I am beyond excited about the Release Day Launch of Nichole Chase's RELUCTANTLY ROYAL!! RELUCTANTLY ROYAL is a New Adult contemporary romance novel being published by HarperCollins Avon imprint and is the third book in Nichole Chase’s Suddenly Series. We love the swoony romance in these books and this one delivers in spades!
RELUCTANTLY ROYAL Synopsis:
Maxwell Jameson Trevor, prince of
Lilaria, hates his royal role. Despising the limelight, he takes solace in his
art studio and steers clear of any drama. But when one of the newly discovered
royals passes away, Maxwell's brother Alex asks him to break the news to the
old man's granddaughter. Though he hates to be the bearer of doom and gloom, he
doesn't want the poor girl to find out from the tabloids. For Maxwell knows all
too well how devastating that could be.
Coming from a broken home and modest background,
newly ordained Lady Meredith Thysmer has seized her chance to make a better
life for herself and her son. She's not afraid to use her best assets to get
what she wants. But when the unpretentious yet devastatingly handsome Max
delivers his news, her plans for the future come crashing to a halt. In the
challenging days ahead, Max's compassion, humor, and steadfast loyalty to
Meredith and her son win her over. She quickly finds herself doing something
she swore would never happen again: falling in love. And yet Maxwell still
refuses to completely drop his guard. Somehow Meredith's got to find a way to
seduce this reluctant royal.
As I turned to leave the room, my eyes fell on a
sketch pad and I couldn’t help myself. Sitting back down in the chair I flipped
it open and smiled at the drawings inside. Marty had promise for such a young
kid. Turning to a blank page, I glanced around and searched for a pencil.
Charcoal would be best, but pencil would do.
I started with the lines of his forehead, the curve
of his impish nose, the roundness of his cheeks. I was lost in the sketch,
enjoying the shadows, the tenderness in his expression, working to capture that
moment of utter innocence.
“That’s beautiful.” Her voice was soft.
I looked up from what I was doing, not surprised
that she had snuck up on me. When I’m lost in a project, the world disappears;
the only thing I’m aware of are the layers of the project I’m working on.
“He’s a good subject.” I turned back to the paper
and finished up the shading of the blanket.
“Only because he’s asleep and not moving.” Her quiet
laugh sent shivers over my body.
“That does help.” I smiled up at her. “But it’s the
contrast. The contrast of him awake versus him asleep. He looks so young right
now, so innocent.”
“What do you mean?” She leaned closer to look at the
picture.
“He’s so mature, quick-witted.” I whispered the
words. “But here he is, looking like the child he is.”
“His teachers say that,” she said. “That he’s quick
to pick things up.”
“I’d say so.” I turned and handed her the sketch
pad. “I hope you don’t mind that I drew him. The light and shadows were too
perfect to resist.” Sort of like her right now. The way the moonlight glinted
in her eyes and shone along her hair. Her perfect features would make any
artist ache to draw them. Her pixie nose, the heavy eyelashes, the curve of her
body hinted at by the oversized sweater she had wrapped around herself. It made
my palms itch. Partly because I just wanted to touch her, to see if she would
taste as sweet as she looked in that moment.
“Thank you for keeping him entertained.” She stood
up. “Can I keep this?”
“Of course.” I stood up and stretched. Her eyes
swept over my chest and then back up to my face. Maybe I wasn’t the only one
tempted to touch. I hated to admit it, but I had a flare of pride. “I enjoyed
hanging out with him.”
I was surprised to realize I meant it. I never would
have thought spending time with a six-year-old would have been enjoyable.
“Looks like he did too.” She moved away from the
door and I followed her into the hallway.
“Did you get everything settled?”
“I think so.” She frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Her expression worried me.
“Granddad would have hated a large ceremony.” She
sighed and headed for the stairs. “But I guess that as a duke there are some
things that have to happen.”
“I don’t blame your grandfather.” I followed behind
her. “I would want a small ceremony, not to be made into a production.”
“I’m starting to think you don’t like any type of
production.” She looked at me over shoulder.
“Not really, no.” I wasn’t going to lie. “I don’t
like being the focus, being the center of attention. It makes me
uncomfortable.” I wasn’t going to lie, but I hadn’t intended to tell her so
much about me.
“And yet you agreed to help me with my grandfather’s
funeral.” She turned to me at the bottom of the stairs and set the sketch pad
on a table. “Why?”
I stared at her for a minute, enjoying the way her
eyes looked up at me, the tilt of her chin, the way her hair cascaded around
her shoulders. “I don’t know.”
Unable to help myself, I reached out and touched her
cheek with my fingers. Her pupils dilated and she inhaled softly. With one
thumb I traced the dip under her plump bottom lip. Her hand reached up to trace
my jaw and she took a step closer to me.
“You should be running from me as fast as you can.”
She whispered the words. “I’m everything you don’t want.”
“I’m not so sure.”
“I live for the spotlight, it’s my food.” Her eyes
were half lidded as she edged closer to my mouth. “And you’ve seen my family.
I’m trouble, Max.”
Did I care? I wasn’t sure I was capable of making a
real decision as her smell wrapped around my senses. The only thing I knew was
that I wanted to taste her, to touch her, to press her against my body. To hear
her say my name again.
Dipping my head, I grazed her lips with mine and I
was lost. On a sigh, she leaned into me and wrapped her hands around my neck.
Tilting her head back, I brought my mouth to hers carefully, softly, tasting. I
wanted to deepen the kiss, to hear her moan, to feel the way her body could
wrap around mine, but I kept it soft, sweet, and simple. She was in such a hard
place, she needed to be protected, treasured by someone.
And right now, I was that person.
Nichole Chase is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Suddenly Royal, Flukes, The Dark Betrayal Trilogy, and several short stories. She is also the instructor of Say What? a dialogue class at the Romance Academy.
Nichole lives in Georgia with her husband, energetic daughter, superhero dog, Sulcata tortoise, and two cats. When not writing, you may find her reading, painting, crafting, or chasing her daughter around the house while making monster noises.
Candis Terry was born and raised near the sunny beaches of
Southern California and now makes her home on an Idaho farm. She’s experienced
life in such diverse ways as working in a Hollywood recording studio to chasing
down wayward steers. Only one thing has remained the same: her passion for
writing stories about relationships, the push and pull in the search for love,
and the security one finds in their own happily ever after.
