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Crazy for the
Competition
Hope Springs # 2
Hope Springs # 2
By: Cindi Madsen
Releasing June 9, 2015
Entangled Bliss
The road to
trouble is paved with sweet temptation…
Always the rebel
in her ultra-conservative family, Quinn Sakata dreams of quitting her dad's real-estate
business and restoring the old Mountain Ridge Bed and Breakfast in her hometown
of Hope Springs. Except that Quinn's not the only person bidding on it. Worse
still, her competitor is her high school crush, Heath Brantley, who is all
kinds of ripped, tattooed hotness…
So much for her
“nice, conservative boys” rule.
Heath has his own reasons
for bidding on Mountain Ridge, and he won't give in without a fight—even to the
red-lipped hottie with a sailor's mouth. But when their rivalry shifts into an
unexpected zing of chemistry, Heath realizes he’s in deep trouble. Because it’s
inevitable that emotions will get involved, and he needs to keep his eyes on
the prize before they both get hurt.
When they reached the creek, he found a
place where the water was about shin-deep with lots of rocks to cross— mostly
for Quinn, because his boots would keep his feet dry as long as it didn’t go
over the top of them.
She bounced from rock to rock, having to
jump when her strides weren’t long enough to follow the path he’d taken.
“Watch that last one,” he said. “It’s—”
She leaped onto it and her foot slid out
from under her. She fell backward, barely getting her hands down to semi- catch
herself as she hit the water with a small splash.
“Slippery,” he finished. He took a step
back into the stream, sure she was about to freak about getting her clothes
wet. All he could really do now was make an attempt at damage control. “You
okay?”
“I’m fine. Help me up?” She extended her
hand, and he took hold of it. He was surprised she’d asked for help. Usually
she was so—
She yanked on his arm and swept her leg
under his. He landed hard on his butt and she erupted in laughter. “That’s for
throwing the snake at me.”
For a moment he didn’t move, simply sat and
gaped at her smug expression as cold water seeped into his jeans. Her
impressive takedown move and laughter were so completely at odds with the
prissy reaction he’d expected that it took his brain a few seconds to catch up.
“Nice ninja skills.”
She jumped up and grinned. “It’s in the
blood, you know. That, and my father forced my sister and me to train in
aikido.”
He pushed to his feet and shook water off
his hands. “So that makes you...”
“I’m Japanese. With or without the aikido.
And no, I won’t make you Japanese food, and I especially won’t make you Chinese
food—just putting it out there now, because guys tend to ask, like, first date.
Not that this is a date. Obviously.”
“Obviously,” he said, not bothering to
mention it was the closest thing to a date he’d been on for a while. “And I
wouldn’t dream of asking you to cook for me. You’d probably poison the food or
sweep kick me as I was eating and then stab me with your chopsticks.”
She laughed again, more happy than evil
sounding this time, and it echoed through his chest.
“And you don’t ask me if I make good
moonshine.” He heaved a sigh. “I get so sick of girls asking me that. I’m good
for more than providing booze, you know.”
She laughed again, and he leaned in as if
he were about to divulge a huge secret. “Actually, I’ve got a really good batch
in my bathtub right now, so maybe you should ask.”
“Then I guess I’m coming over tonight.”
Suddenly he realized how close they were
and the way he had to work harder for every one of his breaths. Quinn coming
over tonight sounded good—guess he’d have to figure out how to make moonshine
after all.
Cindi Madsen is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance
and young adult novels. She sits at her computer every chance she gets,
plotting revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes
her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many
shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if
they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes
summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most
definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children.
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