Title: Pants on Fire
Author: Lacey Black
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 7, 2020
Blurb
Cricket
Success is what you make of it. That’s my
motto and the premise of my speech; the one I’m heading back to Southern
Illinois University to give at my college alumni reunion. As the morning
co-host of Good Morning, San Francisco, I was asked to be one of the
keynote speakers, and while I’m honored to do so, there’s only one problem. The
other speaker is Danny Ohara, my former boyfriend. Throw in an issue with my
credit card that leaves me stuck at the airport, no rental car in sight, until
a familiar face appears like a guardian angel in sexy black glasses.
Here’s my dilemma with my attraction to Rueben
Rigsby, my airport savior and old friend from college: I’m not supposed to be
attracted to him. At all. He’s my ex’s former roommate. Yet that doesn’t stop
my big mouth from lying about the status of our relationship when we come
face-to-face with said former roommate. As in, we have one.
Together.
Rueben
I don’t know why I agreed to come back to SIU
for the alumni reunion, but I’m damn sure glad I did. When I found the familiar
face stranded at the airport, I readily agreed to give her a ride. It’s great
to catch up with Cricket Hill, as we make our way back to the place we
ultimately met. What I’m not prepared for is this overwhelming attraction I
feel for her. I’m not supposed to notice how amazing her butt looks in a pair
of black yoga pants. She’s a friend. Period.
But Cricket has other plans. When she lies
about our budding relationship to my former roommate and her ex, I have no
choice but to go along with it to save face. I have to pretend to be her
boyfriend. I mean, it’s one little white lie, right?
Wrong.
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Excerpt
Danny does a scan from head to toe, lingering a little too long on my
chest. I cross my arms and narrow my eyes, feeling nothing like I felt when
Rueben did it earlier tonight. Instead, I want to stab his eyes out with a rusty
butter knife and then throw darts at them.
“Good to see you, Cricket,” he finally says when his eyes return to my
face.
“I wish I could say the same to you,” I mumble, stepping around him and
finding the worn throw line on the marred hardwood floor.
“Come on, Cricket, it’s been ten years. Surely you’re not still pissed
off, are you?” he asks, spinning around and following me.
I throw the first dart, ignoring his looming presence beside me.
“Actually, yes, yes I am still mad.” I throw the second dart. “You stole my
car!” I state as I throw the third one with a little too much force and miss
the board completely.
Danny retrieves my three darts before I can, bringing them back to where
I stand. “I paid you for your half,” he reminds me, cocking his head to the
side as if it’s no big deal.
“Six months after you left!” I thunder, feeling that familiar rage
brewing inside me. Instead of punching him in the face—which is taking all the
strength I have not to do—I focus straight ahead and throw the darts.
I can feel his eyes on me as I throw and tuning him out is proving to be
harder than I’d like.
“You look good,” he says as he retrieves the second round of darts.
“Fuck off.”
Danny sighs and hands me the darts. He watches in silence as I throw the
darts a third time. All of my throws are complete shit, probably because I
can’t even concentrate on the round board in front of me. It takes all my
energy not to turn and “accidentally” toss a dart or two at his head. But then
I think about prison and how horrible I’d look in those orange jumpsuits and
decide he’s not worth the energy or time. Plus, I’m not that great of a cook
and I’d probably get stuck with kitchen detail.
“What do you want?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder and wondering where
in the hell Rueben is.
“Saw you over here alone and thought I’d stop by and say hello.”
“I’m not alone,” I argue, then wishing I would have kept my mouth shut.
“No?” he asks, glancing around as if calling me on my bluff when he
doesn’t see anyone remotely close that could constitute as my date. A knowing
grin spreads across his face—one that tells me he thinks I’m lying.
“No,” I insist. “He’s…in the bathroom.”
“Right,” Danny snorts. “It’s okay to be here alone, Cricket. I mean, I’m
here alone too.” He takes a step closer and those pesky hairs at the nape of my
neck stand at attention again. “Maybe it’s fate that we’re both alone tonight.”
“Or maybe it’s because everyone who knows you knows what kind of an
asshole you are and wants nothing to do with you.”
He seems to straighten up at that. “And maybe it’s because you’re cranky
and unforgiving and refuse to let the past go.”
I practically growl at him. “Unforgiving? You’re kidding me, right?”
“I’ve forgiven you for taking my job,” he states, crossing his arms over
his chest.
That makes me pause. “Excuse me? Taking your job?” What the hell is this
guy talking about?
“You don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re the bubbly new co-host of Good
Morning, San Francisco?”
I roll my eyes. “That was four years ago, jerk. That position hadn’t been
yours in six years. In fact, you were the one who left it, remember?”
He doesn’t seem to have an answer to that. It’s almost like he’s just
trying to grate on my nerves, which pisses me off that I’m actually responding
at all. It’s like I’m letting him win. “All I’m saying is maybe if you were as
bubbly in person as you are on-air, you’d have a date this weekend,” he says
with a shrug.
“I do have a date!”
“Really? Where?” he asks, a growing smile on his fucking face as he
glance around once more.
Suddenly, I feel a presence behind me. It’s familiar and, unlike Danny, a
welcome one. Before I can even think about a consequence or a repercussion, I
practically jump up and throw my arms around Rueben’s neck, saying, “He’s right
here.”
Then I kiss him.
Hard.
Rueben’s arms wrap around me, drawing me against his body, and two things
happen. My body ignites with desire, as if someone doused me with gasoline and
lit a match, and the second is he deepens the kiss. His lips are firm, yet
soft, as he plies my mouth open, his tongue delving inside and sliding against
mine. It’s intoxicating and invigorating, and frankly, out of this fucking
world. I have no idea how long we kiss, all I know is I’d be okay with it never
ending. His lips are masterful, and frankly, I’ve never been kissed like this
before. Ever.
Author Bio
Lacey Black
is a Midwestern girl with a passion for reading and writing. She carries her
e-reader with her everywhere she goes so she never misses an opportunity to read
a few pages. Always looking for a happily ever after, Lacey is passionate about
contemporary romance novels and enjoys it further when you mix in a little
suspense. She resides in a small town in Illinois with her husband, two
children, and a chocolate lab. Lacey loves shooting guns and should only
consume one mixed drink because she’s a lightweight.
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