Contemporary Romance
Date
Published: 1/27/2014
Battling The Best Man
A
Harmony Falls Novel Book 2 (The book stands alone.)
Synopsis:
On the cusp of a brilliant Chicago medical career, Dr.
Kory Flemming rarely gets vacation, but she can't say no to maid of honor
duties in her best friend's wedding. Home town or not, being in Harmony Falls,
Pennsylvania isn't easy, especially when the only man smart enough to trump
Kory's high school academic achievements turns out to be a sexy, accomplished
adult up to his old, flirtatious tricks.
Will Mitchell has been destined for success since the day he was
born. After spending his formative years racking up academic honors, it was
only natural for him to be named the chief operating officer of his family's
thriving company. He has it all-more or less-so when the target of his high
school infatuation turns up hot and haughty at his brother's wedding, Will
decides he wants her, too.
Old conflict gives way to new attraction, taking Will and Kory by
surprise, until a failed merger and family tragedy threaten both their
professional goals. Can they put aside their rocky past and ignore their
titillating present in order to work together to secure the future for the people
they adore?
Excerpt:
The same blast of incredulity that led
Kory to call him a dick and walk away earlier prompted a sarcastic laugh. “Are
you serious? We aren’t friends, Will! We haven’t been friends since high school calculus when your real friends harassed me to the point I got
pulled from the class.” Each word had carried her a step closer to him until
she was raging in his face.
He balked. “Come on, Kory.” But then
recognition flashed across his annoyingly handsome features. “You got pulled
from that class?”
“Yes, I got pulled from that class.
What did you think happened to me? I disappeared.”
He snapped his fingers and nodded.
“Yeah! Come to think of it I tried to ask you once what happened, but you
walked away from me. You do that a lot, you know?” he added with a weak smile.
“But apparently, you have reason to.” He shook his head. “I honestly had no
idea.”
He didn’t remember what
happened. Figured. All
these years—all the energy—she’d essentially wasted. It wasn’t at all
satisfying to swear revenge on someone who didn’t know how badly he’d hurt her.
“Forget it,” she said, dropping to the
flats of her bare feet, suddenly surprised by their close proximity.
“No. This time, I won’t forget it. I’m
very, very sorry for whatever part I played in you being pulled from that
class.”
The seemingly heartfelt apology stunned
her, stopping her before she could step back and put reasonable space between
them. She stood there stuck in some strange mix of abhorrence and attraction.
“It’s okay, Will,” she finally said. But the words weren’t accurate. If
anything were really okay
her heart wouldn’t be
racing.
“It’s not okay. Whoever I was in that
class, I can assure you it’s not the real me. If we had more time together, I
could prove it.”
His head tilted to one side. His tuxedo
shirt opened at the throat. And he studied her with dark sparkling eyes,
causing a hot spot low in her belly.
This attraction didn’t make any sense,
and Kory thrived on rationality. She hadn’t trusted Will Mitchell for years.
What purpose did it serve to let her guard down now?
She’d be back in Chicago before her
brain had time to process their interaction.
Then again, maybe that was the best
part about it. Maybe that was why she allowed herself to maintain eye contact
with him past the point of innocent interaction.
Will leaned closer, his voice just
above a whisper. “So, would it ruin all our progress if
I kissed you?”
“Only if it’s a really bad kiss,” Kory
said, lifting her chin to within a fraction of an inch of his, smelling the
whiskey on his breath.
Will’s
hands landed on her hips the minute his lips landed on her mouth.
My Review: 4 stars
This was interesting to read. I can only imagine what it must feel like to end up back in your hometown at a wedding next to the guy that just made your life a nightmare in high school. That's what happened to Kory. Will always won every academic achievement in high school, leaving Kory feeling second rate. Will never saw it that way. He just wondered why she was so mad at him. I really enjoyed Will and Kory together. I thought they were just what the other needed right when they needed it, they just didn't know it. They face their issues and struggles, but the time they spend together is exactly what they need. They get past old issues and are working towards a common goal, when the unexpected happens and everything changes. I found it interesting that both Kory and Will had the people in their family pressuring them to be what the family wanted, rather than what Will or Kory wanted. That's gotta suck. I loved how they both came to realizations separately, but went to the other to face them when they said what needed to be said. Damn, that was cryptic. That's why you need to read the book! Anyway, very good book with good story line and great characters. Elley made me want to know these people, and I'm gonna have to go back and find the first book in this series to read. I want to know all about Harmony Falls, it sounds like a great place to be from.
Elley Arden
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