Excerpt Reveal: Just Fake Married

 

🔥🔥EXCERPT REVEAL🔥🔥 Check out this excerpt from JUST (FAKE) MARRIED by Hailey Shore, releasing September 4th! #PreOrderHere: https://bit.ly/justfakemarried EXCERPT “I’ll do it.”  For a second I didn’t think I heard him right. Him? Ethan? Marry me? But we were the worst possible combination. We were mortal enemies. After that pantry debacle, we never had a conversation that didn’t turn into insults or an argument – ever. Yesterday, case in point. “No!” I said. “Anyone but you.” “Harmony–” “Anyone but you.” I snapped.  “Why not me?” he asked. “This is all fake anyway. We pretend to be happy for a couple of months, we have the big festival and then it all ends. Why does it matter which brother it is?”  “I don’t want to marry you because you are an asshole,” I said. “You’ve always been an asshole. Especially to me.”  “Oh, and you’ve been nothing but sweet and gracious to me, Pantry Puncher.” I gasped like he’d insulted my mother.  To my shock he smiled. “Look, I’m sorry,” he said. “For whatever the fuck I did to you in that pantry, but you got your revenge too.”  “What do you mean?”  “Like I don’t know that you stole the spark plugs out of my truck on prom night?” “I admit nothing,” I said, my arms folded over my chest.  “If you would just tell me what I fucking did to you in that closet I can apologize and we can move on from this.”  Except I couldn’t tell him. How he kissed me like his life depended on it. How he showed me what kissing was supposed to be. The way he pushed me up against those shelves and rubbed that big dick of his against me. Stop thinking about his big dick.  “Forget the past. Look at us now,” I told him. “Anytime we’re in each other’s space there is tension. Because we don’t like each other.” “Is that a requirement for a fake marriage?” he asked. “Look. I can put down my weapons if you put down yours. I don’t give a shit about this feud, but I want my family to be able to stay on the land. If for no other reason than Carter’s kids.”  “Don’t use children to guilt me into this,” I said pointing a finger in his face. Except he looked at it like he wanted to suck it into his mouth. “Fine, what do you want?”  “I just want to save the town. It’s not just your family legacy. This is our home. Our livelihood is at risk. All of ours.”  “Then a truce,” he said. “We’ve only ever known each other as kids. As an adult you’ll see I’m a nice guy. I’m sure you’re a nice woman…” “I’m sure…That’s not very truce like,” I said. “We’re not even fake married and you’re blowing it.”  “You’re right. I’m sorry. A truce. For our families.”  “Maybe,” I said. It was my nature to believe in people, to want to make things better for everyone around me, but him? I didn’t trust him. I wanted some fallback insurance. “But if it’s going to be you, then I have some conditions.”  “Great,” he said. “Let’s hear them.”  “I’m not sure what they are yet. I’ll get back to you.” He gaped at me for a second and then burst out laughing. “You know,” he said. “If it weren’t for the fact that your last name was Calloway and mine is McGraw, I think we could be friends.” “Friends,” I said, like I’d never heard the word before.  “Why not,” he said. “We’ve been enemies for years, let’s try being friends.” I studied him. His fine features and blue eyes. I’d always imagined myself married to a guy who smiled. A big warm teddy bear of a guy, and here I was about to marry the living breathing personification of a scalpel. One that had already sliced me.  I wasn’t losing this town. I loved my home. I’d do anything for it.  Including marrying Ethan McGraw. Unfuckingbelievable.  “But what about making it look real?” I said. “That’s part of the deal, right? We have to sell an epic love story for the locals.”  “So?” he said, like that was no big deal. “So?” My voice squeaked. “You don’t think we can sell that we love each other?” “No!” I laughed. “That we like each other.”  “Really doubtful.” He took a step forward, right up into my space. I had to hold my breath or my breasts would touch his chest.  “That we want each other?” he asked, his voice a low murmur that disoriented me. I was angry a second ago, adamant about something. Now I just wanted him to keep talking to me like that. That low whisper. The deep murmur. I wanted him to call me a good girl and…  Oh my god. STOP.  He took another step forward and now it didn’t matter if I was breathing or not, my breasts brushed his chest and I could smell him – soap and cedar fire and something spicy beneath it all that my body remembered from that fucking closet.  I wanted to say something mean, to put him in his place, but his thumb touched my jaw line. A feather light touch and all the air left my body. Every thought deserted my brain. I didn’t know what I was going to say. I didn’t know words. “It wouldn’t be hard to believe. You grew up to be a beautiful woman, Harmony” he said.  His other hand touched my jaw, his hands cupped my neck and I knew he could feel my heart pounding against his palms.  “You’re…definitely not ugly,” I breathed. I could feel my eyelids fluttering, wanting to close. My body leaning towards him. I licked my lips like I could already . . . taste him.  “I think we’ll be fine,” he said. Then stepped back so fast I had to catch myself before I stumbled forward.  He rubbed his hands against his pants like he was rubbing off the feel of my skin but his face gave me nothing. Was this a joke? Was he affected? Unaffected? Did I dream that whole thing? “So?” he said and held out his hand. “Will you fake marry me and save Last Hope Gulch?” #JustFakeMarried #HaileyShore  #ExcerptReveal #enemiestolovers #marriageofconvenience #WildfireMarketingSolutions