sutton is a former
award-winning journalist who traded fact for fiction when she began writing
novels. Surprisingly, the research she conducted for her articles provided a
lot of inspiration for her books.
Jenna is
the author of the Riley O’Brien & Co. romances including All the Right Places and Coming Apart at the Seams. She has a
Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Texas Christian University and a Master’s
degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University.
Jenna and
her husband live in a 103-year-old house in Texas affectionately known as “The
Money Pit”. You can find out more about her and her books by visiting
www.jennasutton.com.
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