Title: For The Love of English
Author: A.M. Hargrove
Release Date: September 15, 2016
Synopsis
From USA Today Bestselling Author, A.M. Hargrove, comes a New Adult, Single Dad, Sexy, Stand Alone Romance.
Single dad, Beckley Bridges, is sexy as hell.
No, really, he’s the hottest thing since the sun was created.
Honest to God, crack an egg on him and the thing will sizzle.
So what’s the problem?
He’s also a gigantic jerk.
I hate the bastard.
I try to avoid him at all costs.
But for some reason, everywhere I go he seems to show up.
Only the real issue is his daughter, English.
She’s an adorable quirky first-grader who’s the sweetest thing since iced tea.
And she’s one of my students but also the love of his life.
So I have to deal with him on a professional level.
It’s not easy.
On a scale of easy to hard, dealing with Beckley Bridges is like nails screeching across a blackboard.
But when English’s mother tries to gain custody after abandoning her on Beckley’s doorstep as an infant, he’ll do anything possible to keep English under his roof.
That’s how he ends up propositioning me.
And crazy as it sounds?
I find myself considering it.
This is a full-length novel that includes mature content not suitable younger readers.
Excerpt
I
thrum my fingers on the table. “I have to think about this. I mean,
we haven’t even kissed, and we’re discussing marriage. What if I
don’t like the way you—” my eyes bulge at the thought of what I
was going to say.
A
cocky grin appears. Damn him. Why does he have to be so confident?
“Like the way I what?” he asks. He knows damn well what I was
referring to.
“Never
mind.”
“No,
I want to know.”
I
squiggle around in my seat.
“Does
it have anything to do with fucking
hard and fast?”
he asks, emphasizing the last words and still smiling smugly.
My
jaw nearly slams on the table.
“Sheridan,
I don’t think you have anything to worry about in that regard.”
My
wine glass beckons, so I grab it and chug down the contents.
“Care
for some more?” he asks as he waggles his brows.
I
can’t answer him, so he pours me a glass anyway. The dog. Then he
leans forward and draws a circle on the top of my hand. That circle
has a direct path to my girly bits, and it’s not fair at all
because I honestly don’t like the man.
“You
have to know I like you, and that I’m attracted to you.” What?
“I’ve made no secret of it. I wouldn’t be hanging around you or
spending time with you otherwise. Even if English liked you, I
would’ve steered things in a different direction, made excuses to
her, or whatever. But I didn’t. Because I like you. I happen to
think you’re gorgeous. And sexy. And funny. And I want to kiss you
and do other things, but I walk the straight and narrow because I try
to be the best dad I can and set a good example. So there you have
it.”
“You
think I’m gorgeous and sexy? Why would you think that?” The
question popped out before I could stop it.
His
expression immediately changes into one of exasperation. “Why
wouldn’t I?”
“Because.
Guys like you don’t go for girls like me.”
“Guys
like me?
What’s that supposed to mean?” He not only is surprised, but
sounds borderline insulted by my statement.
“Look
at me.”
“That’s
what I’m doing.”
“No,
I mean, haven’t you seen me? And you … you’re all, well, you
could have any woman you wanted.”
“First,
you act as though I’m blind. Second, I like what I see. And third,
I want what’s right here.”
“That
doesn’t make sense.”
“Sheridan,
I’m a photographer. I have a very good eye.”
“You
may, but you haven’t seen me naked.” Then I clamp my hand over my
mouth. Why the hell do I always say shit like this? I’m forever
putting my foot in my mouth.
“Is
that an offer?” he asks with an arched brow.
“What
would your guy friends say about me?”
He
lets out a derisive laugh. “Guy friends? I’m a
twenty-five-year-old single dad. I was nineteen when English pretty
much fell into my life. All my guy friends were frat rats who were
more interested in fucking a different girl every weekend and getting
as drunk as possible before they did it. Do you think they were
interested in me with an infant? My guy friends dropped me like I had
the fucking plague. The closest thing I have to guy friends is my
dad. Parents with kids English’s age are usually older than me,
married with a family, and don’t want to hang out with a young
single dad. So my friends are nonexistent.”
Our
fingers are touching, and his explanation suddenly makes him more
appealing to me. I want this man. In my bed. I want to find out if
we’re sexually compatible. But I’m pretty damn sure he’d be
disappointed. On the other hand, what do I have to lose? Okay,
rejection is pretty hard to take, but it sounds as though he’s sort
of into me. Or at least he’s putting on a good show. At least he’s
honest about what he wants from me, and it’s all out in the open.
“Is
English coming home tonight?”
“No,”
he says, smiling. “Wanna test out my big bed and play roll ’em?”
I
start laughing so hard I can’t stop. “I can’t.”
“Why
not?”
“I
have this damn boot.”
“I
have an idea,” he says with a twinkle in his eye.
“What’s
that?”
“You
can do the rolling, and I’ll do the jumping.”
With
the most serious face I can manage, I ask, “Didn’t your mom ever
teach you?”
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