Title: Decidedly with Love
Series: By the Bay #3
Author: Stina Lindenblatt
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: January 15, 2018
Blurb
From the author of sexy romantic comedies comes the story of a meddling grandmother searching for lifelong love. For her hockey player grandsonâ¦
Fake Boyfriend Rule #1: never fall for your fake girlfriend.
Oops.
I run Aphroditeâs Boutique, a store that specializes in all things love-related. A store that I adore with all my heart, and which is at risk of being shut down and replaced with a condo development.
To save it, all I have to do is pretend to be Travis Hamiltonâs girlfriend.
Sounds simple enough. Right?
Except he and I have a history together...but he doesnât seem to remember me.
****
My feisty, well-meaning grandmother raised me after my parents died, but now sheâs determined to help me find The One. But when most women I meet tend to be puck bunnies or women only interested in my hockey-player salaryâand letâs not forget the nutcase of an ex-girlfriendâwhy bother?
Only a fake girlfriend will deter my grandmotherâs matchmaking scheme.
Too bad the one woman who can help me is the sexy redhead who wants to assist me as much as she wants her eyeballs dunked in hot sauce and barbecued.
To convince her, I promise to help her with her own dilemma. But sometimes fire and ice really do mix. Now I have to decide if love is in the airâand if together Emma and I make something hotter. Something stronger. Something real.
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Excerpt
Emma
Sitting on the fountainâs ledge, I pulled on my rubber boots. Why the boots?
You didnât expect me to climb into the fountain in my heels or go barefooted, did you?
âWow, that looks like so much fun,â Hannah said, laughing. âIf I didnât have to go to work in a few minutes, I wouldâve volunteered to help you. But alasâ¦â She snickered. âWhy are you doing this when there are no birds in the store to crap on the statue?â
âJust because there are no birds doesnât mean Aphrodite doesnât get dusty.â I had no idea if the woman in the toga really was supposed to be the Greek goddess of love, but she looked similar enough. âPlus I need to remove the coins, and itâs a lot easier to do that by climbing in the water to retrieve them.â
âIf you say so.â The laughter in her voice was still there.
The bell above the door jingled and I glanced up to see if I was about to be busyâor if Lisa could handle things. Several people already were milling around, checking out the merchandise or trying on the lingerie in the fitting room.
Oh, God. Not him again.
Travis entered the store and his gaze settled on me.
âOh, this should be good,â Hannah said. âToo bad I have to leave now if I want to make it to work on time.â
I turned my head to look at her. âWhat should be good?â
âThe guy you were scowling at the other day is obviously here for a repeat. And this time heâs minus the senior citizen squad. On that note, Iâm off now. Iâll call you later for the scoop.â She started backing away. âAnd have fun with your goddess.â
Before I could respond, she was out the door, pausing only long enough to give Travis a quick once-over and wave good-bye to me.
He wasnât the only one to be given a once-over. Except in my case, his gaze slowly traveled up my body as if he were undressing meâremoving my ever-so-sexy rubber boots; my whimsical blue floral sundress that brushed against my knees; my white lacy bra and underwear, which he couldnât see but I was sure he was imagining on me. That, or he was imagining I was in a thong.
Once his gaze was on my face, his mouth slid up to one side. âThe boots are definitely a nice touch. But I must admit Iâm more a fan of stilettos.â He leaned in closer, his breath brushing against my earâ¦and my body decided to go rogue and ignore my brain telling it to take a step back.
âEspecially when the legs theyâre attached to are wrapped around my waist,â he added. Noâthe girlie part between my legs did not release a longing sigh. Not. At. All.
Note to self: add dirty talk to list of requirements for next boyfriend.
I stepped away from him, the back of my calves hitting the low fountain wall. âWhat are you doing here? I thought we werenât checking out any more retail spaces until next weekend.â
âI came to talk to you.â
âI figured that, but nowâs not a good time.â
âWhyâs that?â
I indicated the fountain. âI have to clean it and remove the money. So unless whatever you need to tell me can be done while Iâm working, youâll have to come back later.â Or preferably never.
âI can wait.â
Of course he could.
âDonât you have to be at work or something?â I had no idea what he did for a living, but it probably didnât involve hanging around my store.
He opened his mouth to answer but didnât get that far.
âOhmigod, arenât you, like, Travis Hamilton?â A tall teenage girl asked him. She was pretty, with an athletic body and long dark hair spilling down her back.
She didnât wait for him to reply. âI also play defense. Youâre like my idol.â
I felt my eyebrows climb north. Idol? Why would she idolize him?
And how did she even know him?
Maybe I should have Googled himâ¦like I had with some of my past dates.
Not that I was going out with him.
He offered her a friendly smileânot like the smiles that threw me off kilter. âNice to meet you.â
Her friend was looking at Travis as though she also had no idea why the girl was excited seeing him here.
âThis is Travis Hamilton,â the dark-haired girl explained. âHe plays defense for the San Francisco Rock. The NHL team.â
He does?
She kept chatting to him, mostly about hockey. Since I still had work to do, I grabbed the cloth on the ledge and climbed in. Iâd already turned the water off before putting my boots on.
Have you ever tried walking through a fountain while wearing rubber boots? Itâs not easy. And I donât care how graceful you normally are, this sucks all the gracefulness from you in one easy swoop.
But I figured the sacrifice was worth it. For Aphroditeâs sakeâ¦which could only help benefit the store.
Now if only Aphrodite could help me with my lease problem.
Splosh. Splosh. Splosh.
âReady for a little spa treatment?â I asked the statue in almost a whisper. No need for the customers to believe I was crazy.
I dipped the cloth in the water and began cleaning her.
âWhat are you doing?â Travis asked.
âWhat does it look like?â I spared him a glance over my shoulder. The girls he had been talking to were no longer with him.
âIt looks like youâre giving her a sponge bath. Very kinky, by the way.â
I rolled my eyes. âIâm cleaning her and then I have to remove the money.â
âWhat do you do with the money?â
âIt goes to charity,â I said, my attention on my task.
âWhat charity?â
âA youth center for underprivileged kids where I volunteer.â
âWhy a local youth center for underprivileged kids?â
I shifted around and glanced at him from over Aphroditeâs shoulder. âWhy not there?â
The corner of his mouth twitched up to one side. âI asked you first.â At my silence, he continued, âThe Rock encourages its players to be active in the community. Some players donate large amounts of money to a charity of their choice. Some participate in various events at the childrenâs hospital, which are always popular with the kids. For some players, they do it simply because publicity recommended they give back to those less fortunateâbecause it makes the player look good. Others do it because their charity has special meaning to them. So which is it for you?â
âWhich type of player are you?â I replied. Or maybe he donated neither time nor money.
âI donate money to a charity that provides sports equipment to kids. Because of the cost, they might not otherwise be able to play hockey. And I participate in the annual wheelchair hockey game at the kidsâ hospital.â
Did I have âselflessâ on my list of requirements for potential boyfriends? Noâbut it was a given. Iâd written off a few individuals in the past because they didnât believe in donating either time or money to a worthy cause.
So, yes, my heart had warmed up a little bit more toward Travis. Not that it mattered. He wasnât looking for a girlfriend, and I wasnât looking to be a fake one.
âHow come that charity and event?â I asked.
The smirk was back on his face. âUh, uh. You first. Why the youth center?â
The coins in the water shimmered under the bright store light overhead, almost as if encouraging me to tell him.
âBecause I understand what it feels like to be underprivileged. I grew up in foster care.â
Which he would know if he remembered me from school.
But he didnâtâso what was a girl to do?
Apparently Aphrodite had an answer for that. The pump that I had turned off before climbing into the fountain suddenly turned on. Water burst up from the jets, hitting me full onâand I shrieked. Ugh!
Then the fountain turned off as quickly as it had turned on, leaving me standing there with water dripping from my hair and down my body. My now-wet dress clung to me, leaving not much to the imagination, including my white lacy bra and underwear.
âSorry,â Lisa called out, returning from the back. âI accidentally hit the switch to the fountain.â Her gaze landed on me, soaked and still standing in the water, and her hand flew to her mouth. Not from shock. She was attempting to hold back a giggle.
Nice.
I stepped over the fountainâs low wall. Squish. Squish.
âIâm so sorry,â she said, her hand still covering her mouth. The corners of her eyes crinkled with barely held back laughter.
Travis wasnât doing much better.
I tried to yank off a rubber bootâwhich wasnât easy when your foot was wet and you were standing. Swaying on one foot, I grabbed the closest thing available to hold on to: Travisâs arm.
And wow, the man worked out.
Donât think about his muscular body. Donât think about his hot, muscular body.â¦
I wouldâve removed my hand from his arm, but it was either touch him or risk falling over.
The boot eventually slipped free of my foot. I tilted it, pouring the water back into the fountain. Once it was empty, I placed the boot on the ledge and proceeded to do the same with the other one while still holding on to Travis.
With what dignity I had leftâwhich was pretty much zeroâI walked toward the back where my office was located. With my body shivering, thanks to the air conditioning, I tossed an âIâll be back in a momentâ over my shoulder to Lisa.
In my office, I scanned the area for something to dry off with.
The door clicked shut behind me. I startled and spun around. Travis was standing in front of the closed door, his eyes dark and focused on my breasts. Or more specifically, my perky nipples pressing against the wet fabric of my thin bra and dress.
I crossed my arms in front of me, doing my best to hide the view. Doing my best to warm my girls up.
âIs this a good time to ask you again about being my fake girlfriend?â In his hand was a soft wool throw from the store. Red on one side and white on the other, it was covered in hearts of the opposite color.
âSo whatâs the deal? Youâll give me the throw if I agree to be your fake girlfriend?â There might have been some teeth chattering when I said it. âAnd just so you know, thatâs not going to work. For one, I canât sell the blanket if itâs dirty.â
âAnd whatâs the second?â
âIt will take a lot more than a blanket for me to agree to be your fake girlfriend.â A deliciously warm blanket.
âSo does that mean youâre considering it?â
I shook my head. âThereâs nothing you can offer me that will make me change my mind.â
âHow about you not being forced to relocate? Would that cause you to change your mind?â
I snorted a laugh. âHow exactly do you expect to do that? The owner doesnât want my store in the building anymore because it wonât fit with the new image.â
âI might be able to change his mind.â
âRight. Might. So what youâre really saying is I help you and at the end of the day Iâm still screwed?â
âNo. Thatâs not it at all.â He stepped closer. âThe blanketâs now mine. And I donât care if it gets dirty.â When I didnât say anything, he wrapped it around my shoulders. His finger accidentally brushed against my bare arm. And this time when I shivered, it was for an entirely different reason.
âThank you.â
âYouâre welcome. Now back to you being my fake girlfriend.â
I shook my head again. âNot happening.â
âHow about if I canât get the owner to change his mind about your store by October first, Iâll help you find another location that fits your needs.â
âThatâs not enough. If Iâm pretending to be your girlfriend, I wonât be able to date a real man.â
âThe last I looked, I am a real man.â He gestured at his shortsâ¦and the noticeable bulge there. A bulge that wasnât so noticeable earlier.
A laugh burst free. âSorry. I wasnât laughing at your manhood,â I quickly said, doing my best to not start giggling.
He raised an eyebrow and my attempt to curtail my giggle failed.
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Author Bio
Born in Brighton England, Stina Lindenblatt has lived in a number of countries, including England, the US, Finland, and Canada. This would explain her mixed up accent. She has a kinesiology degree and a MSc in sports biological sciences. In addition to writing fiction, she loves photography, especially the close-up variety, and currently lives in Calgary, Canada, with her husband and three kids.
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