Hard to Handle
“Heartwarming, heartbreaking and charming... ”
Formats
📲 EBOOK
📖 TRADE & MASS MARKET PAPERBACK
Once Burned
Sadie Howard never dates a guy more than once-but Fate has other plans for her when it comes to Aiden Downey, the one that got away. Aiden loved her, left her, and broke her heart. Yet suddenly she’s bumping into him at every turn, driven to distraction by his wicked grin and rock-hard body. Now she can’t resist finishing what they started-as long as she doesn’t let herself fall in love . . .
Twice as Tempting
Aiden Downey threw away the best thing he ever had when he let Sadie go, and now he’s determined to win back the woman he’s always wanted. Sadie agrees to let him into her life-and her bed-as long as there are no strings attached. But Aiden’s not about to make the same mistake again. Can he convince her to take a second chance on a once-in-a-lifetime love?
Series Info
Love in the Balance, book 2
Novella Alert! ⚠️ To read Aiden & Sadie’s entire story, check out the prequel novella Can’t Let Go.
Features Aiden Downey & Sadie Howard
Extras
Excerpt
Determination lengthening her stride, Sadie stood tall and proud in her studded black heels, lifting her to almost five foot six. Axle angled down a long corridor and led her to a cramped office, its shelves sagging under the weight of hardcover books on everything from bike repair to Catcher in the Rye.
He hulked over his desk, long gray braid trailing down his back, tree-trunk legs testing the task chair’s weight limit. He was also a former boxer, which one would guess given the way his massive chest nearly burst the seams of his shirt.
Smoothing his thick, walrus-like moustache, Axle folded meaty hands in front of him on the desk and addressed Sadie with a quick lift of his eyebrows.
Sadie smiled, her confidence soaring. Axle liked her. She’d cultivated a careful professional relationship with him for the past three years, just waiting for the day Truman left. Axle endured her persistence, never once asking her to leave him alone. A good sign.
“Let me stop you there.” Axle’s flat gray eyes gave no hint as to what he was about to say. “You’re going to pitch this to my new second-in-command.” He gave her a gruff smile…or at least she thought he did. His moustache twitched on one side. “I’ll go get him.”
“But—” was all Sadie got out before Axle was out of his office. He moved fast for a big guy. She adjusted her skirt and mentally reviewed her sales pitch. The one she’d be giving to a newcomer. Whom she knew nothing about.
She’d need to be professional, of course. And not as familiar as she would have been with Axle. If the guy was a recent college graduate or CEO type, she’d have a lot of glossing over to do to explain her less-than-professional attire. She grimaced down at the silver studs on her feet. Why hadn’t she worn sensible pumps?
Taking a breath, she considered the more likely scenario: that Axle had hired someone like himself. Someone with a penchant for hogs, an admiration for irreverent T-shirt sayings, and a strong head for business. Axle wasn’t stupid. Far from it. She’d learned his IQ hovered around genius level though she couldn’t dredge up the figure. Sadie’s talent with numbers extended only to the ones with dollar signs before them.
She leaned and peeked through the doorway and down the hall, and caught a glimpse of an arm behind Axle, who came toward her like a tank in Tiananmen Square, his big body obscuring the rest of the man behind him.
No matter who the new guy was, Sadie had just one chance to impress him, not insult him, and get a sample of his penmanship on the bottom line. Sadie straightened in the out-of-date, stained guest chair. Sure she could be prickly, smart-mouthed, and sarcastic. But she also could be charming. And she knew her stuff. She could handle whoever came through that door.
Then Axle entered, his new second-in-command at his side, and Sadie felt the blood drain from her face.
Anyone except for Aiden Downey.
As big as Axle was, Aiden dominated her vision. His muscular legs in a pair of soft worn denim frayed over black motorcycle boots, broad shoulders and firm chest covered by a black collared shirt with the word Axle’s embroidered over his right pectoral. And his face. The jaw she had kissed, had raked her fingernails against; the same jaw that had scraped the softest part of her neck when he kissed her, was covered with enough scruff to make her feel the phantom scratch of it on her skin now. And then there was his hair…long, thick strands she used to spear her fingers into—
Oh God.
She blinked, sure she must be imagining things, and swallowed the gasp working its way up her throat. Somehow she had to keep from appearing alarmed while her stomach took a dive to her toes. The dark blond ponytail he normally wore low on his neck was…gone. The strands that used to hang loose and brush his cheekbones, shorn. His hair had been such a part of him, so…Aiden. And that she’d loved touching it, feeling it brush against her face when he kissed her, had surprised no one more than Sadie.
Kind of like the next four words out of her mouth...
