The Opening Hook
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Promotions
    • New Releases
    • Blog Tours
    • Excerpt Reveals
  • Top Reads
    • 2017 Releases
    • 2016 Releases
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Review Requests
  • About Us

#ExcerptReveal ONLY YOU by Melanie Harlow

OnlyYouExcerptSPBR

Only You, an all-new sexy and emotional standalone from USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow is coming March 12th!

MHOnlyYouBookCover5x8_BW_300

Synopsis

Nate Pearson is ridiculously handsome and wears the hell out of a suit and tie, but Iโ€™ve seen the parade of beautiful women leaving his apartment across the hallโ€”a different one every timeโ€”and I want no part of it. When it comes to romance, Iโ€™m looking for something real, something that will last: the happily ever after.

As a divorce attorney, he loves to tell me thereโ€™s no such thing.

As a wedding planner, I choose to disagree.

We disagree on almost everything, in fact. Everything except James Bond. The only time we really get along is when weโ€™re watching 007 flicks together, and Iโ€™ll admitโ€”he has rescued me from a disaster or five. So when one of the baton twirlers from his parade leaves a baby girl at his door with a note that says โ€œIโ€™ll come back for herโ€ and he begs me for help, I canโ€™t turn him down.

But itโ€™s a mistake.

Because watching him with his daughter, I start to see another side of Nate, a side that has my breath coming faster, my body craving his, my heart longing for him to change his mind about love and tell me thereโ€™s a chance for us.

I donโ€™t want to be just another girl leaving his apartment in the morning.

I want to be the one he asks to stay.

Excerpt

โ€œYou know, even an alpha male can have feelings occasionally.โ€

โ€œOh?โ€

She crossed her arms and leaned back against the counter, giving me the evil eye. โ€œYes. He doesnโ€™t have to be hard as granite all the way through, all the time.โ€

Donโ€™t think about being hard. Donโ€™t think about being hard. Donโ€™t think about being hard. I leaned back against the opposite counter and sort of held my glass in front of my crotch. โ€œWhy are you even concerned with alpha males? Youโ€™re never attracted to them.โ€

โ€œWhat? Yes, I am!โ€

โ€œNo, youโ€™re not.โ€ I knew her type well. โ€œYouโ€™re always saying how you donโ€™t want to be rescued, you want someone willing to show affection and talk about feelings, you donโ€™t like arrogant or competitive guys or guys who always have to win, you like guys who get along with everyoneโ€”โ€

โ€œWhatโ€™s wrong with that?โ€

โ€œNothing. But thatโ€™s not an alpha male.โ€

She chewed her bottom lip. โ€œBut look at Bond. Who is he so worried about protecting? Why is he so driven to kill the bad guys? There must be people he cares about more than himself to put himself in harmโ€™s way so often.โ€

โ€œMaybe he just likes the thrill of the chase.โ€

โ€œMaybe heโ€™s more selfless than you think.โ€

โ€œIn this case, I think weโ€™re going to have to disagree.โ€

She sighed heavily, and I knew I had disappointed her by ending the argument in a draw instead of winning or losing it. Any other night, I might have kept it going, but there was something odd going on with me, something that had me wanting to close the distance between us, set her up on the counter, slip my hands beneath that fuzzy white sweater she had on, see what her legs felt like wrapped around my hips. But I knew better.

Get her out of here before you do something stupid.

โ€œHey, you got fortune cookies? I didnโ€™t see those.โ€ She reached for the little cellophane bag.

โ€œI forgot about them.โ€

โ€œCan I have one?โ€

โ€œYou can have them both.โ€

She took one out and cracked it open. โ€œA ship in harbor is safe, but thatโ€™s not why ships are built.โ€

โ€œVery deep.โ€

She ignored me and went on to the next one. โ€œYou have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.โ€ Her lips pursed. โ€œHm. I donโ€™t want a dangerous ship or a broken heart.โ€

I laughed at the anguish in her tone and expression.

โ€œItโ€™s not funny,โ€ she said, shoving pieces of cookie in her mouth. โ€œIt means Iโ€™m doomed to be unhappy. And then Iโ€™m going to die in a shipwreck.โ€

โ€œIt means you take things way too seriously.โ€ I tipped back the last of the bourbon in my glass, and set it in the sink. โ€œWell, Iโ€™ve got an early morning at the gym tomorrow.โ€

She popped the rest of one cookie in her mouth and brushed off her hands. โ€œIโ€™m going. What time is it anyway?โ€

I checked the digital clock on the microwave. โ€œItโ€™s 11:11.โ€

Her face lit up. โ€œOoh! Make a wish!โ€

โ€œWhat?โ€

โ€œItโ€™s 11:11, you have to make a wish.โ€ She closed her eyes for a couple seconds, her lips moving as if saying a silent prayer. Then she opened them. โ€œDid you do it?โ€

I laughed. โ€œNo.โ€

โ€œNate! Hurry up! Make a wish.โ€ She glanced at the clock and flapped her hands agitatedly.

โ€œI donโ€™t have a wish to make.โ€

โ€œSo make one for me, then. And do it fast, before itโ€™s 11:12.โ€

This time it was my turn to roll my eyes, but secretly I wished that the next guy she fell in love with would love her back the way she deserved, and sheโ€™d be happy. But I didnโ€™t close my eyes, and I didnโ€™t move my lips, so she had no idea whether Iโ€™d made a wish or not.

โ€œDid you do it?โ€ She looked concerned.

โ€œYes.โ€

โ€œFor me?โ€

โ€œYes.โ€

Her mouth fell open for a second. โ€œWhat was it? What did you wish for me?โ€

I started to laugh as I left the kitchen. โ€œNice try, Calamity. Even I know you donโ€™t tell a wish if you want it to come true.โ€ The credits were still rolling on the television, and I picked up the remote to turn everything off.

โ€œOh, now you believe in wishes?โ€ She sat down on the couch and tugged on her fluffy boots.

No, I wanted to tell her. I donโ€™t, because I learned a long time ago that wishes and prayers and hopes donโ€™t mean anything. No one is listening. But I didnโ€™t tell her that, not only because she was looking up at me with my favorite expression of hers, the one daring me to fight back, but because at that very moment, I heard a noise in the hall.

A strange and oddly terrifying noise.

I looked over my shoulder toward the door, thinking I must have imagined the sound.

Then I heard it againโ€”the unmistakable, ball-shrinking, cringe-inducing sound of a babyโ€™s wail.

ONLY-YOU-PREORDER-iBOOKS

Preorder exclusively on iBooks!

iBooks

Add To Goodreads

OnlyYou-Pre-Order

About Melanie:

MelanieHarlow

Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. When she’s not writing or reading, she gets her kicks from TV series like VEEP, Game of Thrones, House of Cards, and Homeland. She occasionally runs three miles, but only so she can have more gin and steak.

Melanie is the author of the AFTER WE FALL series, the HAPPY CRAZY LOVE series, the FRENCHED series, and the sexy historical SPEAK EASY duet, set in the 1920s. She lifts her glass to romance readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.

Connect with Melanie:

Facebook I BookBub I Instagram I Mailing List I Website I Amazon I Pinterest

Sign up for monthly text alerts: Text HARLOT to 77948

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Related

03/08/2018

Post navigation

#NewRelease Finding Solace by Crystal Daniels and Sandy Alvarez → ← #NewRelease To The Fall by Prescott Lane

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Posts

SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT from Laurelin Paige, Kayti McGee and JD Hawkins

        Laurelin Paige is proud to launch the first book in The Ryder Brothers, the first series in her new Spark line! Short, steamy sparks of romance, […]

#ExcerptReveal PERVERSION by T.M. Frazier

๐™๐™Ž๐˜ผ ๐™๐™ค๐™™๐™–๐™ฎ ๐™—๐™š๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™จ๐™š๐™ก๐™ก๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™–๐™ช๐™ฉ๐™๐™ค๐™ง ๐™ค๐™› ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™†๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™Ž๐™š๐™ง๐™ž๐™š๐™จ, ๐™.๐™ˆ. ๐™๐™ง๐™–๐™ฏ๐™ž๐™š๐™ง, ๐™—๐™ง๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ๐™จ ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช ๐™–๐™ฃ ๐™–๐™ก๐™ก ๐™ฃ๐™š๐™ฌ ๐™ฉ๐™ง๐™ž๐™ก๐™ค๐™œ๐™ฎ ๐™ฌ๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ ๐™–๐™ฃ ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™ž-๐™๐™š๐™ง๐™ค ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช’๐™ง๐™š ๐™œ๐™ค๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™ก๐™ค๐™ซ๐™š ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™๐™–๐™ฉ๐™š ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™– ๐™—๐™–๐™ก๐™ก๐™จ๐™ฎ ๐™๐™š๐™ง๐™ค๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™š ๐™ฌ๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ […]

#ExcerptReveal DIRTY HEADLINES by L.J. Shen

Dirty Headlines, an all-new sexy, enemies-to-lovers romance from USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen is coming September 7th and we have the first sneak peek! Cรฉlian Laurent. Manhattan royalty. Notorious […]

#ExcerptReveal LOVE ONLINE by PENELOPE WARD

iTunes โžœ https://apple.co/2LzO4om B&N โžœ http://bit.ly/2wfHUQO Kobo โžœ http://bit.ly/2MYBexz Google Play โžœ http://bit.ly/2ORdVWT Amazon Paperback โžœ https://amzn.to/2LyWzAb Audible: https://adbl.co/2KAWnMq Amazon Audio: https://amzn.to/2KF8tEl Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2LJjHso Sign up to be […]

Recent Posts

#NewRelease Smashed Steel by MJ Fields

#NewRelease Smashed Steel by MJ Fields

  โšพ๏ธNOW AVAILABLEโšพ๏ธ ๐’๐ฆ๐š๐ฌ๐ก๐ž๐ ๐’๐ญ๐ž๐ž๐ฅ is LIVE!!!! This is a sports romance packed with all the heat, heart and a swoony STEEL HEA! #allthefeels #alltheswoon Grab yours today! Purchase ๐’๐ฆ๐š๐ฌ๐ก๐ž๐ [...]

More Info
#NewRelease The Wedding Game by Meghan Quinn

#NewRelease The Wedding Game by Meghan Quinn

The Wedding Game by Meghan Quinn  Release Date: March 1st Genre: Romantic Comedy Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2M6OJQG Get your copy here–> Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3cwCnfi [...]

More Info
#BlogTour Pure Seduction by Ella Frank

#BlogTour Pure Seduction by Ella Frank

Pure Seduction, an all-new emotional second-chance romance from USA Today bestselling author Ella Frank is available now! Small towns are definitely not for me. Probably because I was born in [...]

More Info
#BlogTour Hot Stuff by Max Monroe

#BlogTour Hot Stuff by Max Monroe

More Info
Powered by WordPress | theme Layout Builder
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.