Ruthie Knox | Exclusive Excerpt of ABOUT LAST NIGHT
June 9, 2012
City reached into his briefcase and brought out two bags of chips and three
candy bars. "I came bearing gifts. Thought you might be hungry. Do you
prefer"—he glanced at the bags—"prawn or salt-and-vinegar crisps? Or
if you don't fancy crisps, I also have these." He fanned the candy bars out on
one broad palm. "I don't know what you like yet," he explained, his tone
apologetic.
Cath cast her eyes heavenward in an attempt to keep up a good front, but really,
how was she supposed to resist a man who came courting with junk food?
Resist the man. You can have the junk food.
She grabbed the prawn crisps and a Wispa bar. "This is a very classy spread. Are
you always so charming?"
"Only when I want something very badly." He smiled.
She tried to let that slide, but it slid down between her breasts, wriggled over
her belly, and warmed up the junction of her thighs. She didn't have a lot of
experience being wanted—or courted, for that matter. It was making her
woozy.
City took off his tie in that way real men did, arching his head back as he
pulled at the knot and unbuttoned his top collar button. Seeing his exposed
throat, she couldn't help but think about the pulse beating there. About
pressing her lips to his warm skin, and the expression on his face when he came.
He folded the tie up neatly and put it in his jacket pocket, then opened the bag
of salt-and-vinegar chips. She wondered if it would be possible to
surreptitiously fan herself without him noticing.
The train burst into the sunlight. Cath ate her chips and considered what made
City smell faintly of cedar. Cedar hangers in his wardrobe at home? A cedar coat
rack at the office? Was it his jacket or something underneath? She could find
out if she leaned over a few inches and pressed her face into his shoulder. She
managed to restrain herself by shoving a handful of chips into her mouth.
The train stopped at Heron Quays, then carried on.
"These are loathsome," she observed.
Nev reached over and fished one out of her bag. His fingers brushed hers, and
she liked it. "You don't have to eat them."
"I know, but they're irresistible. Loathsome and irresistible is a perfect
combination in junk food. Have you ever had an Oreo?" She reached for one of his
chips. She didn't even really like salt-and-vinegar, but she wanted an excuse to
touch him again. She'd been reduced to flirting like a thirteen-year-old.
"I don't believe I've had the pleasure."
"I can't find them here. They're these hard chocolate sandwich
cookies—biscuits," she corrected.
"I know what a cookie is, Mary Catherine."
She hated her name, but she loved the way he said it. Like an endearment. Oh,
she had it bad.
"And in between there's a layer of white . . . frosting, I guess, though it's a
stretch to call it that. It's a sort of sweetened, whipped hydrogenated oil
paste that the good people of Nabisco refer to as ‘Stuf.' That's Stuf with one
f, City, if that gives you any idea of what I'm talking about. Anyway,
they're really gross. I love them."
Nev smiled. Reaching up, he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, his
eyes never leaving her face. "Have dinner with me."
"No."
"Let me walk you home then."
"No."
"Give me your phone number?"
She smiled, looking down at her lap. "Sorry. No. It would be a mistake."
"Would it help if I promised not to be?"
Startled, she looked directly at him then. His eyes were earnest, and she
wondered what sort of life he'd led that he could even say such a thing. What
would it be like to be so sure of yourself that you could promise not to be a
mistake? She didn't know. Couldn't remember a time when she'd been sure. "You
can't."
"I can," he said without blinking. "I will. I promise you, Cath, you won't
regret me."
"But I already do." Or she should, anyway. She was trying to. Her conscience
regretted him, but her body didn't. And her heart . . . Well, what did her heart
know? Her heart was always getting her into trouble.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT,
coming from Loveswept (Random House), June 11, 2012!
Sure, opposites attract, but in this sexy, smart eBook original romance from
Ruthie Knox, they positively combust! When a buttoned-up banker falls for a bad
girl, "about last night" is just the beginning.
Cath Talarico knows a mistake when she makes it, and God knows she's made her
share. So many, in fact, that this Chicago girl knows London is her last, best
shot at starting over. But bad habits are hard to break, and soon Cath finds
herself back where she has vowed never to go . . . in the bed of a man who is
all kinds of wrong: too rich, too classy, too uptight for a free-spirited
troublemaker like her.
Nev Chamberlain feels trapped and miserable in his family's banking empire. But
beneath his pinstripes is an artist and bohemian struggling to break free and
lose control. Mary Catherine — even her name turns him on — with her
tattoos, her secrets, and her gamine, sex-starved body, unleashes all kinds of
fantasies.
When blue blood mixes with bad blood, can a couple that is definitely wrong for
each other ever be perfectly right? And with a little luck and a lot of love,
can they make last night last a lifetime?
Preorder/order links -- only $2.99, releases June 11
Ruthie Knox figured
out how to walk and read at the same time in the second grade, and she hasn't
looked up since. She spent her formative years hiding romance novels in her
bedroom closet to avoid the merciless teasing of her brothers and imagining
scenarios in which someone who looked remarkably like Daniel Day Lewis
recognized her well-hidden sex appeal and rescued her from middle-class
Midwestern obscurity. After graduating from Grinnell College with an English and
history double major, she earned a Ph.D. in modern British history that she's
put to remarkably little use.
These days, she writes contemporary romance in which witty, down-to- earth
characters find each other irresistible in their pajamas, though she freely
admits this has yet to happen to her. Perhaps she needs more exciting pajamas.
Her debut novel, Ride with Me, came out with Loveswept (Random House) in
February.
It was a great excerpt and the book looks like a fun story. (Maureen Emmons 2:42pm June 9, 2012)
Thanks for sharing the excerpt... I enjoyed it! Sounds like a book I would enjoy! (Colleen Conklin 2:49pm June 9, 2012)
Can't wait for Monday. This is an amazing book!!! (Gina Wachtel 3:35pm June 9, 2012)
this book is so awesome would love to read (Denise Smith 4:42pm June 9, 2012)
This book sounds really good and I am looking forward to reading it. (Chelsea Knestrick 5:25pm June 9, 2012)
Have the book preordered - can't wait to read it! (Mary C 8:14pm June 9, 2012)
Sounds like a great story. I look forward to reading the whole thing! (Michele Hayes 9:34pm June 9, 2012)
How I wish this wasn't an e-book!! I don't own a kindle, and would give my eye teeth to be able to read this book!! What an amazing excerpt!! You have me totally hooked, and now I'll never know the whole story!! It's like eating a Tootsie Roll Pop, and having someone take it away from you before you can get to the center!! I did want to tell you that I thought the story line was quite unique, and you have a wonderful way with words that draws a person in immediately!! If I ever acquire an e-reader, your books will definately be on my list!! (Peggy Roberson 9:49pm June 9, 2012)
it sounds like a great read and when you use the ebook it is an instant thing, pretty cool stuff! (Darci Paice 10:06pm June 9, 2012)
WONDERFUL THANK YOU!!! Loving this (Mary Preston 10:42pm June 9, 2012)
I love the excerpt! What a delightful approach. I would fall for it, too. LOL (Gladys Paradowski 10:54pm June 9, 2012)
I am really excited about this book. It sounds like a really fun read. (Jennifer Beyer 10:59pm June 9, 2012)
Sounds like great character interaction and tension. (Janea Carrell 11:19pm June 9, 2012)
What a sweet excerpt! Loved the courting with junk food! (G. Bisbjerg 1:24am June 10, 2012)
What a pity it's not in paperback as I don't yet do e-books (though I'll probably end up with two e-readers, one each for my husband and me while on holiday) but it does sound an interesting read. Could you tell us the advantages and disadvantages of publishing in e-book for you, in your next blog post? (Clare O'Beara 5:25am June 10, 2012)
Sounds like a wonderful read, I do not do e-books yet either I still like holding the book but am thinking seriously about getting an e-reader (Shirley Younger 11:57am June 10, 2012)
You've got me extremely curious - How in the world did Nev Chamberlain get the nickname "City"?!? And aside from the crisps/chips intermingling (one or the other, please!), this was a great excerpt.
And for all those bemoaning the fact that this is an e-book, you can get FREE downloads of all THREE of the major e-reader applications for either platforms.
Yep, that's right. Get your FREE Kindle app at Amazon, your FREE Nook app at Barnes & Noble, and your FREE Kobo app at kobobooks.com.
And no, I don't work for any of these companies. I just get tired of seeing so many people claiming they can't read e-books without an e-reader, especially since I used to be one of you, until one of my book groups called me on it, and told me to put up or shut up.
Got to love a book where opposites attract. Looking forward to this book coming out tomorrow. I loved "Ride With Me" and I know I'll love this one too. Congratulations on this latest release. (Lynn Reynolds 2:42pm June 10, 2012)
Lynn Rettig: I don't think many would want to sit at their computer reading a book (I know I wouldn't)!!! I don't have an e-reader and I'd prefer to read my book(s) in book form, so your alternative advice to people that state they don't have an e-reader or can't afford one really isn't even an option, as far as I'm concerned...but thanks for the advice that most of us already know. My eyes couldn't take reading that way for hours! (Linda Luinstra 3:01pm June 10, 2012)
I like the clash of the classes and the reference to junk food to travel with. This looks like a read that will hold the readers' interest all the way through. (Alyson Widen 3:57pm June 10, 2012)
book sounds great!!!!!! (Barbara Studer 4:19pm June 10, 2012)
I loved the excerpt and I'm looking forward to reading About Last Night. (Barbara Elness 11:31pm June 10, 2012)
Hi Ruthie! About Last Night sounds like fun. I am looking forward to reading it. (Cathy Phillips 3:36am June 11, 2012)
This looks so cute! I hope I win but you've sold one more if not. (Lisa Elwood 12:08pm June 11, 2012)