One Summer with Autumn
by Julie
Reece
Publication
date: October 11th 2016
Published
by: Swoon Romance
Genres:
Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
BLURB
Seventeen-year-old Autumn Teslow
arrives at her father’s job fair knowing she’ll never measure up to the perfect
image of daddy’s little girl—her twin sister.
Wearing anger management issues
like a second skin won’t help Autumn win her dad’s approval for the big trip
she’s been planning—or meet his condition that she successfully complete a
summer internship for college.
Autumn’s cool unravels when her
sister lectures against disappointing the family again. And when a young,
bearded guy steps through the crowd to settle the growing argument between
siblings, Autumn lashes out, dubbing him a “Duck Dynasty wannabe.”
At Nineteen, Caden Behr is
clueless as to why his man parts are threatened by the fearsome girl before
him. He’d only come to find an intern for his recreational equipment company,
not break up a girl-fight between two sisters.
Unfortunately, the only candidate
left is the girl who just told him off. Without her, he’ll never prove to his
CEO mother that he’s ready for more responsibility.
Autumn and Caden agree that if
they can keep from killing one another, they can use one another to get what
they want and then never have to see each other again. Which is what they want.
Until it isn’t.
Because despite her best efforts
to scare him off, and his fading desire to push her into the lake, they’re
beginning to enjoy the time they spend together. But pride is a hard habit to
break. And if neither will admit their changing feelings, they could lose a
whole lot more than one summer.
Buy Links: Amazon
There’s a tap, tapping on my shoulder.
“Excuse me, Ms. Teslow?”
I whirl away from my sister and bump a broad, plaid covered chest.
Annoyed, I step back and crane my neck up several inches. Whoever he is, he’s a
good six feet against my five foot two—with heels. “Yeah?” I snap.
Feet apart, the guy has a confident, almost cocky stance. His face
is mostly hidden between a full, copper beard and the cap pulled low over his
eyes. The tanned skin of his arms shows where his sleeves are rolled back. The
guy could pass for the centerfold in a lumberjack calendar, if you’re into that
sort of thing. Which I’m not.
“What do you want?”
“Uh … ” He glances at Sydney and back to me. “I was told you like
working outdoors and might be interested in a job?”
Wait, zoo guy?
My cheeks blaze as I realize what’s happening. Sydney said if I
didn’t try, I’d regret it, though this set-up is elaborate, even for her. I
don’t know where she found the lumber-clown standing in front of me, but with a
few empty promises, my sister can make any boy her puppet. Well, she’s gone too
far this time.
“Really?” I say. “And what job is that, exactly? Cage scrubber,
chief dung shoveler? No, thank you.”
“What?” he asks, eyes widening. “I don’t think—”
“That’s obvious.” My finger pokes his very firm chest. “I’m sure
you two think you’re clever, but if this is some sick way of sucking up to my
sister, it’s pointless. Gorillas aren’t her type.”
“Hey! Now wait just a—”
“My sister swaps guys like other girls change their
days-of-the-week panties. Now, if you want to keep your balls intact, I suggest
you get out of my way. I don’t need your fake job, or to work for some hairy
Duck Dynasty wannabe, too dumb to know when he’s being played.”
The idiot blinks once as I push past him. Through the silent crowd
I walk, head held high, toward the gym’s double doors. And freedom.
***
Did she just call me a Duck Dynasty wannabe?
Okay. Now, I’m pissed. Unwilling to give this girl the last word,
I pivot to face her and see nothing but a rigid back. “Hey! Wait a minute. You
can’t just … Don’t hate on the beard!” No reaction from the angry creature
storming away from me. Brilliant comeback, by the way, I tell
myself.
Maybe she does have my balls.
Caught between insulted and twisted fascination, my mind tries to
unravel the chain of events where I definitely missed something. Clearly, the
girl thinks I’m her enemy, but I have no clue what I did.
Also, she’s insane.
The room’s gone quiet. As I glance around, I notice a fairly large
crowd has gathered. Not surprising after that show, I guess, except they’re
full-on staring at me. Some expressions are obviously amused, while others seem
sympathetic. Most turn away, shaking their heads or looking embarrassed as I
meet their gazes. My face is too warm and my heartbeats won’t slow. All of it
makes me feel like a first class chump. Like I need pity for being bested by
some shrieking, pygmy-girl. Pride tenses my shoulders, stiffens my neck. I
glare at the closed double doors, tilting my head until my neck bones release a
satisfying crack.
Oh, it’s on.
The girl is going down.
Buy Links: Amazon
Author Info
As a child, Julie’s summers were about horseback riding and
fishing, while winter brought sledding and ice-skating on frozen ponds. Most of
life was magical, but not all. She struggled with multiple learning
disabilities, and spent much of her time gazing out windows and daydreaming. In
the fourth grade (with the help of one very nice teacher) she fought dyslexia
for her right to read and won.
Afterward, she invented stories where powerful heroines kicked
bad-guy butt to win the hearts charismatic heroes. And then she wrote one down…
Writing ever since, Julie weaves southern gothic, contemporary,
fantasy, and young adult romances. She enjoys sweeping tales of mystery and
epic adventure… which must include a really hot guy. Her writing is proof a
dream and some hard work can overcome any obstacle.
Author Links:
Hosted by
Presented by
No comments:
Post a Comment