Erin Nicholas's Blog - Posts Tagged "small-town-rom-com"
"Dare me"
He looked her up and down, his gaze hot. She knew she was a mess. So was he. And it didn’t matter at all. He looked rugged and capable and competent and she wanted to grab him by his amazing biceps, pull him in, and kiss him.
“I heard you had to climb in a window to get someone’s cat,� he said, one corner of his mouth tipping up as if he was amused and impressed at the same time.
She spread her arms. “I do what I have to do. And I didn’t just get a cat.�
“N?�
Bennett overheard them talking. He chuckled. “Leave it to Naomi to walk out of a single cat rescue with four additional animals.�
Donovan was clearly surprised. “Were there other cats sheltering up there?�
“A mama raccoon and three babies,� Bennett told him. “And Naomi barely blinked.�
Naomi shook her head. “Oh, I blinked. And backed up. And almost panicked.�
“Almost?� Donovan mouth curved more fully. “Did you guys have a live trap on the boat?�
“We just put her in the cat carrier,� Naomi said.
“How did you get it in there?�
“Queen Bad Ass here just picked the thing up and shoved it in there.�
Donovan suddenly frowned. “Wait. You just picked it up?�
“Well, I threw a towel over it first.�
“But then you just picked it up?� He seemed concerned suddenly.
“I didn’t have a choice. The cat carrier wouldn’t fit through the window.�
Suddenly Donovan grabbed her hands and started turning them over and running his hand up and down her arms from her
fingertips to her shoulders.
“Donovan, what are you doing?�
“It didn’t bite or scratch you, did it? They can carry rabies and canine distemper. They can be really nasty when they are cornered.�
“Stop it.� She tugged her hands from his grip. “It was too confused and hungry to be
aggressive. It all happened really fast for both of us.� She held up her hands with her palms out. “Michael already checked me out. No scratches or bites. I was wearing gloves and used the towel. I’m fine.�
Donovan just stood staring at her for a long moment. Then he said, “Come with me.�
She tipped her head. “Where?�
“I need more lemonade.�
She narrowed her eyes. She didn’t really want to be yelled at. She was fine. In retrospect, she could have possibly done something different with the raccoons, but she honestly didn’t know what. She supposed she could’ve waited for Donovan and sent him back over to the house. But the animals had needed to be rescued. They’d been trapped and hungry. There had been 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘴. She’d done what she needed to do in the moment. She shook her head. “I’m good.�
“Just come with me.�
His jaw was tight and she could tell he was upset. Well, too bad. They were all taking some risks out here. She wasn’t special. She didn’t need to be treated with kid gloves or left in the boat when important things needed done.
“The stand with the lemonade is right there.� She pointed to the tent about thirty feet away.
“I’ll wait here for you.�
Bennett had turned away to talk to someone else and Donovan leaned in close to her ear.
“Come with me or I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you over there and that will 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 get everybody talking.�
Her breath caught in her chest and her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t.�
“Fucking dare me.�
She had never heard Donovan talk like that. Certainly not to her. But she wasn’t sure she had heard him talk that way to anyone. Yes, he definitely got intense at times, but he never got angry.
Studying his face, she realized he wasn’t exactly angry, though. He was…wound up. Still, she decided not to see if he was kidding about the over-the-shoulder thing.
“FԱ.�
They walked together to the tent where huge vats of iced tea and lemonade and ice water were set up on long folding tables. But they didn’t stop in front of the tables.
Donovan grabbed her wrist and tugged her around to the opposite side of the tent. Out of view of the Landrys and her brother.
He turned to face her.
“Look, Donovan, you can’t be mad. I did what I had to do and I’m not sorry. I was as safe as I could be and you, of anyone, should know that sometimes we have to take some risks to get this stuff done.�
He stepped forward, took her face in his hands, and covered her mouth with his.
She sank into the kiss immediately. She wasn’t an idiot. He was worked up and there was a lot of adrenaline pumping for both of them, but Donovan was kissing her. She was going to pour all of her mixed-up emotions into this too and enjoy it for a few seconds.
He finally lifted his head. “I’m not mad.� His voice was husky as he looked into her eyes.
“You’re not?�
“I was…worried. I guess feeling protective. But I’m also—� He broke off, shaking his head as if he couldn’t figure out what words to use.
“You’re also what?�
“I just 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 so fucking much.�
That took a second to sink in, but when it did, Naomi laughed. She understood exactly what he was feeling. “I worry about you and like you so fucking much too.�
“And I really just need space to do this.� He sealed his mouth over hers again.
𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐛 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰!
“I heard you had to climb in a window to get someone’s cat,� he said, one corner of his mouth tipping up as if he was amused and impressed at the same time.
She spread her arms. “I do what I have to do. And I didn’t just get a cat.�
“N?�
Bennett overheard them talking. He chuckled. “Leave it to Naomi to walk out of a single cat rescue with four additional animals.�
Donovan was clearly surprised. “Were there other cats sheltering up there?�
“A mama raccoon and three babies,� Bennett told him. “And Naomi barely blinked.�
Naomi shook her head. “Oh, I blinked. And backed up. And almost panicked.�
“Almost?� Donovan mouth curved more fully. “Did you guys have a live trap on the boat?�
“We just put her in the cat carrier,� Naomi said.
“How did you get it in there?�
“Queen Bad Ass here just picked the thing up and shoved it in there.�
Donovan suddenly frowned. “Wait. You just picked it up?�
“Well, I threw a towel over it first.�
“But then you just picked it up?� He seemed concerned suddenly.
“I didn’t have a choice. The cat carrier wouldn’t fit through the window.�
Suddenly Donovan grabbed her hands and started turning them over and running his hand up and down her arms from her
fingertips to her shoulders.
“Donovan, what are you doing?�
“It didn’t bite or scratch you, did it? They can carry rabies and canine distemper. They can be really nasty when they are cornered.�
“Stop it.� She tugged her hands from his grip. “It was too confused and hungry to be
aggressive. It all happened really fast for both of us.� She held up her hands with her palms out. “Michael already checked me out. No scratches or bites. I was wearing gloves and used the towel. I’m fine.�
Donovan just stood staring at her for a long moment. Then he said, “Come with me.�
She tipped her head. “Where?�
“I need more lemonade.�
She narrowed her eyes. She didn’t really want to be yelled at. She was fine. In retrospect, she could have possibly done something different with the raccoons, but she honestly didn’t know what. She supposed she could’ve waited for Donovan and sent him back over to the house. But the animals had needed to be rescued. They’d been trapped and hungry. There had been 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘴. She’d done what she needed to do in the moment. She shook her head. “I’m good.�
“Just come with me.�
His jaw was tight and she could tell he was upset. Well, too bad. They were all taking some risks out here. She wasn’t special. She didn’t need to be treated with kid gloves or left in the boat when important things needed done.
“The stand with the lemonade is right there.� She pointed to the tent about thirty feet away.
“I’ll wait here for you.�
Bennett had turned away to talk to someone else and Donovan leaned in close to her ear.
“Come with me or I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you over there and that will 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 get everybody talking.�
Her breath caught in her chest and her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t.�
“Fucking dare me.�
She had never heard Donovan talk like that. Certainly not to her. But she wasn’t sure she had heard him talk that way to anyone. Yes, he definitely got intense at times, but he never got angry.
Studying his face, she realized he wasn’t exactly angry, though. He was…wound up. Still, she decided not to see if he was kidding about the over-the-shoulder thing.
“FԱ.�
They walked together to the tent where huge vats of iced tea and lemonade and ice water were set up on long folding tables. But they didn’t stop in front of the tables.
Donovan grabbed her wrist and tugged her around to the opposite side of the tent. Out of view of the Landrys and her brother.
He turned to face her.
“Look, Donovan, you can’t be mad. I did what I had to do and I’m not sorry. I was as safe as I could be and you, of anyone, should know that sometimes we have to take some risks to get this stuff done.�
He stepped forward, took her face in his hands, and covered her mouth with his.
She sank into the kiss immediately. She wasn’t an idiot. He was worked up and there was a lot of adrenaline pumping for both of them, but Donovan was kissing her. She was going to pour all of her mixed-up emotions into this too and enjoy it for a few seconds.
He finally lifted his head. “I’m not mad.� His voice was husky as he looked into her eyes.
“You’re not?�
“I was…worried. I guess feeling protective. But I’m also—� He broke off, shaking his head as if he couldn’t figure out what words to use.
“You’re also what?�
“I just 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 so fucking much.�
That took a second to sink in, but when it did, Naomi laughed. She understood exactly what he was feeling. “I worry about you and like you so fucking much too.�
“And I really just need space to do this.� He sealed his mouth over hers again.
𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐛 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰!
Head Over Hooves is live now!
You know in movies where the big city girl lands in a small town for the holidays and falls for the hunky guy who saves Christmas?
This isn’t that story.
But this guy does look fantastic in flannel.
And out of flannel�
Check out this peek at this hot, holiday fling rom com from NYT bestseller Erin Nicholas!
For some reason, she’d been picturing Drew Ryan, the Iowa farmer, as older, a little overweight, and a whole lot paler.
But this version was not much older than her, was lean and muscular, clearly from the manual work he did every day, and had tanned skin that was no doubt from working outside on a regular basis. He also had big, rough hands, a bit of scruff on his jaw, and� they stopped across the fence from a big black pickup with a huge trailer hooked on the back…reindeer.
He checked a lot of her boxes. And he had reindeer. And he was a great kisser.
Drew is not from Autre. That’s number ONE on the list.
Right. Exactly. It was. Definitely.
Maybe she needed to print her list off and keep it tucked in her bra or something so she could refer back to it while Drew Ryan was in town.
He climbed over the fence, those faded blue jeans cupping his fine ass right in front of her face.
Yeah, you should definitely print that list off.
Then he turned, gave her a grin, and reached out his arms. “Come on.� He wiggled his fingers.
She cocked a brow. “Come on?�
“Gotta get you over the fence.�
“You don’t think I can get over on my own?�
“In that dress? You’re gonna get a splinter where you really don’t want one.�
Did he get just a bit of a drawl in his voice?
Surely not. He was a Yankee. But the way his gaze drifted over her and the roughness in his voice made her ears perk up the way they did when the bayou boys got flirty.
What. The. Hell. Was. That?
She smoothed the front of her skirt and told the parts underneath it to calm the hell down. He’s a Yankee, she repeated, specifically to them.
They didn’t care. Because when she put her hand in his and propped her foot up on the bottom plank of the fence and he pulled her up, grasped her by the waist, and lifted her up over the fence like she was a princess and he was the dashing prince sweeping her out of her carriage, all of her parts swooned and got a little warmer.
More like you’re a bale of hay he’s tossing into the back of his truck.
But dammit, her girl parts focused only on tossing into the back of his truck.
Iowa boys had truck beds just like Louisiana boys did.
And Rory thought it was very possible Drew Ryan knew just what to do with his.
She needed to get that list printed off and laminated. Stat.
HEAD OVER HOOVES is live now!
This isn’t that story.
But this guy does look fantastic in flannel.
And out of flannel�
Check out this peek at this hot, holiday fling rom com from NYT bestseller Erin Nicholas!
For some reason, she’d been picturing Drew Ryan, the Iowa farmer, as older, a little overweight, and a whole lot paler.
But this version was not much older than her, was lean and muscular, clearly from the manual work he did every day, and had tanned skin that was no doubt from working outside on a regular basis. He also had big, rough hands, a bit of scruff on his jaw, and� they stopped across the fence from a big black pickup with a huge trailer hooked on the back…reindeer.
He checked a lot of her boxes. And he had reindeer. And he was a great kisser.
Drew is not from Autre. That’s number ONE on the list.
Right. Exactly. It was. Definitely.
Maybe she needed to print her list off and keep it tucked in her bra or something so she could refer back to it while Drew Ryan was in town.
He climbed over the fence, those faded blue jeans cupping his fine ass right in front of her face.
Yeah, you should definitely print that list off.
Then he turned, gave her a grin, and reached out his arms. “Come on.� He wiggled his fingers.
She cocked a brow. “Come on?�
“Gotta get you over the fence.�
“You don’t think I can get over on my own?�
“In that dress? You’re gonna get a splinter where you really don’t want one.�
Did he get just a bit of a drawl in his voice?
Surely not. He was a Yankee. But the way his gaze drifted over her and the roughness in his voice made her ears perk up the way they did when the bayou boys got flirty.
What. The. Hell. Was. That?
She smoothed the front of her skirt and told the parts underneath it to calm the hell down. He’s a Yankee, she repeated, specifically to them.
They didn’t care. Because when she put her hand in his and propped her foot up on the bottom plank of the fence and he pulled her up, grasped her by the waist, and lifted her up over the fence like she was a princess and he was the dashing prince sweeping her out of her carriage, all of her parts swooned and got a little warmer.
More like you’re a bale of hay he’s tossing into the back of his truck.
But dammit, her girl parts focused only on tossing into the back of his truck.
Iowa boys had truck beds just like Louisiana boys did.
And Rory thought it was very possible Drew Ryan knew just what to do with his.
She needed to get that list printed off and laminated. Stat.
HEAD OVER HOOVES is live now!
Otterly Irresistible is FREE... for a limited time!
“You’re going to try to resist me?�
“With everything in me,� he said with a nod. “I realize that that’s a difficult concept for you.�
“It really is,� she agreed. “So much so that I’m not sure it’s going to sink in.�
He had to fight to keep from snorting. Her confidence and audacity, while sure to be a huge headache for him, was amusing and, yes, attractive. “I’m sure if you give it enough time, you’ll get used to it.�
“Well, the thing about resisting something is that it means it’s something that you want.�
“I never said I didn’t want you.� And that was exactly the wrong thing to say.
She clearly really liked that answer. “True. You said you weren’t interested in a fling.�
“Cǰ.�
“So you want to be my boyfriend?�
He most definitely did not want to be her boyfriend. “No.�
“So what do you want to be?�
“Your boss.�
“That’s it?�
Ԩ.�
“Too bad. Just my boss isn’t an option.�
“No? And why is that?� And when was he going to learn to quit engaging in these conversations with this woman?
“Because we’re already more than that,� she said. She waited just a beat.
Which was enough time for him to recall all of the things they had done that bosses and employees 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 shouldn’t do to one another.
“We’re friends,� she told him.
They were? But of all the labels they could put on this� thing� between them, he supposed that was the safest.
“Okay,� he agreed. “We’ll be friends.�
“Great.� She looked pleased. “And now that we’re friends, I need a favor.�
She wouldn’t actually ask for...𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵...as a favor between friends, would she?
And if she did, he would most certainly say no, wouldn’t he?
�"𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝-𝙤𝙪𝙩-𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙-𝙨𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙩-𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧-𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮-𝙙𝙤𝙣’�-𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙-𝙞𝙣-𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨!� BookAddict, ŷ
Binge 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩-𝘰𝘶𝘵-𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥, 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘺, 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢y!
➔Apple Books:
➔NǴǰ:
➔Amazon US:
➔KDz:
➔Google Play:
➔Paperback and audio available too!
“With everything in me,� he said with a nod. “I realize that that’s a difficult concept for you.�
“It really is,� she agreed. “So much so that I’m not sure it’s going to sink in.�
He had to fight to keep from snorting. Her confidence and audacity, while sure to be a huge headache for him, was amusing and, yes, attractive. “I’m sure if you give it enough time, you’ll get used to it.�
“Well, the thing about resisting something is that it means it’s something that you want.�
“I never said I didn’t want you.� And that was exactly the wrong thing to say.
She clearly really liked that answer. “True. You said you weren’t interested in a fling.�
“Cǰ.�
“So you want to be my boyfriend?�
He most definitely did not want to be her boyfriend. “No.�
“So what do you want to be?�
“Your boss.�
“That’s it?�
Ԩ.�
“Too bad. Just my boss isn’t an option.�
“No? And why is that?� And when was he going to learn to quit engaging in these conversations with this woman?
“Because we’re already more than that,� she said. She waited just a beat.
Which was enough time for him to recall all of the things they had done that bosses and employees 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 shouldn’t do to one another.
“We’re friends,� she told him.
They were? But of all the labels they could put on this� thing� between them, he supposed that was the safest.
“Okay,� he agreed. “We’ll be friends.�
“Great.� She looked pleased. “And now that we’re friends, I need a favor.�
She wouldn’t actually ask for...𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵...as a favor between friends, would she?
And if she did, he would most certainly say no, wouldn’t he?
�"𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝-𝙤𝙪𝙩-𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙-𝙨𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙩-𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧-𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮-𝙙𝙤𝙣’�-𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙-𝙞𝙣-𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨!� BookAddict, ŷ
Binge 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩-𝘰𝘶𝘵-𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥, 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘺, 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢y!
➔Apple Books:
➔NǴǰ:
➔Amazon US:
➔KDz:
➔Google Play:
➔Paperback and audio available too!
