About the Book

Love comes along when it's least wanted

Jason Guthrie has no time for entanglements—between helping out his widowed brother and teenage nephew and getting his hometown back on its feet, his days are spoken for. But his nights are another story… And when his lovely new neighbor, Honor Brown, reluctantly accepts his help in remodeling her house, Jason finds himself wishing his handyman skills could knock down the defenses she keeps building around herself.

Martial arts teacher Sullivan Dean knows real danger when he sees it—even when it takes the form of the gorgeous blonde helping her friend move in across the street. After putting his wayward past behind him to focus on teaching control to troubled kids, Sullivan has learned to avoid party girls like Lexie Perkins. But Sullivan can't seem to keep his hands off the real woman behind that flirty charm—or keep his heart from landing at her feet…

Excerpt

Proud of herself for coming up with such a great scheme, Lexie arrived a few minutes before Honor should be there. AS soon as she pulled up, she spotted Jason in the garage, hammering away on something that looked like a small house.

Perfect.

Honor deserved a nice but hunky guy, someone to pay attention to her, lighten her load a little and make her feel as special as Lexie knew her to be. Jason, with his simmering gaze and hot bod, seemed like a great candidate. From what Lexie had seen so far, the chemistry was strong. Enough sparks had bounced between them to start a forest fire.

With the top up on her convertible, she circled to the back passenger door. When she opened it, the stems of the large bird-of-paradise plant flopped out. Getting the thing in there had taken two men from the garden center and some creative stuffing.

Pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head, Lexie put on her best helpless face, glanced around, then zeroed in on Jason—willing him to look up.

“Excuse me.”

Startled, she followed the sound of that smooth, deep voice and found herself staring into incredible cobalt-blue eyes…

…in a stop-your-heart handsome face.

…with an oh-my-God physique.

Done with her up, down and sideways analysis of his fine self, she smiled. “Hi there.”

Dressed in loose athletic pants, running shoes and a snugfitting T-shirt, he asked, “Did you need some help?”

She needed all kinds of things…

He nodded to the plant.

Forgetting all about Jason and her plan, Lexie quickly agreed. “Yes. Please. Thank you.”

His polite expression never faltered—unlike her pulse.

Inhaling, Lexie looked him over again. Straight black hair, neatly trimmed but not overly styled. A firm mouth, strong jaw and those incendiary eyes. A lean, tall, finely honed body. “Where did you come from?”

“I live across the street.”

He could’ve said heaven and she would have believed him.

Wearing a quizzical frown, he glanced at Honor’s house. “I take it you’re my new neighbor?”

Oh, she wished. It’d be worth giving up her very nice downtown apartment overlooking the river. The views around Honor’s house were definitely better.

“My best friend is, actually.” Belatedly she held out a hand. “I’m Lexie Perkins.”

“Sullivan Dean.” He carefully took her hand, his touch gentle and somehow more familiar because of it. “It’s nice to meet you, Lexie.”

Liking the sound of her name on his lips, she tried to hold on to him, but other than a long look, he didn’t play along. Bummer.

From behind her, Jason said, “Hey, Lexie.”

She turned—and couldn’t help looking Jason over, too. Honor had struck gold with her location.

And to think she’d once considered the neighborhood old and stuffy.

amazon

barnes and noble

About the Author

Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain, and Berkley/Jove. She is currently published with HQN.

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