I might be a typical guy, but these last few years, my love life’s been anything but. From crazy ex-girlfriends to one night stands who are stage-five clingers, my relationships go bad faster than the milk in your fridge. The only constant has been my best friend Maggie.
Fresh off a bad breakup of her own, I invite Maggie to my guy’s skiing weekend knowing she needs an escape from reality. But then something funny starts to happen. I start noticing things about her that I never noticed before.
She’s beautiful and doesn’t know it, she’s funny without even trying, and now she’s suddenly single for the first time in forever.
Sharing a hotel room with her proves to be the tipping point in our very platonic friendship. Suddenly I want to put my hands, my mouth, and my ... other parts ... all over her gorgeous body. I want to claim her, make sure no man touches her ever again. But then her groveling ex shows up, and Maggie’s torn.
Am I ready to screw up the best relationship I’ve ever had for a shot at something more?
Every now and then, Sam would shoot me a sympathetic look, knowing that I had no idea what they were talking about, but in truth, their company was a welcome break. Between what the woman in the shop had said and the lady on the plane’s insinuation, my mind was going a mile a minute and I was beginning to look at Sam in a way I definitely shouldn’t be.
**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**
This is a quick but entertaining best friends-to-more story! I liked seeing the evolution of Sam's and Maggie's friendship, he's so sweet he's positively swoon-worthy, but he also knows how to cut loose and enjoy life. Maggie is the more cautious of the two, but they balance each other perfectly. I could easily understand the confused feelings they were both experiencing about the possible change in their friendship, and how it could affect them if the new status didn't work out in a positive way. Even though this is a novella, I thought the characters were developed fairly well, and the secondary characters weren't a major part of the overall story.
Every now and then, Sam would shoot me a sympathetic look, knowing that I had no idea what they were talking about, but in truth, their company was a welcome break. Between what the woman in the shop had said and the lady on the plane’s insinuation, my mind was going a mile a minute and I was beginning to look at Sam in a way I definitely shouldn’t be.
Okay, so, yeah, he was sexy. That was a no-brainer.
I shot him a furtive glance, taking in the corded muscles of his
forearms and the lock of dark hair that constantly flopped onto his forehead.
And sure, he was sweet and attentive. He looked after me and made sure I always
had a fresh drink and that I wasn’t cold or hot. He held the door for me and
pulled out my chair when we went to restaurants. Hell, he’d been looking
forward to this trip for months and he’d sacrificed an entire day just to make
sure I got here safe and didn’t spend my time sulking.
Still, that didn’t mean he had feelings for me. He hadn’t argued
when I’d mentioned us being like brother and sister or anything.
No, this whole line of thinking was ludicrous. Sam was a good
friend. That was all…wasn’t it?
After all, Trevor had loved me once and he never did any of
that.
Admittedly, that wasn’t the best example, but it proved my point
all the same. In Sam’s shoes, Trevor never would have missed the chance to hit
the slopes with his friends. He hadn’t even skipped the business trip that fell
on my twenty-fifth birthday years back.
But Sam was there, my brain supplied helpfully.
Again, not an indication that he had feelings for me. People
were just different. Sam was one of the good ones. And if he liked me surely
I’d have known by now. He’d have told me or…something.
“Is that your phone?” Sam turned to me and I blinked, only
realizing that I’d been so encompassed in my own thoughts that I’d totally
zoned out.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Don’t you hear that vibrating noise? I think it’s your phone.”
I listened hard and then heard the low, gentle hum he was
talking about.
“Yep, probably you-know-who again.” I sighed, but fished the
phone from my tiny handbag all the same on the off chance it was a family
member with an emergency.
It
wasn’t Trevor, though. He had called—I had seven new missed messages from him
since I’d left for the airport, but I also had three missed calls from my
friend Deanna. I hadn’t spoken to her in more than two weeks because she’d been
away on a long-awaited safari, but now more than ever I really needed to hear
her voice.
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She's a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she's appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine. Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras Subscribe to Newletter Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page
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