Exclusive Excerpt: MAKING IT RIGHT by Catherine Bybee
May 9, 2017
At Marly’s, Jo hit pay dirt.
Loud and smoky despite the laws suggesting people not smoke indoors, and
littered with hard bodies and hard liquor, Jo felt at home.
A few heads swiveled her way as she moved toward the bar. That’s when she saw
him.
He had his back to her, a tight T-shirt stretched across a thick layer of
muscles built by hours at the gym, and maybe a few steroids. She really hoped
steroids were not this guy’s thing. Ink peeked out on both his arms just above
the sleeve line. A shadow of growth gave evidence that his baldness was by
choice. He had a nice ass. Now if only his face matched.
She waited until her gaze inched up his spine like an insect in the forest on
a
hot summer night.
He turned, and her heart stopped.
Good Lord, God broke the mold with this one. His goatee was trimmed,
immaculately so. His lips were full, his jaw tight . . . and his eyes. Dark,
almost haunting. Dangerous. He did a once-over, and when his eyes met hers, he
lifted one side of his lips in a half smile. One that asked . . . who the hell
are you?
She let her eyes linger, her mouth drop open the slightest amount.
She’d bet her badge he had priors. Warning bells screamed in her head as he
took
the first step her way.
The bartender took that moment to ask her what she wanted.
“Jameson on the rocks,” she said before turning her back to the stranger
walking
her way. “And a Stella.”
The bartender turned to collect her order. He was behind her, she felt it
before
she turned.
Jo waited until the bartender handed her the drink before lifting her chin.
“Hello,” she said, knowing he listened.
“A woman who knows how to drink. That’s rare.”
His voice was chocolate, not rough as she expected. The contrast excited her
more.
“I graduated from wine coolers last week.” She turned and took in the full
effect of the man. He was even bigger close up, his look of warning in sharp
focus. Jo ignored the inner voice, the one that told her to walk away . . .
the
angel that sat on her shoulder, telling her it was a trap, needed to shut the
hell up.
“Lucky me,” he said, his grin lethal. She responded, all of her. She’d flunked
chemistry in high school but knew it was hitting her upside the head now.
Flirt, she told herself.
“And what are you drinking?”
The bartender set her beer down, along with a bill.
“Wine coolers.”
Jo leaned against the bar, noticed when his eyes found her breasts. She took a
deep breath and finished the whiskey in one pull.
“Prove it.”
He signaled the barkeep.
Jo waited to see what he would do.
“Wine cooler.” The fact he said it with a straight face made the bartender
turn
as if he was asked for that every day.
The man nearly tripped as he turned back around. “Excuse me?”
Viking Man grinned, changed his order. “I’ll have what she’s having.”
The bartender, a skinny man with hair too long and a narrow face that matched,
nodded. “That’s better.”
“I’ve never seen you here before,” Tall, Dark, and Dangerous said.
“Never been here before.”
“Do you plan on being here again?”
She met his eyes, eyes that she could fall into and lose herself if he was the
right kind of guy. “No.”
Some kids inherit a family business; Jo Ward inherited a badge. Once voted
Most Likely to End Up in Jail, the town wild child has become sheriff—hell-
bent
on uncovering the truth about her father’s mysterious death. Life is quiet in
rustic River Bend, but Jo longs for something beyond her small hometown and
the
painful memories it holds. All that keeps her sane is the support of her best
friends, Melanie and Zoe.
But when Jo signs up for an expert law enforcement training seminar, she meets
Gill Clausen, whose haunting eyes and dangerously sexy vibe just may challenge
her single-minded focus. Commitment-phobic Jo can’t deny her attraction to the
arrogant federal agent, and when odd things start happening around River Bend
and danger surrounds her, she realizes she’ll need his help to discover who’s
out to remove her from River Bend…permanently.
As Jo and Gill work together, it’s clear they make a great team. But can Jo
loosen her grip on the past enough to let love in and reach for the future?
Romance
Contemporary
[Montlake Romance, On Sale: May 9, 2017, Trade Size
/ e-Book, ISBN: 9781503943599 / ]
New York Times bestselling author Catherine Bybee was raised in Washington
State, but after graduating from high school, she moved to Southern California
with the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting
tables,
she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her
career in urban emergency rooms. Now, she writes full-time. She has penned the
popular Weekday Brides series as well as the beloved Not Quite series. She
resides in Southern California with her two sons.
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