This has got to be one of my favorite covers that I’ve seen lately. If the inside is anything like the outside, it’s gonna be fabulous!
*****
The Opposite of Falling
by Jillian Liota
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
BRIAR MITCHELL is home in Cedar Point – single, broke and unemployed. Back in the town she tried so hard not to get stuck in. A job at the local grocery will have to do until she figures out what’s next, even if it means working for her teenage crush. Not that he noticed her back then.
ANDY MARSHALL has always loved the small town life. Things might be rough at the moment – the family business is struggling and his dad’s health has taken a turn – but he’s trudging forward. What he doesn’t see coming is the attraction he feels towards his newest employee.
Choosing to explore their instant chemistry, Briar and Andy embark on a no-strings ride they hope will provide a few things they each desperately need. Sweet friendship, sexy fun, and a chance to escape from a life that isn’t going according to plan.
But in the face of a town disaster, they start to realize that maybe there’s something more between them. Something with a depth they weren’t expecting. Something that feels a lot like falling in love.
*****
Excerpt:
I scrub my hands over my face, wondering what the hell is wrong with me, wishing I’d kept my damn eyes to myself. Now I’m worried I’ve made her uncomfortable on her first day by staring at her mouth, at those light pink lips I’m starting to wonder more about…
How they taste.
How soft they feel.
What they’ll look like wrapped around my…
I let my head fall back, my eyes closed as I try to think of other things. Baseball stats and naked grandmothers, right? Isn’t that what’s supposed to help?
God, I haven’t had to do this in years. It feels ridiculous to be sitting in my office trying to get rid of the hardness that’s growing in my pants at the thought of Briar on her knees. What am I, a teenager? Getting turned on at just the thought of a beautiful woman?
And it’s not just any woman. It’s Briar Mitchell.
Boyd’s sister. My new employee.
But now that the door has been opened, I’m unable to close it, and my mind begins to ramble through the weeds. Thinking about her thick hair and beautiful eyes, the small swell on her chest and those slender hips that lead to legs that are a mile long.
Maybe most guys wouldn’t blink at allowing a momentary daydream like the ones that keep popping into my mind about Briar, but I’ve never made a habit of spending too much time dwelling on women I know aren’t for me.
I know what I want in life. I want to find someone to settle down with. Someone to have a family with. Here, in Cedar Point. Briar is not that woman, and the fact that I can’t seem to get that through my head is just…it’s infuriating.
But damn if the idea of something short and sweet with Briar isn’t enough to get the heat climbing up my neck, making me wonder whether having a little bit of fun couldn’t be something to enjoy, at least while she’s in town.
Though even thinking that kind of thing about my new employee would have my dad finally sitting up and barking at me.
Huh. Maybe if I tell him about my sudden interest in Briar, he’ll be pissed enough to get out of this funk he’s been in.
That actually makes me laugh a little bit, and I finally manage to shake out my tense shoulders and turn my attention to the work in front of me.
I take all of my thoughts of Briar—the friendly ones and the dirty ones in kind—and place them firmly on the to handle later shelf in my mind.
It will still be there to ponder when the day is done.
*****
Author Info:
Jillian Liota is a new author writing contemporary romance and new adult fiction. She lives in Kailua, Hawaii with her amazing husband, 2 cats, and 3-legged pup.
She is the author of the new adult romance novel The Keeper, which focuses on a female college soccer goalie, as well as the follow up novella, Keep Away. Her newest release, Like You Mean It, is in the contemporary romance genre and has a more mature voice, as it follows a pregnant mother finding love in a new town. The next novel in the Like You Series, Like You Want It, will be published in Spring 2019
She has a master’s in Higher Education and Student Affairs, and she is passionate about all things improvement, development and organization.
She’s also a big fan of taking walks with her husband and dog Maia, reading romance (obviously), watching a handful of horrible reality TV shows, and exploring the island she calls home. Check out her Contact page for more information on how to connect.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Email
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Romantic Reads and Such 