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Valentine Valley #6 Order from Amazon Order from Barnes and Noble Order from Books-a-Million Order from Ebooks.com Order from Indie Bound Order from iBooks Order from Google Play Order from Kobo Order the Audiobook |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ever After at Sweetheart Ranch by Emma Cane ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A teacher
and her cowboy crush kindle sparks—and something
more— Math
teacher Lyndsay De Luca never surprised
anyone—least of all herself—until this summer.
First, she secretly published
her debut romance novel. Then she started dating Will Sweet, the cowboy
of her
dreams. And now Lyndsay's scrambling to hide the juiciest tidbit of
all: that
the hazel-eyed hero of her steamy fiction is the same guy whose kisses
have
become her mind-blowing reality. Ever
since Will’s high school sweetheart died in a
tragic accident, he hasn’t been able to commit to a long-term
relationship.
Lyndsay is the first woman in years who's been able to
catch—and keep—his
attention. When they team up to teach Valentine’s teens about
ranch life, Will
discovers it’s not just her sexy-as-hell smile that has him
hooked. Will she be
the one to finally break down the walls around his guarded heart? Reviews! "A thoroughly charming tale of secret loves, hidden
scars and new beginnings. Her heroine’s strength and personal resolve are
admirable, and Cane plumbs her hero’s psyche expertly, making his loss and fear
visceral and sympathetic, rather than part of a trope. A few humorous secondary
plots, and some fascinating insights into the writing process, keep things
moving, but this story doesn’t shy away from tough issues, making the stakes
feel much higher and the resolutions more significant." "Romance readers
will love the town, the people, and the story of "If you haven't yet read a book by Emma Cane you
just don't know what you're missing." "Ever After At Sweetheart
Ranch is a delectable romance that will have you bursting out with giggles, and
have you in tears the next moment... A SPLENDID ROMANCE!!" "Emma Cane’s stories are comfy and cozy, like curling up in the best ever comfy chair with cocoa,
cookies and a good book. You can’t beat that ever." "A captivating story that will warm your heart. "A fantastic addition to the Valentine Valley
series." "Emma Cane's small town stories feel like home." "Cute, funny, and sexy." "A feel good story that makes the reader smile
and believe in true love." "I absolutely loved this book. I loved the small
town feel, the chemistry between Lyndsay and Will and Emma Cane’s writing
style." "This book will make you laugh cry and sigh..." ~~~~~ Excerpt 1, Excerpt 2 Chapter 1 Lyndsay De Luca stood near the picture window in her
living room, staring down at the paperback book in her hands, her eyes stinging
with tears of joy. The sun glimmered across the cover, a picture of a distant
ranch and mountains with a lone cowboy riding his horse in the distance. She
let her trembling fingers trace the title, A
Cowboy in Montana, and then her own name up above, embossed, with letters
as large as the title. This was her
book, a book that would be on store shelves across the country in just a month.
Soon, readers would be swept away into a story she’d created. She could make
them laugh and maybe cry, and escape into a world of happily-ever-afters... She’d also finally have to tell her friends and family
about the secret she’d been keeping. Her day job as a middle school math
teacher was very public, and she’d always liked having her writing as something
private she did for herself. If her family had known, they’d have constantly
asked when she was going to start submitting her work, or if she’d heard back
from an editor. She had enough pressure at school and hadn’t wanted any more,
interested and supportive though her family might be. There was another reason she was leery about her
revelation, and that reason was now playing catch on Mabel Street, outside her
window, with her fourteen-year-old nephew, Ethan. Will Sweet. She heard a sharp rapping, and, startled, she glanced
up to see him in the center of her picture window as if he’d been framed there,
sunlight burnishing his hair. She felt her breath catch and her mouth go
dry. Grinning at her, his eyes narrowed from the sun, Will
spoke through the window with a muffled voice. “You still coming with us to the
game?” She nodded and called, “I’ll grab my purse and meet
you out front.” After pulling on a sweater and sticking a Windbreaker
in her purse, she stepped through the door and paused to watch Will throw the
ball back to Ethan. If Will caught her staring, he wouldn’t think much of it.
He was used to being the center of attention every time he entered a room, with
his easygoing charm and killer good looks. He had sandy blond hair that
lightened in the sun, and since he made his living as a cowboy on the
Sweetheart Ranch, owned by his family, he was outdoors all the time, that tall,
lean body honed and chiseled from years of outdoor work. His eyes were a
changeable hazel, fringed with thick lashes and full of merriment. The cleft in
his chin might as well have winked at each woman he passed, and he had a
model’s hollow cheeks. Occasionally those cheeks bore the scruff of a day-old
beard, as if he couldn’t be bothered shaving that morning. “Think fast!” She flinched as Ethan jumped in front of her,
pretending to throw the ball. “Aunt Lynds, you fall for that every time,” he said,
shaking his head. After pulling her door shut, she punched her nephew
playfully in the upper arm, because she was no longer tall enough to wrap an
arm around his neck. Ethan was almost as tall as his dad, and his hair had slowly
been darkening over the years until now it was a light brown. He had the De
Luca brown eyes and his dad’s laid-back manner. Laughing, Ethan led them down the street toward the
rec league softball game, tossing his ball and catching it. Lyndsay fell in
beside Will. He smiled at her, then inhaled deeply of the spring air, exhaling
with a sigh of satisfaction. You didn’t live in Valentine Valley, Colorado,
without loving the outdoors. She studied him surreptitiously, admiring the fit of
his baseball t-shirt, which sported the logo Tony’s
Tavern—her brother’s place. There’d been a time in high school when
she’d harbored a secret crush on Will. But he’d dated her girlfriend Brittany,
and Lyndsay would never have intruded on that. Then Will had gone and done
something so nice that it had struck her heart. It had been Valentine’s Day—a
big deal in Valentine Valley—and Lyndsay’s boyfriend had just dumped her. She’d
been wrapped up in her problems and accidentally spilled her books from her
locker into a heap on the floor. Will had stopped to help her pick them up, and
couldn’t have missed her bad mood. At lunch, there had been carnations on sale,
red for romance, pink for flirting, white for friendship, and he’d gone and
bought her a white one, just to cheer her up. And it had worked, but it had
also made her notice how kind he was, how good-hearted—and hunky. Soon she’d
battled a brief and guilty crush on him. That crush had been forgotten when
Brittany had died in a terrible accident. Lyndsay had long ago put him out of her mind— And onto paper. She winced, then smoothed over her
expression when Will glanced at her. Ethan lobbed the ball to Will, who caught
it and tossed it back, along with some good-natured jibes. Somehow, without noticing it at all, she’d made the hero of A
Cowboy in Montana a lot like Will. She’d created Cody by taking the
characteristics of some of her favorite celebrities and “randomly” picking
sandy blond hair and hazel eyes. She hadn’t thought anything of it until last
week, when a blogger had asked who she’d based her hero on. At first, Lyndsay
had answered that Cody was her own creation, but then the blogger had mentioned
a scene that Lyndsay had previously written in revisions after her editor had
asked for a “grand romantic gesture” by the hero. And the realization of what
she’d done had slammed hard into Lyndsay—that scene was a version of something
Will had done for Brittany. Cody…was a lot like Will. She didn’t want to believe it at first—couldn’t let
herself accept that she’d made such a foolish mistake. She’d long since moved
past what she’d thought of as a schoolgirl crush. Over the years her heart
might have given an occasional kick when Will had been around, but she’d put
that down to admiration for the man he’d become. Now, watching him amuse her nephew, aware of that
soft spot she’d always felt for him rising right up through her chest into her
throat, she had to face facts. It was really true—she’d made Will Sweet the
star of her romance novel. First Kiss! (Set-up: Math teacher Lyndsay De
Luca’s dreams are coming true—her first romance novel is about to be published.
But she’s keeping it a secret for a while, because she “accidentally” based her
hero on cowboy Will Sweet, her brother’s best friend. It’s obvious she wasn’t
as over her a high school crush as she’d thought. To get him out of her system,
she’s determined to ask him out on a date.) Lyndsay stood in the doorway of her classroom,
turning off the lights, when she happened to look up—and see Will Sweet. He was
walking slowly down the hall, glancing from room to room, his cream-colored
Stetson shadowing his eyes, emphasizing the cleft deep in his square jaw. His
sandy blond hair curled a bit behind his ears. Her mouth went dry, and she saw
other women doing a double take as he strode past. His long arms swung loosely,
veins from hard work meandering up them, the same faded rodeo t-shirt tight
over his biceps. His jeans were faded, too, low on his hips, tight across his
thighs. He controlled a horse with those thighs, she thought with a shiver. His
cowboy boots made a distinct, clipped sound on the wood floor. When Will saw Lyndsay, his smile widened, his dimple
deepened, and his eyes twinkled at her from beneath the shadow of his brim.
“Just who I’m looking for,” he called, raising a hand. “Hi, Will,” she said, a bit more weakly than she’d
hoped. “What can I help you with?” He stopped right in front of her, and she had to
angle her head back to see his face. She was too close to the tanned hollow at
the base of his throat, and she could see the raindrops moistening the
shoulders of his t-shirt. “Can we talk?” he asked, glancing past her to nod
pleasantly at someone. “Sure.” She turned the lights back on in her room and
led the way to her desk. She seated herself behind it as if for protection—from
herself, of course—and gestured to the chair beside it. Instead, he sat on the edge of the nearest desk.
“Tony told me about the 4-H club needing a project leader. Will I do?” She wasn’t sure what she’d expected him to say, but
it hadn’t been that. “Sure. That’s really generous of you to offer.” He leaned back on both hands and grinned, his head
cocked. “You don’t sound all that enthused.” “No, no, really, I am,” she said, wishing she could
kick herself. “I guess I was thinking it would be someone’s dad or uncle or—” “Nate and Em are doing their best to make me an
uncle,” he answered. She briefly closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m not
making any sense. You’ll do a great job with the 4-H. I really appreciate your
help.” She’d been waiting for some time alone to ask him
out, but hadn’t imagined it being at school. She stared at him, and he was
studying her just as intently. She took a deep breath. “Will, would you like to get
a drink with me some evening? And I don’t mean to talk about 4-H.” His smile faded, then something changed in his eyes.
All that heavy-lidded smolder she’d seen directed at other girls switched on.
His gaze moved down her body, leisurely, intently, and she felt it like a
physical caress, her nipples hardening, her belly clenching, her thighs
tightening, and between them—no, she wasn’t letting herself go there, not now. “I’ve found myself thinking the same thing lately,”
he said in a husky voice. The sound alone made her trembling increase. My God,
she was in her middle school classroom, and she was worried about losing
control. “I think we could have some fun,” she said. “I know
we usually orbit around Tony, you and me, as friends.” “What’s changed?” He straightened then, leaning forward, forearms
braced on his thighs. His hands were loosely clasped together, and she studied
them, wondering how it would feel to be touched intimately by him. She shivered. “I—I don’t know.” That was a lie. But
how could she tell him that her recent realization that she’d based Cody on him
made her want to bring her feelings out in the open and put it behind her?
“Maybe I just need to start taking chances, have some fun, even if I risk being
hurt.” “You think I’d hurt you?” “Not deliberately. Maybe I’d hurt you,” she teased. “Not deliberately, of
course.” His faint smile deepened again. “I’m only hesitating
because of your brother.” “We’re not in high school anymore.” Suddenly he rose to his feet and came toward her
almost nonchalantly, removing his hat and setting it on her desk. Her mouth
went dry, her neck arched and arched, and then she couldn’t take it anymore and
had to stand up, too, though she felt as if her legs would buckle. “I’m not sure we have any chemistry at all,” he said
softly. “We should check.” He kept coming, and she would have fallen over the
chair if she’d backed up that way. The door was wide open; anyone passing could
see them, but she didn’t make that protest. Instead she found her back up
against the whiteboard. His body didn’t touch hers at all, although it was a
bare inch away. The heat of him was almost more than she could take, from her
breasts to her hips down her legs. And then he touched her chin with his
fingers, tilting her head until her wide eyes met his heavy-lidded ones. “I think…this will do the trick,” he whispered. And then his mouth covered hers in a hot, passionate
kiss. He explored her lips with his, and she met that exploration gladly with
her own. He braced both hands on the board on either side of her head, yet
still didn’t let their bodies touch. She slanted her head and boldly thrust her
tongue between his lips, lost in the taste of Will. His kiss was everything
she’d imagined, forceful, knowledgeable, yet restrained, as if he had even more
to give but couldn’t show her unless they were naked. And then he lifted his head and looked down at her
with eyes that betrayed passion, yes, but…something else, something he was
keeping hidden. It gave her a moment of uneasiness, but she pushed it away. She
let her hand cup his face, felt the faint coarseness of stubble, the lean
hollows of his cheeks. For just a moment, she let her thumb dip to the corner
of his damp mouth. “So do we have chemistry?” she whispered. He let his forehead rest against hers, and their
noses brushed. “Tell me what you think, darlin’.” “That’s not fair. I asked you out. You know what I
think.” His chuckle rumbled deep in his chest, and she wished
she dared put her hands there—but not yet. He paused a long time, so long that
that hidden…something in his eyes played tricks on her mind. “I think we need to have a drink some evening,” he
finally said. The relief and elation she thought she’d feel was
tempered by this awareness of faint reluctance in him. But who could blame him?
He’d been honest about the complications. “You should probably hold back your wild emotions,” she
said dryly, “or it could turn a girl’s head.” He laughed in an easier manner, then stepped away
from her. She missed his touch already. “Sorry,” he said, picking up his hat and settling it
on his head. “This still feels a little…strange to me.” “Me, too. Let’s just think of it as having fun.” “So after dating different kinds of guys, you’ve
finally decided to try a cowboy on for size.” She eyed him with amusement. “Guess so.” “And Tony won’t show up at my door with a shotgun?” It was her turn to laugh. “I can’t guarantee my dad
won’t take offense.” “Guess we’ll have to take a chance. How about
tomorrow? I have to work through the early evening, but then I’m free.” He
looked right at her mouth, as if he was already anticipating repeating the
kiss. And she was all for that. “Okay. How about if I come
pick you up? I did ask you out, after all.” That good-old-boy grin came back. “All right. See you
around seven?” “Sure.” He started to turn, but he paused, and for a moment,
she ached to be kissed again. Instead he simply nodded. “Have a good evenin’,
darlin’.” And then he walked away, and she was treated to the
sight of his ass in those tight jeans, and his broad, broad shoulders beneath
the Stetson. When he was gone, she sank slowly back into her
chair, almost tempted to touch her mouth, as if the kiss hadn’t been real. Order from Amazon Order from Barnes and Noble Order from Books-a-Million Order from Ebooks.com Order from Indie Bound Order from iBooks Order from Google Play Order from Kobo Order the Audiobook |
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