by Jennie Marts
Yes, Thursday sounded just fine.
***
If you enjoyed this story, click HERE to get Icing On The Date—the first book in the Bannister Brothers Book series. Professional hockey player Owen Bannister, meets Gabby Davis—the sexy caterer who is about to change his entire game. She’s cooking up romance and their passion is hot enough to melt the ice. Owen learns that love is the ultimate game changer and he’s about to get checked.
***
Keep Reading for an excerpt to ICING ON THE DATE:
ICING ON THE DATE
She scrolled through the contacts. Had he said Bane or Ben? Her eyes caught the word Bane, and she pressed the contact and held the phone to her ear.
A sleepy male voice answered. “Dammit, Owen. I told you I’m not coming out tonight.”
“Um. Hello. Is this Owen’s brother?”
“Who’s this?” The voice went instantly alert. “Where’s my brother?”
“This is Gabby Davis. I’m a caterer, and I’m working a party at the Crown Hotel downtown. I’m in the women’s bathroom on the first floor, and your brother appears to be very drunk and passed out on my lap. He asked me to call you. He seems to think he’s in some kind of trouble.”
“Oh, he’s in a whole hell of a lot of trouble. Listen, Gabby, thank you for calling me. I can be there in fifteen minutes. Can you stay with him until I get there?”
“Sure, I guess.” She wasn’t in charge of the whole catering job tonight—only the desserts—and no one would notice she was missing as the party wound down.
“I’m on my way. Keep him out of sight and in the bathroom if you can.”
Out of sight of whom? What kind of trouble was this guy mixed up in?
“I can try.”
“I’d really appreciate it, Gabby. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Tell him I’m on my way.” He hung up.
Gabby set the phone down. “Your brother’s on his way. How about if I just sit here with you until he gets here?” The guy was big and his brother had said he was in trouble, but she wasn’t afraid. He didn’t seem dangerous, even with the bruised black eye.
He snuggled into her chest, smearing remnants of chocolate frosting across his cheek. “Are you an angel? ‘Cause you smell like heaven,” he slurred. “Seriously, why do you smell so damned good? Like cookies and cake and chocolate?”
He opened his eyes and squinted at her chest. He ran a finger along the top edge of her breast, sending a wave of tingles darting down her spine, and came away with a dab of frosting on the end of his finger tip. Popping his finger into his mouth, he groaned in pleasure. “God, you even taste like chocolate. I just want to frickin’ lick you.”
Wow. Wildly inappropriate to say, but the words still sent a prickle of desire through her. This crazy hot guy just told her he wanted to lick her. Granted, it was a drunken statement and he most likely meant the chocolate frosting spread across the front of her shirt, but it had been a long time since she’d had a man tell her anything half as remotely sexy as that statement had been.
Spending all of her time working, saving money, and taking care of her miscreant brother didn’t leave a lot of time for dating, and she didn’t want to think about how long it had been since anything of hers had been licked.
** To keep reading Icing On The Date—click HERE **
***
If you enjoyed this story, be sure to check out all of Jennie Marts’ books, including the adventures of the Page Turners book club:
Another Saturday Night and I Ain’t Got No Body - Book 1
Sunny Vale considers herself a dog-loving, romance-reading, homebody. But her life goes from dull to deadly when her book club fires her from her own love life and sets her up on six blind dates—one of whom might be with a murderer.
Easy Like Sunday Mourning - Book 2
When single mom Maggie Hayes decides to try dating again, a cute video game-designing nerd seems like a safe bet….until he becomes the prime suspect in a murder. Maggie must learn to trust again while playing the most dangerous game of all.
Because defeat could mean not only losing her heart, but also her life…
Just Another Maniac Monday - Book 3
Edna Allen’s Monday goes from mundane to murderous when she opens the front door to find the love of her life standing there. A man she thought had died years ago… after being accused of murder. As Edna relives their summer romance, where more than the weather was hot and steamy, she falls in love all over again and evokes memories filled with drama, passion, action, and murder.
Tangled Up In Tuesday – Book 4
Organized accountant Zoey Allen likes her life neat and tidy. But it goes from managed to messy when a dead body ends up in her apartment on an ordinary Tuesday night. After uncovering a money-laundering scheme in a routine audit at her company, Zoey finds herself the target in a murderous plot that doesn’t quite add up. Good thing she has Mac—a handsome police officer—and the Page Turners book club to help her solve the case.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to Todd
The one who keeps me warm on every wintry night
Acknowledgments
My thanks always goes first to my husband, Todd, the one who puts up with constant chatter about plot lines and imaginary characters and the world they live in. Thank you for cooking meals, buying groceries, and putting up with me being in my pajamas, glazed look in my eyes, typing on my laptop from the time you leave in the morning until you walk back in the door from work that afternoon.
My thanks also goes out to Michelle Major and Lana Williams for your critique help, your honest feedback, and your steadfast friendship.
Thanks so much to Kristin Miller. Your friendship and plotting help is invaluable!
Special thanks goes out to Terry Gregson—my proofreader extraordinaire! So thankful for your enthusiasm and willingness to help. Thanks to Lee Cumba for always being willing to proofread.
Thank you Arran McNicol of Editing 720 for always being fast, efficient, and accommodating.
My biggest thanks goes out to my readers! Thanks for loving my stories and my characters and for asking for more. And I can’t wait to share my next story with you.
About the Author
USA TODAY Bestselling author, Jennie Marts loves to make readers laugh as she weaves stories filled with love, friendship and intrigue. She writes for Entangled Publishing and reviewers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and full of great characters that are “endearing and relatable.”
Jennie is living her own happily-ever-after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two sons, two dogs, and a parakeet that loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes or friends.
Her books include the contemporary western romance Hearts of Montana series, the romantic comedy/ cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series, the hunky hockey-playing men in the Bannister family in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the small town romantic comedies in the series of Cotton Creek Romances.
Jennie loves to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook at Jennie Marts Books, Twitter at @JennieMarts, or Goodreads.
Visit her at www.jenniemarts.com and subscribe to her newsletter for the latest happenings and new releases.
** If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review! **
And thanks for reading!
Copyright © 2015 Jennie Marts
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions
By payment of required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this book. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without the express written permission of copyright owner.
&
nbsp; Please Note
The reverse engineering, uploading, and/or distributing of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.
Cover Design and Interior format by The Killion Group
http://thekilliongroupinc.com
Thank you.