Title:  SLAY: RIVALRY

Series:  SLAY QUARTET (#1)

Author:  LAURELIN PAIGE

Release Date:  JUNE 4, 2019

Edward Fasbender is a devil.

He’s my father’s business rival, a powerful, vicious man who takes what he wants and bows to no one. I only took the meeting because I was curious. I thought he was going to offer me a job.

But that’s not what he’s after at all. His proposal is much more intriguing, and I see an opportunity. An opportunity to turn the tables and bring down the devil.

I’ve gotten in trouble playing these games before. I know when the risk is too great, when the stakes are too high. I know how to be cold and strong-willed and destructive. I know how to withstand dominant men with arrogant charm and rugged features.

Yet I can’t resist taking on Edward.

And I can’t resist the pull he has on me.

Soon I’m not so sure which side of the battle I’m standing on–if I’m the warrior meant to slay,

Or the one who will be slain.

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JOIN the SLAY ONE: RIVALRY RECOVERY GROUP when you’re done reading!! Enter at your own risk however!! There WILL BE spoilers!

Excerpt:

Sitting like this, on the arm of the chair, his back straight, we were practically the same height. It occurred to me that this was the closest we’d ever been to having equal footing, and somehow that made me both heady and encouraged.

I reached out to rub the collar of his shirt between my thumb and forefinger, my breath stuttering under the thick weight of apprehension, my mouth watering from how close I was to touching his skin. This close, I could smell the liquor on his breath and the musky scent of his cologne and the fainter scent underneath of pure man.

“Tell me your requests.” Was it my imagination or did his voice suddenly seem darker? Less steady?

“There’s only one.” I leaned in until my lips were near his ear. “I want to add sex to the deal.”

He made a sound low in his throat, half like a laugh, half like a moan. “What, now?”

He turned his face toward mine, and now our mouths were only inches away from touching. I could feel the warmth of his exhale on my skin, sending a trail of goosebumps down my arms.

“Now, sure.” Fuck, I was wet already. “But I meant in the marriage, too.”

His lips danced around mine. “You don’t know what you’re asking for. You want to be humiliated, degraded, and hurt?”

Yes.

Because that was the goal of The Game.

But, also, YES!

Because, in that moment, there was nothing more I could imagine wanting than to be all those things, to be humiliated and degraded and hurt, by him. I wanted it so much I ached. Ached in places I hadn’t known could feel.

I reached my neck forward, pushing my mouth toward his.

Just when I thought the kiss was inevitable, he leaned back. “You couldn’t handle it.”

About Laurelin Paige:

With millions of books sold worldwide, Laurelin Paige is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author. She is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however.

When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Game of Thrones or Letterkenny, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She’s also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn’t do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio.

She is represented by Rebecca Friedman.

Connect with Laurelin:
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Dear Sexy AF Intern,

I know you don’t particularly care that I’m the CEO of this company, and you’re just an intern. I also know you’re not impressed by my power or my wealth, and that’s fine.

You think you’ve got me all figured out from working alongside me for two weeks, but you don’t know me. Not really.

You don’t know that I’m a single dad to twin toddlers, or that those two little girls matter more to me than this entire hotel chain.

I’m not interested in starting something deep and meaningful, but what I am interested in is the way your body reacts to mine when we’re in the same room. You probably assume the concentration on my face is work-related, when in reality, I’m figuring out which I want more–to nail you against the wall, or to bend you over my desk.

While you’re too disciplined to act on it, I’m not. And the night you stepped into my limo, all bets were off.

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Order your copy now!

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“The Two-Week Arrangement was sexy, full of feels with a suspenseful edge that had me tapping my Kindle just as furiously as the budding romance between Dominic and Presley did.” ~Danielle, Red Cheeks Reads

Check out Danielle’s 4.5 SMOOCHES review!

About Kendall Ryan:

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than three dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 2.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world.

Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than 70 times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons.

Connect with Kendall:

Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon Author Page  |  BookBub

Visit Kendall’s website for all of her latest book news and fun extras!

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Title:  ON THE ROCKS

Author:  KANDI STEINER

Genre:  CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Publishing date:  JUNE 13, 2019

Cover Designer:  KANDI STEINER

Photographer:  LAUREN PERRY, PERRYWINKLE PHOTOGRAPHY

Noah Becker is nothing but trouble.

That’s what Mama told me when I was a kid, kicking his pew in church and giggling at the games we’d play. It’s what the town said when his father died and the Becker brothers went wild.

And it’s on repeat in my mind the day I walk into the whiskey distillery where he works to buy a wedding gift for my fiancé.

He’s trouble.

Dirty, sweaty, rude trouble.

No matter how many times I repeat it, I can’t escape Noah in our small Tennessee town. And the more I run into him, the more he infuriates me. Because he sees what no one else does.

He sees me—the real me.

The me I’m not sure I’m allowed to be.

I’m Ruby Grace Barnett, the mayor’s daughter. Soon to be a politician’s wife, just like Mama and Daddy always wanted. Soon to fulfill my family’s legacy, just like I always knew I would.

Until the boy everyone warned me about makes me question everything, like whether the wedding I’m planning is one I even want.

Everyone said Noah Becker was nothing but trouble.

If only I had listened.

A standalone, contemporary romance.

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Coming June 13, 2019 to Amazon and Kindle Unlimited!

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About Kandi Steiner:

Kandi Steiner is a bestselling author and whiskey connoisseur living in Tampa, FL. Best known for writing “emotional rollercoaster” stories, she loves bringing flawed characters to life and writing about real, raw romance — in all its forms. No two Kandi Steiner books are the same, and if you’re a lover of angsty, emotional, and inspirational reads, she’s your gal.

An alumna of the University of Central Florida, Kandi graduated with a double major in Creative Writing and Advertising/PR with a minor in Women’s Studies. She started writing back in the 4th grade after reading the first Harry Potter installment. In 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her “freedom of press.” She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a diehard hopeless romantic, and likes to highlight all the challenges of love as well as the triumphs.

When Kandi isn’t writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, talking with her extremely vocal cat, and spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys live music, traveling, anything heavy in carbs, beach days, movie marathons, craft beer and sweet wine — not necessarily in that order.

Connect with Kandi:

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Sign up for her newsletter to stay up-to-date with Kandi!

Kandi Steiner may be coming to a city near you! Check out her “events” page on her website to see all the signings she’s attending in the near future!

THE RED ZONE, an all-new sexy, second chance romance from Amie Knight, is available now!

“A moving and memorable tale, THE RED ZONE is pure Amie Knight. She’s at the top of her game, doing what she does best, telling a larger-than-life, grandly romantic Southern-rooted love story bursting with heart, heat, humor and hope.”  ~Danielle, Red Cheeks Reads

They say the red zone is the hardest place to score.

But for me, those last twenty yards were my sweet spot.

They didn’t call me Lukas “Last Minute Lucy” Callihan for nothing.

I was at the top of my game…until life sacked me harder than any linebacker ever could.

Losing my mom was devastating and left me as the sole person responsible for my little sister.

Taking care of Ella and juggling my career was like playing the hardest game of my life.

My only saving grace was Scarlett Knox, Ella’s sexy, red-headed, no-nonsense teacher.

She loved Ella. She hated me.

She thought I sucked at this parenting thing, and she wasn’t wrong.

But whenever she was around I got the same earth-shattering, heart-stopping feeling I did when I was only twenty yards from the goal line.

She made me feel like I was back in the red zone, a place I’d never fumbled.

Until now.

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Download your copy today or read for free in Kindle Unlimited!

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————————————————————————————————————

Check out Danielle’s 5 SMOOCHES review!

EXCERPT:

“I’m going to kiss you.”

My body locked tight. Oh, no, he couldn’t do that. If he kissed me I’d think about it at least the next ten years and that would be awful. I still obsessed over the day he’d kissed me when he’d told me goodbye. I couldn’t let him do that to me again.

“That’s a terrible idea,” I whispered, his lips a breath from mine.

Slowly his eyes opened and they were suddenly boring into mine. “Why, Scarlett?”

I couldn’t tell him the truth. That his kiss had ruined my teenage heart. That I’d never moved on. That no other kiss had ever compared. That I still thought about that kiss and what I had meant to him. I couldn’t tell him any of that because it sounded pathetic and desperate even to my own ears.

So I lied. I lied my face off. “It’s just not appropriate. I’m Ella’s teacher and you’re her guardian.”

His smile said it all, but it didn’t have to because his mouth wasn’t far behind. “That’s bullshit. None of that has anything to do with me putting my lips on yours.” He studied my face like he did when we were in school together. Like he was trying to figure me out. I prayed he wouldn’t.

And while his eyes pillaged my very soul, his knee slowly wedged itself between my thighs, causing my skirt to rise. I turned my head to the classroom door, terrified someone would walk through even though I knew it was after hours and we were alone.

His hands left my jaw and traveled down my neck, past my shoulders and the outer swell of my breasts to settle on my hips where he squeezed.

“What are you so afraid of, baby?”

He called me baby and he was doing it again. That thing where he made me dizzy and stupid. He was making me forget why this was a bad idea. Why I shouldn’t want this. Because he felt so, so good against me.

His warm palms left my hips and slid down over my ass and to the bottom of my skirt where he clutched the hem in his fists, slowly sliding it up more.

I should have said stop. Anything, but the farther he pushed up my skirt, the more his knee moved in and up until it sat right there against me. Right where I needed it.

A small squeak escaped my lips and one corner of his mouth lifted in a slow smile. “God, you’re gorgeous.” His nose brushed the side of mine and the harsh stubble on his jaw scraped my skin exquisitely. His massive hands moved under my skirt and right to the globes of my bottom, squeezing, before one moved up and snapped the top of my panties. “And you have a thong on. You’re trying to kill me, Red.”

He lowered his head more, zeroed in on my lips, and even though I was a mess of hormones and turned on more than I’d ever been in my life, I couldn’t give it to him. I couldn’t give him my kiss again.

I turned my head in the nick of time and his mouth landed on my jaw.

“You’re not going to give me your mouth, huh?” he mumbled against my cheek before pressing open mouth kisses down my face to my neck.

“No,” I whispered into the quiet room, my voice breathy.

“Mmm,” he moaned right into the spot where my shoulder met my neck before giving me a bite there that simultaneously stung and lit my body on fire. “Then I’ll just have to take what you give me. Now won’t I?” he growled.

Coming July 1 from New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author, Julie Ann Walker, the all-new, emotional trilogy, IN MOONLIGHT AND MEMORIES. We are thrilled to share a sneak peek of this epic story about sacrifice, friendship, and the awe-inspiring power of love with you today!

From NYT and USA Today bestselling author Julie Ann Walker comes an epic tale of sacrifice, friendship, and the awe-inspiring power of love.

Maggie: Ten years ago, Cash Armstrong stole my heart. Then he promptly joined the army—dragging my best friend with him—and left me crying on the front porch in a red sequined prom dress. Now he’s back. They’re both back. Cash, the one who still has my heart. And Luc, the one who saved my life.

Cash: How do you know if you’re at the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end? That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out since a traumatic brain injury made me “unfit to serve.” I’m back in New Orleans, and picking up the shattered pieces of my past means I must confront where my life’s journey began… and where it all might end.

Luc: Long ago, Maggie May was mine. Not mine in the way you might think. She was mine because she was my only friend. Then Cash came along and we became brothers by something stronger than blood. We became brothers by choice. When tragedy struck, I was forced to make a decision that changed all our lives. I thought, after ten years, it was safe to come back home. I was wrong…

The “In Moonlight and Memories” trilogy debuts July 1^st!

And always remember, “The greatest of loves can begin in the simplest of ways…”

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPIES TODAY!

Volume One

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Volume Two

Amazon  |  Apple Books  |  Kobo  |  Nook

Volume Three

Amazon  |  Apple Books  |  Kobo  |  Nook

Sneak Peek:

My mind isn’t really on the lack of foot traffic. It’s on the second reason I headed here. No use putting it off any longer. “So, about the other night…”

Her hands fall still. When I don’t immediately go on, she sets the pilsner glass aside and tosses the towel over her shoulder. “What about it?”

“I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

Her chin jerks back. Did I mention she has a particularly expressive chin too? “I seem to recall that I kissed you,” she says.

“But I kissed you back.”

“Which is pretty much what every girl hopes for in that situation.”

“I shouldn’t have.”

Her frown deepens. “For heaven’s sake, why?”

“Because…” I swallow. There’s no easy way to say this. “I think it gave you the wrong impression.”

Her expression is the facial equivalent of a chalkboard that’s been wiped clean. “And what impression would that be? That you still want me?”

“No. I mean, yes. I mean, no. Dammit!” I’m more addled than that time I woke up with Luc’s dick in my face.

We’d been bunked down in a mud hut seventy clicks from friendly territory. A deathstalker—an especially gnarly species of scorpion—had crawled into Luc’s pants while he was sleeping. He woke up in time to shuck his drawers before the fucker could sting him, but his striptease in the tiny hut meant I had the dubious honor of getting up close and personal with his nightstick.

“You’re an incredibly attractive woman, Maggie,” I admit slowly. “But—”

“Do you still love me?” she interrupts.

“I…” The words strangle in my throat.

That’s Magnolia May Carter for you. One minute, she’s the picture of easy Southern manners. The next, she’s in your face, demanding you cut the crap and give it to her straight.

“I mean…” I shake my head, my thoughts stumbling over themselves like they have two left feet. This isn’t how I envisioned this conversation going. “Yes. I still love you. In fact, loving you was the easiest decision I ever made. You’ve always been the best thing about me.”

A slow smile stretches her mouth and makes her eyes twinkle. There she is, my sparkly, shiny girl.

The ache in my heart translates to my head, and I reach for my flask. After adding a generous shot to my coffee, I take a long sip and try to arrange my thoughts into order.

“But that doesn’t change anything,” I mutter. “This thing with my head, it’s—”

“We’ll get through it.”

I close my eyes. We’ll get through it. We.

I have to stop this crazy train before it goes off the rails. “There’s no we about it. It’s me. I don’t want you involved.”

“Too bad. I already am.” She grabs the dish towel and goes back to polishing. She might look like a sweet, pink cupcake, but she can be as stubborn as a jawbreaker.

“I mean with me,” I clarify. “I don’t want you involved with me. I don’t want—”

The door bursts open, and Earl blows into the bar like he’s been shot from a cannon.

“You’re late,” Maggie declares.

“Woke up this morning with my old bones frozen stiff.” His mustache twitches with distaste. “This weather has me fit to be tied.”

“It’s supposed to warm up tomorrow.” She pours him a cup of coffee, but hesitates with the half-and-half. “I hate to ask, but… are you back on dairy?”

“Yep.” Earl pats his flat belly at the same time he hops atop his usual stool. “I been adding prunes to my diet for the last two weeks. It’s been hit or miss for the most part. But they came on with a vengeance this morning and really got things moving. I swear, when I stood up from the toilet, I felt ten pounds lighter.”

Maggie turns to me, and her expression is priceless. “This is my life,” she says. “I can see you turning green with envy.”

Despite my annoyance at Earl’s ill-timed arrival, one corner of my mouth twitches.

Taking a sip of coffee, Earl closes his eyes and hums. “That’s good enough to make you want to slap your granny.” Then he pins me with a look. “So what brings you here this morning? Don’t tell me you had the bad sense to stand Maggie up again.”

“No, sir.” I shake my head.

“Good to hear. I was beginning to think you ain’t got enough brains to pour piss out of a boot.”

Before I get a chance to respond, the door opens, and a quintet of tourists pushes in. They’re all middle-aged women, bundled up as if a nor’easter is set to blow through.

I don’t know what it is about this city, but you feel the cold here so much more than in other places.

“Brrr.” The woman leading the pack shivers. She has that quintessential mom hairdo, a short brown bob that frames her face. “Please tell me you serve coffee.” She looks at Maggie beseechingly.

Maggie holds up the pot. “Freshly brewed.”

“Oh, thank God,” Mom ‘Do gushes. “Make mine Irish. I need a little hair of the dog.”

My cell phone vibrates in my pocket, an indication that Luc has arrived at the house and is wondering where I am.

Damn. Hell. Piss. And shit. But it’s not like I’m going to get a chance to talk with Maggie alone again anyway.

Taking out my cell, I shoot off a quick response to Luc. Then I wiggle the phone at her. “And that’s my cue. Thanks for the coffee.”

She looks up from arranging four mugs on the bar. “So I’ll see you Thursday night?”

I nod. “Should I catch a ride with you or Luc?”

“I’m driving. I told Luc I’d be the DD since he’s never sampled Uncle Homer’s moonshine and is sure to get browbeaten into giving it a shot. Or many shots. Pick you up at six?”

“Looking forward to it.”

The smile she gives me is so bright and sweet that I use the excuse of hopping from the barstool to look away from it.

“Leave your wallet at home!” she calls to my back as I head for the entrance. “You remember what happened last time we went to a fais do-do?”

“I lost sixty bucks at the card table,” I admit with a put-upon sigh. “In my defense, those old men cheated.”

“They always do.” She waves as I push through the door.

Turning up the collar on my leather jacket, I walk by the front window and peek inside to see her laughing at something one of the women is saying. I’ve never known anyone so animated. Or anyone who seems to possess the ability to listen with all her senses. I could spend all day watching her.

Unfortunately, I have a list as long as my arm of things I need to do. Not the least of which is coming up with a way to dissuade her from thinking we can pick up where we left off. You know, since my idea to simply talk her out of it just crashed and burned like the Hindenburg.

About Julie Ann Walker:

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Julie grew up in a house full of women – she has three older sisters. As you can imagine, there was no lack of drama… or romance. Her mother enrolled her in a book club as soon as she began to read and it was the small spark that ignited her voracious appetite for the written word.

Because of Julie’s early immersion in literature, she found writing came quite naturally. In high school, she won multiple writing contests and was the proud senior editor of The Tiger’s Tale – her school newspaper.

During her college years, however, she longed for a challenge. “Reading and writing felt like second nature to me, so I looked for a way to flex my mental muscles,” she recalls. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree, Julie began teaching advanced high school mathematics.

“I loved working with the students and facing the challenges of the classroom, but I longed for the occasional snow day when I could race to the local book store, buy two or three new novels, and curl up in front of the fire to read.”

It wasn’t until a fortuitous move to Chicago that Julie once more returned to her first passion.

Now Julie loves to travel the world looking for views to compete with her deadlines. When she’s not writing, she enjoys camping, hiking, cycling, cooking, petting every dog that walks by her, and… reading, of course!

Connect with Julie Ann:

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SATISFACTION GUARANTEED by Lauren Blakely
Release Date: June 10, 2019

Look, she started it.

She issued me a challenge I couldn’t back down from. Make her purr like no man has done before.

Fine, she’s my business partner’s daughter. All right, I’m also working in the same damn practice with her. Yes, she happens to be my ex-fling. But that was seven years ago, and it was barely a week-long thing.

Except, Sloane is still the one I can’t stop thinking of — brilliant, sexy, captivating Sloane. Maybe a week of taking her to new heights will get her out of my head.

So what if we spend a few nights on the town too? So what if I romance her across Manhattan? It’s all in the name of scientific pursuit of more magnificent Os.

Until the rules change…

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PRE-ORDER TODAY!

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WANT A SNEAK PEEK?

READ chapter one HERE!

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Lauren is renowned for her incredible audiobooks, and SATISFACTION GUARANTEED is an innovative new production of a brand new standalone romance narrated by Jason Clarke and Andi Arndt! At the end of the story, you’ll be treated to an album of classic love songs you know and love performed by Jason Clarke in a fully produced musical performance that ties into the storyline!

WANT TO LISTEN?

LISTEN to chapter one HERE!

THE RED ZONE, an all-new sexy, second chance romance from Amie Knight, is available now, and we’ve got an exclusive excerpt below for you!

Title:  THE RED ZONE

Author:  AMIE KNIGHT

Genre:  CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Release Date:  MAY 30, 2019

They say the red zone is the hardest place to score.

But for me, those last twenty yards were my sweet spot.

They didn’t call me Lukas “Last Minute Lucy” Callihan for nothing.

I was at the top of my game…until life sacked me harder than any linebacker ever could.

Losing my mom was devastating and left me as the sole person responsible for my little sister.

Taking care of Ella and juggling my career was like playing the hardest game of my life.

My only saving grace was Scarlett Knox, Ella’s sexy, red-headed, no-nonsense teacher.

She loved Ella. She hated me.

She thought I sucked at this parenting thing, and she wasn’t wrong.

But whenever she was around I got the same earth-shattering, heart-stopping feeling I did when I was only twenty yards from the goal line.

She made me feel like I was back in the red zone, a place I’d never fumbled.

Until now.

————————————————————————————————————

Download your copy today or read for free in Kindle Unlimited!

*Special release price of $2.99*

Amazon US  |  Amazon AU  |  Amazon CA  |  Amazon UK 

Add to Goodreads 

————————————————————————————————————

“…an addictively endearing, second-chance romance.”  ~Danielle, Red Cheeks Reads

Check out the rest of Danielle’s 5 SMOOCHES review!

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT:

About Amie Knight: 

Amie Knight has been a reader for as long as she could remember and a romance lover since she could get her hands on her momma’s books. A dedicated wife and mother with a love of music and makeup, she won’t ever be seen leaving the house without her eyebrows and eyelashes done just right. When she isn’t reading and writing, you can catch her jamming out in the car with her two kids to ’90s R&B, country, and showtunes. Amie draws inspiration from her childhood in Columbia, South Carolina, and can’t imagine living anywhere other than the South.

Connect with Amie:

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Stay up to date with Amie by joining her mailing list!  

Title:  PASSION ON PARK AVENUE

Series:  THE CENTRAL PARK PACT SERIES (#1)

Author:  LAUREN LAYNE

Genre:  CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Release Date:  MAY 28, 2019

For as long as she can remember, Bronx-born Naomi Powell has had one goal: to prove her worth among the Upper East Side elite—the same people for which her mom worked as a housekeeper. Now, as the strongminded, sassy CEO of one of the biggest jewelry empires in the country, Naomi finally has exactly what she wants—but it’s going to take more than just the right address to make Manhattan’s upper class stop treating her like an outsider.

The worst offender is her new neighbor, Oliver Cunningham—the grown son of the very family Naomi’s mother used to work for. Oliver used to torment Naomi when they were children, and as a ridiculously attractive adult, he’s tormenting her in entirely different ways. Now they find themselves engaged in a battle-of-wills that will either consume or destroy them…

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Order your copy today!

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EXCERPT

The first thing Naomi had done after the shock of reading that Brayden Hayes was freaking married was to google the crap out of his wife, desperate for an indication that the Times had been wrong about his marital status. That it was a misprint or he was divorced. The paper hadn’t been wrong. There really was a Mrs. Brayden Hayes.

And she, too, had chosen Central Park over Brayden’s funeral.

Nearly even with Claire Hayes now, and with the sunglasses still providing Naomi anonymity, she dared to sneak a look at the other woman out of the corner of her eye.

Brayden’s widow looked pretty much like the picture Naomi had rummaged up online: a thirty-something Upper East Side WASP. Like Naomi, she wore oversize sunglasses, the Chanel logo glinting in a stray ray of sunshine. Naomi’s trained eye pegged the basic black sheath as St. John, and the basic black pumps Louboutins—identical to Naomi’s.

But unlike Naomi, Claire had a genteel poise about her. Like she’d never said darn, much less dropped an f-bomb. Naomi would bet serious money that Claire Hayes didn’t eat Kraft Macaroni & Cheese straight out of the pan when she was stressed and that Claire had never been so poor that she’d actually once considered taking home a neighbor’s discarded mattress, bedbugs be damned, simply because it was free.

Claire’s placid expression betrayed nothing as Naomi passed her, the glasses too large to reveal any emotion on her face. For that matter, Naomi wondered if women like her experienced emotion at all. It didn’t seem it. The woman was the picture of calm, except for . . .

Her hands.

Brayden’s widow’s hands were clenched tightly in her lap, the fingers of her right hand white-knuckled around the fist of her left hand. But it wasn’t the subdued pink manicure that captured Naomi’s attention. It was the bright red crescent moons beneath the nails.

Naomi had a lifelong bad habit of acting before thinking, and she did so now, crossing to the other woman and sitting beside her on the park bench.

“That’s enough now,” Naomi said, using her CEO voice, calm and commanding.

Claire didn’t move. Naomi wasn’t even sure the other woman heard her.

Naomi hesitated only for a moment before slowly reaching over and prying the nails of Claire’s right hand away from her left hand. Little streaks of blood were left in the wake.

Claire looked down in confusion, as though just now registering the pain.

“Does that Givenchy have any Kleenex?” Naomi asked, nodding toward Claire’s clutch on the bench.

Claire didn’t move for a long moment, then taking a deep breath, she calmly reached for her purse, pulling out a travel-size package of tissue.

“We’re wearing the same shoes. Same dress, too,” Claire said, dabbing at the blood on the back of her hand with a tissue, using the same casual indifference of one dabbing up a drop of spilled water.

Naomi nodded in agreement, though Claire’s St. John was a knee-length mock turtleneck, and Naomi’s Chloé was a boatneck that hit at midthigh.

For a long moment, neither said anything.

“I’m supposed to be at a funeral,” Claire said, balling up the tissue and dropping her hands back into her lap.

“Why aren’t you?”

Naomi was genuinely curious. She knew why she wasn’t at that funeral. But the widow being a no-show . . . that was some serious Page Six–worthy gossip right there.

Claire opened her mouth to respond but shut it when a pretty young woman with dark brown hair walked past them. Naomi waited for the other woman to pass and, when she gave the brunette a closer look, realized the other woman was walking a bit too slowly, as though tempted to approach. She looked vaguely familiar. Naomi was fairly sure they’d crossed paths at a couple of events, though Naomi couldn’t put a name with the face.

Brayden’s widow, however, could. Claire went rigid beside Naomi, even as she called out to the other woman, “Audrey.”

Unlike Claire and Naomi, the brunette wasn’t wearing sunglasses, and Naomi saw her round eyes go even wider. “You know who I am?”

“You’re Audrey Tate. I did a little digging after you called the house that night,” Claire said quietly. “I know you were sleeping with my husband.”

Naomi’s head whipped around in surprise, and then surprise escalated to shock as she realized Claire wasn’t talking to her.

About Lauren Layne: 

Lauren Layne is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than two dozen romantic comedies. Her books have sold over a million copies in nine languages. Lauren’s work has been featured in Publishers Weekly, Glamour, The Wall Street Journal, and Inside Edition. She is based in New York City.

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