Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Sale Blitz for Decidedly with Love by Stina Lindenblatt.




Title: Decidedly with Love
Series: By the Bay #3
Author: Stina Lindenblatt
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: January 15, 2018



Blurb

From the author of sexy romantic comedies comes the story of a meddling grandmother searching for lifelong love. For her hockey player grandson…

Fake Boyfriend Rule #1: never fall for your fake girlfriend.

Oops.

I run Aphrodite’s Boutique, a store that specializes in all things love-related. A store that I adore with all my heart, and which is at risk of being shut down and replaced with a condo development.

To save it, all I have to do is pretend to be Travis Hamilton’s girlfriend.

Sounds simple enough. Right?

Except he and I have a history together...but he doesn’t seem to remember me.

****

My feisty, well-meaning grandmother raised me after my parents died, but now she’s determined to help me find The One. But when most women I meet tend to be puck bunnies or women only interested in my hockey-player salary—and let’s not forget the nutcase of an ex-girlfriend—why bother?

Only a fake girlfriend will deter my grandmother’s matchmaking scheme.

Too bad the one woman who can help me is the sexy redhead who wants to assist me as much as she wants her eyeballs dunked in hot sauce and barbecued.

To convince her, I promise to help her with her own dilemma. But sometimes fire and ice really do mix. Now I have to decide if love is in the air—and if together Emma and I make something hotter. Something stronger. Something real.







Purchase Links

99c for a limited time!!

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU





Excerpt

Emma
Sitting on the fountain’s ledge, I pulled on my rubber boots. Why the boots?
You didn’t expect me to climb into the fountain in my heels or go barefooted, did you?
“Wow, that looks like so much fun,” Hannah said, laughing. “If I didn’t have to go to work in a few minutes, I would’ve volunteered to help you. But alas…” She snickered. “Why are you doing this when there are no birds in the store to crap on the statue?”
“Just because there are no birds doesn’t mean Aphrodite doesn’t get dusty.” I had no idea if the woman in the toga really was supposed to be the Greek goddess of love, but she looked similar enough. “Plus I need to remove the coins, and it’s a lot easier to do that by climbing in the water to retrieve them.”
“If you say so.” The laughter in her voice was still there.
The bell above the door jingled and I glanced up to see if I was about to be busy—or if Lisa could handle things. Several people already were milling around, checking out the merchandise or trying on the lingerie in the fitting room.
Oh, God. Not him again.
Travis entered the store and his gaze settled on me.
“Oh, this should be good,” Hannah said. “Too bad I have to leave now if I want to make it to work on time.”
I turned my head to look at her. “What should be good?”
“The guy you were scowling at the other day is obviously here for a repeat. And this time he’s minus the senior citizen squad. On that note, I’m off now. I’ll call you later for the scoop.” She started backing away. “And have fun with your goddess.”
Before I could respond, she was out the door, pausing only long enough to give Travis a quick once-over and wave good-bye to me.
He wasn’t the only one to be given a once-over. Except in my case, his gaze slowly traveled up my body as if he were undressing me—removing my ever-so-sexy rubber boots; my whimsical blue floral sundress that brushed against my knees; my white lacy bra and underwear, which he couldn’t see but I was sure he was imagining on me. That, or he was imagining I was in a thong.
Once his gaze was on my face, his mouth slid up to one side. “The boots are definitely a nice touch. But I must admit I’m more a fan of stilettos.” He leaned in closer, his breath brushing against my ear…and my body decided to go rogue and ignore my brain telling it to take a step back.
“Especially when the legs they’re attached to are wrapped around my waist,” he added. No—the girlie part between my legs did not release a longing sigh. Not. At. All.
Note to self: add dirty talk to list of requirements for next boyfriend.
I stepped away from him, the back of my calves hitting the low fountain wall. “What are you doing here? I thought we weren’t checking out any more retail spaces until next weekend.”
“I came to talk to you.”
“I figured that, but now’s not a good time.”
“Why’s that?”
I indicated the fountain. “I have to clean it and remove the money. So unless whatever you need to tell me can be done while I’m working, you’ll have to come back later.” Or preferably never.
“I can wait.”
Of course he could.
“Don’t you have to be at work or something?” I had no idea what he did for a living, but it probably didn’t involve hanging around my store.
He opened his mouth to answer but didn’t get that far.
“Ohmigod, aren’t you, like, Travis Hamilton?” A tall teenage girl asked him. She was pretty, with an athletic body and long dark hair spilling down her back.
She didn’t wait for him to reply. “I also play defense. You’re like my idol.”
I felt my eyebrows climb north. Idol? Why would she idolize him?
And how did she even know him?
Maybe I should have Googled him…like I had with some of my past dates.
Not that I was going out with him.
He offered her a friendly smile—not like the smiles that threw me off kilter. “Nice to meet you.”
Her friend was looking at Travis as though she also had no idea why the girl was excited seeing him here.
“This is Travis Hamilton,” the dark-haired girl explained. “He plays defense for the San Francisco Rock. The NHL team.”
He does?
She kept chatting to him, mostly about hockey. Since I still had work to do, I grabbed the cloth on the ledge and climbed in. I’d already turned the water off before putting my boots on.
Have you ever tried walking through a fountain while wearing rubber boots? It’s not easy. And I don’t care how graceful you normally are, this sucks all the gracefulness from you in one easy swoop.
But I figured the sacrifice was worth it. For Aphrodite’s sake…which could only help benefit the store.
Now if only Aphrodite could help me with my lease problem.
Splosh. Splosh. Splosh.
“Ready for a little spa treatment?” I asked the statue in almost a whisper. No need for the customers to believe I was crazy.
I dipped the cloth in the water and began cleaning her.
“What are you doing?” Travis asked.
“What does it look like?” I spared him a glance over my shoulder. The girls he had been talking to were no longer with him.
“It looks like you’re giving her a sponge bath. Very kinky, by the way.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m cleaning her and then I have to remove the money.”
“What do you do with the money?”
“It goes to charity,” I said, my attention on my task.
“What charity?”
“A youth center for underprivileged kids where I volunteer.”
“Why a local youth center for underprivileged kids?”
I shifted around and glanced at him from over Aphrodite’s shoulder. “Why not there?”
The corner of his mouth twitched up to one side. “I asked you first.” At my silence, he continued, “The Rock encourages its players to be active in the community. Some players donate large amounts of money to a charity of their choice. Some participate in various events at the children’s hospital, which are always popular with the kids. For some players, they do it simply because publicity recommended they give back to those less fortunate—because it makes the player look good. Others do it because their charity has special meaning to them. So which is it for you?”
“Which type of player are you?” I replied. Or maybe he donated neither time nor money.
“I donate money to a charity that provides sports equipment to kids. Because of the cost, they might not otherwise be able to play hockey. And I participate in the annual wheelchair hockey game at the kids’ hospital.”
Did I have “selfless” on my list of requirements for potential boyfriends? No—but it was a given. I’d written off a few individuals in the past because they didn’t believe in donating either time or money to a worthy cause.

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