He ripped his eyes away from her, snatched up his discarded sweater, and jammed his arms into it. Leaning over the sofa he’d tenderly laid her on moments ago, he growled, “I’m not anyone’s ‘baby,’ Scampi. There’s not going to be a second time.” He pulled the sweater over his head and added, “Ever. Get dressed.”
Wow. That was a solid “no.”
Dejected, embarrassed, and pissed off in a way she knew would devolve into her sobbing the moment she shut her bedroom door, Sofie finished dressing. Speechlessly, she grabbed her coat and purse while Donovan shrugged into his leather coat. A minute later, they climbed into his Jeep.
More silence as they drove back to the restaurant. The restaurant she’d entered for a work party, determined to kiss Donny Pate before night’s end. Mission accomplished, she thought miserably, unable to dredge up even a humorless smile.
He pulled into the now-empty (save for her compact car parked in the back) parking lot of the Wharf. Snow had started to fall, the light flakes covering the windshield.
She hazarded a look over at the man she’d chosen over all others. He threw the Jeep into Park and looked straight ahead, no expression on his face.
Determined to leave this night with something salvageable—though really, was any of it?—she turned to say good-bye. “Donny, before I go—”
His beautiful mouth formed one word. “Out.”
The word was like a stab to the chest. She blinked at his shadowed profile. Awful.
Belatedly, she considered she’d made a big mistake trusting her first time, her body, and her feelings to Donny Pate.
He faced her, his gray eyes cold, his face placid. His voice rose, echoing off the interior of the Jeep. “Scampi, get the hell out!”
Instinctively, she reacted, some primal urge lifting her hand before she knew what was happening. Then Sofie delivered the only physical blow she’d ever given another living being. The slap cracked across Donny’s angled jaw, turning his head to one side. Appalled by her actions, she widened her eyes as that same hand lifted to her lips.
Through the strands of black hair covering his face, his silver-blue eyes glowed with anger. Before she could get an apology out, his upper lip curled. In a steely voice, he snarled, “Get. The. Fuck. Out.”
This time she obeyed, feeling a combination of guilt and shame over a combination of things—all of them having to do with Donny Pate.
She was wrong about the sobbing. It didn’t start in her bedroom. It started in her car. And continued until morning.
Fall in Love with Forever Romance
BRINGING HOME THE BAD BOY
by Jessica Lemmon
The boys are back in town! Welcome to Evergreen Cove and the first book in Jessica Lemmon’s Second Chance series, sure to appeal to fans of Jaci Burton. These bad boys will leave you weak in the knees and begging for more.
HOT AND BOTHERED
by Kate Meader
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any hotter! Best friends Tad and Jules have vowed not to ruin their perfect friendship with romance, but fate has other plans… Fans of Jill Shalvis won’t be able to resist the attraction of Kate Meader’s Hot in the Kitchen series.
FOR KEEPS
by Rachel Lacey
Merry Atwater would do anything to save her dog rescue—even work with the stubborn and sexy TJ Jameson. But can he turn their sparks into something more? Fans of Jill Shalvis and Kristan Higgins will fall in love with the next book in the Love to the Rescue series!
BLIND FAITH
by Rebecca Zanetti
THE REBEL OF COPPER CREEK
by R. C. Ryan
Fans of New York Times best-selling authors Linda Lael Miller and Diana Palmer will love this second book in R. C. Ryan’s western trilogy about a young widow whose hands are full until she meets a sexy and rebellious cowboy. If there’s anything she’s learned, it’s that love only leads to heartbreak, but can she resist him?
NEVER SURRENDER TO A SCOUNDREL
by Lily Dalton
Fans of New York Times bestsellers Sabrina Jeffries, Nicole Jordan, and Jillian Hunter will want to check out the newest from Lily Dalton, a novel about a lady who has engaged in a reckless indiscretion leaving her with two choices: ruin her family with the scandal of the season, or marry the notorious scoundrel mistaken as her lover.
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Contents
COVER
TITLE PAGE
WELCOME
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
FROM THE DESK OF JESSICA LEMMON
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ALSO BY JESSICA LEMMON
ACCLAIM FOR JESSICA LEMMON’S LOVE IN THE BALANCE SERIES
A PREVIEW OF RESCUING THE BAD BOY
FALL IN LOVE WITH FOREVER ROMANCE
NEWSLETTERS
COPYRIGHT
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Jessica Lemmon
Excerpt from Rescuing the Bad Boy copyright © 2015 by Jessica Lemmon
Cover design by Christine Foltzer
Cover photo by Claudio Marinesco
Cover copyright © 2015 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: January 2015
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ISBN 978-1-4555-31
49-3
E3