Forensic accountant Annie Griffin has always suspected she's a bit jinxed, so when she finds herself 35, single, temporarily homeless, and pregnant by a gigolo, her fears are confirmed.
Adrenaline junkie and professional stuntman Max Bowen needs a house-sitter to watch after his pets while he's out of town. Annie needs a place to stay. Standard quid pro quo. No biggie. She can handle that, whatever hellhounds he owns--until Max, the most sought-after bachelor in the county, comes back ahead of schedule and she ends up being roommates with a 27-year old sex god who turns out to be so much more than what she expected.
Max might have had the attention span of a humming bird on crack when it comes to women, but that was before Annie. Her quirkiness and sweet contradictions soon captivate him, not that she's inclined to give him the time of the day. With his reputation preceding him, he knows the odds are stacked against him, but he will do his best to prove her that he's what she needs, stuck-up socialite grandmothers, doomsday preppers, groupies, pregnancy hormones, and repentant biological dads be damned.
Best
way to spend Valentine's? Seven and a half months pregnant, on a Florida beach,
looking like a whale among sirens, with your feet so swollen they seemed
floating boats, and watching your sex God of a boyfriend being ogled and
salivated upon by ten-years-younger-than-you, skinny women.
Yep,
best way ever. Hands down.
Max
had had to travel to Florida
for work, and had insisted on Annie accompanying him. "Insisted" was
too mild a word. He'd totally taken over and made all the arrangements. She'd
been presented with a plane ticket and a "we're leaving tomorrow, pack
your swimsuit."
Her
man was bossy.
She
would have wanted to object, but Boston
in February was no match for Florida.
The nice weather, the beach. Max kitesurfing, doing one of his stunts while being
filmed. Yummy.
Sadly,
she wasn't the only one that thought so. Apparently the whole of Florida's female
population agreed with her.
When
the shooting was about done, Annie stood up from the sun lounger and tried
approaching. Several gorgeous groupies, fluffing out their hair, with bikinis
that left little to imagination, giggling and swaying their hips like there was
no tomorrow, rushed ahead, leaving her in the dust.
Well,
what did she expect? Max was gorgeous with that sexy short Mohawk of his all mussed
and his trimmed beard. Tanned. All wet from the sea, his muscles bulging and
glistening, his dark blond hair bleached by the sun. And that permanent roguish
smirk on his face, like he was flirting with life. She'd bet any-frigging-thing
all the women on the beach had their girlie parts tingling, just from looking
at him.
After
wrapping things up, Max turned around and moved toward Annie, smiling. The
women in front of her were already breathless, waving at him. He passed the
groupies without a second look and went straight to her, taking her in his arms
and kissing the living wits out of her.
"One
zero for the whale," she whispered when he let her up for breath.
"What?"
he asked, totally oblivious to the way the groupies glared and pouted.
"You
missed a turn. Your fans there thought you were walking to them."
He
snorted. "Don't give a fuck what they thought. I want you. Only you. Haven't
you realized it yet?"
Yes,
she had. The first day of the shooting, Annie would had preferred to stay
behind, intimidated as she was with all the gorgeousness around, but he hadn't
allowed it; he'd kept her by his side, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.
Kissing her and being sweet in front of God and everyone.
Lots
of jaws had dropped.
"You
done?" she whispered to him.
Max
nodded. "I'm all yours now."
All
hers. She loved the sound of that.
"So
now what?"
"Now
we get ready to celebrate Valentine's," he stated.
"Are
we celebrating it at the hotel?"
"Nope."
"Where
then?"
"You'll
see."
Damn,
he'd been so close-lipped about the whole thing. Their kick-ass, top-of-the-line
hotel had been fully paid for until the next morning. And by the looks of it,
they were pulling out all the stops preparing for the event.
"I
need to know what to dress for," she insisted. "Beach picnic? Amusement
park? Fancy restaurant? Naked date in the Jacuzzi?" It could be anything,
considering who her Valentine was.
He
brushed his lips with hers. "Dress how you want, Ace. You'll be stunning
anyway and everybody will think I'm the luckiest bastard alive for being
allowed to walk by your side. I'm holding you to the naked part for later,
though," he added with a wink. "Now let's get going. We're expected
soon."
Annie
was relieved when she noticed Max had on jeans and a T-shirt. If he would had
broken out the tuxedo, she would have been in trouble, seeing as the only
outfits she'd packed were maternity swimsuits and flowy summer dresses.
Once
ready, he clasped her hand in his and walked her to the car. At her inquiring
look, he just said, "Trust me. It'll be memorable."
She
had no doubt about it. So far, everything with Max had been.
They
drove for over an hour. When he parked the car, she looked at her surroundings
and broke into laughter. "The Eternal Sun resort?"
He
nodded. "I promised you memorable, love. This is the place to have it, surrounded
by couples averaging fifty years of marriage."
She'd
heard so much about this place she was giddy with excitement. And a bit
terrified, because there was a crowd at the entrance, already waving at them.
She
turned to him. "Are they waiting for us?"
He
waved back. "Yep. They are all very excited to meet you. We have a busy
schedule, I hear. Bingo. Then romantic dinner. Then dancing under the stars and
poker for the two-left-feet ones."
They
had barely made it out of the car when those senior ladies were hugging and smooching
them. Congratulating them on the baby and treating her as if they'd known her
for freaking ever.
Bingo
was a blast, not to mention the outrageous way those seniors tried to cheat. Dinner
too. The common area had been transformed into a very romantic outdoors
restaurant, with candles and roses and tables for two, but those seniors didn't
believe in privacy, and before they made it to the second course, most tables
had been pushed together, and Annie and Max were eating with a loud bunch who,
in spite of their nosiness, were adorable.
Annie'd
heard the Bowen brothers were very well liked at the Eternal Sun, but she had
no clue how much.
Everybody
there knew him and treated him like he was part of the family. And Max was so
at ease with them too.
By
desert Annie's side hurt from laughing so hard. Apparently fifty years of
marriage gave for a lot of Valentine's anecdotes, all of them hilarious.
"I've
had all sorts of Valentine's dates, from the totally awesome to the totally
horrendous," Annie whispered into Max's crook after dinner, as they danced.
"Nothing compared to this. This is off the charts."
"Off-the-charts
horrendous or off-the-charts awesome?" he asked, spinning her around to
the slow music.
She
laughed. "Awesome, of course."
"I'm
glad you're pleased."
Pleased?
They were in the Eternal Sun resort on the dance floor, surrounded by couples
who had been together for more than half a century, yet they were still holding
hands. Cooing at each other. Laughing at each others' jokes.
"They loved you," Max
continued. "I got the third degree for not bringing you here until
now."
"You got the third degree?
Because I did too."
A frown marred his beautiful face.
"What do you mean?"
"I was asked what were my
intentions toward you." Several times, actually, during bingo and dinner. "Everybody
loves you here." They'd been singing Max's praises all night long. And
warning her about hurting him.
Max laughed. "And what are your
intentions?"
"Well, I told them I plan to use
you as a sex toy and then dump you to the curb," she joked.
His amused snort was loud and clear.
"You can use me as a sex toy all you want, no objections whatsoever. You
know my cock will always be hard for you, but you won't dump me to the curb, I
won't let you."
The intensity in his words and his
erection pressing against her abraded her senses. Man, even in the middle of a
senior community he could turn her on, just by whispering into her ear.
They
danced until the wee hours and then, as promised, she ended up naked in the Jacuzzi.
Best
way to spend Valentine's Day? Or any other day of her life for that matter?
With Max. Hands down.
~ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ~
Elle Aycart
After a colorful array of jobs all over Europe ranging from translator to chocolatier to travel agent to sushi chef to flight dispatcher, Elle Aycart is certain of one thing and one thing only: aside from writing romances, she has abso-frigging-lutely no clue what she wants to do when she grows up. Not that it stops her from trying all sorts of crazy stuff. While she is probably now thinking of a new profession, her head never stops churning new plots for her romances. She lives currently in Barcelona, Spain, with her husband and two daughters, although who knows, in no time she could be living at the Arctic Circle in Finland, breeding reindeer.
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