Tempting Mr. Weatherstone
Wallflower Weddings Book #0.5
By: Vivienne Lorret
On Sale Nov 25th, 2014
Avon Romance
Penelope Rutledge longs for passion, but only with the man of her dreams: the brilliant, dashing Ethan Weatherstone. If only her longtime neighbor would open his eyes and realize how much she loves him. If only they weren’t best friends with so much at stake. Penelope knows her future - and their friendship - is in her hands, but is she willing to take the biggest risk of all on the man she loves?
If it were up to Ethan, life and love would be as predictable as the figures in his ledgers - certainly nothing like the adventures Penelope longs for. Yet his childhood friend has grown into a beautiful, feisty woman blissfully unaware of the danger she causes when near. Ethan knows he must save Penelope-and her reputation...but can he save himself from the temptation of her lips?
Wallflower Weddings Book #0.5
By: Vivienne Lorret
On Sale Nov 25th, 2014
Avon Romance
Penelope Rutledge longs for passion, but only with the man of her dreams: the brilliant, dashing Ethan Weatherstone. If only her longtime neighbor would open his eyes and realize how much she loves him. If only they weren’t best friends with so much at stake. Penelope knows her future - and their friendship - is in her hands, but is she willing to take the biggest risk of all on the man she loves?
If it were up to Ethan, life and love would be as predictable as the figures in his ledgers - certainly nothing like the adventures Penelope longs for. Yet his childhood friend has grown into a beautiful, feisty woman blissfully unaware of the danger she causes when near. Ethan knows he must save Penelope-and her reputation...but can he save himself from the temptation of her lips?
Add to Goodreads
Check the Series on Goodreads!
Purchase Links:
Amazon ➙ http://amzn.to/1A2QJuF
B&N ➙ http://bit.ly/1vjBtHY
iTunes ➙ http://bit.ly/1uA6ENL
Penelope Rutledge
wanted something different from her usual mundane life. Her sister had been
married and on her way to having a family – and her at five and twenty, she
just wanted to experience other things besides what she does every day. Unfortunately,
one of her dreams involves a man but Ethan Weatherstone seemed to be oblivious
to her wants and desires. They had been friends for a long time and have
enjoyed each other’s company for a while – but would they every be MORE than
friends?
Ethan
Weatherstone, on the other hand loves predictability. He likes his routine and wants
his life that way. What he didn’t expect was for his childhood and long-time
friend Penelope to dream for an adventure. He didn’t realize that his friend
turned out to be a beautiful, fearless woman who seemed set to conquer and
travel the world. Would he allow her to go or would he finally make a move to make
her stay?
Anyone of them
needs a good shove to the right direction. Someone has to make a move, and
knowing Ethan and how he likes the usual ways, it would take eons before the
two finally get together. It was wait-and-see type of thing. When a move was
finally made, I thought they were getting some progressed, but Ethan’s OC ways
made him a little bit skeptic of the sudden turn in their relationship. It took
one decision from Penelope for him to finally realize he couldn’t live without
her.
I love how the
two of them got together, how their relationship developed since it started
with friendship and gradually evolved into something else.
This one is
short, sweet, filled with passion, not to mention, a great-read!
________________________________
Ethan Weatherstone was due for a piece of her mind. It was about time he understood that he had no right to interfere with her life.
Mind made up, she took one last look at the mail coach and shook her head. She reached down for her satchel and stormed over to Ethan’s carriage.
Penelope threw open the door and climbed inside, seething as she sat across from him. He didn’t even have the courtesy to look at her. Instead, he sat back against the squabs, his head turned to the window. The only reason she knew he was aware of her presence was from the way he clenched his jaw, a muscle twitching just beneath the surface of his skin.
“Were you waiting to humiliate me? Waiting until I was already seated before you dragged me away from the mail coach? Or perhaps you planned to follow me all the way to Portsmouth?”
He refused to respond or even so much as look at her. If she hadn’t been angry before she entered the carriage, then she certainly was fuming now.
“Truly, Ethan, for someone who cannot live outside the lines of your carefully crafted order, your sameness that covers you like a shroud, this is quite surprising behavior,” she hissed, baiting him. “I only wish your concern for my happiness were as great as your concern for my reputation.”
At that, he glared at her sharply. Ah, so she’d struck a chord.
Good. Yet still, he did not say anything.
There he sat, perfectly groomed, his cravat perfectly pleated, his temper perfectly managed. She wished just once he’d lose some of that control. Because here she sat, with her eyes, most likely puffy and red from having cried most of the night instead of sleeping. She was certainly not perfectly groomed, since she could feel a soggy tendril of hair plastered to her cheek. Her cloak was damp from rain. Her nose was cold and likely red as well.
“How can you be so . . . so unaffected all the time?” Her voice rose with her accusation. “Haven’t you ever dreamed for something outside the realm of possibility? Or are you content with each day so long as your cravat is perfectly pleated?”
She glared at the offending garment, struck by a ridiculous notion to crumple it. No sooner had the idea formed that she gave in to the impulse and moved forward on her seat, her arm reaching forward.
Ethan stopped her, taking hold of her wrist. His eyes flared. Before she could react, he yanked, propelling her forward to land clumsily on his lap.
“How dare—”
His mouth covered hers, silencing her outrage. Her head spun, reeling from the sudden scorching heat of his kiss.
This was a kiss, wasn’t it? Yet, it was nothing like her dreams, where his rehearsed request was followed by carefully controlled actions. No, this was no gentle dream. This was hard and demanding. His tongue didn’t request entrance but swept in and plundered.
His arms were not gentle either. In fact, he held her so tightly she couldn’t move, and grasped her wrist so she couldn’t touch him or push him away.
But she’d never push him away.
Instead, she wanted to cling to him. Her anger evaporated in a rush of steam. Her mind cried out for more of this glorious punishment. She wanted his kiss to burn her, through and through. This was the first time she’d been warm in months.
I fell in
love with fairy tales and the romance behind happily ever after at a very young
age. Like a lot of you, I tweaked the fables bit by bit in my imagination until
they suited me perfectly. By the time I was eleven, a teacher encouraged me to
start writing.
Throughout
the years that followed, my teachers remained my most fervent supporters, giving
me the tools I needed to continue my journey as a writer.
My husband
and I have two teenage boys, who are heroes in their own right. For now, we
live in a small Midwestern town near Lake Michigan…until a time in the future
when a new adventure calls us to other shores.
I am
currently working on my next novel, but I always enjoy hearing from my
readers. Feel free to email me at vivienne@vivlorret.net
($35.00 Harry & David Gift Card)
I'm not sure why you love a "friends to lovers" romance trope, but I like it because I think lovers and marriage partners who were friends first tend to stay together. They understand each other, they help each other, and they truly love each other. Thanks for the question. jdh2690@gmail.com
ReplyDelete