Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 115435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Age Gap, Billionaire, Best Friend’s Brother romance set in Bitterroot Valley!
Connor
After an explosive night together, I thought I’d never see the gorgeous bookstore owner again.
We didn’t exchange names and numbers, and when I left her asleep the following morning, I didn’t intend to pursue her. I don’t have time for relationships nor entanglements.
I’m the CEO of Gallagher Hotels, and my life is spent traveling around the world, focusing on my business, not a small town in Montana. Even if my thoughts keep returning to the most incredible woman I’ve ever met.
It turns out, my mystery woman, Billie, is my sister’s best friend, and she’s suddenly everywhere I turn. She’s become my obsession and all I think about. She’s become the only thing that means more to me than running my empire. And I’m determined to have her.
Billie
Owning a bookstore in my hometown of Bitterroot Valley has been my lifelong dream since I was a little girl. The only thing that brings me more joy is my love of thrift stores and coffee.
And, maybe, the sexy Irishman with intense emerald-colored eyes that take my breath away. His charming accent, how he looks at me, and the way he spoils me with lavish gifts are just the icing on the cake. I’ve tried to stay away from him, but my resolve is slipping. Nothing is better than being in Connor’s arms and feeling like I’m the most important woman in his world. But being with a high-profile billionaire comes with a price. Can we withstand the storm headed our way, or are we destined to fall apart like delicate blooms in the wind?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Prologue
BILLIE
Last Autumn
Ilike him, this handsome stranger who approached me at my bookstore right before closing. He asked if he could take me to dinner, and honestly, I wasn’t sure. I mean, he’s hot as hell at well over six feet tall, with dark hair and the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen, and it looks like he has muscles for days beneath his white button-down shirt and black slacks.
He’s sexy.
And did I mention his glasses? Yeah, he has the nerve to wear black-rimmed glasses that might have made my vagina salivate.
But he’s … broody.
I’m not a broody person. And yes, I read enough romance novels to know that the grumpy-sunshine combination can be hot, but that’s fiction. In real life? I’ve never been attracted to the grump. And this guy has intense written all over him.
Despite that, I said yes, and two hours later, here we are, finishing dinner at Ciao, my favorite restaurant in Bitterroot Valley, with the handsome stranger sitting across from me. We shared the appetizer of Italian nachos, a huge entrée of pasta, and tiramisu for dessert. I’m not afraid to eat in front of a man. Yes, I’m a curvy girl, and I know how to dress my body, and I’m not ashamed of it.
I like to eat.
But the portions here are so large that I suggested we share, and I think it was the right call.
The best part of this dinner, though, has been the conversation. This guy—I didn’t get his name—is intelligent, and he listens.
Which, in my limited dating experience, seems rare.
“I might be in a food coma,” I admit as I sit back and sip the last of my after-dinner coffee, watching him. “That was delicious.”
“Everything about this evening has been delicious,” he replies, holding my gaze through those sexy-as-fuck glasses. I feel the warmth from his words spread through me.
He may be broody, but he’s charming. And he’s hardly taken his eyes off me all through dinner.
“May I be blunt?” he asks, his light accent coming through. I don’t know where he’s from in Europe, but I know he’s not American.
“Of course, please do.”
“I’d like you to come back to my suite with me. Stay the night with me.”
The hand lifting my water glass to my lips pauses halfway as I stare at him, and then I slowly lower it to the table.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Why do I feel like you’re a man who usually gets what he wants?”
His green gaze holds mine as he waits quietly, his finger tapping the side of his wineglass, watching me as I decide what to do. He’s sexy, there’s no doubt about it. He held my hand on the way here from my shop, and it made my whole arm tingle.
I’m not an impulsive person. I certainly don’t have sex with someone on a first date.
But I like him. And a chance to have sex with a man like this one may never present itself again.
And did I mention that he’s sexy?
“Where are you staying?” I watch his lips twitch, and his face relaxes as if he were worried I’d say no.
“At the ski resort.”
I nod slowly, take one last sip of my water, and ignore the butterflies currently doing the Macarena in my stomach.
“All right.”
His eyebrow wings up. “Just like that?”
“It seems so.”
He pays the check, offers me his hand, and guides me through the restaurant. I like walking beside him. He’s such a big man, but I feel perfectly safe when I’m next to him, which is an odd thought, considering I don’t typically feel unsafe.
When we’re standing on the sidewalk, I turn to him.
“I can meet you up there. My car’s parked behind my shop.”
This tall, hot-as-hell stranger steps closer to me, and with his finger under my chin, he lifts my face so he can look into my eyes. Did all the air rush out of Montana just now? Because it’s suddenly harder to breathe.
“I don’t want to let you out of my sight in case you disappear on me. I’m only here for one night, and I plan to take full advantage of that. I’ll make sure you get back to your car safely in the morning.”
Wow. After swallowing hard, I simply nod, and he kisses my forehead before leading me to a massive black SUV parked across the street.
My stranger opens the passenger door for me, makes sure I secure my seat belt, closes the door, and then circles the hood to the driver’s side.
“You know,” I say as he backs out of the parking space and heads toward the road that leads to the resort, “we talked all through dinner, but I never asked you where you’re visiting from.”
I’m watching his profile as he drives, so I see it when his lips tip up at the side, and I wish he’d give me a full smile.