Jane Wright has landed herself in a real mess. In a bid to promote her matchmaking company, Smart Cupid, Jane has found herself agreeing to a bet, on live tv, with her business rival DatesRUs. She has promised to find the perfect match for one of New York's most eligible bachelors, Charlie Goodman, in just five days. As if that is not difficult enough, Charlie just happens to be her best friend, whom she had an amazing week of passion with, before she unceremoniously dumped him via cocktail napkin, and hasn't spoken to him in six months.
This should be easy! After all, her theory that your perfect match is found purely through logical, rational factors is right. Passion always fades and all that's left is hurt and heartbreak, right?
Charlie is not inclined to help his former best friend, Jane, out of the mess she has gotten herself into. Six months ago she had truly hurt him and it has been hell for him not having her around. Deciding to teach her a lesson, he agrees to go on her organised dates for him, but secretly vows to show her just how strong passion and sexual need matters in a relationship. And when he has Jane right where he wants her, he will walk away from her for good.
As their easy friendship falls back into place, their intense connection flares to life. But with two people struggling with the emotional scars from their pasts, is it possible that an all-consuming, uncontrollable love can stand the test of time?
BREAKING THE BACHELOR by Maggie Kelley is hot, hot, hot in all the right places! With an interesting and unique plot, Maggie Kelley's characters jump to life and I was caught up in the action with them. I could feel the sexual tension and feelings churning between Jane and Charlie, but their fears and childhood issues were also depicted in a compassionate and tender way. With plenty of mishaps, 'perfect' dates, humour and steamy situations, BREAKING THE BACHELOR by Maggie Kelley, is a contemporary romance that has it all.
Goaded by her competition, matchmaker Jane Wright makes a
very public bet that she can find the βperfectβ match for
Manhattan's hottest
confirmed bachelorβsexy-as-sin bartender Charlie Goodman.
Unfortunately, Charlie is also Jane's ex-lover, a man she
broke up with on a cocktail napkin. With her company on
the line, Jane has no choice but to convince the man of
her most impractical dreams to dive back into the dating
pool.
Charlie doesn't want to see Jane's business fail. He just
wants a little
revenge. Determined to prove to Jane that chemistry
always beats
compatibility algorithms, he plans to drive her crazy
with desire...then
walk away. And his plan is working. A little too well,
actually. Because
even as Jane scrambles to calculate Charlie's best match,
the heat
building between combusts. But Charlie's been so busy
outsmarting Cupid that he hasn't noticed he's the naughty
cherub's next target...
EXCERPT
She tried to speak, but nothing filtered down from her
dopamine-addled brain. And then he was kissing her.
Tenderly, at first, his kiss seemed to test its limits,
equal parts bitter and sweet, like a whiskey Manhattan.
His hands moved up her back and tangled in the curls at
the nape of her neck. He deepened his kiss slowly, adding
intensity with her every soft sigh of encouragement. Her
heart pounded against the tablet she held against her
chest as his lips traveled her skin, gliding across her
collarbone, burrowing in her neck, moving to lick at her
earlobe, until finally coming back to capture her mouth,
biting and nibbling at her bottom lip, exploring the
depths of her. Logical or not, she loved the rhythm of
his mouth against hers, light and tender, slow and
passionate, playful and teasing. How much sheβd missed
the feel of himβthe feel of his strong, rangy body, the
taste of his lips, the citrus and spice scent of his skin
βall of him threatening her ability to stick to her own
damned rules.
The Laundromatβs red neon sign blinked in the window.
Wash. Fold. Oh, yes, Charlie, put your lips on me.
Wash. Fold. Kiss me.
Wash. Fold. Do not stop kissing me.
Her pulse rushed ahead, but despite her bodyβs longing
for this man who was singularly bad for her psyche, her
brain fought back for some control. No matter how good
she felt right now, he was still the same Charlieβ¦sexy,
impulsive, rule-breaking Charlie, kissing her senseless
in the middle of a Laundromat. Yes, the way the fresh,
soapy scent of Tide mixed with the deep spice of him made
her want to stay in the Fluff βN Fold kissing him until
all of New York stood still. But sheβd created her list
of must-haves for a reason, to ensure her relationships
would be risk-free, to protect her heart, so if she was
smart, she was going to stop kissing him right now.