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The Idea of You
Ribbon Ridge #4
Darcy Burke
Releasing November 17th, 2015
Avon Books
Following a major tabloid scandal, movie
star Alaina Pierce escapes to Ribbon Ridge. She’s immediately drawn to the
quiet, picturesque town and the incredibly sexy—if a little quirky—Evan. He may
be built like a Greek god, but he’s honest and straightforward… so different
from the Hollywood types she normally dates.
Their attraction is undeniable, but Alaina
can’t elude the paparazzi forever, and Evan has no interest in being in the
limelight. When the secret she’s been keeping is exposed, the idea of Evan—of
real love and a family like the Archers—could vanish in an instant.
“I didn’t sign
up to have my life scrutinized and invaded.” Her tone had risen again. He tried
to decide if that meant she was agitated, excited, or something else. Sometimes
talking to strangers was like speaking in tongues. Sometimes? Always.
“Do you need any
help with this?”
“No, I’ve got it
handled. Thanks. But should you leave that battery out? What if there’s an
actual fire?”
“Are you
planning on making more bacon?”
She shuddered,
and a lock of her dark blonde, wavy hair fell against her face. “God no. I’ll
find something else to eat.”
He ought to
invite her to the main house for dinner, but he was probably going to heat up a
frozen burrito or make nachos. She wrapped her arms around herself, and for the
first time, he registered the chill coming from the open windows.
He went and
closed the window. “The smoke’s mostly gone.”
“I’ll go shut
the one in the bedroom.”
“I’ll get it.”
He turned and went into the single bedroom. The light was on, and he saw an
array of clothing spread out over the bed. His gaze lingered on a lacy bra and
a matching pair of panties. She’d look amazing in those.
He quickly spun
around and closed the window.
“Thanks,” she
said as he moved back through the living room toward the kitchen. “What about
the battery?”
“Right.” He’d
meant to put it back, but her underwear had totally distracted him. He
retrieved the chair and replaced the battery in the alarm. “All set.”
“Thank you for
rushing to my aid. Maybe I’ll see you . . . tomorrow. Or something.”
“How long are
you staying?” It probably wasn’t his business, but the question was out of his
mouth before he could censor it.
“Until my life
gets back to normal.” She laughed. He recognized that laugh from her movies. It
was full and sexy and utterly distinctive. “What a joke. My life will never be
normal.”
“Why don’t you
quit, then? If you hate the fame and you want a normal life, just walk away.
I’m guessing you have plenty of money.”
“Yes, but I also
love my job. Could you walk away from something you loved?”
Something he
loved . . . What was that exactly? His family. His cat. His job? Not yet. But
the potential was there. Finally. Yeah, he’d walked away from something he
loved. After grad school, he’d moved away from home, from his family, whom he loved—to prove that he could. “Yeah, I
could walk away. Maybe all the negatives associated with your job are telling
you to leave. Sometimes you have to realize it’s time to move on.”
That had been
one of the hardest lessons of all, in both big and small ways. It had taken him
years to learn to walk away from an incomplete school assignment and accept he
could finish it later. Or let go of a specific rule or idea.
“Thanks for the
unsolicited advice,” she said.
More sarcasm?
Probably. “I wasn’t trying to give you advice.” He walked toward the door but
paused at the threshold. “If you want some beer, come over to the house and I
can pull you a growler or whatever you want. You know my dad’s a brewer,
right?”
She shook her
head. “That was a bit of a non sequitur, wasn’t it?”
He was the king
of non sequiturs, and as a result, he had learned a few defense mechanisms for
when people noticed the oddity. “It’s part of my allure.”
She took the
towel from her shoulder and laid it over the back of one of the barstools.
“Sean told me you own a bunch of brewpubs.”
“Not me. My dad.
Technically, Archer Enterprises, and he’s the CEO. My adoptive brother, Derek,
is the CFO, and my brother Kyle is acting COO while my younger brother, Hayden,
is in France learning to make wine.”
She crossed her
arms over her chest, and her lips did that almost-smile thing again. “Also an
encyclopedia, I see.”
He had a canned
comeback for that, too. “The better to charm you with. Seriously, if you want
the beer, just come over.”
“Thanks. I’ll
keep that in mind.”
I loved Evan's story! He and Alaina lead completely different lives, but surprisingly have a lot of things in common. While Alaina's life is constantly in the spotlight, Evan's condition prevents him from being able to be in large crowds. His struggles while trying to adjust to the changes Alaina brings to his life make their story have a more realistic feel for me. And while he was socially awkward, that wasn't the case in the bedroom! Alaina was a great match for Evan and I really loved the fact that she really tried to understand Evan and all his quirks. You don't typically read a romance where the hero falls in the Autism spectrum, but that made this story that much more special to me. Everyone deserves a happily ever after - even those who are different from what is considered normal. I look forward to seeing them pop up in future books from this series.
I received an ARC via Edelweiss for the purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for this review, all conclusions are my own.
Darcy Burke is the USA Today bestselling author of hot, action-packed historical and sexy, emotional contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age 11, a happily-ever-after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan who loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations.
A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids-who each seem to have inherited the writing gene in some form-and two Bengal cats. In her "spare" time Darcy is a serial volunteer enrolled in a 12-step program where one learns to say "no," but she keeps having to start over. Her happy places are Disneyland and Labor Day weekend at the Gorge.
Thank you so much for the amazing review!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the amazing review!!!
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