Title: Summer Storm
(#3 of Hollywood Connections)
Author: Lily Alexander
Genre: Contemporary Romance
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She needs a place to stay. He needs a roommate.
Trina is fired after a dating-app hookup gone wrong. She finally got transferred back home where she wants to be, but on her own and between jobs, apartment hunting is problematic.
Dallas has been away from his home town for years but is ready to set down some roots. He finds the perfect apartment, but needs a roommate to make it work.
A mutual friend suggests they can help each other, and it seems like the perfect arrangement. They make sure to set solid boundaries and follow all the rules… until one night, when everything changes. They agree on no-strings, but feelings don’t care about agreements.
Because of their friendship home has taken on a whole new meaning. Will the lure of a job out of state break everything they’ve built together?
Excerpt . . .
My body flared with surprise. “I do?”
Her playful smile was impossible to resist. I accepted her hand, realizing all too quickly I should have put more effort into getting myself up instead of allowing her to pull me. She overbalanced and, to save us from landing flat on the pavement, I had to wrap my arms around her and twist. I took the brunt of the blow by landing on my ass, Trina sprawled across my lap in a straddle.
“Oops.” Trina’s laugh was a high-pitched giggle. “Sorry.”
She wiggled and slid across my body in her efforts to get up. I was forced to sit for a long moment once she was on her feet, because my body didn’t discriminate over where the caress was coming from; it just appreciated being touched.
“Can I still have my dance, please?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I took a deep breath before climbing to my feet, dusting off my hands before taking hers in them.
The music was much more subdued thanks to the late hour, so I swayed with Trina in my arms, her floral scent filling my nostrils as she leaned her head on my chest. My body was sending out signals for either lust or distress; I wasn’t sure quite yet. She smelled nice and felt good under my hands, but it was just a dance.
I repeated those words to myself a number of times.
“You’re a good dancer, Dallas.”
“Thanks, you are too.” I spun her away from me then back again, her steps graceful despite her intoxication.
As the song ended, she gave me another bright smile and then dropped a kiss on my cheek.
“Appreciated, sir.”
“The honor is mine. Need a drink?”
“I got it. Thanks though.” She skipped toward the coolers, saying goodbye to a few guests on her way there and back.
The party was pretty much over shortly thereafter, and I was left with Trina near the fire pit in the quiet. She was clearly on the drowsy side of drunk.
“Where’d my bestie go?” Trina glanced around for Addison. “I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“I… I think she had an appointment.” I smirked, handing her one of the fleece blankets.
She pulled herself out of the low-slung chair she’d been occupying so she could wrap it around herself before sitting back down.
Her deep exhale ended in a grunt as she leaned back against the chair, groaning, “My buzz is fading. That sucks.” Her face screwed up in confusion. “Wait, an appointment? Who has an appointment this time of night on a Friday?”
I stared at her meaningfully, understanding slowly dawning on her face.
“Ohhh. A dick appointment. Got it. Good for her! She deserves it.” She blew out a hearty sigh. “I wouldn’t mind having one of those myself. I deserve it too.”
The measured up-and-down assessment she gave me with her eyes made me throw up my hands in a defensive pose.
“I don’t doubt it, but I’m afraid I can’t help you.”
About the Author . . .
The written word is her favorite thing - reading or writing, she doesn’t discriminate. Left to her own devices she can read about a book a day; that HEA is a powerful drug!
As an only child she grew up inventing elaborate stories for her dolls to act out. She started word processing on a computer around age 10 and never looked back. After suffering the heartbreak of catastrophic drive failure a regrettable number of times, she has finally learned to back things up appropriately and often.
Follow her antics on social media! (If she disappears for a bit around late August, don’t worry, that’s just her wanderlust kicking in. She’ll be back soon.)
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