What happens when the best friend you’re in love with
asks you to love him back, but only for pretend?
MORE THAN FRIENDS
Kendrick Place #1
Jody Holford
Releasing Dec 5th, 2016
Entangled BLISS
Owen
Burnett planned on a quiet, easygoing Christmas, hanging out with his best
friend and neighbor, Gabby Michaelson. So when his mom pressures him to come
home for the holidays, he tells a little white lie…that he’s spending the
holidays with his new girlfriend. But when his family shows up unexpectedly,
Owen pulls the best friend card and asks Gabby to play his fake girlfriend.
Gabby groaned.
“How could I tell my mom it wasn’t true? That I made
something up to stay home? I feel like a jerk, but I can’t tell her. Please,
Gabby.”
Shaking her head, she began to pace again, her breath
coming in short bursts. “Please what? Pretend to be your girlfriend for a week?
No one will buy it. Half the time I’m not even sure you know I’m female.”
What? Sure, he didn’t think of
her that way, but he wasn’t blind.
She was definitely female. It’s not like he hadn’t noticed she had…breasts and
curves and…damn, now he was thinking of both those things. He stared down at
the ground, suddenly and uncomfortably aware of her…femininity more than ever
before.
Even without looking at her, he could picture the elegant
curve of her neck and the show of skin where her sweater hung loose, her
gorgeous hair that made him think of rich chocolate and her pretty face with
her endless, open smiles. Just because they were friends didn’t mean he was
completely oblivious. Looking up, he saw she’d turned away, her hands gripping
the counter.
He might not have thought too much about it, but he could
damn well see she was a woman. And he didn’t need that knowledge or awareness
getting in the way. He watched the rise and fall of her back, and then she
turned and walked away from him. In the living room, she took over his spot by
the window, staring out at the inky black sky. The stars were like little
cutouts of light peeking in.
He leaned against the arch separating the living room and
kitchen. “Look at me.” He waited until she did. “I know I’m asking a lot. It’ll
probably be awkward. My family is loud and messy. Messier than you, if you can
imagine.” She tried to scowl at him, but it had no heat, and that felt like a
small victory. “I know you hate to lie and I hate asking you to. But you love
Christmas and so do they. I don’t want to wreck it for them. It’s not a big
deal—a few days with my family and no one will know otherwise. I’m asking you
to help me and in return, I…I’ll give you something I know you’ve been wanting
for a long time.”
Because he was staring at her so intently, he saw the way
her eyes darkened and her chest flushed. Trying to avoid looking at her
breasts, he caught her gaze again. Owen walked across the room once more, the
scent of her shampoo catching him off-guard, kicking him in the gut with the
delicious sweetness of it. Like candy or gingerbread. Maybe Christmas wasn’t so
bad.
“What’s that?” she whispered, folding her arms so one
hand rested on her biceps and the other rested against her mouth.
Closing the distance between them, he reached out a hand
and stroked her hair. Her hands dropped to her sides. He trailed his finger
down her jaw to her chin and tilted her head up to meet his gaze. She really
did have gorgeous eyes. Knock-a-man-on-his-ass eyes that were watching him,
full of an emotion he couldn’t name.
He smiled, bent his knees again, and then pinched her
chin gently between his thumb and forefinger. “My apartment.”
Jody
Holford is a multi-published author who has a soft spot for happily ever after.
So much so, she tattooed the words on her arm. She’s a mom and a wife, a friend,
sister, daughter, teacher, and book-lover. Her stories have a little bit of
heat and a lot of heart. And maybe, some swoon-worthy moments that will make
you smile.
Thank you for hosting MORE THAN FRIENDS today!
ReplyDeleteCrystal, Tasty Book Tours