Diamonds and Dirt Roads
Billionaire in Blue Jeans, Book 1
Erin Nicholas
Release Date January 26, 2018
A pretend relationship…within a pretend relationship.
Attorney Evan Stone knows every crazy stipulation in billionaire Rudy Carmichael’s will. After all, he wrote it. And he’s determined to make sure each one is fully met by Rudy’s triplet daughters. Even if that means dating the workaholic CEO, Ava. Or pretending to at least. And even if it means resisting the so-right-for-him-she’s-totally-wrong party girl, Cori.
Cori’s only got three things on her to do list from her dad:
• Move to Bliss, Kansas.
• Run his pie shop with her sisters for a year.
• No dating. For six months.
But stepping in for her sister when it’s clear that Ava and Evan aren’t fooling anyone with their “romance” isn’t really dating. And falling for her sister’s pretend boyfriend while pretending to be her sister…well, that’s ridiculous. No matter how real things feel whenever she and Evan are together.
Attorney Evan Stone knows every crazy stipulation in billionaire Rudy Carmichael’s will. After all, he wrote it. And he’s determined to make sure each one is fully met by Rudy’s triplet daughters. Even if that means dating the workaholic CEO, Ava. Or pretending to at least. And even if it means resisting the so-right-for-him-she’s-totally-wrong party girl, Cori.
Cori’s only got three things on her to do list from her dad:
• Move to Bliss, Kansas.
• Run his pie shop with her sisters for a year.
• No dating. For six months.
But stepping in for her sister when it’s clear that Ava and Evan aren’t fooling anyone with their “romance” isn’t really dating. And falling for her sister’s pretend boyfriend while pretending to be her sister…well, that’s ridiculous. No matter how real things feel whenever she and Evan are together.
Excerpt
The girl had to start wearing a bra. That was the only solution.
Evan watched as Cori stretched to reach into the cupboard for a plate, her short T-shirt pulling away from the black cotton pants that hugged her hips and ass, and found himself leaning slightly to the side on the stool. No way was that shirt going up above her breasts—the shape of which he now had permanently imprinted on his palm—no matter how high she reached, but damn, the idea of it almost put him on his ass on the floor beside the breakfast bar. That would have been hard to explain.
“It smells amazing in here,” he said, trying to distract himself from the hard, little points that were poking against the bright pink words That’s a horrible idea. What time? on the front of her shirt.
But if a girl wore something that bright, she had to expect people to look, right?
She glanced over her shoulder with a smile. “Thanks.”
“You cooked?”
“Chicken piccata,” she said as she turned to scoop a piece of chocolate pie onto the plate. “And s’mores pie.”
She set it in front of him, but before he could reach for it, she picked up a blowtorch. It was a kitchen-sized blowtorch, but a torch all the same. She lit the end and touched it to the marshmallows on top, toasting them quickly. Then she set a fork on the edge and pushed the plate toward him.
Evan couldn’t help it. He laughed and shook his head. “Even dessert has a little something extra with you,” he said.
Cori shrugged. “I love toppings.”
He picked up his fork, trying to ignore the way his body stirred. After their mini-make-out session on the porch, he wasn’t sure there was anything she could do that wouldn’t stir his body. And maybe even his emotions.
“Toppings?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah,” she said.
Then she tried, again, to kill him by leaning onto her elbows just across the bar from where he was sitting. The neckline of her shirt gaped, and the smooth, tanned skin drew his eyes. The breast and nipple he’d only gotten the briefest feel of were right there. And he noticed the shimmer. Holy shit, she was wearing shimmery body powder. That had to be it. Her skin glowed and yes, actually, sparkled in the warm light of the kitchen.
“Toppings can make or break a dish,” she said. “I mean, without those marshmallows, that’s pretty much just chocolate pie. I could have drizzled caramel over it instead and it would have totally changed it. And toppings and sauce can change a chicken breast from piccata to teriyaki like that.” She snapped her fingers. “I’m all about the embellishments.”
For some reason, that seemed like one of the most honest things he’d ever heard. Cori Carmichael was an embellishment. She seemed to make everything bigger and better. And yes, changed things. He couldn’t put a finger directly on what it was, but since the triplets had come to town, Bliss had seemed more fun. Nothing major had changed. The outside of the pie shop looked exactly the same, and they hadn’t opened to business again, so the interior changes weren’t obvious. The girls weren’t really out and about in town—much to the chagrin of all of the busybodies and gossips. Of course, the old men who stopped in for coffee every morning at the pie shop delighted in being some of the few people to actually have any amount of time with the Carmichael girls. And yet, there was something in the air, Evan could swear it. Something had changed slightly…and had gotten better when they’d come to town.
“Try it,” Cori urged, gesturing at his plate.
Right. Pie. He was sitting here eating pie with Cori while he waited for Ava. So he could ask her out on a date. That wasn’t weird at all. He took a bite of the pie.
And holy shit. If he hadn’t been a little crazy about her already, that would have done it. He swallowed and looked up at her. “Damn, Cori, this is amazing.”
Her face lit up, and for a second, Evan stopped chewing and just looked at her. The shimmery body powder had nothing on that sparkle in her eyes.
“You think so?”
He swallowed the bite. “Of course. How would anyone not think so?”
She shrugged and straightened, wiping at something on the counter with her finger and not meeting his eyes. “Brynn and Ava didn’t seem impressed.”
“Well, they’re probably used to you coming up with amazing things.” He took another big bite.
“Yeah, something like that.”
Evan watched as Cori stretched to reach into the cupboard for a plate, her short T-shirt pulling away from the black cotton pants that hugged her hips and ass, and found himself leaning slightly to the side on the stool. No way was that shirt going up above her breasts—the shape of which he now had permanently imprinted on his palm—no matter how high she reached, but damn, the idea of it almost put him on his ass on the floor beside the breakfast bar. That would have been hard to explain.
“It smells amazing in here,” he said, trying to distract himself from the hard, little points that were poking against the bright pink words That’s a horrible idea. What time? on the front of her shirt.
But if a girl wore something that bright, she had to expect people to look, right?
She glanced over her shoulder with a smile. “Thanks.”
“You cooked?”
“Chicken piccata,” she said as she turned to scoop a piece of chocolate pie onto the plate. “And s’mores pie.”
She set it in front of him, but before he could reach for it, she picked up a blowtorch. It was a kitchen-sized blowtorch, but a torch all the same. She lit the end and touched it to the marshmallows on top, toasting them quickly. Then she set a fork on the edge and pushed the plate toward him.
Evan couldn’t help it. He laughed and shook his head. “Even dessert has a little something extra with you,” he said.
Cori shrugged. “I love toppings.”
He picked up his fork, trying to ignore the way his body stirred. After their mini-make-out session on the porch, he wasn’t sure there was anything she could do that wouldn’t stir his body. And maybe even his emotions.
“Toppings?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah,” she said.
Then she tried, again, to kill him by leaning onto her elbows just across the bar from where he was sitting. The neckline of her shirt gaped, and the smooth, tanned skin drew his eyes. The breast and nipple he’d only gotten the briefest feel of were right there. And he noticed the shimmer. Holy shit, she was wearing shimmery body powder. That had to be it. Her skin glowed and yes, actually, sparkled in the warm light of the kitchen.
“Toppings can make or break a dish,” she said. “I mean, without those marshmallows, that’s pretty much just chocolate pie. I could have drizzled caramel over it instead and it would have totally changed it. And toppings and sauce can change a chicken breast from piccata to teriyaki like that.” She snapped her fingers. “I’m all about the embellishments.”
For some reason, that seemed like one of the most honest things he’d ever heard. Cori Carmichael was an embellishment. She seemed to make everything bigger and better. And yes, changed things. He couldn’t put a finger directly on what it was, but since the triplets had come to town, Bliss had seemed more fun. Nothing major had changed. The outside of the pie shop looked exactly the same, and they hadn’t opened to business again, so the interior changes weren’t obvious. The girls weren’t really out and about in town—much to the chagrin of all of the busybodies and gossips. Of course, the old men who stopped in for coffee every morning at the pie shop delighted in being some of the few people to actually have any amount of time with the Carmichael girls. And yet, there was something in the air, Evan could swear it. Something had changed slightly…and had gotten better when they’d come to town.
“Try it,” Cori urged, gesturing at his plate.
Right. Pie. He was sitting here eating pie with Cori while he waited for Ava. So he could ask her out on a date. That wasn’t weird at all. He took a bite of the pie.
And holy shit. If he hadn’t been a little crazy about her already, that would have done it. He swallowed and looked up at her. “Damn, Cori, this is amazing.”
Her face lit up, and for a second, Evan stopped chewing and just looked at her. The shimmery body powder had nothing on that sparkle in her eyes.
“You think so?”
He swallowed the bite. “Of course. How would anyone not think so?”
She shrugged and straightened, wiping at something on the counter with her finger and not meeting his eyes. “Brynn and Ava didn’t seem impressed.”
“Well, they’re probably used to you coming up with amazing things.” He took another big bite.
“Yeah, something like that.”
About the Author
I've been reading romance since my mom first let me into her book cupboard when I was about fourteen. LaVyrle Spencer, Julie Garwood, Debbie Macomber... they took my 'happily ever after' ideas from animated princesses to real people in the real world.I've been writing romance almost as long. Many a family car trip was spent with my head bent over a spiral notebook in the back seat. I'll confess that my very first attempts at fiction were fantasy and paranormals, influenced by my father's love of the Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and the original Alice in Wonderland. If Harry Potter had been around, I'm sure he would have been on the bedtime story shelf as well.
But it wasn't long until I started writing about true love and that's where I've been ever since.
I'm so thrilled to be able to share these stories with you! I hope that they make you smile, sigh, maybe even choke up a little. Most of all, I hope that they help you believe in magical things like first kisses, the spark of passion, and the power of true love.
