Marissa Clarke is stopping by today to share an excerpt from her upcoming Three Day Fiancée! Check it out and grab your copy May 14th!
Three Day Fiancée
Author: Marissa Clarke
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Day: May 14th
About Three Day Fiancée
Helicopter pilot Taylor Blankenship’s time schedule is maxed out. Between his job, his eighty-pound slobbering mess of a dog, and his matchmaking grandmother, he has no time for anyone or anything—especially a woman. If only there were a way to get Grams to back down.
The job of New York City dog walker suits Caitlin Ramos perfectly while she preps for her CPA exam—steady, scheduled, and requiring very little human interaction; a huge seller since she’s still on the mend from a toxic relationship. Men suck. Especially her bossy, hot client with the Saint Bernard that thinks it’s a lap dog. No way will she go for his plan to pretend they’re engaged to get his grandmother off his case. Down, boy.
Offered a bargain she can’t refuse, Caitlin finds herself playing the part of fiancée to Taylor. Fortunately, it’s only for three days. All she has to do is fake a relationship with Mr. Bossy Pants in front of his entire family, survive a fierce game of truth or dare with an unscrupulous pair of octogenarians, endure a one-on-one round of Twister with Taylor, and not lose her heart to a guy who turns out tobe a lot more than she’d bargained for.
The job of New York City dog walker suits Caitlin Ramos perfectly while she preps for her CPA exam—steady, scheduled, and requiring very little human interaction; a huge seller since she’s still on the mend from a toxic relationship. Men suck. Especially her bossy, hot client with the Saint Bernard that thinks it’s a lap dog. No way will she go for his plan to pretend they’re engaged to get his grandmother off his case. Down, boy.
Offered a bargain she can’t refuse, Caitlin finds herself playing the part of fiancée to Taylor. Fortunately, it’s only for three days. All she has to do is fake a relationship with Mr. Bossy Pants in front of his entire family, survive a fierce game of truth or dare with an unscrupulous pair of octogenarians, endure a one-on-one round of Twister with Taylor, and not lose her heart to a guy who turns out tobe a lot more than she’d bargained for.
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Exclusive Excerpt
Caitlin liked to snap the leash on Beauregard, a huge Saint Bernard, at exactly seven. Labeled a problem client, Beau was on his third agency and had blazed through a fair share of walkers, the latest of which was Rick, a co-worker from Animal Attraction. Caitlin and Beau had hit it off immediately, and he’d never given her any trouble, so she’d found Rick’s stories of the dog’s misbehavior hard to believe. She checked her phone when she pulled out her keychain. She still had one minute. At least one thing was going right—she was on time. She slid her key in the lock and froze.
Bark-bark! Crash.
She’d never known Beau to break anything before. Heck, he usually just laid around and slobbered. Sometimes even getting him to go out for a walk took a treat or two.
Crash. Thump-thump-thump. Ahoooooooo! Woooo! WOOF!
Great. A cold shower, stubbed toe, blown breaker, no caffeine, close encounter with a garbage truck, soggy feet, wet hair, and now this. Whatever this was.
A chill shot down her spine as she lifted her hand to knock, then stopped. Beauregard’s owner was never home at this time of day. He left for work before she arrived. What if someone had broken in?
Her fingers tightened on the key as she debated whether to call 911 or go tell Fred in the lobby.
“Beauregard, stop! Sit! Stay!” a male voice shouted from inside. Well, at least it wasn’t a burglar unless he was doubling as a dog trainer. Score one in the win column this time. She relaxed fractionally, silently unlocking the door and opening it just a crack to peek in.
Oh, man. Score ten in the win column.
The hottest guy she’d ever seen was chasing Beauregard around the living room wearing nothing but a bath towel—and the towel was hanging on for dear life…not that she blamed it; she’d hang on to that fine backside for dear life, too, given the chance. He was tall, with dark hair and a build that was lean and toned and screamed long-term gym membership. She bit back a laugh as Hot Guy and his six-pack abs hurdled the coffee table in an attempt to catch Beau, who lumbered to the far end of the room, drooling. She might have been drooling, too as he lunged for Beau and missed.
“Look don’t touch.” Yep. And she was getting a good look. She grinned, realizing her crap day had finally turned around.
And then a couple of things happened at once. Beau noticed her in the doorway and launched toward her at full steam, no doubt to give her his customary slobbery greeting with uncustomary zeal. As the dog passed the center of the room, Hot Guy reached out and grabbed his collar, causing the muscles across his broad chest to bunch up as he attempted to slow the dog—the attempt didn’t slow anything, especially Caitlin’s heartbeat. The day had done a total one-eighty. Win all around. No need for caffeine now.
“Woof!” Beauregard barked.
Yeah, woof! Caitlin was too stunned to do anything but stare, heart pounding, as the dog and towel-clad Hot Guy, still clinging to Beau’s collar, hurtled in her direction like a runaway locomotive. Bring on that train wreck, universe.
It was obvious Hot Guy hadn’t noticed her until that second, because his brown eyes grew huge as Beau reared up, his paws landing on her shoulders, tongue nailing her cheek as she slammed back against the doorjamb.
“Oh, shit,” he said, only inches from her. So close she could smell his aftershave or soap or whatever mouth-watering scent clung to his body. Releasing the dog, he tightened the towel and took a couple of steps back. “I’m sorry, I…”
Caitlin strained to peek around Beau’s huge head as the guy backed up another step and gave a smile. “I didn’t see you there.”
Well, no way could she say the same, and she certainly wasn’t sorry. Heck, the last few minutes warranted completely forgiving the universe for conspiring against her all morning.
Bark-bark! Crash.
She’d never known Beau to break anything before. Heck, he usually just laid around and slobbered. Sometimes even getting him to go out for a walk took a treat or two.
Crash. Thump-thump-thump. Ahoooooooo! Woooo! WOOF!
Great. A cold shower, stubbed toe, blown breaker, no caffeine, close encounter with a garbage truck, soggy feet, wet hair, and now this. Whatever this was.
A chill shot down her spine as she lifted her hand to knock, then stopped. Beauregard’s owner was never home at this time of day. He left for work before she arrived. What if someone had broken in?
Her fingers tightened on the key as she debated whether to call 911 or go tell Fred in the lobby.
“Beauregard, stop! Sit! Stay!” a male voice shouted from inside. Well, at least it wasn’t a burglar unless he was doubling as a dog trainer. Score one in the win column this time. She relaxed fractionally, silently unlocking the door and opening it just a crack to peek in.
Oh, man. Score ten in the win column.
The hottest guy she’d ever seen was chasing Beauregard around the living room wearing nothing but a bath towel—and the towel was hanging on for dear life…not that she blamed it; she’d hang on to that fine backside for dear life, too, given the chance. He was tall, with dark hair and a build that was lean and toned and screamed long-term gym membership. She bit back a laugh as Hot Guy and his six-pack abs hurdled the coffee table in an attempt to catch Beau, who lumbered to the far end of the room, drooling. She might have been drooling, too as he lunged for Beau and missed.
“Look don’t touch.” Yep. And she was getting a good look. She grinned, realizing her crap day had finally turned around.
And then a couple of things happened at once. Beau noticed her in the doorway and launched toward her at full steam, no doubt to give her his customary slobbery greeting with uncustomary zeal. As the dog passed the center of the room, Hot Guy reached out and grabbed his collar, causing the muscles across his broad chest to bunch up as he attempted to slow the dog—the attempt didn’t slow anything, especially Caitlin’s heartbeat. The day had done a total one-eighty. Win all around. No need for caffeine now.
“Woof!” Beauregard barked.
Yeah, woof! Caitlin was too stunned to do anything but stare, heart pounding, as the dog and towel-clad Hot Guy, still clinging to Beau’s collar, hurtled in her direction like a runaway locomotive. Bring on that train wreck, universe.
It was obvious Hot Guy hadn’t noticed her until that second, because his brown eyes grew huge as Beau reared up, his paws landing on her shoulders, tongue nailing her cheek as she slammed back against the doorjamb.
“Oh, shit,” he said, only inches from her. So close she could smell his aftershave or soap or whatever mouth-watering scent clung to his body. Releasing the dog, he tightened the towel and took a couple of steps back. “I’m sorry, I…”
Caitlin strained to peek around Beau’s huge head as the guy backed up another step and gave a smile. “I didn’t see you there.”
Well, no way could she say the same, and she certainly wasn’t sorry. Heck, the last few minutes warranted completely forgiving the universe for conspiring against her all morning.
About Marissa
Marissa Clarke is a multi award-winning, RITA® nominated author of romance for adults and teens. She lives on an island in the middle of a river. Seriously, she does. When not writing, she wrangles her rowdy pack of three teens, two Cairn Terriers, and one husband.
Inexplicably, her favorite animal is the giant anteater and at one point, she had over 200 "pet" Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. The roaches are a long story involving three science-crazed kids and a soft spot for rescue animals. The good news is, the "pet" roaches found a home... somewhere else.
Inexplicably, her favorite animal is the giant anteater and at one point, she had over 200 "pet" Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. The roaches are a long story involving three science-crazed kids and a soft spot for rescue animals. The good news is, the "pet" roaches found a home... somewhere else.
Enter Marissa’s Giveaway
I liked the excerpt. Sounds like a good book.
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