After her widowed mother rushed into a regrettable second marriage, Thea Blackwell vowed never to commit to anything. Not jobs. Not hairstyles. Not men. Yet here she is dreaming about buying a house and having it renovated by the town playboy who never spared her a second glance. Too bad she lacks both the cash and the courage.
Aiden Murdoch put his wild ways behind him to help his ailing father run the family construction business, but he can’t seem to escape his scandalous reputation. Then his childhood friend Thea shows him her money pit of a fixer-upper, and he stumbles on the perfect solution: he'll provide the labor, and she'll make him look happily domesticated in front of his father’s nervous clients.
What should be a simple arrangement gets complicated fast when fake kisses lead to real feelings, leaving Aiden aching to prove he’s worth a lifelong commitment and Thea wondering if her pretend boyfriend can truly give up his swipe-right lifestyle. With forever on the line, will they be brave enough to tear down the lies they’ve told each other—and themselves?
Tempting Lies is a witty, wild romantic comedy featuring a charismatic carpenter and the woman who loves to watch him swing his hammer. It’s a standalone romance with a happily ever after, so find your favorite breakfast nook and get reading!
“Thanks for tonight,” she said. “I feel better.”
“Hitting things with a hammer’ll do that for you.” He took a step toward her until he could see the specks of dust in her hair from their demolition work in the kitchen. “You’ve got…” He lifted his hand to brush away the traces of their destruction, then let his fingers drift to her cheek, then her neck.
When his fingers kept moving downward, all thoughts of plans and schedules and agreements flew from his head, and he gave himself permission to do something he’d been wanting to do all night: he slid his hands into the gap between her jeans and the bottom of her shirt, resting his fingers gently on her hips where they dipped in to her waist. He’d been tortured by flashes of her back and stomach as she worked, and now he gave in to the overwhelming desire to touch.
Her breathing hitched as his thumbs brushed across her warm skin and came perilously close to slipping under the hem of her tank top. She closed her eyes and swayed forward, and for one dizzying moment, he leaned in too. Nobody was around to put on a show for. He wanted to kiss her because he wanted to kiss her.
And fuck, that’s why he shouldn’t. Because if he kissed her right now, he’d be tempted not to stop. This thing between them was changing by the day, in his mind at least, but that wasn’t what they’d agreed to. He’d promised no sex as part of their arrangement, and right now he wasn’t sure he could stick to that if he didn’t put some distance between them. With immense effort he took a step back, his hands falling to his sides, and when her eyes fluttered open, he couldn’t read her expression. Relief? Disappointment?
He cleared his throat and took another step toward the door. “Sleep well, killer. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He let himself out before she could say a word and kept his windows rolled down for his drive home, hoping the April air would cool his blood enough to let him sleep that night.
In a funny twist of fate, Sara’s married to a divorce attorney, and she likes to think that her happily-ever-afters help keep their household in balance. She and her husband live in the Midwest surrounded by books, cats, and half-empty coffee cups. Keep up with Sara by subscribing to her mailing list here.
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