After being unceremoniously dumped freshman year because of her family’s “new money” status, Ruby Cotton has taken care not to put her heart on the line. No matter how enticing Emilie and Quinn make it look, relationships are scary and hard—while a string of flings is easy and fun. That’s what Ruby wants. Easy and fun. The only problem is, when it comes to satisfaction in the sack, most of the boys at Whitman are nothing but pretty window dressing and false advertising.
Ruby takes it upon herself to make campus life more fulfilling, creating a referral database that allows female students to rate their sexual experiences, thereby informing girls of what they’re getting into before agreeing to a date.
When her acting partner, Liam Greene, finally shows some interest, Ruby figures she won’t need to utilize the helpful gossip. He’s handsome, fun, and most importantly, not a guy she’d ever fall for hard enough to let him break her heart.
Not only that, but dating Liam gives Ruby the perfect excuse to say no to Cole Stuart.
As a star swimmer and heir to honest-to-God Scottish royalty, Cole sits at the top of Whitman’s A-list—but he’s also the lowest rated referral on Ruby’s website. The ratings make rejecting his repeated requests for a date a no-brainer, but her real reason for avoiding Cole runs deeper than a string of unsatisfied exes.
He’s gorgeous, he oozes sweetness and charm, and the electricity between them could power half of Whitman, but Ruby knows it will only last until his family or friends convince him she’s not good enough.
Before she knows it she’s falling anyway, waiting for the other shoe to drop but clinging to a tentative hope that Cole might be as different as he seems. When the secret behind his low ratings comes to light, that hope is torn apart, and Ruby wonders if she was right to give him her heart…and whether she has the strength to let him keep it.
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Excerpt:
“I can get it now, thanks. Turn around,” I ordered.
He obeyed, the expression on his face unsettled. I pulled the zipper the rest of the way down, then slipped the huge T-shirt over my head. It was shorter than my dress, but it covered my ass, and that was all that mattered. I should have taken my shoes off, too, but the thought of traipsing around the stinky kitchen in my bare feet was too much to bear. At least I’d worn sandals and not expensive heels.
Cole unbuttoned and shrugged out of his crisp pink dress shirt, still turned away from me, and then hung it over the back of the desk chair in front of him. He pulled his undershirt off next, revealing the most gorgeous back ever put on a man—tanned muscles bulged and rippled in every direction and once, making me want to know what it felt like to dig my fingers into them while his weight rested on top of me, inside of me.
In that moment, I knew I had never wanted a guy more than I wanted Cole.
But it wasn’t supposed to be this way. I was supposed to follow my own goddamn advice, listen to the girls telling me that, no matter how hot he was, how sweet he seemed, there was something missing.
Emilie and I were going to find out what it was, and then I would feel better.
I laid my dress over his shirts, then handed him an apron and tied a second around my waist. “Let’s go shell some crawfish.”
His gaze traveled down my legs, heating my skin in its wake, and I wished mine were tan and pretty like Emilie’s, not pale with a tendency to freckle. If the brightness in his eyes told the truth, Cole didn’t mind. He was from Scotland—he probably liked pale.
“Am I going to be forced to defend your honor when the kitchen staff starts drooling over you in that getup?”
“I’m going to pretend not to be insulted that you prefer a dirty T-shirt and apron to my favorite dress.”
He stepped in front of me, bracketing my face with his palms and forcing me to look up at him. I got dizzy, probably from the whiskey, but couldn’t tear my eyes away. “You look amazing in that dress. Like Grace Kelly, that’s what I thought when I saw you.”
“Well, I’m no princess. Just a girl from Louisiana.”
“A Cajun princess. Which is probably why you look even more fetching now. You looked beautiful before, like a girl I’d love to parade around in front of my friends. Now you look like the girl I’d like to toss on that desk and screw silly. The fact that you’re both at once drives me crazy.”
“I…oh.” I didn’t sound like myself, and no better words would form in my brain or come out of my mouth. My whole body ignited at his frank statement, even as the acknowledgment of my less-than-classy side made me uncomfortable.
He ran his hands down to my waist and pulled me closer, near enough that he could lower his mouth and finally end this torturous cycle of almost kissing, but he didn’t. “Tell me, hen, are you still with that worthless twally?”
Cole’s voice dipped, doing that husky thing again that turned my knees into jelly. Fire licked from my belly into my thighs, my mind still stuck on the visual of he and I going at it on Lauren’s desk, and if he hadn’t had hold of me, I might have actually fallen down.
“Who? Liam?” I shook my head. “No, I’m done with that.”
“That’s good. Otherwise this moment would have really tested my morals,” he breathed as he lowered his face and pressed his lips against mine.
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Lyla Payne Bio:
I’ve long had a love of stories. A few years ago decided to put them down on the page, and even though I have a degree in film and television, novels were the creative outlet where I found a home. I’ve published Young Adult under a different name, but when I got the idea for Broken at Love (my first New Adult title), I couldn’t wait to try something new – and I’m hooked. In my spare time I watch a ton of tennis (no surprise, there), play a ton of tennis, and dedicate a good portion of brain power to dreaming up the next fictitious bad boy we’d all love to meet in real life.
Links:
Website: http://lylapayne.blogspot.com
Twitter: @lyla_payne
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Another fabulose book by Lyla Payne!
Ruby is a self sabatoger when it comes to guys. She thinks she's protecting herself but really she is missing out on what could be the love of her life. Cole has his own secrets and once Ruby decides to take a chance on him his secret blows up in her face. I think she's a bit harsh whith her reaction and hope she can see the light about Cole before its too late. Hot sex ,nothing raunchy. Fabulous ending.
Quote:
"Looking good never hurt anyone."
1 comment:
I think this book sounds great! I love the premise of the database. Actually made me laugh a little and glad I am beyond that. I love a non traditional love story and this book sounds like its right up my alley! Thanks for the great giveaway! Love your blog!!! :)
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