Title: Hula Girl
Author: Lara Ward Cosio
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: November 7, 2019
Release Date: November 7, 2019
Blurb
What happens in Maui, stays in Maui. Unless you run into your
vacation fling back home.
Much to her annoyance, workaholic lawyer Ava Ruiz is forced
to take a vacation to a tropical paradise. Unable to tear her mind off her
cases, she’s counting down the days until she can go back to work.
Until she meets Ford.
Admittedly, she has nothing in common with the gorgeous
surfer. She’s type-A and he’s the definition of laid-back. But for a few steamy
days, that fails to matter thanks to their instant and undeniable
attraction.
Inevitably, all good things must come to an end . . . or do
they?
Once back to their "real world" lives, Ava and
Ford come face-to-face in a surprise reunion that takes a turn when he asks her
to help him out by playing along with a fake engagement. Reluctantly going
along with the ruse, Ava soon finds herself wondering if either of them are
pretending, after all.
Purchase Links
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Excerpt
I have no desire to get involved with another lawyer, not
after the disappointment that was my ex Bryce.
Speaking of whom … here he comes, making a beeline for me. I
have no choice but to stand still and await him, as I’ve already made
accidental eye contact.
“Ava,” he says, his slightly gravelly voice revealing that
he’s had a few cocktails already.
He leans in and I give him my cheek to kiss, but at the last
second, he plants his lips against mine sloppily. I pull away and wipe at my
mouth, glaring at him.
“Oops,” he says.
“Not cute,” I tell him and he shrugs. “Neither was that move
you tried with my client while I was away. Good thing my firm had it covered
and you didn’t succeed.”
He had tried to approach my client directly, without
involving me or my firm. That’s a big no-no and he should know better. Other
than pure hubris, I don’t know why he tried it.
“Where were you, anyway?” he asks.
“On vacation.”
He laughs. “No, seriously. Was it that conference in
Boston?”
“No, I was actually on vacation. I completely disconnected.”
Eyeing me skeptically for a moment, he finally nods sagely.
“Yeah, sure. Okay, if you don’t want to share, I guess I can live with the
mystery.”
“You need to recuse yourself from this case,” I tell him,
preferring to get back to business. That’s the only relationship we have left,
at least in my mind.
“What? Why would I do that?”
“You were only supposed to be temporarily filling in for
Polanski when he was out sick. Why are you sticking with this? Just to mess
with me?”
He smiles and steps closer to me. “I’d love to mess with
you again, it’s true.”
“Ugh.” I put my hand on his chest and push him back. “Your
whiskey breath is not charming.”
“Ah, give me a chance,” he says, reaching out for me.
I step back just as I feel someone else’s hand circle my
waist from my right side.
“There you are, honey.”
What I see makes me catch my breath.
It’s Ford.
My Ford.
Only, he doesn’t look the same. His normally tousled hair
has been trimmed and is tamed into a neat style. His scruffy face has been
cleanly shaven. And his usual board shorts have been replaced by a finely
tailored gray suit, light-blue dress shirt, and no tie. He smells the same,
though. God, he smells so good. It’s some sort of sandalwood, salty, beachy
scent.
Before I can ask what he’s doing here, he offers his hand to
Bryce, saying, “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Ava’s fiancé.”
I open my mouth to dispute this surreal notion but stop when
I feel Ford’s fingers squeezing my waist.
“Fiancé?” Bryce repeats dubiously. His eyes fall to my left
hand. My bare left hand.
“The ring is getting sized,” Ford explains smoothly. “We
should have it back in no time, shouldn’t we, Ava?”
“Um, well,” I mumble, trying to sort out just what the hell
is happening.
“Wait a second,” Bryce says. “Let me get this straight,
Ava. You, of all people, are getting married? And it’s to the Boy
Wonder, Ford McAvoy?” He laughs, clearly finding the whole thing
preposterous.
That’s exactly what it is. Still, I’m irritated that’s
what he thinks.
Before I get a chance to say anything, Ford leans in close
to Bryce, telling him with absolute confidence, “Ain’t nothing boy about
me, old man. Now, why don’t you go ahead and get yourself another drink?
You’ll need it for when it really hits you that Ava walked away from your ass.”
My hand flies to my mouth as I fail to suppress a laugh at
the expression on Bryce’s face. He’s shocked and angry at being talked to this
way.
“Real mature,” Bryce sneers.
I catch Ford winking at Bryce before he turns us away and
toward an empty cocktail table.
“Kiss me,” Ford says.
“What? No. I don’t even know what is—”
“Fine. Then, I’m going to kiss you. And it’s going to be
a real kiss. Slow, deep, and leaving you wanting more. Both
because I want to—so fucking much—and because your ex is still watching us.”
“Oh,” I say on a sigh, powerless to refuse him when he puts
it like that. I raise myself to my tiptoes as he gathers me to him.
When he kisses me, I lose all sense of anything else. My
body melts into his, just the way it had during our few days together in
Maui—no doubt a perfect display of our desire and attraction to each other.
When we slowly, oh so slowly, pull apart, he caresses my
cheek with his hand and stares into my eyes.
“I was desperate to see you again, but I never thought I’d
find you here, Hula Girl,” he says softly, a smile tugging at the
corner of his mouth.
Author Bio
Lara Ward Cosio is the author of contemporary romance books
that are raw, realistic, sometimes funny, and always feature swoon-worthy men
and strong-willed women.
Author Links
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FTC Guidelines: In accordance with FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers, I would like my readers to know that many of the books I review are provided to me for free by the publisher or author of the book in exchange for an honest review. If am compensated for any reviews on this site I will state that post has been sponsored.
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