Luke started to load up the gear and, realizing he was doing it alone, glanced over his shoulder to see where the hell his partner was.
Unsurprisingly, his friend was chatting up City Girl. Neither Charlie nor Ryan seemed to mind in the least that these two fancy pants had swooped into their town to capitalize on Luke’s past.
What was more surprising was that Jordan Carpenter was chatting right back, her smile seemingly genuine, her laugh real.
Luke ground his teeth.
He couldn’t say he’d put much thought into the woman behind the name as he’d been unceremoniously deleting her emails and voice messages, but if forced to assume, he’d have guessed aggressive shrew.
He suspected he was wrong there. Because while there was no mistaking the ambition in the woman, it wasn’t the cutthroat, ball-busting kind.
Her lean body might be all angles and long lines, but there was a softness to her as well. The way her hair did its own thing. The easiness of her smile, the quick laugh. The small but pert breasts.
Damn. He was staring.
He slammed the door shut. “Bander,” he shouted at Charlie across the lawn. “Let’s clear out.”
Charlie leaned into Jordan, whispering something in her ear that made her laugh, before walking away with a last wink.
Luke rolled his eyes. Really? This was happening?
“Hey, Elliott,” Ryan called. “You want to come over for a barbecue tonight?”
Luke crossed his arms and studied his friend suspiciously, waiting for the catch. “Who’s on the guest list?”
He saw Jordan and her purple-shirt friend exchange a look. Well, that answered that question.
Damn. Ryan never had been able to resist the urge to stir up trouble.
“It’s no problem if you don’t want to join us,” Jordan called out, lifting her hand to shield the afternoon sun from her eyes. “I’m sure your friends here can fill me in on everything there is to know about Luke Elliott.”
All about Luke Elliott’s romantic history was more like it. City Girl wasn’t even pretending to be coy about the reason she was here.
All former positive thoughts about her evaporated. Only the worst sort of human would use another’s failed relationships to advance her own career—for entertainment.
Luke turned away without another word, hauling himself into the driver’s seat of the truck as he waited impatiently for Charlie to get done shouting goodbye to every single person within earshot.
He drummed his thumbs against the steering wheel, refusing to even think about going to the BBQ tonight. If his friends wanted to stir up trouble, they could do so without his cooperation.
As for the two New Yorkers, they’d flame out all on their own. Weren’t East Coasters known for being impatient and fast moving?
Surely they’d be off to find some other glory-seeking asshole if he ignored them. One of the other guys could play the role for all he cared.
As Charlie hauled his ass up, Luke started the truck, his eye catching on Jordan Carpenter, who was watching him with a stubborn, determined look on her pretty face.
Damn it. She’d stir up all sorts of trouble unless he ran interference.
Luke pulled out his phone to text Ryan.
I’ll be there. Have beer.
Charlie leaned over, unabashedly reading Luke’s iPhone screen. “Ha. Knew it.”
“What?” Luke glared at his friend.
Charlie grinned wider, gesturing over his shoulder. “You’ve got a boner for the hot blonde.”
“Are you kidding me with this? She wants me to be the next bachelor.”
How were Ryan and Charlie not getting the absurdity of this?
Charlie shrugged. “So? Maybe it’d be good for you.”
Luke stared at his friend for a moment longer before putting the truck in drive. “The only thing that would be good for me is to push you out of this truck.”
Charlie was waving goodbye to Jordan and Simon. “See you tonight!”
Luke ground his teeth harder. He was already dreading the BBQ, but not going would only make matters worse. Clearly he needed to have a very blunt conversation with Jordan Carpenter.
As
Lauren Layne is one of my go-to authors, It's always exciting to dive
into the first book in a new series; I Do, I Don't.
Jordan
Carpenter's thrilled when she finally finds an ideal candidate for
Jilted, the reality television show she works on. However, after
numerous failed attempts to get any responses from her numerous
messages, she has no choice but to travel to Lucky Hollow, Montana to
get her bachelor candidate to sign the contract. Only, the man she
finally meets isn't what she expected and the small town he lives is
a reminder of her background she's spent years trying to
forget.
Luke Elliott just wants to live his life how he
sees fit. He's definitely not interested in taking part in a reality
television show, so feels no guilt for ignoring the barrage of
messages the pushy reality producer has been leaving. Yet, when a
mystery blonde wearing an inappropriate pair of killer heels turns up
where he's working, it irks him that it's the woman responsible for
hounding him. So he's shocked when a tiny spark of electricity shoots
up his arm and generates a physical reaction when they shake hands.
It's unexpected and acts as a catalyst to rethink his current
attitude to life.
I was pretty much laughing out loud from
the very beginning of this novel. Ms Layne is one of only a handful
of authors who's romantic comedy books I find funny. Intelligent
humour and witty dialogue are her forte and Ready To Run runs true to
her writing style. Captivating from the very beginning, there's an
amusing collection of secondary characters who collaborate to push
the protagonists together. It's entertaining and kept me turning the
pages as fast as I could read them.
The overall feel of
the narrative was a pleasant surprise. I've loved all Ms. Layne's
sexy heroes in suits, so Luke Elliott; fire-fighter is a gloriously
desirable book boyfriend and a caring and compassionate gentleman to
boot! His attractiveness is
amplified
when we discover the guy beneath his notorious
reputation
is nothing how outsiders
perceive
him.
Jordan
is the epitome of an LL heroine; polished, sassy and very ambitious.
When the two protagonists
combine,
the result is combustible chemistry.
Any fans of Lauren
Layne will love this novel and it's perfect for new fans to discover
the delights of LL's writing too. Ready To Run is fast paced, amusing
and I can't wait to delve into future
books
in this series.
***arc generously
received courtesy of Loveswept via NetGalley***
The Daughters of Ireland by Santa Montefiore
