I don’t have a release date. Really 🙂 But please enjoy this sample!

I let out a deep, heavy sigh as hot water sprayed over me, working out the knots in my aching limbs. I closed my eyes as I turned my back to the spray, briefly considering the consequences of just staying in there forever.

I was tired.

Tired as hell.

The phone call from last night had gotten pushed back even later, which meant I was up in the middle of the night doing business, only to wake up early to help my parents pack up the house. I’d spent the morning there, then rushed back to the hotel to get cleaned up for my meeting with Justin – a meeting I wished I could cancel, because I didn’t want to talk to him.

But this signing was one of the biggest reasons my parents had asked me to come home. And when your aging parents asked for help, you made it happen – no matter that you were in serious dislike with the person they wanted you to deal with.

I sighed again, then shut off the water. Once I’d dried off, and wrapped myself in a robe, I sat on the edge of the bed to rub lotion on as I looked over my dress for the meeting – it was sort of amazing, which fit right in with Rule #28 – Never look less than your best when going into a hostile situation.

Not that I thought Justin was hostile.

No, all the hostility in our situation came straight from me – with good reason. He’d ruined our friendship with one little selfish action that I was still pissed about.

Highly.

So even though we’d never been romantic, and as far as I was concerned, would never be, the rule still applied. I planned to look good.

Unexpected check in the mail good.

Fresh from the oven buttermilk biscuits good.

First sex with your man after a long trip good.

On principal.

A glance at the time told me I had about forty minutes before I need to leave the hotel. I closed my eyes and laid back, intending to take just one last moment to myself, but I had a hard time getting my eyes open.

I blew out a short breath, then picked up my phone from beside me on the bed. I set the alarm to give me ten minutes – just enough time for a power nap.

I tossed the phone back onto the bed, then laid back again, closing my eyes. I loved hotel beds – huge and comfortable, with nice sheets and down duvets.

Perfection.

I didn’t waste much of my short ten minutes drifting off – I was asleep in no time. But annoyance ripped through me when, four minutes later according to my phone, pounding at the door to my suite interrupted my nap.

A groan escaped my lips as the knocking continued, and I dragged myself up out of the bed to the door. A quick peek through the peephole brought a frown to my face.

What the hell is he doing here?

I belted my robe a little tighter, then pulled the door open to Justin’s annoyingly handsome face. “Why are you here? We’re supposed to be meeting at a restaurant. Neutral ground.”

“I’m here to talk,” he said, sidling past me into the room.

I quickly covered my chest with my arm, hiding the strain of my nipples against the thin fabric of my robe. “That’s what the meeting is for. I’ll see you in thirty-five minutes, at the restaurant where we agreed to have this meeting.”

“It can’t wait. And I’m not here to talk about the signing, I’m here to talk about me and you.”

I gave him a dry laugh. “There is no me and you, Justin. And that’s on you. You’re the one who stabbed me in the back.”

He scoffed, shaking his head. “How long are you going to stay mad at me? Huh? The shit happened seven years ago!”

“And I will stay mad as long as I please,” I shot back, nostrils flared. My anger faltered, into confusion, then arousal, as he stepped toward me, closing the small space between us. I backed up, he stepped forward, and we repeated that dance until my back was against the wall, and he was so close that my breasts were a heavy breath away from grazing his chest. “Justin… what are you doing?”

“I don’t think you’re really that pissed,” he said, ignoring my question as he brought a hand to my cheek, brushing a thumb over my skin. “I think you’ve just gotten used to being mad, and aren’t ready to embrace a different emotion.”

I swallowed hard, damn near whimpering as his hands dropped, slipping under my robe to grip my ass. “What kind of emotion?”

He didn’t answer. He just grinned, then lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me.

It was supposed to feel like being kissed by your brother.

That’s what I’d always pictured, the odd times I allowed my imagination to take me there, and wonder. I’d experienced a “spark” before, probably more than my fair share. Justin and I didn’t have that. We were friends. Capital F-R-I-E-N-D-S, that was all. No chemistry, no oomph.

Only… this kiss was oomph-y as hell.