New Release
Fake Fiancé For Christmas
by
Carol Burnside
Blurb
Faced with a broken engagement due to her
guarded heart and her family expecting to meet her fiancé during the first
Christmas without her Gran, Lia Taylor decides to take her friends’ advice.
She’ll take a fake fiancé home for Christmas.
Ryan Barton grew up in foster homes,
unaware he had a family until he met his grandmother at sixteen. Lia’s offer of
a noisy family Christmas with a big elaborate meal sounds like heaven, even the
part about pretending to be her fiancé.
As Lia and Ryan get to know each other and
practice casual touching, hugs, and kisses, their feelings grow. They decide to
try for a real relationship with the promise that when either of them withdraws
due to old fears, the other will pull them back.
But what will save them when they both withdraw
in fear? Are their recent feelings strong enough to save their new relationship
or will they hide within the safety of their guarded hearts?
Buy links
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Fake-Fiance-Christmas-Carol-Burnside-ebook/dp/B0B3BJQHGP/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fake-Fiance-Christmas-Carol-Burnside-ebook/dp/B0B3BJQHGP/
Books2Read: (multiple venues) https://books2read.com/u/bQjJ16
Google Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=WxmHEAAAQBAJ
Excerpt
“They’ll expect us to touch.” Lia draped
her hand across Ryan’s forearm and his eyes gentled, darkened. “Like this.
Casual. Easy. And to hold hands. I hope you don’t mind.”
Ryan turned his arm over and linked his
fingers through hers. “We got this.”
She swallowed, unable to tear her gaze off
his, and nodded. It felt both foreign and familiar, holding hands with him.
“I think I’m going to like this gig.” He
gave her fingers an easy squeeze. “Should we also practice…” His lashes
lowered, gaze trained on her mouth. As the fingers of his free hand slid along
her jawline, something like static electricity blazed across her skin.
Holy cow. Lia’s pulse bumped and her chest
froze, making it difficult to breathe. She parted her lips to answer but
couldn’t produce so much as a squeak. After she managed the tiniest of nods, he
leaned forward, and his face blurred.
Ryan’s lips touched Lia’s and withdrew. He
caught her in mid-gasp the second time and took advantage of her parted lips to
flick his tongue against hers, igniting a fire that thawed her chest.
He angled his head and came in for more,
tongues teasing, tasting, learning each other. His hands were firm on her back,
pulling her closer until she was consumed in the solidness of him and the fire
he stoked. She clutched at his shoulders as if they were her lifeline because
she was completely engulfed in sensation.
And a choir of angels sang “Hallelujah.”
Ryan chuckled into the kiss, then tore away
laughing. Lia scrambled for her phone, the Hallelujah Chorus one she’d assigned
to her older brother because he rarely called. When he finally did, she
considered it a small miracle. Not so much right now, though. His timing
couldn’t be worse.
“What, Spence?” she demanded without
preamble. “You’re on speaker.”
“Whoa. Ho, ho, ho to you, too, little sis.”
“Sorry, bad timing. We were…uhm, what’s
up?”
“You tell me. My travel app shows your
plane came in on time, but we haven’t heard from you. I was elected to find out
what the holdup is.”
“Oh. Well, Ryan couldn’t get the same
flight, and there was a slight delay, but he’s here now, and we’re about to
leave the airport.”
“Right, the fiancé. We can’t wait to meet
this guy and size him up.”
“Very funny. Best behavior today, and I
mean it, Spence. So help me—” Lia looked over a sea of autos, anywhere but at
Ryan.
“Kidding. Damn, girl, where’s your sense of
humor?”
“Buried under travel stress. Hey, how’s Mom
holding up?” Lia kept her brother on the line to delay renewed mortification
over the kiss.
“Oh, you know.” There was a slight pause,
and Spence’s voice quieted as if he’d moved out of earshot. “She’s…trying, but
the tree isn’t decorated.”
“What?” Lia couldn’t believe it. She
pressed her lips together. Ever since Spence had gone to college, her mom made
a point of having the tree ready to welcome them home at Christmas.
“She said we’ll all do it together, and
it’ll make Brian feel more at home. Having y’all here will help.”
“It’s Ryan. Geriatric brain, much?”
“I could’ve sworn Mom said Brian, but the
TV was blaring. Oh, well. Hang up and drive, girl. We’re waiting, and hey, save
me a hug.”
“Back at ya. Bye.” Lia returned the cell to
her purse, taking extra care to stow it properly.
“Sounds like you deflected the name change
deftly.” Ryan buckled his seatbelt.
Lia clicked hers into the slot, relieved to
talk about any subject but their scorching-hot kiss. “Yeah, but I think it’ll
be fine since your names are similar. Brian, Ryan. Easy to brush it off as ‘Oh,
you misunderstood.’”
“Good.”
Silence fell between them. Lia found a
radio station and slipped the gearshift into reverse. “Okay, let’s do this.”
- - -
Want to read more? Visit Carol’s website HERE
to read another excerpt.
Author bio and links
Carol Burnside:
Sizzling romance with heart and humor
Carol Burnside is an award-winning author of "Sizzling
romance with heart and humor." Her personal second-chance-at-love story
resulted in an enduring marriage to her high school sweetheart. They reside in
the Texas hill country, where Carol enjoys visiting wildlife from her covered
back porch. Like any true southerner, she drinks tea in some form year-round.
Carol's novel length manuscripts have placed in numerous contests and won
several, including the prestigious Maggie Award for Excellence. She also writes
as Annie Rayburn.
Amazon reviews say
Carol's books are:
"Highly
captivating!" "intriguing and a wonderful read" "Emotional
and heartwarming" "Engaging!" and "Great reading!"
Carol blogs on her website at www.CarolBurnside.com.
Connect with her via Facebook / Newsletter
/ Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest
Carol is also releasing the 5th
book in her Sweetwater Springs series: Mistletoe Weddings during the holidays.
Check it out at your favorite retailer today!
