Yes, I’m a single dad who needs a nanny for the summer. But hire the stranded runaway bride who shows up on my doorstep in a wedding gown with no references, no skills, and no experience? No one is that desperate.
Except within twenty-four hours, down-on-her-luck Veronica Sutton manages to charm my kids, my family, and half the population of Cherry Tree Harbor into believing she’s perfect for the job.
And for me.
It’s not that I can’t see the appeal-those baby blue eyes? The endless legs? That mouth made for trouble? But I’ve got enough on my plate, raising two kids on my own and keeping the family business alive. I don’t have the time or the inclination to fall for an outspoken city girl.
So I should have kept my hands to myself.
Holding her in my arms was a big mistake. Even worse? Spending the night together. She ignites a possessive fire in me that I’m finding hard to snuff out.
But the most unforgivable? Growing attached to the sound of her laugh, the scent of her skin, and the way her body wraps around mine in the dark.
At the end of the summer, she’ll be gone.
And if I’m not careful, she might run away with my heart.
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USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author Melanie Harlow writes sweet, sexy, feel-good romance. She likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. If she’s not writing or reading, she’s probably at Orangetheory or watching Schitt’s Creek again. She lifts her glass to readers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.
Jackson was there on the worst night of Harperβs life, and every day since. Heβs everything she wants and needs, but is it worth blowing up their carefully balanced lives? Fans of Pippa Grant, Max Monroe, and Penny Reid will devour Sooner or Gator by Mae Harden, a steamy, small town, friends-to-lovers, roommates-to-lovers, forced proximity, beach romance.
Sooner or Gator
Candy Cane Key
Man of the Month: May
by Mae Harden
Blurb:
JACKSON
βWhat do you need?β
That night was supposed to change everything⦠and it did. Just not in the way I had hoped.
I was there on the worst night of Harperβs life. The night her world came crashing down, bringing with it the crushing responsibility of raising her own sister when she was still practically a kid herself.
For seven years, Iβve been exactly what she asked for. Iβve been biding my time, but nothing stays the sameβeven on an island where itβs perpetually Christmasβand time is officially up.
HARPER
βA friend.β
The love of my life sleeps ten feet away from me, just on the other side of that wall. He doesnβt know how I feel about him, of course.
That would just be crazy.
Jackson has always been my rock, which is exactly why he can never know how desperately I want him.
Sure, every grin he throws in my direction sets off a storm surge down below and makes my heart race like sandpipers on the beach, but thatβs not an excuse to blow up our carefully balanced livesβ¦ right?
Iβm on the verge of asking Haley why she bought more wine glasses when we have a perfectly good set in the cabinet, but as she hands me one, I realize theyβre only mostly stemless.
βYou know most people use bottle toppers to save their wine, right?β I laugh, eyeing the stubby stem with its rubber gasket before pushing it into the opening of what is now, quite clearly, a bottle not meant for sharing. Experimentally, I tip it sideways and watch an inch of deep burgundy liquid pool in the bottom of the glass.
βBottle toppers, much like bookmarks, are for quitters,β Haley says with a mischievous grin. βBesides, arenβt you always harping on about how important it is to finish what you start?β She looks extremely proud of herself as she tips back a hearty glug of cheap Cabernet.
βBut, more importantly, youβre both wrong. Trailer Park Shark is the one with Tara Reid, but it was the douche-canoe developer who flooded the trailer park, and Iβm ninety-nine percent sure sheβs the S.B.T.S.β
βBack up.β Tizzy raises a hand like sheβs about to ask the teacher for a bathroom pass. βYou know I canβt with your movie shorthand.β
βSole Big Tittied Survivor,β Haley sighs heavily.
βOkay, but thatβs not exactly a common abbreviation,β Tizzy replies, copying Hayleyβs sigh as dramatically as she can possibly manage.
Some people have incredible memories for languages or history, but no one can match Haley when it comes to movies that came out decades before she was even born.
The windows and doors are open to let in the spring air, and over the cacophony of tree frogs croaking and crickets chirping away outside, I hear car tires crunch on the gravel drive.
Craning my neck as far as I dare, I spot a familiar, black jeep. Itβs more rust than paint thanks to the salty Florida air, but as its tires come to a halt in their well-worn spots, I canβt help grinning. In the fading light of the orange sky, the profile of my other best friend, Jackson Beauregard, is clearly visible as he climbs out and grabs his things.
Tizzy quirks an eyebrow at me as I straighten Haley goes on. ββ¦and the poor-manβs Tommy Lee Jones, a.k.a. Robert Davi did not appear in Trailer Park Shark. He was, however, in the 2011 classic Swamp Shark where he starred opposite a busty blonde played by the O.G. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I swear to God, if one of you so much as whispers the name Sarah Michelle Gellarβ¦β
My little sister waits for one of us to match her encyclopedic knowledge, but we all know itβs not going to happen.
βKristy Swanson! Come on! Okay, extra credit points: Robert Davi was one of three villains in which beloved 80s adventure movie?β
Tizzy and I stare blankly at each other while simultaneously tipping our bottles toward the sky.
βThe Goonies,β a deep voice supplies from just outside. βCome on, kid. Give us a hard one next time.β
Grinning, I tip my head backward over the couch just in time to see Jackson coming through the screen door. ββBout time,β I sass. βWe were about to start without you.β
βNo, you werenβt.β Jackson laughs, shaking his head as he drops his keys in the bowl where they always go. He hangs his backpack on its hook and drops onto the couch next to me, making me bounce as all six-and-a-half feet of him bottoms out the springs.
“Well… we had considered it.”
βWhat are we watching this week?β Jackson asks, changing the subject with about as much subtlety as a Horatio roller skating down Main Street in his favorite candy cane hot pants.
βSwamp Shark,β Haley votes.
βLiteral flying sharks too much for you tonight?β Jackson chuckles.
βMaybe once Iβve polished this offβ¦β Haley replies, raising her wine and its extra classy attachment in a toast. βBut Kristy Swanson with a shotgun?β She lets out an exaggerated whistle. βIβm always in the mood for that.β
I snort. I canβt help it. βYeah, who doesnβt love a busty blonde armed to the teeth?β
Jackson twists the top off a beer and shrugs dispassionately as he stares down at it. βI could take βem or leave βem, honestly.β
Tizzy leans over, her expression conspiratorial and eyes sparkling with mischief. Oh, fuck. Here we go, I groan inwardly. βAnd which part of that is uninspiring to you, Jackson? The βblondeβ bit or the βarmed to the teethβ bit? Because we know you donβt have issues with the βbustyβ bit.β
βFucking bluetooth speakers,β Jackson mutters, suddenly finding the label of his beer bottle utterly fascinating, but Haley is all ears.
βWaitβ¦ what happened? Whatβd I miss?β
βNothing,β I say quickly, feeling my own face burn with embarrassment, even though I was just an innocent bystander in all this.
βJackson forgot to disconnect the living room speakers from his phone last nightβ¦ didnβt he?β Tizzy tilts her head, locking her eyes on six-and-a-half feet worth of blushing man.
Jackson clears his throat and gets to his feet. “Anyone want a glass of water?” Without waiting for an answer, he disappears, no doubt to let Tizzy get this out of her system.
“Tizz…” I start.I know what sheβs getting at and itβs nothing new.
“Come on, Harper. Brunette roommate gets lonely and crawls into bed? You still seriously think that had nothing to do with you?”
“Of course, I do.” Admittedly, it would be easier if he was into something less… can porn be wholesome?
Tizzy would like everyone to believe Jackson and I are star crossed lovers, destined to fall for each other in some kind of epic love story that spans decades and generations and all of time and space.
I think Tizzy needs a new vibrator and a subscription to Passionflix, but Iβm only a wimple away from making my vow of celibacy official, so what do I know?
Copyright 2023 Mae Harden
*****
Author Info:
Mae Harden has a thing for spicy books, hilarious meet-cutes, mouthy women, and the kind of men who will pull your hair in bed, but run a bath for you after… if you’ve been a good girl, of course. Smut-com, rom-cum, or whatever you want to call them, Mae likes her books funny, filthy, and full of feels.
Mae lives in Virginia with her smokin’ hot husband, two kids who delight in giving out hugs and gray hairs, and a collection of fur babies that probably qualifies her as a zoo keeper. IF she had free time, she’d use it to bake, water the remaining houseplants, and do crafty shit, all while listening to true-crime podcasts.
Romantic Reads and Such 