An addictive new romance is coming next week from author Samantha Christy—kicking off a brand new series and featuring a grumpy single dad and the sunshiney young nanny he hires to look after his newborn baby—and I have a little sneak peek for you.
Excerpt
“The nightmare was about bright lights.”
“Lights?” he asks, coming into my room and sitting on the edge of the bed. He leans close.
“They’re coming right at me. The therapist I saw after my accident said many people who lost a lot of blood like I did have near death experiences. I guess that’s what it was. But, I don’t know, sometimes it seems more like… headlights.”
A hand scrubs across his face. “Jesus.”
“Maybe,” I joke. “Or maybe it’s God. I can’t really say.”
He doesn’t laugh. Maybe when he had heart surgery he had a near death experience too.
The silence grows between us. Neither of us moves. For a minute I feel like we’re bonding over our scars. I swallow as his warm breath skims the hairs on my arm. I think he’s looking at me, but the moonlight is behind him. His eyes are dark pools. Pools I want to dive into no matter how dangerous they may be. He’s off limits to me. I’m forbidden to him. But none of that matters. My body tingles at our closeness and I’ve never wanted to be kissed as much as I do right now. Because I know what his lips feel like. I’ve had a taste. He’s the crack cocaine I want to the bottom of my soul. Even though I know it could destroy me.
“So, you’re not going to show me your stump?” he asks.
He has no idea the moment he just ruined. I pull the covers tightly around me. “I think it’s your morbid curiosity.”
“How bad can it be, Calloway?”
I turn away. “I… don’t want to.”
Dickhead Drake’s reaction to seeing my stump floods my memories. I couldn’t stand it if Hawk looked at me the way Drake did. With disgust. I know I shouldn’t care about the way Hawk looks at me. How he thinks about me. But I do. And all I can do is think about him. If I’m being honest, I haven’t stopped thinking about him all week.
His hand cradles my chin and urges my face back in his direction. “I’m not that guy, Addy. I might be an asshole, but I wouldn’t sink to that level.”
“Even so…”
“Don’t show me then. I don’t care what’s under the covers.” I can feel his eyes trace the outline of my curves beneath the blanket. “Well, maybe I do.” His thumb brushes against my neck. “Fuck.” He springs off the bed.
“What’s the matter?”
“You.” He backs away. “You’re what’s the matter. You should run. Because I’m not sure how much longer I can keep my hands off you.”
I want to tell him he doesn’t have to. That he can have me right here, right now. That my heart is pounding so hard I’m the one who might need heart surgery.
Sound comes from across the room. The baby is waking for her two o’clock feeding. I sit up, ready to put on my prosthetic and fetch her. He crosses the room and flips on the light in the hallway. “I’ve got this.”
“Are you sure?” I ask, stunned.
“Go back to sleep, Addy.”
When he turns to walk to the crib, I catch his silhouette. His erection is all but poking out of his sleep pants. He does nothing to hide it. Or perhaps he thinks I can’t see it. He reaches down for her. “Come on, kid.”
I watch him cradle his daughter as he leaves the room, wondering how it’s possible that this is the same man I arrived at this cottage with earlier. The coldhearted grump who’s been my boss for weeks. The callous tyrant who not only hates Calloways, but kids too.
And as I listen to him mumble to her as he fixes a bottle, I wonder how it’s possible that he’s the man I think I just fell in love with.
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McQuaid Brothers - Recommended Reading Order
(standalone stories with interconnected characters)
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