My upcoming romcom, enemies-to-lovers, and twin soul mates romance is coming September 14th, 2021! Here is extract #2 from my upcoming romance book, Romance By The Book.
Jessie is a sweet librarian who knows the best way to win her soul mate: Check out dozens of romance books, study the (totally realistic) way characters fall in love, and make a foolproof plan on how to win her soul mate (in one week).
Check out this extract and pre-order your copy of this upcoming romcom today.
Extract #2
“You’re up to something,” says Will. He catches me looking at Gavin and his jaw clenches. Then his eyes narrow on my still wet, stained dress. Uh oh.
I flush.
“You were trying to spill your coffee.”
My breath catches. “I was not!”
“And you were trying to fall.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?” he asks.
I feel my cheeks heat and they’re definitely red because Will nods like I just failed his lie detector test.
“I thought we agreed. You’re not Gavin’s type.”
I flush even more. The stickiness of the spilled drink on my skin is growing itchy and uncomfortable and I want to get out of this dress. My ankle has a pinchy throbby pain. I turn and limp away, trying to maintain a bit of dignity.
Not his type.
Bull crap.
Love doesn’t have “types.”
Gavin’s finally off the phone. He leans back against the glass window of the shop and stares up at the clear blue sky. His shoulders slump and he looks tired and alone.
I know exactly how he feels.
I’ve felt alone since my mom died and my dad stopped speaking.
I keep myself busy from the minute I wake up to the second I fall into bed, so I don’t have to think about the fact that I’m lonely.
Lonely and alone.
Gavin drops his head and I catch him quickly swipe at his face. Crying?
I want to reach out to him. Offer him my friendship.
More.
My back straightens and my determination comes back.
This is the moment.
I walk forward, my eyes on Gavin.
“Jessie.” It’s Will. He sounds sorry, like he’s going to apologize. I ignore him.
“Jessie. Stop.” He says stop like a command, not a request. “Stop.”
I swing back around. “No. You stop.”
I keep walking backwards, away from him. “Quit interfering—” I cut off when I hit a metal object.
Will reaches for me.
I grab at the object. It’s books, stacks of books. Will grabs for me, catches my hand, but the book cart flips under me. I tumble over it and pull Will down with me. We crash to the sidewalk. I land on a pile of paperbacks. Will lands on top of me. The jarring thud sends a jolt through me and the shock of it stops all thought.
“Ow. Ouch.”
Will groans. “That hurt.”
“You’re on top of me.” I push at him, but he doesn’t move. “Off.”
He repositions himself so that his legs capture mine and his arms cage me in. He looks down at me and a calculating light enters his eyes.
“I’ll get up when you promise to stop chasing Gavin.”
I glare at him. “No.”
He lets out a frustrated breath. “I’m not going to let you ruin his chance at happiness.”
The nerve.
“What if I’m that chance?”
“Not possible,” he says.
I glare at him and then push up against him, trying to dislodge his bulk. His blue eyes go dark like the deep, violent blue of the Romeo River before a storm. The depth in them scares me, like I might drown in the stormy waters, never get air and never come up again if I dive beneath the surface. He lets out a short huff of air and the black of his pupils dilates. Suddenly, I have the urge to reach up and brush the lines at the corners of his eyes, touch his long feathery eyelashes and see if they feel as soft as they look.
He makes a low sound in his throat. I look at his mouth and focus on his plump lower lip, soft and wicked…so at odds with Will’s personality.
Will.
William.
I gasp and wrench myself out of my lust-filled stupor for the wrong man.
“Get off.” I shove at him again. He blinks and shakes his head, like he’s trying to reenter the present.
Yeah, welcome back from Weirdville. That alternate dimension where Will and I lust after each other.
Ugh.
Why?
I have a week with Gavin in town, I don’t need Will confusing things.
“Look, Jessie.” He shifts, but doesn’t let me up.
I squirm under him and peer toward the outfitters store. Gavin isn’t even there anymore. Unbelievable.
“No. You look.” I shove my hand into his chest. I ignore the fact that it’s a surprisingly well-muscled chest. “Gavin and I are meant to be. Miss Erma predicted it.”
His body stiffens and he shakes his head, once, hard in denial. Of course he’d disagree.
“She’s. Never. Wrong,” I say.
His jaw clenches and his eyes narrow. “I. Don’t. Care.”
I push up on my elbows and lean into him. My chest presses against his and I bring my lips close to his ear, so he can hear every word.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to show Gavin we’re meant to be.”
I let the words hang between us. My lips are so close to him I could nibble his ear without moving an inch. I feel it the moment his heart picks up speed—it thumps against my chest.
He turns his head and his jaw brushes against my mouth. I pull back and he smiles. I stay on my elbows. He leans forward until our lips nearly touch. His hips press into mine and this moment is so similar to one of my nighttime fantasies that certain parts of me clench in anticipation.
“Promise?” he asks. I feel the heat of his breath against my lips.
I want so badly to span those few millimeters and press my lips to his. And that’s what makes me realize—he’s taunting me. Teasing me. Laughing at me. That’s what Will does. What he’s always done.
Enough.
I’m done with him interfering in my life.
“Not only do I promise to show Gavin we’re meant to be. I guarantee it.” I raise my chin and give him a challenging stare.
He blinks and his demeanor changes. He becomes less languid wickedness, and more the hard, ruthless, cold-hearted CEO that I know and don’t love.
“Then I promise,” he says in a low hard voice, “to do everything in my power to stop you.” His upper lip curls. “I guarantee it.”
Of course he does.
Of course.
That’s fine, Will doesn’t have the power of fate and a library of hundreds of romcoms behind him.
Love wins. Every time.
This is Romeo after all. It’s on.
