The hottest player on the Moo U hockey team hangs a flyer on the bulletin board, and I am spellbound:
Rent a boyfriend for the holiday. For $25, I will be your Thanksgiving date. I will talk hockey with your dad. I will bring your mother flowers. I will be polite, and wear a nicely ironed shirt…
Now everyone knows it’s a bad idea to introduce your long-time crush to your messed-up family. But I really do need a date for Thanksgiving, even if I’m not willing to say why. So I tear his phone number off of that flyer… and accidentally entangle our star defenseman in a ruse that neither of us can easily unwind.
Because Weston's family is even nuttier than mine. He needs a date, too, for the most uncomfortable holiday engagement party ever thrown.
There will be hors d'oeuvre. There will be faked PDA. And there will be pro-level awkwardness…
Boyfriend is a full-length stand-alone romance for Weston and Abbi!
Amazon: https://geni.us/Amazon-boyfriend
I wonder
what Abbi is like. It doesn’t matter very much, of course. I haven’t agreed to
marry her. It’s just one day of my life. And people fascinate me, so even if
Abbi’s family is irritating as fuck, I probably won’t take it personally.
But I have a good feeling about Abbi herself. She’s
local, which is interesting. Vermonters are pretty cool. They have a rugged
mentality, and they rarely complain. And they’re usually hockey fans. What’s
not to like about that?
The door opens, and I immediately lose my train of
thought. I’m blinking at a pretty blond woman with shoulder-length hair. My
first reaction is all hell yes and thank you, Jesus.
Then I realize this is not just any woman. It’s the
hot waitress from The Biscuit in the Basket. The one who remembers every order
without writing it down. The one who always seems to know when we need
something more, or when it’s time to drop the check.
The one with the kissable ivory neck and gray eyes
that always make me a little stupid. I’ve never asked her out, because it’s
rude to hit on a girl who’s just trying to get through her shift at work. But
man, I’d like to.
“Hi,” she says, frowning at me. “Wow. You’re
wearing a tie.”
“Too much?” I ask, my hand flying to the knot of
silk at my throat. “I could lose the tie.” And, heck, why stop there? If she
asked me to lose my trousers, I’d do it. Anything for you, honey.
“No, you look very respectful. Thank you for doing
this.”
I blink slowly. I can’t believe my luck. She’s my
date? “You work at The Biscuit in the Basket,” I say stupidly. “But your name
tag says Gail.”
She smiles. “That’s right. The lazy manager put the
wrong name on it, and then wouldn’t redo it for me. But I’m glad you can
recognize me without the uniform.”
“Well, sure. You look nice. Your hair is different.
Fluffier. Wait. Is fluffy a good thing?” I babble.
She laughs suddenly. “Fluffy is fine. At work they
make us wear those visor caps. Like we’re all golf caddies.”
I smile back at her and get a little lost for
another moment. And her laugh is terrific. A little husky. I dig it.
“So, uh, are you ready to go?”
That’s when I realize I’m blocking her way out of
her own door. “Yup, sorry,” I stammer, leaping to the side like a frisky
goat.
Oh, man. Nobody would call me Mr. Smooth right now,
that’s for damn sure. I’m glad my teammates aren’t here to witness this. I’d
never live it down.
Abbi locks her door. “Where are you from, Weston?
Is it too far to go home for Thanksgiving?”
“I’m from the eastern edge of Vermont. But I don’t
have a car, and we have practice tomorrow anyway. Hey—does your family drink? I
brought a bottle of wine.” I hold it up, along with a bouquet of flowers, too.
“That’s lovely of you,” she says. “I have a bottle
in my car too. I find that where alcohol and my so-called family are concerned,
more is more. Although I’m driving tonight, so I can’t drink.”
“Your so-called family?”
“Well, it’s complicated without being terribly
interesting. But we’re going to my stepfather’s house. I mean, he used to be my
stepfather and now he’s married to someone else.”
“Your step-stepmother,” I say, recalling her text
message.
“Right.” She leads me off the porch and down the
walkway. “My car is just around the back. It won’t take us long to get there.
You’ll be eating turkey dumplings in no time.”
“Sounds good. My body is, like, fifty percent wings
and fries at this point. I’m sure you know that. I’m at your restaurant all the
time.”
“Table number seventeen,” she says cheerfully. “The
hockey table. Do you know that we prep a different portion of wings depending
on whether you guys win or lose?”
“No, really? Why?”
“Because you eat more and get drunker on the nights
you lose than on the nights you win.”
“Huh. That’s very scientific of you.”
She unlocks an elderly Honda Civic and opens the
driver’s side door. “Last chance to back out.”
I wouldn’t dream of it. I have to remember how to
be Mr. Smooth, though, and flirt properly with Abbi. Who knows? After a great
meal, we could make this a night to remember. “I’m at your service,” I
say, hoping it sounds a little sexy and not creepy. “Let’s get our turkey on.”
Huh. Mr. Smooth seems to be on vacation today.
I give myself a fifty-fifty shot at success. But
I’ve faced worse odds. Game on.
Boyfriend is a sweet, sexy, and
heartfelt fake relationship romance.
Honestly this trope isn’t one of my favourites, but Sarina Bowen is an
automatic one click author for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed this new adult
romance featuring Weston and Abbi.
Weston is a college hockey player, who
is as confident on the ice as he is off it.
Even though he’s quite the ladies’ man, he’s also got major commitment
phobia. He could be cocky or
egotistical, but is quite the gentleman and sweet, fun, caring and kind, and protective.
Abbi is an admirable young woman. She’s incredibly strong, resilient, and hardworking
and with the losses she’s endured, you just want her to find her happy ever
after.
The chemistry between this pair is a
little slow to build but their connection is steamy, and their banter is not
only honest and real, but flirty and fun.
I couldn’t help but love this endearing
pair with complicated family situations, and I was captivated by this story with
equal parts, heat, heart and humour.
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