Genre: Contemporary Romance

A standalone romance in the Lost Harbor, Alaska series …

Dr. Ian Finnegan knows all about brains; hearts, not so much. He’s ready to find the perfect match, someone as logical and sensible as he is. When the matchmaker he’s hired suggests he improve his seduction skills, he’s not sure where to turn—until he plucks a damsel in distress from the side of a snowy Alaska highway. She might be a “hot mess,” but Chrissie Yates could be just the fun and flirty tutor he needs.

Chrissie hasn’t been back to Lost Harbor since her eccentric recluse of a grandfather sent her away at the age of seventeen. Her family now consists of her beloved yellow lab and her broken-down car. Why Gramps has left her his property, she has no idea. She hopes to get in and out as quick as she can, but reconnecting with old friends and her quirky hometown makes her yearn for something she didn’t know she needed. Then there’s the sexy newcomer…

Flirting lessons turn to something more passionate, as Chrissie makes Ian feel things he never dreamed. Is it possible he had the wrong idea about who’s right for him? Can he put his new skills to good use … before a deadly storm threatens all he holds dear?

Exclusive Excerpt

She slammed into someone, and looked up to see none other than Dr. Ian Finnegan, his horn-rimmed glasses knocked off-kilter by their collision. “Gotta go. Medical emergency.”

“Oh no, I’m fine,” Ian said quickly. One hand held a clipboard, the other settled on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, it’s just…” She drew in a breath. He looked good. Damn good. He also looked worried about her. He wasn’t even fixing his glasses because he was tending to her first.

She reached up to adjust his glasses for him, but he was in the midst of transferring his clipboard from one hand to the other, and managed to bonk her on the head at the same moment she pushed his glasses. “Ow,” she said as her hand jerked. The unfortunate timing meant that instead of putting his glasses to rights, she knocked them all the way off his face.

“Crap,” she exclaimed. “I’m so sorry!”

He dove to grab for them, but they landed on the floor with an audible clunk. How heavy were those glasses? His clipboard went next, slithering from his grip as he focused on the glasses. It too clattered onto the floor.

“Let me help,” she began, but he held up a hand to stop her.

“Please, there’s no need.”

She took a step back, feeling foolish. A sound came from her phone. Damn. She’d never ended the call with Toni. Wincing, she brought her phone to her ear.

Toni was laughing so hard she could hardly get a word out. “What did I just hear?” she gasped. “Was that the handsome Dr. Finnegan?”

“You shouldn’t eavesdrop. I’m hanging up now.”

“I know there’s something going on between you.”

“I told you already what’s going on.”

“Yeah well, you didn’t tell the whole story. What I just heard was a throwback to teenage Chrissie, the one who always lost her cool around a boy she liked.”

“Hanging up now.”

“You can hang up, but you can’t hide.”

She hung up and shoved her phone into the pocket of her flight suit. Ian finally had his glasses back in the proper place, and his clipboard under his arm, and was putting himself to rights.

“I’m really sorry about that, Ian. Chaotic Chrissie strikes again. Are your glasses okay?”

“They’re fine. You?”

“I’m fine. Embarrassed, but fine. I was on my way to get a hot chocolate, can I make it up to you with a hot beverage that I promise not to spill on you?”

“I’m on my way to a consult, but maybe later?”

“I only have another,” she checked her watch, “ten minutes.” She stepped aside to allow him to pass. “I don’t want to hold you up any more than I already have.”

“No, it’s…you didn’t…I’m glad I…” The words seemed to bunch in his mouth, and he shook his head in frustration. “I’ve been hoping I’d…you’d…”

She saw in a flash that he was affected by her presence. Stammering like a teenager.

A sense of joy seized her—and freedom, as if bright wings were lifting her out of gravity. Without a second of forethought, she rose onto her tiptoes and kissed Ian on the mouth. His lips were warm and firm and fresh.

For a micro-moment, it seemed he wasn’t going to respond. Too surprised? Unwilling? Uninterested? Various scenarios flashed through her brain, then evaporated as he returned her kiss—and then some.

Ian might be awkward in some areas, but when it came to kissing he didn’t hesitate. He kissed her as if nothing else existed, as if there were no nurses hurrying past, no hospital walls around them. They could be floating above the roof, alone in their own private helicopter, for all the notice he took of the snickering orderly pushing a gurney past them.

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About Jennifer Bernard

Jennifer Bernard is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. Her books have been called “an irresistible reading experience” full of “quick wit and sizzling love scenes.” A graduate of Harvard and former news promo producer, she left big city life for true love in Alaska, where she now lives with her husband and stepdaughters. She still hasn’t adjusted to the cold, so most often she can be found cuddling with her laptop and a cup of tea. Sign up for her newsletter for book news and fun exclusives.