Worth the Wait Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the WORTH THE WAIT by Traci Douglass Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

WORTH THE WAIT

Author: Traci Douglass

Release Date: March 8, 2020

Publisher: Entangled: Bliss

Formats:  Paperback, eBook

Pages: 200

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo

Description: 

Mandy Reynolds needs a reset on life in so many ways. Her acting career isn’t exactly where she’d hoped it to be. She can’t even get a job as a germ for a commercial. When she inherits half a house she sees it as a sign and heads home to Heavenly Falls, Illinois. She’ll sell the house, and use the money to take her career to the next level in Los Angeles. That is if she can convince her hard-headed––and stupidly gorgeous–– ex-stepbrother, Alex Noonan, to sell fast.

The last time Alex saw Mandy, she was a gangly teen, who followed him around like a sad puppy. But she’s grown into a smart and funny woman, who is as frustrating as she is beautiful. The fact that they have to live in the house––together––while they fix it up, is one temptation he doesn’t need. And while he’s having fun spending time with her, she’s moving on soon, and he needs time to heal.

Plus, she has no idea he’s got a secret that could put a monkey wrench in all of her plans...

She took a deep breath then turned slowly to find him watching her from across the room. He looked as off-kilter as she felt. Butterflies swarming in her empty stomach, she searched for some way past the awkward. “So…”

“So,” Alex said, pushing to his feet, and for a breathless second, she thought he would stride across the kitchen and sweep her into his arms for a romance novel cover-worthy ravishing. The idea buzzed through her, setting all her nerve endings alight. But instead, he turned and headed out into the hall, saying as he went, “Staining.”

Huh? Mandy blinked after him, wondering what the heck he was talking about until she remembered the cans he’d brought up from the basement. Being busy was better than standing around thinking about Alex and his almost-kiss, so she trailed after him, asking, “Need any help?”
He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, hands full of cans and brushes. “I guess."

“Cool.”

They headed up to the second floor and knelt side by side at the railing. He poured stain into two small cups and handed her one. Mandy moved to the opposite end of the railing to start on a baluster, doing her best to focus on the task at hand and not the man at the other end of the railing. They worked their way back toward the middle and each other and once they were done, Mandy sat back on her heels, her stomach growling as the smell of garlic and roasting chicken drifted up from the kitchen. She sighed and set her cup of stain aside to wipe her hands on a piece of paper towel. “I should go check the food.”

Alex squinted at the baluster he was finishing. “I’m sorry.”

For a moment, Mandy thought she’d misheard him. “For what?”

He sighed and met her eyes at last. “For whatever that was downstairs in the kitchen. I shouldn’t have tried to kiss you.” Then he shook his head, staring down at the paintbrush he was cleaning. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said, trying to play it off with a joke. “I mean after you asked me if I wanted to sleep with you, a kiss seems pretty innocent, right?”

Alex looked up at her. “This isn’t funny.”

Her shoulders slumped. “Well, not exactly the end of the world, either. I mean, we’re both adults. We like each other. We want each other. What’s wrong with that?” Then because she knew exactly what was wrong with that whole scenario, she kept on talking so she wouldn’t have to listen to him tell her he didn’t want her. “I’m kidding. We can’t sleep together. It’s too complicated. We each have our own plans for the future and neither of them involves the other. You’re staying here and I’m going to California. Who cares if the chemistry between us is off the charts? I mean, I feel it, but maybe you don’t. I just…” She stopped and took a breath, out of

words at last, her hopes sinking along with her voice. “I’m sorry, too.”

Alex set his brush aside and sat back against the wall. “We make quite a pair, don’t we?”

Mandy gave a sad little snort, settling in beside him. “We do.”

Their shoulders pressed together, and warmth spread through her side from the touch. Man, she had it bad for this guy, and that wasn’t good.

He exhaled slowly then looked over at her. “And you don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“Neither do you,” she said, raising her head to meet his gaze,

Alex reached over to trace his fingers down her cheek. “You’ve got stain on your face,”

“Oh.” Her breath caught at the wonder in his touch. “Wouldn’t want to look silly.”

“No.” He closed the gap between them at last. “Hate it when that happens.”

The first brush of his lips against hers felt featherlight, tentative, teasing. Then she groaned and slipped her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer, and he deepened the kiss, no longer gentle as she swept his tongue between her lips to taste him for the first time. She scrambled onto his lap, unable to get enough, her chest pressed to his, heart to heart, their pulses thumping together, strong and steady.

Kissing Alex was too much. Kissing him would never be enough.

Kissing him was…

Over.

Fresh, Flirty, Fun. Sweet, Sexy Romance.

I'm a USA Today Bestselling Author whose stories feature sizzling heroes with humor, quick wits and troubled pasts and heroines who are smart, tenacious, and always give as good as they get. I hold an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and I love cute animals, chocolate, coffee, hot UK actors, and sarcasm—not necessarily in that order.

My books are published with Harlequin/Mills & Boon, Entangled Publishing, and Tule Publishing.

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Tour Schedule:

3/9/2020	Mythical Books	Guest Post
3/9/2020	Twirling Book Princess	Excerpt
3/10/2020	A Dream Within A Dream	Excerpt
3/10/2020	BookHounds	Interview
3/10/2020	Preciousbooksworld	Excerpt
3/11/2020	Books_andPoetrii	Guest Post
3/11/2020	Locks, Hooks, and  Books	Review
3/11/2020	once.upon.a.romance.blog	Review
3/12/2020	Little Red Reads	Review
3/12/2020	reading_with_nessie	Review
3/12/2020	Books,Dreams,Life	Guest Post
3/13/2020	Two Chicks on Books	Interview
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