Named Best Book of the Month by Amazon and iBooks
Ready to Run
I Do, I Don't #1
Lauren Layne
Releasing Aug 22, 2017
Loveswept
Jordan Carpenter thinks she’s finally found the perfect candidate for Jilted, a new dating show about runaway grooms: Luke Elliott, a playboy firefighter who’s left not one but three brides at the altar. The only problem? Luke refuses to answer Jordan’s emails or return her calls. Which is how she ends up on a flight to Montana to recruit him in person. It’s not Manhattan but at least the locals in Lucky Hollow seem friendly . . . except for Luke, who’s more intense—and way hotter—than the slick womanizer Jordan expected.
Eager to put the past behind him, Luke has zero intention of following this gorgeous, fast-talking city girl back to New York. But before he can send her packing, Jordan’s everywhere: at his favorite bar, the county fair, even his exes’ book club. Annoyingly, everyone in Lucky Hollow seems to like her—and deep down, she’s starting to grow on him too. But the more he fights her constant pestering, the more Luke finds himself wishing that Jordan would kick off her high heels and make herself comfortable in his arms.
Luke
started to load up the gear and, realizing he was doing it alone, glanced over
his shoulder to see where the hell his partner was.
Unsurprisingly,
his friend was chatting up City Girl. Neither Charlie nor Ryan seemed to mind
in the least that these two fancy pants had swooped into their town to
capitalize on Luke’s past.
What
was more surprising was that Jordan Carpenter was chatting right back, her
smile seemingly genuine, her laugh real.
Luke
ground his teeth.
He
couldn’t say he’d put much thought into the woman behind the name as he’d been
unceremoniously deleting her emails and voice messages, but if forced to assume,
he’d have guessed aggressive shrew.
He
suspected he was wrong there. Because while there was no mistaking the ambition
in the woman, it wasn’t the cutthroat, ball-busting kind.
Her
lean body might be all angles and long lines, but there was a softness to her
as well. The way her hair did its own thing. The easiness of her smile, the
quick laugh. The small but pert breasts.
Damn.
He was staring.
He
slammed the door shut. “Bander,” he
shouted at Charlie across the lawn. “Let’s clear out.”
Charlie
leaned into Jordan, whispering something in her ear that made her laugh, before
walking away with a last wink.
Luke
rolled his eyes. Really? This was happening?
“Hey,
Elliott,” Ryan called. “You want to come over for a barbecue tonight?”
Luke
crossed his arms and studied his friend suspiciously, waiting for the catch.
“Who’s on the guest list?”
He
saw Jordan and her purple-shirt friend exchange a look. Well, that answered
that question.
Damn.
Ryan never had been able to resist the urge to stir up trouble.
“It’s
no problem if you don’t want to join us,” Jordan called out, lifting her hand
to shield the afternoon sun from her eyes. “I’m sure your friends here can fill
me in on everything there is to know about Luke Elliott.”
All
about Luke Elliott’s romantic history was more like it. City Girl wasn’t even
pretending to be coy about the reason she was here.
All
former positive thoughts about her evaporated. Only the worst sort of human
would use another’s failed relationships to advance her own career—for
entertainment.
Luke
turned away without another word, hauling himself into the driver’s seat of the
truck as he waited impatiently for Charlie to get done shouting goodbye to
every single person within earshot.
He
drummed his thumbs against the steering wheel, refusing to even think about going
to the BBQ tonight. If his friends wanted to stir up trouble, they could do so
without his cooperation.
As
for the two New Yorkers, they’d flame out all on their own. Weren’t East
Coasters known for being impatient and fast moving?
Surely
they’d be off to find some other glory-seeking asshole if he ignored them. One
of the other guys could play the role for all he cared.
As
Charlie hauled his ass up, Luke started the truck, his eye catching on Jordan
Carpenter, who was watching him with a stubborn, determined look on her pretty
face.
Damn
it. She’d stir up all sorts of trouble unless he ran interference.
Luke
pulled out his phone to text Ryan.
I’ll be
there. Have beer.
Charlie
leaned over, unabashedly reading Luke’s
iPhone screen. “Ha. Knew it.”
“What?”
Luke glared at his friend.
Charlie
grinned wider, gesturing over his shoulder. “You’ve got a boner for the hot
blonde.”
“Are
you kidding me with this? She wants me to be the next bachelor.”
How
were Ryan and Charlie not getting the absurdity of this
Charlie
shrugged. “So? Maybe it’d be good for you.”
Luke
stared at his friend for a moment longer before putting the truck in drive.
“The only thing that would be good for me is to push you out of this truck.”
Charlie
was waving goodbye to Jordan and Simon. “See you tonight!”
Luke
ground his teeth harder. He was already dreading the BBQ, but not going
would only make matters worse. Clearly he needed to have a very blunt
conversation with Jordan Carpenter.
Cute, fun and sexy small-town romance, just as I expected! Luke may have left 3 brides at the altar, but you know there are secrets behind each one that he refuses to talk about. His reasons for doing so are slowly revealed and Jordan discovers who the jilted brides are. While they may be on opposites ends when it comes to the show, their undeniable attraction keeps bringing them together. (Or maybe it was his nosy friends?) This had a different feel from her fan favorite Oxford / Stiletto series which take place in a big city, but if you like small town romances, I encourage you to read it. Looking forward to the next groom!
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 romantic comedies.
She lives in New York City with her husband.
A former
e-commerce and web marketing manager from Seattle, Lauren relocated to New York
City in 2011 to pursue a full-time writing career. She signed with her agent in
2012, and her first book was published in summer of 2013. Since then, she's
written over two dozen books, hitting the USA TODAY, New York
Times, iBooks, and Amazon bestseller lists.
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