Edward Weston has a lot to prove, both to his stuffy upper-crust British family, and to himself. Working alongside Kate, a woman he had a casual relationship with, stirs unexpected feelings. Helping her family makes him realize what he's missing. For the first time, he wants more than a
one-night stand.
When Kate is threatened, Edward must overcome feeling unworthy to protect the woman he loves and fight for the family he never thought he’d have.
Edward raised an eyebrow toward her. “Are you sure you’re up for sledding?” he asked, with a glance down at her black high-heeled boots.
She shot him a challenging look. “Only if we race against you.”
“Me?”
“Lucas and I against you. Loser buys dinner.”
He studied her, almost as though he were weighing how he could turn this contest in his favor. Then he turned to Lucas. “Why don’t you grab two sleds, sport, while I negotiate with Kate?”
Lucas nodded and ran off.
Edward hooked his fingers in her jacket pockets and pulled her closer. “How about if I win, you go on a date with me?”
“That’s playing dirty.”
“Very well. You can explain to Lucas why we’re not racing.”
“I can’t do that. Just look at how excited he is.” She nodded over to where Lucas stood waiting for available sleds, jumping up and down and an enthusiastic grin on his face.
“My sled, my rules, or are you afraid you’ll lose?”
He struck a nerve and he knew it. She couldn’t back down from the challenge. Besides, she’d been rethinking the whole not-dating thing and almost convinced herself she was being ridiculous for fighting their attraction. So no matter what happened, she’d figured she’d win.
She met the challenge of his gaze. “One date—and don’t expect sex.”
He attempted to look shocked, but one side of his mouth twitched. “Certainly not.”
“Fine. Be prepared to lose.”
Maria blogs and shares her writing journey with her critique partners at: http://thevioletfemmes.com.
When not writing, Maria loves to read, bake, downhill ski, visit the beach, and watch romantic comedies. Maria lives in New Jersey with her husband and children, and writes in her “spare” time between juggling a full-time job and her kids’ busy schedules.
Places to find Maria K. Alexander:
Maria will be awarding a $10 Amazon Gift Card as part of her tour wide giveaway. Follow the Rafflecopter below to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the tour.
DeleteThanks for hosting me. Today's excerpt is a sledding scene that I just love. What's your favorite Winter Olympic sport? Mine is ice skating followed by skiing.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I was talking about figure skating with my family last night. I think ice skating and skiing are awesome, because I don't know how to do them and I always wanted to.
DeleteI've always wanted to ice skate. When my kids were younger, my daughter and I took 10 weeks of lessons. She's fine but I'm still terrified. Mostly of getting knocked down by a kid and getting hurt. If I could only have the entire rink to myself, I could probably get comfortable. Too bad that probably won't happen.
DeleteYeah. I couldn't even take a class. I would be too afraid. My daughter took a class too and she was pretty good at it.
DeleteI would have to say my favorite winter activity is snowball fights and building snowmen with my children.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would like snowball fights. I tend to not be able to throw very good and I always get hit with balls. I would love to build a snowman with my kids. But it doesn't snow here and where I grew up, you were lucky if it snowed once every four years.
DeleteHi Tina. I like building snowmen but haven't since my kids were small. Now all they want to do is take their sleds to the hill across the street. For Christmas, my daughter bought my son a snowball maker. It scoops up the snow and forms a perfect snowball. It was only $5 and he absolutely loved it. But it made me laugh. Why couldn't I have thought of that idea? Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteA snowball maker. Interesting. That's so cool!
Delete