The Cinderella Romances, book 2
by Petie McCarty
by Petie McCarty
Genre: contemporary romance
Release Date: Oct 18, 2017
Garrett Tucker inherits his grandfather's casino empire and steps into the reclusive billionaire's shoes as the "Prince of Vegas." His first act is to buy a bankrupt casino in Biloxi. When he discovers embezzling in his new operation, Garrett goes in undercover. His prime suspect is the new finance supervisor—the spitfire brunette who stole his heart at first sight.
Andi Ryan moves to Biloxi to care for her godmother and takes a job as finance supervisor for the renovated Bayou Princess casino. She discovers someone is skimming from the till and starts her own investigation, worried she will be blamed for the theft when the new owner discovers her godmother has a gambling addiction.
A rival Vegas competitor has sent a spy in to ruin the Bayou Princess, and Garrett and Andi are forced to work together to prove her innocence and discover the identity of their casino spy.
Garrett poured the remaining wine into their glasses and carried them to the postage-stamp-sized living room. He handed her a glass and sat down on the couch. When Andi sat down, the well-worn cushions gave way and rolled her over next to him. She laughed as she tried to keep her wine from spilling.
He laughed. “I trained the couch to keep my date close.”
“Smart couch.”
He got that adorable sheepish look again. “Obviously, an old couch. This place came furnished.”
“I figured.”
He nodded then rose to his feet and went over to a CD player to put in some soft music. He took his time. When he sat back down, the couch rolled them together again.
He grinned. “Oops.”
“I don’t mind.”
She wished he’d kiss her again, make her melt like she had on the landing at Flora’s house. Instead, he tapped his fingers on his knee to the music. Long minutes passed with the only sound the music from the CD player.
No more wondering and worrying. “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”
“What?”
Obviously, she’d startled him. “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”
He swallowed hard. “I didn’t want to scare you off after I jumped you on the landing earlier. That was two days of pent-up frustration.”
“I was glad you did. I liked it, and I’m really glad you asked me out. A lot.”
“Yeah?”
His yeah? made her melt every time. “When I didn’t see you for a couple days, I was afraid I had scared you off.”
His brows wrinkled. “I don’t understand.”
“I thought that after I told you I was a, you know.”
“A virgin?”
She nodded. “I thought you were going to bolt.”
“Have others?”
“Some.” She shook her head. “Most.”
“I’m not others, Andi.”
“I know.” She pressed a palm to his cheek, needing to touch him. “You’re special.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
He took her wine, put both glasses on the scarred coffee table, and pulled her into his arms. This kiss wasn’t ravenous like the one on the landing. This one was tender and oh-so-much better, for it conveyed understanding and acceptance. Garrett’s kiss said I’m not going anywhere.
The next kiss heated up. His hands wound into her hair, and he turned her face to deepen the kiss. Andi lost her mind, lost the will for conscious thought. Nothing in this world compared to kissing Garrett Samuels. His third kiss left her dizzy, and her hands linked around his neck, so he couldn’t stop kissing her until she was ready.
Which would be never.
Passion roared to life. She clung to Garrett, lightheaded with incendiary desire. Her blood heated and every nerve ending tingled with arousal. Either she tilted slightly or the trained couch tilted her—she wasn’t sure which—but gravity carried her over, and she took Garrett with her. The rumble of his growl and the feel of his muscular body alongside hers made her eyes roll back in her head. She didn’t care as long as Garrett didn’t stop kissing her.
Cinderella's fairy tale moves to Jupiter Island, Florida where Lily Foster, owner of an eclectic landscape nursery, is mistaken for a wealthy socialite by billionaire resort developer Rhett Buchanan. Overdue for a little romance in her life, Lily is anxious for one fabulous date with her handsome prince, so she cultivates her inadvertent masquerade.
Rhett Buchanan has become jaded with the Palm Beach social scene, dominated by scheming women desperate for more money -- his money. Rhett falls hard when he meets Lily Foster. She is a breath of fresh air after the smog of gold diggers constantly surrounding him.
For Rhett and Lily, it's love at first sight until her deception comes to light and pitches their relationship into a disastrous tailspin. Well-meaning friends are determined to intercede and resort to inept high jinks to reunite the estranged couple while a wicked ex-girlfriend plays dirty to keep the couple apart.
Petie spent a large part of her career working at Walt Disney World -- "The Most Magical Place on Earth" -- where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night, including her new series, The Cinderella Romances. She eventually said good-bye to her "day" job to write her stories full-time. These days Petie spends her time writing sequels to her regency time-travel series, Lords in Time, and her mystery-romance-with-elements-of-suspense series, the Mystery Angel Romances.
Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband, a spoiled-rotten English Springer spaniel addicted to pimento-stuffed green olives, and a noisy Nanday conure named Sassy who made a cameo appearance in Angel to the Rescue.
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