A feisty beauty must choose between
winning back Mr. Right or giving in to Mr. Wrong.
I Knew You Were Trouble
Oxford Series #4
Lauren Layne
Releasing June 13, 2017
Loveswept
Taylor Carr has it all—a sleek job in advertising, a stunning Manhattan apartment, and the perfect man to share it with: Bradley Calloway. Even after Bradley dumps her for a co-worker on move-in day, Taylor isn’t worried. She’ll get her man eventually. In the meantime, she needs a new roommate. Enter Nick Ballantine, career bartender, freelance writer—and longtime pain in Taylor’s ass. Sexy in a permanent five-o’clock-shadow kind of way, Nick knows how to push Taylor’s buttons, as if he could see right through to the real her.
Nick’s always trying to fix people, and nobody could use a good fixing more than Taylor. Sure, she’s gorgeous, with mesmerizing silver eyes, but it’s her vulnerability that kills him. Now that they’re shacking up together, the chemistry is out of control. Soon they’re putting every part of their two-bedroom apartment to good use. Then Taylor’s ex comes crawling back to her, and Nick figures she’ll jump at the chance to go back to her old life—unless he fights for the best thing that ever happened to him.
Bradley froze when
he saw her, and she was pretty sure she saw the urge to turn and run flicker
across his face.
Again she felt a
stab of disappointment. In him. And in herself for apparently having misread
him. She’d thought he was better than this.
Bradley’s eyes moved
between her and Nick, and though he didn’t look all that surprised at seeing
them bickering, his gaze grew hard as he saw Nick’s hand on Taylor’s face.
Nick, naturally,
took his sweet time removing it, and she resisted the urge to kick his shin.
“Morning, Bradley,”
Taylor said, pleased that her voice sounded calm and friendly. As well it
should. She’d had plenty of practice over the better part of a year pretending
that she and Bradley were nothing more than colleagues.
Other than a few
close friends who knew they were dating, they’d done a mostly decent job of hiding their romantic
relationship from coworkers. Better than she and Nick had done hiding their
antagonistic one.
“Hey, Taylor. Nick,”
Bradley said.
He entered the room
and reached for a coffee mug, turning his attention toward the other man.
“Didn’t realize you’d taken on another assignment. What for?”
“Not sure,” Nick
said, checking his watch. “Have a meeting with Cassidy in a few to find out.”
“Here’s hoping it’s
an offsite gig that takes you far, far away. Maybe he needs someone to cover
Siberian winters,” Taylor said to Nick, even as she watched Bradley out of the
corner of her eye.
“Don’t need to
travel to find severe winter. It doesn’t get any chillier than right here,”
Nick retorted, waving his hand over her head in a storm cloud gesture.
She shoved his hand
aside, her attention still on Bradley, who was determinedly avoiding her gaze.
Coward.
It was going to be
darn hard to get him to see reason when he wouldn’t even make eye contact.
Nick, ever too
perceptive for his own good, noticed the tension and gave a quick look between
her and Bradley, his gaze turning speculative.
She shot him a
warning look that clearly said, Don’t.
He shot an answering
smile that clearly said, Watch me.
“Bradley, don’t
suppose you’re in the market for a roommate?” Nick asked, his voice deceptively
casual.
Bradley’s head
snapped up, and finally, finally his blue gaze collided with Taylor’s. Dammit. Why did
he have to be so beautiful? He was like a mischievous angel, all twinkling blue
eyes, dimples, a sexy cleft in his chin, dark blond wavy hair . . .
“What?” he asked
Nick distractedly, still looking at Taylor.
“Taylor here wants
to share her original crown molding with someone.”
Bradley winced, and
Taylor felt a little surge of gratitude toward Nick. He couldn’t have known it,
but it was the perfect jab. She and Bradley were both into prewar
architecture—had eaten up the broker’s description of all the building’s
original elements.
Taylor should be
sharing that crown molding with Bradley. And he damn well knew it.
His eyes met hers in
silent misery—an apology that she wasn’t quite ready to accept. Heck, she
wasn’t even ready to acknowledge it, because she had no intention of being
dumped. Not by him, not by any man.
Taylor ignored the guilt
written all over Bradley’s face as she held his gaze. “Yes, it seems I
unexpectedly have a free bedroom and more rent than I can afford. If either of
you knows anyone looking for a roommate . . .”
Bradley’s handsome
face twisted regretfully, and he set his coffee aside, taking a step toward
her, apparently forgetting—or not caring—that Nick was still in the room.
“Taylor. Damn it. I
told you—”
“Actually, I do,”
Nick said, interrupting.
Taylor forced her
gaze away from Bradley’s pleading face toward Nick’s smug one. “You know
someone who needs a roommate?”
“Yup.” He crossed
his arms and watched her.
She made an
impatient gesture with her hand. “Who? It can’t be one of your ex-girlfriends—I
don’t want to inadvertently hear any gross details about you. And not one of
your frat-boy guy friends—my living room isn’t cut out for Call of Duty.”
“Yeah, because
that’s all I do all day.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Okay, for real, who is it?”
His grin was slow,
sly, and the very definition of trouble. “Me.”
Nick and Taylor have amazing chemistry - in and out of the bedroom. The timing issues between these two definitely complicated their relationship, but I think it also allowed them to appreciate each other more. I loved their story and just like with other Lauren Layne books I've read, I found myself feeling everything they characters were feeling, the good and the bad. I love it when I can smile and cry while reading a romance novel. I've loved the Oxford series and can't wait to see what she has in store for us next!
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. I was not compensated for this review, all conclusions are my own.
Lauren Layne is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen romantic comedies.
She lives in midtown Manhattan with her high-school sweetheart, where she writes smart romantic comedies with just enough sexy-times to make your mother blush. In LL's ideal world, every stiletto-wearing, Kate Spade wielding woman would carry a Kindle stocked with Lauren Layne books.
Thank you for reviewing!
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