Worth
the Risk
The McKinney Brothers # 2
By: Claudia Connor
Releasing Feb 3rd, 2015
Loveswept
Blurb
When
a McKinney brother falls in love, powerful emotion and overwhelming desire are
never far behind.
Two
hearts locked away . . . Hannah Walker spends her days coaching children
through injury and trauma, one therapeutic horseback ride at a time. She knows
all too well how violence can change a child and leave scars that never heal.
It’s easy for her to relate to the kids; what isn’t easy is the thought of
facing her own harrowing past.
Millionaire
playboy Stephen McKinney could use a little coaching himself. Five years ago he
encountered his most horrible nightmare—and the nightmare won. No matter what
he achieves, nothing can make up for that awful night . . . or so he believes.
Both
desperate for a second chance . . . Stephen is used to getting what he wants.
And he wants Hannah. So when she turns him down, he’s intrigued. What he
doesn’t know is that her secrets will lead him to a place he never wanted to go
again . . . to a side of himself he’s tried to forget . . . a side that would
scare Hannah away from ever loving him. Now his only chance to win her trust is
to bare his soul, risking everything he tried so hard to protect.
Goodreads
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22747252-worth-the-risk?from_search=true
Excerpt:
Stephen McKinney watched her go, enjoying the way she moved in tan riding breeches that hugged her legs before they disappeared into tall, brown leather boots. He smiled, enjoying it a little longer. Golden-blond hair hung in a long, loose braid nearly to her waist. He had a flash of it tangled in his fingers, spread across silk sheets. Beautiful. And gone.
He loosened his tie and opened the top buttons of his dress shirt as he made his way through the express lane.
Still feeling a stab of disappointment, he exited alone. But the sun warmed him and, it seemed, blessed him, with extreme luck, because, as he stashed his items in the tiny trunk of his Porsche, he caught sight of Goldilocks pushing her cart straight toward him.
Grinning, he pretended to search his bags as she made a wide birth around him and stopped at the neighboring car—a black 4Runner that had seen better days. She rearranged some piles in the back, then stashed her groceries, not once looking at him.
While she delivered her cart to the holding pen, he closed his trunk and stepped around to lean against the side. He waited, watched, noting the deliberate way she walked. Tall and lean, though he still had a good six inches on her.
Still several feet away, she slowed, a touch of fight-or-flight in her eyes. She took a few more steps, maintaining a certain distance he felt compelled to close. But he stayed where he was, legs crossed in front of him, effectively blocking her way. “Have dinner with me.”
Golden eyes blinked up at him. Not the shade of the gold bars stacked inside the national reserve, more like the dark whiskey he’d drunk too much of not so long ago.
“What?”
“I’m asking you to dinner.”
She looked around again, seeming more concerned with the parking lot than with him. “Oh.”
Not exactly an answer and not the effect he usually had on women. “Stephen,” he said and offered his hand.
She hesitated so long, he thought she might leave him hanging. But finally, and with obvious reluctance, she slipped her small hand into his. He got a little buzz from the slide of her palm against his. He imagined the rest of her would be just as soft. “Your name?”
“Hannah.”
“So, Hannah,” he said, wanting to tug until she was flat up against him. “Will you please have dinner with me?”
“No.” She didn’t consider it for even a second and pulled her hand free.
“Ah.” He inclined his head toward her bags. “Chips. Beer. You have plans. Another night then.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Give me your number and I’ll call you.”
“Yes. I mean . . . no.”
“Not sure?” Now he was getting somewhere. She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth. If she was playing hard to get, he could play too. And he would win.
“I mean I can’t give you my number and yes, I have plans.”
She flicked her eyes toward her driver’s-side door.
Nervous? It was broad daylight and not like they were standing in a darkened alley, but he straightened, gave her a bit more space. Though there was no way he was about to leave things like this, just watch her drive away. Not when he was dying to touch her, brush back the wayward strands feathering around that gorgeous face.
“Maybe just a drink then. No pressure.”
Seconds ticked by and she bit at her lip again, making him think about biting it too. She seemed to weigh her options, possibly deciding which was the better offer. If he’d been interested before, now he was damned intrigued.
“I guess I could meet you somewhere.”
Author Info
Claudia
Connor is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author
of heartfelt contemporary romance. Claudia attended Auburn University, where
she received her undergraduate and masters degrees in early childhood
education, and completed her studies in Sawbridgeworth, England. Always a lover
of happy endings, she enjoys movies, reading, and travel, but spends most of
her time typing out the love stories of the almost real people that live in her
head. Claudia lives near Memphis, Tennessee, with her husband and three
daughters.
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