Second Chance Cowboy
Road to Romance, #2
By Joanne Rock
Genre: Contemporary Romance
- Sexy
Dancer Larissa
Martine is ready to start over and Las Vegas seems like the perfect city for a
shiny new beginning. But first, to honor her pact with her girlfriends, she
wants to make a quick stop in Cheyenne, WY to make amends with her first love,
the guy she left to chase her dreams of Broadway fame. Except rancher Matt
Briggs isn’t nearly as interested in her regrets as he is in keeping her in
town for his sister's wedding. It’s a request she can’t deny when his family
takes up the cause to make her stay for just one more week, but it’s difficult
to maintain her friends-only boundaries with a man who attracts her as much as
ever.
After losing his
father and inheriting the family ranch in addition to the one he’d bought on
his own, Matt’s life is all about obligations. But Larissa’s unexpected arrival
during the wedding mayhem is a bright spot he won’t ignore, even if that means
tempting her into far more than just a dance. He figures one night with her
will bring them both some peace with their past, which is all she said she
wanted. But one night leaves Matt wanting a whole lot more and this time, he’s
willing to gamble everything to make her stay.
He’d never
imagined how much his father’s passing would divide his life into “before” and
“after.” It’s like everything had stopped in his world when he got the call
that EMS was on their way to the Briggs Ranch. Trying to shrug off the memory,
he put the truck in Park and switched off the engine.
“Are you taking
questions about your relationship experiences since you left Wyoming?” he asked
her pointedly. When she shook her head fast, he grinned. “You see? We
understand each other perfectly.”
She was quiet
for so long he wondered what she was thinking. Finally, she pulled a single key
on a red ribbon out from her jeans pocket. He recognized the ribbon from the
rack of keys at his mother’s house.
“I’m staying for
the wedding because Hattie implied I’d broken my friendship with your family
and that I should repair it.” Larissa’s face was pale in the moonlight that
filtered in through the front window.
Wind raced past
the truck windows, creating a screechy sound.
“It’s kind of
you to do that.” He wanted to know if he figured into the picture at all. Would
she admit it even if he did?
“I’m doing it
for me as much as for them.” She wound the ribbon around her finger while they
sat in the truck cab. Close but not touching. “I came here to smooth over the
way I left last time, and I realize that means making amends with your family
as much as with you.”
“Good.” He was
tempted to test that theory right now. To see if she was truly here to hang out
with his family or if she’d been as intrigued by the chemistry between the two
of them as he was. “Then you’re already making headway since Callie wants you
to teach her how to dance before the wedding.”
“I hope so.” She
nodded.
And made no move
to retreat into the house.
The air in the
cab crackled with awareness. His. Hers.
It was too soon
to act on it, he knew. If he set foot in that house tonight with her, things
would get out of hand in a hurry. The last thing he wanted was to share
something incredible with her only to spook her and send her running in the
morning. Better to let it build.
“I’m looking
forward to dancing with you again.” He reached across the bench seat to brush
his knuckles along her cheek.
He liked the way
her eyelids fluttered once. Slowly.
Her breath
caught before her words tumbled out. “It’s been a long time. Are you sure you
even remember the steps?”
Book 1
Fashion buyer
Shea Walker had a fast track lifestyle until a car accident sidelines her to a
painful recovery. Seeking quiet for the holidays, Shea returns to the snowy
mountains where she grew up to make peace with her past and spend time with her
estranged family. She never expected J.C. Royce—now a hockey star—would return
to their hometown, too. Determined to avoid that particular sexy mistake, she’s
caught off guard when her first night in town brings them face to face.
J.C. never
misses a chance to come home to Cloud Spin, Vermont, and this Christmas, he’s
back home for some enforced downtime. But in all those trips, he’d never caught
a glimpse of Shea, the childhood friend he once thought would become a whole
lot more. Before she’d left town, she’d made sure he knew that would never
happen, so seeing her practically fall at his feet outside a local pub is
gratifying. Until he realizes his proud former friend is truly hurt—and in more
ways than she lets on. Lucky for her, he’s got a big house just sitting empty, a
tree ready to decorate and Shea is in no shape to stay by herself. But he’s got
bad boy arrogance down to an art form after eight years in the NHL, so he’s
more than a match for feisty Shea. Especially when it comes to her outrageous
claim that there was never any chemistry between them...
But when it
comes to convincing her to stick around town until the New Year, he just might
need a Christmas miracle.
Book 3 - Oct 5 release
Growing up in the
Christmas-crazed theme town of Yuletide was fun for fashion designer Rachel
Chambers until a family scandal made her unwelcome. Eight years later, she’s
home for a friend’s wedding and trying to go incognito… until her old flame
spots her.
Snowboarder Gavin
Blake wants to make things right with Rachel, and smoothing her way back in
Yuletide seems like the best way to do just that. Making Rachel his date for a
week of pre-wedding parties is sure to bring them closer. Except he
underestimated how long a small town can carry a grudge—or how much the memory
of a long-ago kiss could tempt him all over again.
As the wedding
approaches, Rachel remembers all she loved about her close-knit, Christmas-loving
neighbors. But even if she can win over the town again, will she be able to
convince her footloose, mogul-shredding wedding date that they can find
happiness beyond the holidays?
Four-time RITA
nominee Joanne Rock has never met a romance sub-genre she didn't like. The
author of over eighty books enjoys writing a wide range of stories, most
recently focusing on sexy contemporaries and small town family sagas. An
optimist by nature and perpetual seeker of silver linings, Joanne finds romance
fits her life outlook perfectly--love is worth fighting for. A frequent speaker
at regional and national writing conferences she enjoys giving back to the
writing community that nurtured and inspired her early career. She has a
Masters degree in Literature from the University of Louisville but credits her
fiction writing skills to her intensive study with friend and fellow author
Catherine Mann. When she's not writing, Joanne enjoys travel, especially to see
her favorite sports teams play with her former sports editor husband and three
athletic-minded sons.
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