Note from ELF--I was supposed to be reviewing this book, but I got my wires crossed somehow, and never received a copy. I have only read the first book in the series...but I LOVED that one, so I have no doubts that this will be another great addition to the series!
Book Information
Author: Grace Burrowes
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: March 3, 2015
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Summary
He loves her, she loves him not...?
In the third novel of The Sweetest Kisses series, single mom Sidonie
Lindstrom has her hands full with a troubled foster son, an abrupt
adjustment to country living, and an unforeseen lack of funds. When her
taciturn neighbor, MacKenzie Knightley, repeatedly
offers practical help, Sid reminds herself she's not interested in the
neighbor-despite his kindness, pragmatism and quiet charm. MacKenzie
sees the vulnerability beneath her pride, and he's determined to change
her mind...
Excerpt
“This
is a nice spot,” Mac said. “The horses will loaf here in the hotter
months because the trees make for good shade, but the canopy isn’t quite
done leafing out yet, so we’ll be able to see the moon come over the
ridge.” He spread the
blanket on a patch of grass up the slope from the pond.
Sid settled on the blanket, running her hand over what felt like soft flannel, while Mac lowered himself beside her.
“Give me your foot.” Mac didn’t wait for her to comply. He took Sid by the foot, and drew her running shoe off. “Other one.”
He
peeled her socks down and tucked them into her shoes, then unlaced his
boots and set them beside the blanket, stuffing a sock in each one.
“Moonrise is always best appreciated barefoot.”
The sentiment was poetical; the words were not. “Is that a rule?”
“Suppose
it is.” He took off his jacket, balled it up, and lay back to rest his
head on it. “Come here and let me hold you, Sidonie. I haven’t watched
the moon come up with a lovely woman in my arms for years.”
She settled against him, resting her head on the slope of his shoulder. “We’re going to talk about rules like this?”
He thought she was lovely.
“We’ll
come to some understandings.” His arm came around her shoulders, and
his hand stroked over her hair. “I’ll undo this braid while we’re at
it.”
“Don’t lose my elastic.”
His fingers were soon winnowing through her hair, drawing the length of it over her shoulder.
“How am I supposed to think about rules when you’re touching me like this, MacKenzie?”
“You don’t need to think. You just tell me what’s true for you.”
“True about what?”
He
went quiet again, while Sid repositioned herself against him. She could
hear his heart beat, feel the slow, steady thud of his life’s blood
beneath her cheek.
“What do you want from me, Sidonie Lindstrom? What do you need?”
“Nobody
has asked me that before.” She considered her answer, while Mac’s hand
drifted through her hair, across her back, down her arm. “I want a
friend, I guess. You’ve been a friend to me, and I wasn’t expecting to
find that here.”
“Is that all you want? I can be a good friend. My brothers would vouch for me in that regard.”
She
could not tell from his voice if he was disappointed with her answer,
or pleased. “No, that isn’t all I want, but I’ll settle for it, and be
grateful if that’s where you want to draw the line. A friend, a real
friend, is nothing to
scoff at.”
Another
silence, while Mac got his hand on her nape and started massaging the
tension there. His idea of friendship would soon leave Sid witless and
boneless.
“I
can’t expect you to put yourself out there without showing I’m willing
to do likewise: I want you.” Mac’s voice was quiet in the gathering
darkness. “I want you at least for a friend, an intimate friend,
Sidonie, but I don’t share something
that precious. If you allow me the privileges of a lover, then I will
expect that for whatever time I enjoy that status, those privileges are
exclusively mine. You will agree to this, or our friendship keeps its
clothes on.”
Sid
shivered, though the night wasn’t uncomfortably cool, and Mac gave off
heat like a woodstove. He was so serious about this, when they could
have shared a casual romp in the moonlight.
She would have settled for that—and settling would have been a mistake.
She
traced his facial features. Beyond serious, he was solemn, as if these
understandings he sought could be the foundation for something even
greater than friendship.
“If
you agree to my terms,” he said, his hand slowing in her hair, “you
agree because it’s what you want too, not because I need to hear the
words and you have a private agenda that’s different from what you’ll
say to me.”
He
was asking for honesty, the most basic tenet of a real friendship.
Friends were kind to each other, considerate, patient, reliable, but
above all, a friend was somebody who told the truth.
“I don’t have much practice with relationships, MacKenzie.”
He
rolled slowly, like the earth heaving up, until Sid was on her back
with Mac blanketing her. “There’s more to say.” He rested his forehead
against hers. “A lot more, but right now, Sidonie, I have to kiss you.
Have to.”
Buy Links
Author Biography
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Grace Burrowes' bestsellers include
The Heir, The Soldier, Lady Maggie's Secret Scandal, Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish
and
Lady Eve's Indiscretion.
The Heir was a
Publishers Weekly
Best Book of 2010,
The Soldier was a
PW Best Spring Romance of 2011,
Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish won Best Historical Romance of the Year in 2011 from RT Reviewers' Choice Awards,
Lady Louisa's Christmas Knight was a
Library Journal Best Book of 2012, and
The Bridegroom Wore Plaid was a
PW Best Book of 2012. Her Regency romances have received extensive praise, including starred reviews from
Publishers Weekly and
Booklist.
Grace is branching out into short stories and Scotland-set Victorian
romance with Sourcebooks. She is a practicing family law attorney and
lives in rural Maryland.
Social Networking Links
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