New Release + Release Blitz: For Her Benefit by Nana Malone

For Her Benefit, book three in the See No Evil Series by USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Nana Malone is live!

Tonight, I risk it all. 

My fortune.

My freedom.

My love.

My so-called brothers in oath have betrayed me. Perhaps they forgot how many of their secrets I’ve been keeping.

Tonight, vengeance is mine.

But when it comes to heisting a priceless diamond there is no simple plan. There will be blood. After all, there is no such thing as a bloodless coup.

I’m not the only one risking it all. At the center of it all is the woman I never saw coming. The woman who owns my heart.

What a tangled web I’ve woven, trying to find honor amongst these thieves.

The good news is, I know who to trust. 

The even better news…I know who to burn.

Download yours today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Yyw3MP

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/ForHerBenefitNM

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2TC2WW2

Nook: https://bit.ly/2zkkkrN

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2X1Ny7z

Google Play: https://bit.ly/2LXqwIP

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2LYS4O8

Meet Nana


USA Today Bestseller, Nana Malone’s love of all things romance and adventure started with a tattered romantic suspense she “borrowed” from her cousin. 

It was a sultry summer afternoon in Ghana, and Nana was a precocious thirteen. She’s been in love with kick butt heroines ever since. With her overactive imagination, and channeling her inner Buffy, it was only a matter a time before she started creating her own characters.

While she waits for her chance at a job as a ninja assassin, in the meantime Nana works out her drama, passion, and sass with fictional characters every bit as sassy and kick butt as she thinks she is.


Connect with Nana

Website: http://nanamaloneromance.net/

Facebook: http://bit.ly/NanaMaloneFB

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/NanaMaloneGR

Twitter: http://bit.ly/NanaMaloneTwitter

Apple Books: http://bit.ly/NanaMaloneAB

Instagram: http://bit.ly/NanaMaloneIG

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Wwz3t9

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/NanaMaloneBB

New Release + Release Blitz: From That Moment by Carrie Ann Ryan

Title: From That Moment
Series: Promise Me #2
Author: Carrie Ann Ryan
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 18, 2020
Blurb

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Carrie Ann Ryan continues her
sexy new contemporary stand-alone series with an enemies-to-lovers office
romance.
Paris Trissel is in a dating rut. Despite the
pact she made with her friends to find someone to share her life with, she’s
throwing in the towel after only a few blind dates. Add in the fact that the
new hire at the job she used to love happens to be the Brady brother she can’t
stand, and Paris is having a terrible year.
Prior Brady’s life seems pretty perfect from
the outside. He has a wonderful, caring girlfriend, a family he’s never been
closer to, and a new job he can’t wait to sink his teeth and talents into. Too
bad the woman he has to work with for hours a day hates him on sight.
Once the two are forced to find the balance
between chemistry and temptation, however, they’ll realize they’re stronger
together than apart. Except when Paris’s past comes back with a vengeance,
bringing terror, pain, and horror with it, both she and Prior will have to lean
on each other.
In more ways than one.

Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
ALSO AVAILABLE
Also Available
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Coming Soon
Releasing October 27
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Releasing December 8
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Author Bio
Carrie Ann
Ryan is the New York Times and USA
Today bestselling author of contemporary, paranormal, and young adult romance.
Her works include the Montgomery Ink, Redwood Pack, Fractured Connections, and
Elements of Five series, which have sold over 3.0 million books worldwide. She
started writing while in graduate school for her advanced degree in chemistry
and hasn’t stopped since. Carrie Ann has written over seventy-five novels and
novellas with more in the works. When she’s not losing herself in her emotional
and action-packed worlds, she’s reading as much as she can while wrangling her
clowder of cats who have more followers than she does.
Author Links

New Release + Release Blitz: Undeniable by Aleatha Romig

Release Date: August 18


Forbidden love…is undeniable.


When she was younger, like all little girls, Sophie Hawkins believed in fantasies. She believed in happily-ever-after and that one day her prince would come. What made Sophie’s dreams a bit different was that the man of her dreams wasn’t a fictional prince but her best friend’s dad. 

Matt was handsome and nice, the kind of man every woman would want. 

Time passes, and through the years, Sophie’s reality changes, yet her attraction and memories of Matt Hamilton never fade. Where boys and men are concerned, Matt remains her gold standard.

When his daughter was young, Matt Hamilton had it all: a family and success. 

With the ticking of the clock and changing of the calendar, seasons pass and situations adjust. Business success remains, but personally, his world changes…until the day fate sets the undeniable in motion. 

Sophie was a sweet little girl, his daughter’s best friend, and a ray of undeniable sunshine. That was before. Now she’s more. She is a grown woman. 

Who can deny the undeniable?


Undeniable, part of the Indulgence series of stand-alone steamy stories, will heat your ereader and make you hot and bothered. Undeniable is a fun forbidden-love story that will whisk the reader away to a time when fantasies could come true.
 



Have you been Aleatha’d?



Grab Your Copy Here!
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Apple Nook | Kobo

 
 

Meet Aleatha Romig



Aleatha Romig is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Indiana, USA. She grew up in Mishawaka, graduated from Indiana University, and is currently living south of Indianapolis. Aleatha has raised three children with her high school sweetheart and husband of over thirty years. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns, she likes to spend her time a with her family and friends. Her other pastimes include reading and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt your dreams and bring your imagination to life!

Aleatha released her first novel, CONSEQUENCES, in August of 2011. CONSEQUENCES became a bestselling series with five novels and two companions released from 2011 through 2015. The compelling and epic story of Anthony and Claire Rawlings has graced more than half a million e-readers. Aleatha released the first of her series TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE, INSIDIOUS, in the fall of 2014. These stand alone thrillers continue Aleatha’s twisted style with an increase in heat.
In the fall of 2015, Aleatha moved head first into the world of dark romantic suspense with the release of BETRAYAL, the first of her five novel INFIDELITY series that has taken the reading world by storm. She also began her traditional publishing career with Thomas and Mercer. Her books INTO THE LIGHT and AWAY FROM THE DARK were published through this mystery/thriller publisher in 2016.
In the spring of 2017, Aleatha released her first stand-alone, fun, and sexy romantic comedy with PLUS ONE, followed by the sweet stand-alone, ONE NIGHT.
Aleatha is a “Published Author’s Network” member of the Romance Writers of America and PEN America. She is represented by Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
Get Aleatha’d Here:






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New Release + Release Blitz: Kiss My Cupcake by Helena Hunting

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“A laugh-out-loud romance full of charm, wit and magic. A thoroughly delicious read.”
–LJ Shen, USA Today bestselling author

Kiss My Cupcake, an all-new witty, opposites-attract standalone romance from New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting is available now!

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Blaire Calloway has planned every Instagram-worthy moment of her cupcake and cocktails shop launch down to the tiniest detail. What she didn’t plan on? Ronan Knight and his old-school sports bar next door opening on the very same day. He may be super swoony, but Blaire hasn’t spent years obsessing over buttercream and bourbon to have him ruin her chance at success.

From ax throwing (his place) to frosting contests (hers), Blaire and Ronan are constantly trying to one-up each other in a battle to win new customers. But with every clash, there’s also an undeniable chemistry. When an even bigger threat to their business comes to town, they’re forced to call a temporary time-out on their own war and work together. And the more time Blaire spends getting to know the real Ronan, the more she wonders if it’s possible to have her cupcake and eat it too.

KMC - AN

Download your copy today!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/31KCqgO
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/kissmycupcake
Nook: http://bit.ly/KissmyCupcakeBN
Apple Books: http://bit.ly/KissmyCupcake
Google Play: http://bit.ly/KissmyCupcakeGP
Kobo: http://bit.ly/KissmyCupcakeKobo

Add Kiss My Cupcake to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/KissMyCupcakeGR

About Helena Hunting

helenahunting


New York Times
and USA Today bestselling author of PUCKED, Helena Hunting lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She writes contemporary romance ranging from new adult angst to romantic sports comedy.

Connect with Helena

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2kN5wdZ
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2mloUim
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/Zt1xm5
Facebook Fan group: http://bit.ly/2kN5yCD
Website: http://www.helenahunting.com/
Never miss an update! Subscribe to Helena’s mailing list:
http://bit.ly/2MlRKq6

New Release + Release Blitz: Any Day Now by Lani Lynn Vale

Release Date: August 11

Amelia loves her good friend, Avery.
So much so that she agrees to do the stupidest thing ever.
A stranger photo shoot.
You know the type.
The photographer takes photos of two individuals.
Two individuals that, until that day, have never met in their life.
The moment she shows up at the photo shoot, she knows that she made a terrible decision.
Why? 
Because the total stranger about to be in an intimate photo shoot with her is the hottest thing that’s ever walked the streets of Kilgore, Texas.
If not the entire US of A.
***
Adam wasn’t sure why the hell he agreed to something so stupid.
Call it temporary lapse of sanity.
When the photographer who shot his photo for the Kilgore Police Department’s benefit calendar asked him for a favor, he couldn’t say no. Not without looking like a jerk seeing as it was benefiting the Fallen Officer Foundation that he played a rather large part in.
Whatever it was that made him agree, he quickly realizes that it’s not worth it. Not when he walks into the studio and sees the massive bed with blood-red sheets dominating the middle of the room. 
So uncomfortable he is at the sight, he’s about to head straight out the door and not look back when she walks in.

 

Amelia steals his breath away with just one glance, and all of a sudden, getting this stranger into his arms with his mouth on hers sounds like the best idea ever.

 

 

 

Grab Your Copy Here:

 

Meet Lani Lynn Vale


Lani Lynn Vale is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author of over thirty titles. She is married with three children, two dogs, two cats, a donkey, and a couple (a couple meaning over twenty) chickens. 


She hails from the Great State of Texas. 


When she’s not writing, you can find her curled up in her favorite chair reading.
Connect with Lani Lynn Vale

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New Release + Release Blitz: Reckless Kiss by Tia Louise

🔥🔥 NEW RELEASE 🔥🔥

Reckless Love by Tia Louise is LIVE!

One sensual touch; one reckless kiss. They say stay away from him. I say try and stop me…

I love you too much to hate you…

Angelica Treviño was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.

I wanted to make her smile, but I had no idea when she did, she’d steal my heart.

Sunset eyes, waves of golden-brown hair, cute little butt…

I’m ready to meet the family and put a ring on it.

Instead, I’m on the wrong end of a gun, her older brother threatening to kill me.

It all started with a kiss…

Deacon Dring is a cocky rich boy with ocean-blue eyes, sexy brown hair, and a chiseled body.

Soft lips that melt my knees, that melt everything.

As a child, my family said he was bad.

They made me promise never to see him again.

But one touch of his hand, one reckless kiss, and I broke that vow…

Many times.

Now we’re adults, and the price of lying is more than I’m willing to pay.

They say we can’t be together. I say try and stop us.

(RECKLESS KISS is a stand-alone, forbidden, billionaire romance about two families who hate each other and the boy + girl who choose to love in spite of their violent past. No cheating. No cliffhanger.)

#𝟏𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞:

AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2PCPj6N

AUDIO: https://geni.us/RKaud

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3fJHo1Y

Nook Paperback: https://smarturl.it/RKNpb

Signed Paperback: http://smarturl.it/SignedPBs

*Free in Kindle Unlimited.

Tia Louise is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of When We Touch, the “Bright Lights,” “One to Hold,” and “Dirty Players” series, and co-author of the #4 Amazon bestseller The Last Guy.

After being a teacher, a book editor, a journalist, and finally a magazine editor, she started writing love stories and never stopped.

Louise lives in the Midwest with her trophy husband, two teenage geniuses, and one grumpy cat.

Connect with Tia Louise

Newsletter: http://smarturl.it/TLMnews

Website: http://www.authortialouise.com/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tia-louise

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Tia_Louise

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/AuthorTiaLouise

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authortlouise

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorTLouise

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTiaLouise

Amazon Author Page: http://smarturl.it/TLMAA

Book + Main: https://bookandmainbites.com/tialouise

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Cover Reveal + Pre-Order: Flirting With 40 by K. Bromberg

K. Bromberg has revealed the cover for Flirting with 40!

Releasing: September 15, 2020

An all new flirty, lighthearted, standalone romance by New York Times bestselling author K. Bromberg guaranteed to make you swoon. 

Blakely Foxx is having one of those years. 

Her divorce may have been finalized a few months ago, but her ex is already engaged to someone half her age. Her younger boss is determined to sabotage her chance at getting the promotion she rightly deserves. And to make matters worse, she’s closing in on the big 4-0. There isn’t enough wine or ice cream in the world to convince her things will turn around.

When Blakely meets Slade Henderson, she’s left wondering why an early-thirties, hotter than hell, cardiothoracic surgeon would take an interest in her. 

She’s been warned that he’ll break her heart, but she’s willing to take the chance. Not only is he helping her get that promotion, but in the process, he’s encouraging her to find the parts of herself she’s lost over the past few years. 

Slade shows her that good guys really do exist, but who knew the hardest part about turning forty would be realizing the man you thought was a rebound, is actually your happily ever after?

Pre-order your copy today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/33K7O1o

Apple Books: https://geni.us/Fw40Ap

Nook: https://geni.us/Fw40BN

Kobo: https://geni.us/Fw40Kobo

Google Play: https://geni.us/Fw40GP

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3k8T2XO

Meet Kristy

New York Times Bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary romance novels that contain a mixture of sweet, emotional, a whole lot of sexy, and a little bit of real. She likes to write strong heroines and damaged heroes who we love to hate but can’t help to love.

A mom of three, she plots her novels in between school runs and soccer practices, more often than not with her laptop in tow and her mind scattered in too many different directions. 

Since publishing her first book on a whim in 2013, Kristy has sold over one and a half million copies of her books across eighteen different countries and has landed on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists over thirty times. Her Driven trilogy (Driven, Fueled, and Crashed) is currently being adapted for film by the streaming platform, Passionflix, with the first movie (Driven) out now.

With her imagination always in overdrive, she is currently scheming, plotting, and swooning over her latest hero. You can find out more about him or chat with Kristy on any of her social media accounts. The easiest way to stay up to date on new releases and upcoming novels is to sign up for her newsletter (http://bit.ly/254MWtI ) or follow her on Bookbub (http://smarturl.it/KBrombergBB )

Connect with Kristy

Website: www.kbromberg.com

Goodreads: http://smarturl.it/Kbromberg_GR

Amazon: http://smarturl.it/KBrombergAmz

Facebook: http://smarturl.it/KBrombergFB

Facebook Group: http://smarturl.it/DrivenFB

Instagram: http://smarturl.it/KBrombergIG

Twitter: http://smarturl.it/KBrombergTwitter

Bookbub: http://smarturl.it/KBrombergBB

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kbrombergwrites/

Other: http://smarturl.it/DrivenMoviesFB

Book+Main: https://bit.ly/3hyQ3FS

Text Kbromberg to 77948 to stay up to date on all things Driven movies and new releases

Cover Reveal + Pre-Order: Drive Me Wild by Melanie Harlow

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Sometimes, love is just an accident waiting to happen.

Drive Me Wild, an all-new sexy, opposites-attract romance about finding love when you least expect it by USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow is releasing August 24th, and we have the smoking hot cover!

DriveMeWild AMAZON (1)

When Blair Beaufort literally crashes into Bellamy Creek wearing a ball gown and a tiara, I should have towed her car, said goodnight, and sent her packing.

I’m a mechanic, not a hotel manager. I’ve got enough on my plate trying to keep my shop from going under, my overbearing mother off my back, and my baseball team in contention for the league championship. I don’t have time for a former debutante with zero street smarts and a cash flow problem, even if she is crazy beautiful.

Problem is, she’s stranded in my small town, and I’m hiding a protective streak underneath my broody exterior that runs deep. So I offer her a place to stay and keep my hands to myself.

For exactly one night.

If only she weren’t so gorgeous. So funny. So eager to please. She’s a disaster behind the wheel, but she drives me wild without even trying–at work, at home, in the back of my truck . . . I can’t get enough of the way she makes me feel.

But I know better than to think it can last. She wants a fairy tale, and I’m no prince.

So when it comes time for her to leave, there’s nothing I can do but let her go.

No matter how much it hurts to say goodbye.

DMW - PO

Pre-order your copy today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2F8FP19
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/drivemewild

Add DRIVE ME WILD to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2PyRjNp

Cover Designer: Hang Le
Model: Chad Hurstt
Photographer: Michelle Lancaster

Keep reading for a sneak peek of DRIVE ME WILD!

Chapter One

Griffin

A watched pot never boils, but a watched mechanic will.

I don’t remember how old I was when I first heard my dad say it, but damn if he wasn’t right. There was nothing worse than a hoverer, and old man Dodson was a serial offender.

“Are you sure you need to hit that so hard?”

Clench jaw. Count to three. “Yes.”

“Is that really the right way to do it?”

Take a breath. Don’t throw things. “Yes.”

“Are you going to be done soon?”

Not if you keep standing there asking me stupid questions.

Want more? Continue reading to check out the first chapter of Drive Me Wild: https://bit.ly/3fDjO76

About Melanie

Harlow Headshot Color
USA Today bestselling author 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 Schitt’s Creek, Homeland, and Fleabag. She occasionally runs three miles, but only so she can have more gin and steak.

Melanie is the author of the CLOVERLEIGH FARMS series, the ONE & ONLY series, 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: http://bit.ly/2RPwr51
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1NPkYKs
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/36kL7yB
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2NW3UtA
Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2sVOz55
Stay up to date, sign up for Melanie’s mailing list: http://bit.ly/2P7MATT
Website: www.melanieharlow.com

Cover Reveal + Pre-Order: Behind the Plate by J. Sterling

New York Times and USA Today best selling author J. Sterling has revealed the cover for Behind the Plate, her most anticipated release this year!

Releasing September 3, 2020

You’ve waited years to meet Jack Carter’s son and the wait is over!

Strap in and enjoy the ride.

Chance Carter is the son of local baseball legend, Jack Carter. Now in his junior year at Fullton State, Chance is facing challenges he never saw coming. Failing a class will stop his draft season short, making him ineligible to play and pushing his goal of professional baseball even further away.

In steps Danika, a mouthy tutor from New York, who only wants to help him pass his class… NOT get in his pants. But try telling that to Chance. He doesn’t trust girls and he definitely doesn’t trust his new tutor. A lifetime growing up as a Carter taught him that.

But Danika has issues of her own. After an incident that happened last year, she doesn’t trust athletes and wants nothing to do with them. And Chance is no exception.

The fireworks explode as the two try to deny the chemistry between them and family secrets are revealed. Chance doesn’t know how to give up on something he wants and he’s decided he wants Danika. There’s just one problem… she has a boyfriend she has no intention of breaking up with.

How can he have her when she belongs to someone else?

 

Cover Designer: Michelle Warren

Pre-order your copy today!

Apple Books | Nook | Kobo | Google Play

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3h24ty1

 

Meet J.


I’m a New York Times and USA Today best selling author of over 18 books! My goal is to write stories that you can get lost in, that will leave a smile on your face and a full heart. If you can forget about the real world while you’re reading and fall in love with my characters, then I’ve done my job. A lot of what I write has real life aspects in it, but that’s what makes the stories so relateable- the fact that they could happen to anyone… and have!

I live in California with my only son, Blake. If you can’t find me sitting behind a computer screen, then there’s a good chance I’m sitting in the bleachers of a baseball stadium watching him play. I love traveling to new places, meeting my readers and living life with the Real Jack Carter. ♡

I know you have a million books to choose from and I am humbled, grateful and thankful each time you choose to read one of mine, or tell someone else to read them. Thank you.

Connect with J.

Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Facebook |

Facebook Group | Instagram | Twitter |

Bookbub | Pinterest | Newsletter

Text JACK to 77948

New Release + Release Blitz + Blog Tour + Excerpt: That Swoony Feeling by Meghan Quinn

 

THAT SWOONY FEELING (Getting Lucky #4) by Meghan Quinn
Release Date: August 6th

Add to Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51004675-that-swoony-feeling

 

 

AVAILABLE NOW!!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2XtCkJ1
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3g3vscB
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/2WYzJXe
Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3f3pHtS

 

 

Blurb:
USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn brings more humor and heart with the fourth novel of her Getting Lucky series: a story about breaking curses and finally finding that swoony feeling.

I’m single . . . so single it’s painful.

Yup, ladies, Brig Knightly–that’s me–is still a lonely bachelor, stumbling through the streets of Port Snow, looking for the girl he’s supposed to end up with.

That is until my brother, Rogan, presents me with the opportunity of a lifetime. The Summer of Love, a secret pen pal program in Port Snow is looking for applicants and I’m the perfect fit.

I couldn’t sign up fast enough.

I found myself quickly falling in love with a pair of red lips at the bottom of a letter. Just like in the movies . . .

Life could not have been better, that was until I started hanging out with Ruth Barber. Starting a new business right next to my shop, I found myself gravitating toward her. Her smile, her humor . . . her tea sandwiches.

My attraction for Ruth came in full force, leaving me dazed, confused, and *ahem* excited.

As new feelings for two women come to a screeching halt, I have to figure out who to choose. But when I discover my pen pal is Ruth, it might be too late.

All I want in life is to experience that swoony feeling . . . but I think I might have just missed my chance.

 

 

PROLOGUE:
**BRIG**

Hands stuffed in my pockets, I look at Reid while nibbling on the corner of my lip. “But—”

“Brig, I swear to God,” Reid says, dragging his hand down his face while we make our way past Jackson Square, toward Café Du Monde. “Do not ask about your penis turning green one more goddamn time. We all looked at it. It’s flesh colored. Any signs of green you might have seen was from the shit lighting in the bathroom. Now, drop it.”

“Yeah, okay,” I sigh, even though I don’t feel convinced.

Something happened last night.
Something terrifying.

Something that has left me shaking in my shoes—because I don’t wear boots—wanting to rip my pants down repeatedly to make sure things are still intact.

Two days ago, I turned twenty-one, and to celebrate the youngest Knightly’s freedom to hold a beer in his hand legally, my three brothers took me to New Orleans to party in style. And we did . . . up until last night, when the depths of hell tried to swallow us all whole.

Mom warned us, saying, “Don’t get into any trouble.”

My dad slapped the back of our heads before we left and told us to use our brains.
Even our sister, the oldest and wisest of the Knightly children, stared us in the eyes and told us not to do anything stupid.

And yet, we failed all of them.

Have you ever been to New Orleans? Neither had I, but I’d heard great things about the place. Drinking in the streets and peekaboo boobs on every corner.

Beignets and rice and beans.
Scandalous fun.
Sounded like a great time.

But after doing extensive research before the trip—I like to plan ahead—the one thing I wanted to avoid, the one thing that made me extremely nervous, was the voodoo magic prevalent on the grimy cobblestone streets.

You know what I’m talking about. The dark stuff, the chilling life-altering spells that can change you as a man . . . as a human.

*Whispers* Black magic . . .

We did a great job avoiding any and all scary things, until last night, when I inadvertently ran smack dab into the palms of evil.

Shocking news: I was drunk. I couldn’t tell if I was walking on cobblestone streets last night or lobster rolls—that’s how far gone I was—so when I stumbled over a palm reader’s table and broke it, I wasn’t exactly aware of the severity of my mistake.

She roared with displeasure.

Her eyes tore through me with veritable hatred that shook me to the tip of my dick.
And her gangly fingers rattled while she spoke vehemently.

Terrified out of my wits, I held up my palm while my brothers tossed her twenty bucks and asked her to read it.

I wish I could remember what she said.

The future she spoke of is all a blur at this point. Pretty sure she said something about how incredibly handsome I am and how I outshine my brothers with the curves of my jaw, but I can’t be quite sure. The boys deny that part of the story, but they don’t deny the stark hatred that spit like venom from the petrifying woman’s mouth.

My brothers, of course, didn’t make the situation any better by making fun of her predictions. They actually sparked the flame that set the fire. I might be telling this wrong—you know, completely wasted and all—but the moment the palm reader turned an evil shade of hate, I felt every ounce of fun-loving booze seep from the bottom of my feet and out into the streets, sobering me up to the point of understanding.

In a whirlwind of vengeful movements, her arms waved about, the wind swirled around us, trash from the streets danced around my jean-covered legs, and the palm reader’s eyes turned yellow—I confirmed that fact with all three brothers this morning.

Indeed, her eyes were yellow.

And then she said something I will never forget . . .

This wretch of a wench cloaked in the devil’s garb took our fate into her own hands and punished us with broken love.

Broken.

Love.

If you know me at all, you’d know that would cut deep to my very being.

Then Reid said something about her telling us our dicks were going to fall off or turn green; can’t be sure, because I was stunned. Stunned with the notion that my entire life goal of getting married and becoming a doting husband was quickly stripped from my soul and set into blazing embers, never to be seen again.

The miscreant cursed the one thing I strive for as a man . . . that swoony feeling of being wrapped up in a warm, safe relationship with a woman.

And I can’t shake it.

No matter what my brothers say, no matter how many times they tell me to drop it, I keep worrying. I keep remembering the whirl of evil that was cast upon us. I keep trying to decode the meaning of it all.

Are we truly cursed?

“There’s a table over there,” Griffin, my oldest brother, says, making a beeline toward the back corner of the incredibly busy beignet-making icon. We came here for their famous beignets when we first arrived and decided to indulge one more time.

We catch a flight to Port Snow this afternoon and before we get back to our gossip-loving town, I want to set some things straight.

Taking seats, we quickly put in an order for beignets and a café au lait each, and when the waitress leaves, I say, “Can we talk about last night?”

Reid groans and slouches in his chair. He’s in a shit mood, and I’m not sure if it’s from the phone call he got last night that he’s not talking about or if it’s because he’s hung over. Maybe a combo of both. “Can we not?”

“Aren’t you worried?” I ask, looking around at my brothers. I can’t possibly be the only one who’s concerned here.

But it seems like I might be.

Griffin is texting. His wife, I’m sure.
Rogan is staring at the trifold menu on the table.
And Reid is rubbing his eyes with his palms, looking like he wants to be anywhere but here.

“Uh, hello? Do you guys not remember what happened last night? The whole alarming witch in a cloak thing, waving her dangly bone fingers at us. Table-breaking, palm-reading curses being flung about like beads off a balcony? Ring a bell?”

Griffin sets his phone down and lets out a deep breath. His tone is the even, oldest-brother sensible voice. “We were drunk last night, Brig.”

“Yeah, we were, but it doesn’t negate the fact that we all woke up with the same story this morning. She cursed us. You’re telling me none of you are concerned?” I glance around to all three pairs of blue eyes, the same blue eyes I share, and none of them are returning the look. Which tells me they’re not willing to admit they’re just as scared as I am.

I poke Rogan in the side. “Hello, are you listening?”

“Trying not to,” he says, his fingers pressing to his left eye. “Fuck, my head is pounding.”

Rogan is my second oldest brother, the quiet and annoyed one. He’s had a rough go at life and barely cracks a smile anymore. He’s more interested in punishing himself for the decisions he’s made in the past than in parting the dark cloud that hangs over his head so he can experience the world. As a retired football player, if pushed too hard, he’s been known to fight back. I think I’ll pass on leaning on him now.

“Griff.” I turn to the reasonable one in the group. “You saw it all, the way she spouted off that little limerick about broken love. She came up with that out of nowhere. It rhymed and everything. Who does that? Who wishes broken love on unsuspecting tourists? Frankly, it’s fucked up.”

The waitress drops off our food and drinks. We give her a mumbled thank you before she takes off to serve another table in the busy outdoor seating area.

Mouth full of beignet and powdered sugar coating his lips, Griffin says, “If she was half the palm reader she said she was, then she would have known that I was already married and this curse she set upon us was flawed. Yeah, was it strange that there was wind whipping around when she raised her arms—”

“The wind was weird,” Rogan says.

“Wind freaked me out,” Reid grumbles while bringing his coffee up to his lips.

“Now you chime in,” I say with an eye roll.

“Can I finish?” Griff asks, sounding annoyed. We all silence ourselves with bites into our beignets. “The wind was a strange coincidence, but I also think she was deranged. There’s no merit to what she said, and I think we would waste time thinking about it anymore than we have. Let’s just enjoy breakfast and then get the hell out of here.”

“Agreed,” Rogan says.

“Yeah,” Reid murmurs.

“But—”

They all shoot me a death glare, and I snap my mouth shut.

I’m outnumbered, and even if I try to press it, they’re not going to change their minds. They’re chalking this experience up to what seems like a drunken it-was-all-an-illusion-we’ll-soon-forget night.

But just a quick glance around the table, and I don’t buy it.
Worried brows.
Keeping to themselves.
Shifty eyes.

They’re thinking about it just as much as I am.

Listen to me, to the words I have spoken.
From this day on, your love will be broken.
It isn’t until your minds have matured
That the weight of this curse will forever be cured.

Might not seem like a big deal, but I have a bad feeling our worlds are about to be flipped upside down.

And boy, were our lives flipped.

Griffin lost his wife.

Rogan’s high school sweetheart re-emerged with a vengeance.

Reid’s restaurant, his pride and joy, was stolen from him.

And me . . . well, I haven’t been in a relationship since the fateful day when my taut and beautiful ass tumbled over a palm reader’s table. Just bad luck? That everything good, everything we loved was taken away from us?

No.

It was the curse, but surely things would improve on their own. Wouldn’t they?

From this day on, your love will be broken.

 

 

 

About the Author:
USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.

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