Leslie North
Publication date: November 8th 2018
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Gregor Beaumont is in a world of hurt that all the charm in his gorgeous, well-toned body can’t fix. His late grandfather, God rest his soul, wanted to make sure Gregor and his two playboy brothers settle down. He had the brilliant idea of buying up a huge share of the brothers’ engine company and using that as incentive for each brother to find Mrs. Right. Settle down or lose the company to a competitor. Well, that’s just not happening to Gregor, not when life’s so good at the moment. Gregor likes racing fast cars and seducing fast women, and not necessarily in that order. Settle down? Not a chance. Gregor has his own brilliant idea: find some wholesome and desperate girl to pretend to be his girlfriend. No harm. No foul. Unless things start getting a little bit too real.
Kara Alerby knows she’s a sucker for blues eyes and a great smile, so when Gregor comes into her theater wanting to hire her to act the part of his adoring girlfriend, she’s already got her defenses on high alert. But Kara’s a practical girl, and Gregor’s offering a boatload of money that would go a long way toward making her dream of creating a fine arts school for gifted kids a reality. She can ignore his smiles, his charisma, and his kiss-me mouth if it means she’ll get her school. All she has to do is remind herself, every second of every day they’re together, that it’s all make believe—even when it doesn’t always feel that way.
When Greg’s love of racing puts his life in jeopardy, Kara isn’t ready to watch another person die in front of her like her father did. And Greg isn’t about to stop doing the one thing that makes life worth living. The two are on a collision course, one that could break them apart forever if they don’t change directions…
EXCERPT
Her students turned, almost thirty faces in various shades of curiosity, anxiety, or excitement. Improv classes attracted as many introverts as they did extroverts, and while everyone who signed up always did so of their own free will, nerves usually abounded. Especially once the welcome games began.
Kara introduced herself and Lexie and then got down to business. “We’ll be here for six weeks, two days a week, with ample homework and plenty of comfort zone–destroying games ahead of us.” The class tittered nervously. She swept her gaze across the students as she spoke, trying to get familiar with the new faces.
“If you’ve ever wanted to get more comfortable speaking in front of a crowd, ace your next audition for a play, or just generally learn how to respond quickly to basically anything that anyone could ever throw your way, you’ve come to the right place.” Kara offered a reassuring smile, her skin prickling when she noticed someone in the farthest seat, close to the door, with their head down. Probably buried in their phone already.
She headed that way as she made a slow stroll in front of the stage, glancing discreetly at the offending student. It wasn’t often she got disrespectful students in the summer classes. High school was another story. Her exasperated-teacher hackles had already risen.
“To begin, let’s do introductions.” Kara watched the student, clearly a grown man, his tousled, dark-blond hair shrouding his face as he bent over his phone. He cut a boxy profile, strong square shoulders under an expensive-looking button-down shirt. “This is both practical and a memory test.” She grinned devilishly as she explained the game in which every student introduced themselves by alliterating their name with a descriptive word, making a gesture, and repeating the introduction of the person that came before them.
“I’ll go first. I’m Kooky Kara.” She tipped an imaginary hat, then pointed to the farthest student on the opposite side. “Now you.”
The students went one by one, some announcing themselves quietly, others with laughter. Slowly, the mood in the theater relaxed. When the introductions reached the inattentive student nearest the door, he was still buried in his phone. His turn to introduce himself was met with silence.
Kara cleared her throat. “Excuse me?”
The man snapped his head up, sky blue eyes searing through her. He had the face of a Gucci model, pure angles and square jaw. This had to be Mr. Gorgeous Lexie had pointed out. Confusion clung to his face as he looked around as though he’d just noticed he was here. “Yes?”
“Have you been paying attention?” Her annoyance was through the roof now. This was not a good way to start off the session for him. But Lexie had said this was his one and only class. Kara could only hope.
“Excuse me. I had a bit of an emergency back home.” A soft British accent shone through his baritone, softening the edge of Kara’s annoyance.
“We’re introducing ourselves,” she said firmly. Don’t be swayed by the accent. But British accents were so hot.
“Ah, yes. Kooky Kara.” He offered a grin, one that made her heart skip a beat. So he had heard something. “Massive apologies. I’m Gregarious Gregor.” He sent an exaggerated wink her way. She fought to keep her face stony.
Author Bio:
Leslie North is the pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women’s contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.
The truth of the matter is she loves her fictional persona, Leslie North, more than her normal, day-to-day persona! Her bestselling books focus on strong characters and particularly women who aren’t afraid to challenge an alpha male. Inspired after years of travel, her stories are set all over the world, from the tough streets of Russia to the beautiful beaches of the middle east.
Leslie fell in love with romance when she first picked up a scrappy, dog-eared romance book from her local library. She began writing soon after and the rest, as they say, was history. She now lives in a cozy cottage on the British coast and enjoys taking long walks with her two Dalmatians, George and Fergie.
She LOVES reader feedback, and if you have any comments, don’t hesitate to contact her via e-mail: leslie@leslienorthbooks.com.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
Publication date: November 8th 2018
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Gregor Beaumont is in a world of hurt that all the charm in his gorgeous, well-toned body can’t fix. His late grandfather, God rest his soul, wanted to make sure Gregor and his two playboy brothers settle down. He had the brilliant idea of buying up a huge share of the brothers’ engine company and using that as incentive for each brother to find Mrs. Right. Settle down or lose the company to a competitor. Well, that’s just not happening to Gregor, not when life’s so good at the moment. Gregor likes racing fast cars and seducing fast women, and not necessarily in that order. Settle down? Not a chance. Gregor has his own brilliant idea: find some wholesome and desperate girl to pretend to be his girlfriend. No harm. No foul. Unless things start getting a little bit too real.
Kara Alerby knows she’s a sucker for blues eyes and a great smile, so when Gregor comes into her theater wanting to hire her to act the part of his adoring girlfriend, she’s already got her defenses on high alert. But Kara’s a practical girl, and Gregor’s offering a boatload of money that would go a long way toward making her dream of creating a fine arts school for gifted kids a reality. She can ignore his smiles, his charisma, and his kiss-me mouth if it means she’ll get her school. All she has to do is remind herself, every second of every day they’re together, that it’s all make believe—even when it doesn’t always feel that way.
When Greg’s love of racing puts his life in jeopardy, Kara isn’t ready to watch another person die in front of her like her father did. And Greg isn’t about to stop doing the one thing that makes life worth living. The two are on a collision course, one that could break them apart forever if they don’t change directions…
EXCERPT
Her students turned, almost thirty faces in various shades of curiosity, anxiety, or excitement. Improv classes attracted as many introverts as they did extroverts, and while everyone who signed up always did so of their own free will, nerves usually abounded. Especially once the welcome games began.
Kara introduced herself and Lexie and then got down to business. “We’ll be here for six weeks, two days a week, with ample homework and plenty of comfort zone–destroying games ahead of us.” The class tittered nervously. She swept her gaze across the students as she spoke, trying to get familiar with the new faces.
“If you’ve ever wanted to get more comfortable speaking in front of a crowd, ace your next audition for a play, or just generally learn how to respond quickly to basically anything that anyone could ever throw your way, you’ve come to the right place.” Kara offered a reassuring smile, her skin prickling when she noticed someone in the farthest seat, close to the door, with their head down. Probably buried in their phone already.
She headed that way as she made a slow stroll in front of the stage, glancing discreetly at the offending student. It wasn’t often she got disrespectful students in the summer classes. High school was another story. Her exasperated-teacher hackles had already risen.
“To begin, let’s do introductions.” Kara watched the student, clearly a grown man, his tousled, dark-blond hair shrouding his face as he bent over his phone. He cut a boxy profile, strong square shoulders under an expensive-looking button-down shirt. “This is both practical and a memory test.” She grinned devilishly as she explained the game in which every student introduced themselves by alliterating their name with a descriptive word, making a gesture, and repeating the introduction of the person that came before them.
“I’ll go first. I’m Kooky Kara.” She tipped an imaginary hat, then pointed to the farthest student on the opposite side. “Now you.”
The students went one by one, some announcing themselves quietly, others with laughter. Slowly, the mood in the theater relaxed. When the introductions reached the inattentive student nearest the door, he was still buried in his phone. His turn to introduce himself was met with silence.
Kara cleared her throat. “Excuse me?”
The man snapped his head up, sky blue eyes searing through her. He had the face of a Gucci model, pure angles and square jaw. This had to be Mr. Gorgeous Lexie had pointed out. Confusion clung to his face as he looked around as though he’d just noticed he was here. “Yes?”
“Have you been paying attention?” Her annoyance was through the roof now. This was not a good way to start off the session for him. But Lexie had said this was his one and only class. Kara could only hope.
“Excuse me. I had a bit of an emergency back home.” A soft British accent shone through his baritone, softening the edge of Kara’s annoyance.
“We’re introducing ourselves,” she said firmly. Don’t be swayed by the accent. But British accents were so hot.
“Ah, yes. Kooky Kara.” He offered a grin, one that made her heart skip a beat. So he had heard something. “Massive apologies. I’m Gregarious Gregor.” He sent an exaggerated wink her way. She fought to keep her face stony.
Leslie North is the pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women’s contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.
The truth of the matter is she loves her fictional persona, Leslie North, more than her normal, day-to-day persona! Her bestselling books focus on strong characters and particularly women who aren’t afraid to challenge an alpha male. Inspired after years of travel, her stories are set all over the world, from the tough streets of Russia to the beautiful beaches of the middle east.
Leslie fell in love with romance when she first picked up a scrappy, dog-eared romance book from her local library. She began writing soon after and the rest, as they say, was history. She now lives in a cozy cottage on the British coast and enjoys taking long walks with her two Dalmatians, George and Fergie.
She LOVES reader feedback, and if you have any comments, don’t hesitate to contact her via e-mail: leslie@leslienorthbooks.com.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for being on the tour!
ReplyDeleteawesome giveaway
ReplyDelete