CHARMING YOU by Kris Jayne

Thirsty Hearts #1

Micky Llewellyn has trusted men before—with disastrous results. Now, she’s focused on her career, her friends, and making sure she doesn’t let another charming man lie to her and break her heart. Nick Halden’s life has unfolded according to plan—a career at a top law firm and an engagement to the perfect socialite (he hopes). Fate throws them together, and in their struggle to balance love and ambition, they have to decide what they want before they lose the one thing that matters.

Meet the heroine: Micky Llewellyn
Occupation: High-tech marketing
Drink of choice: Slightly dirty vodka martinis
Favorite thing: The smell of a man in bed
Pet peeve: Liars and cheaters
Biggest weakness: Tall, dark, and handsome men with green eyes and a secret

Meet the hero: Nick Halden
Occupation: Corporate lawyer
Drink of choice: Scotch whisky
Favorite thing: A woman in knee-high boots — and nothing else
Pet peeve: Manipulative in-laws
Biggest weakness: Sexy brunettes who don’t let him get away with anything

EXCERPT FROM CHARMING YOU Uh-oh. Nick's demeanor shifted in front of her. She'd wandered into forbidden territory. Micky tilted her head and examined the handsome, in-control man sitting across from her.

His lips pressed together in dismay. Something about his past relationship had gotten away from him. She wondered what kind of woman it would take to make a man like Nick polish off an ounce of Scotch in less than nanosecond. She'd never had that power over a man. She should let it go, but she couldn't help herself.

"Christmas in Paris? Must be nice. Didn't your family mind your being away?" she asked and then waited. Nick shook his head almost imperceptibly.

"We left after Christmas and just spent the New Year there," he replied.

"We?" Micky inquired.

"My fiancée and I," he admitted.

Micky took a deep breath to settle the anger that popped up inside her. She dug her heels into the floor and pressed against the padded back of the booth.

"Not 'ex-fiancée?'"

Nick looked away from her and sighed.

"She broke things off. I tried talking to her, and she wouldn't even return my phone calls. That was months ago. Then, suddenly this week, she surfaces again. We're supposed to have dinner to sort things out. I don't know," he said and shrugged.

"Yet, you're here with me," Micky bit out, hoping she could keep her temper in check. These men and their prevarications got her hackles up.

"Having a drink." A smile tilted his full lips.

"Don't you think it's kind of shitty to be having drinks with one woman while you're still engaged to another?" "You looked upset in the elevator, and I thought it would be nice to have a friendly drink. We're going Dutch, remember? I can have female friends. What have we done that's inappropriate? Nothing."

Confronted with Nick's matter-of-fact assessment of their meet-up, Micky had to admit that, for her, it wasn't nothing. And she doubted that the pull of attraction went one way. She contemplated grabbing her purse and stalking out of the bar. "We've flirted," she admitted, which only served to amuse him further.

"Really? You seemed pretty pissed off the other night even though I'm not entirely sure why."

"That's funny because the thing that pissed me off then has turned out to be true. You casually talked about being into all manners of women. So many women, so little time, I guess. Now you tell me that your called-off engagement might not be called-off. It makes me wonder if that's all some elaborate tale to keep me thinking you're available when you're not," Micky snapped, the control she had over her ire dissipating.

"Believe me, I'm not one to date more than one woman at a time. Most guys may say they want lots of women in their life, but trust me, I don't need the drama."

"Women bring drama?"

"Not necessarily, but I've found that the level of crazy in a man's life rises exponentially with the number of women." He sighed and started to speak again, but Micky cut him off.

"I see," she said, looking around the bar for the waiter.

"No, wait. I just mean that juggling women is a bad idea and a habit that I broke myself of a long time ago."

"Have you? Because I don't care what you say. I've seen the way you look at me, and it is most definitely inappropriate if you're promised to someone else. Is it so hard to wrap up one relationship entirely before looking for your next conquest?" The green in Nick's eyes deepened. He leaned over the table.

"You're right. I'm attracted to you. I'd love nothing more than to drag you upstairs to one of the rooms in this hotel and strip those uptight business clothes off of you."

Micky dropped her gaze to the drink in front of her, unable to look Nick in the eye. The hairs on her neck rose and vibrated. His words scalded her.

As infuriated as she was, she couldn't deny the twist she felt in her belly as her insides turned liquid. She squeezed her eyes shut, only opening them when she heard Nick continue after a heated pause.

"But I haven't even come close to doing it. I know my situation is complicated right now, and I wouldn't start something I couldn't finish."

Micky looked up at him again. He clenched and released his fists, then pulled his splayed hands slowly toward him across the tabletop. His breathing hitched.

The waiter came to the table, and Micky handed him her credit card without even seeing the bill. Nick did the same. They sat in silence and waited for the bow-tied server to return with their split bill. Micky's heart kept pounding. Signing the bill and slipping her card back into her purse, Micky knew…she couldn't see him again.

Romance Contemporary | Women's Fiction Contemporary Self Published, On Sale: February 14, 2016, e-Book, ISBN: 2940157996208 / eISBN: 9781944460006

Romance, secrets, and a little mystery