by Sarina Bowen
Release Day: February 12, 2018
A sexy new standalone from USA Today bestseller Sarina Bowen.
You’d think a billion dollars, a professional hockey team and a six-bedroom mansion on the Promenade would satisfy a guy. You’d be wrong.
For seven years Rebecca has brightened my office with her wit and her smile. She manages both my hockey team and my sanity. I don’t know when I started waking in the night, craving her. All I know is that one whiff of her perfume ruins my concentration. And her laugh makes me hard.
When Rebecca gets hurt, I step in to help. It’s what friends do. But what friends don’t do is rip off each others’ clothes for a single, wild night together.
Now she’s avoiding me. She says we’re too different, and it can never happen again. So why can’t we keep our hands off each other?
I loved this fresh new twist on the billionaire storyline and the absolutely dreamy hero. Nate is everything I could ever want in a book boyfriend - he's smart, confident, and completely smitten! Brooklynaire is sexy and addictive! #1 NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely
My review: 5 swoony stars!
Along with score of fans of Sarina Bowen, I have been waiting on pins and needles for Nate and Beeca's story. Although not officially part of Brooklyn Bruisers series, Brooklynaire sort of runs adjacent to the Brooklyn Bruisers series and fills in some timeline gaps for us. And we get to see some of our favorites hockey players and team employees. Such a treat!
But back to Brooklynaire, I swooned through pretty much the whole thing. Sigh.... Who knew Nate could draw me in so fast? I love this twist on the billionaire storyline (trust me, Nate is NOT your typical rich guy and this is really not a billionaire book), because it's really more of a friends to lovers book than anything else. Yes, they work together, actually Becca works for Nate, but their friendship and history goes so deep, that's the part that's important. These two together are PERFECT- just meant to be together.
Bowen's humor game is strong (So. Cat tacos?) and can write a steamy scene like nobody's business. I devoured Brooklynaire and found it to be a delight and so satisfying. A must read!
Excerpt:
I grab a towel off a waiting stack of
them and toss it onto the edge. “You can sit and put your feet in.”
She’s wearing a short little knit
dress that’s been making me crazy all evening, so it would be easy enough for
her to strip off those stockings, sit on the towel, and drop both feet in.
And that’s what she does. She eases
one stocking down over a smooth knee and tugs it off.
I don’t want to stand there staring
like a middle-school boy. Okay, I do want to. But I don’t want to make her
uncomfortable. So I go over to the sound system instead, and I set my phone on
the speaker and cue up a really old playlist. One she’ll recognize.
When I turn around again, she’s seated
on the towel, both legs hanging down into the churning water. “Ah. Wow.” She
looks up at me, her eyes sparkling. “Nice place you got here.”
“Isn’t it?” I toe off my shoes and kick
them to the side.
The first song comes on, and it’s a
Macklemore tune that we used to play far too often in our first office. Rebecca
laughs immediately. “You didn’t! I haven’t heard this playlist in forever. But
I’ll bet I still know every transition. Lady Gaga is next.”
“She sure is.”
Rebecca kicks her feet, making a
splash. “I have a little confession to make.”
“What’s that?” I loosen my tie and
slide the knot out.
“Well…” She grins up at me. “I used to
have a crush on you. Back in the early days.”
My hands freeze on the tie silk. “Get
out of town. You did not.”
“No, I really did.” Her cheeks are
pink. “That first year especially. But you were taken, and you were my boss.
Those two things made it pretty easy to tamp down, when you’re a practical girl
like me.”
I walk over and drop down beside her,
my back to the water, though, because I’m still wearing trousers and socks. “So
how does that work, exactly?”
“What?” She gives me a sidelong
glance, but then looks away again and won’t meet my eyes.
“How do you stop wanting someone? I’m
a practical person, but I don’t see how that makes it any easier. Nothing seems
to mute the raging attraction I have for you.”
Her chin turns quickly toward me, and
I seize the opportunity to kiss her. And it only takes one kiss—one slide of my
lips over hers, and I’m on fire again.
We’re facing opposite directions, so
it’s awkward as hell. But I don’t even care. I take greedy sip after greedy sip
of her mouth, until she pulls back to stare at me. Her color is high and her
eyes are bright and happy. “This is like Twister.”
“It’s better,” I correct. Lady Gaga
comes on, just as Becca said she would. “Are we getting into this pool or
what?”
Becca kicks a foot in the water. “I’m
tempted. But I don’t have a bathing suit.”
“Oh, snap.”
She smiles and shakes her head. “Are
you really getting in?”
“We don’t have to.” I’m never going to
pressure her.
Her fingers trail across the surface
of the bubbling water. “But this is an adventure, right?”
“Right.” I stand up and remove my
socks. She’s watching me. And I can’t read her expression. “What?”
“Just wondering what else you’re going
to take off.” She smiles.
“Come here.” The order rolls off my
tongue.
But Rebecca doesn’t blink. She gets up
and turns toward me, curiosity in her eyes.
“You tell me. What am I taking off?”
She puts two hands tentatively on my
chest, and I make myself be patient. Everything I ever wanted is on the other
side of this moment. I just need us to break through this awkwardness—the “will
we or won’t we” tension.
Her fingers find the top button of my
shirt. “I’m not getting in the water unless you are.”
That’s a compromise I can live with. I
find my lower shirt buttons and work upwards, until we meet in the middle. She
pushes the two halves of my shirt apart and runs a hand down my bare chest.
My inner caveman stands up and
cheers.
