Vacations Like This sneek peek!!
Nov 18, 2021 11:44 pm
Happy almost Thanksgiving!
The U.S. Thanksgiving is next Thursday, and I'm in charge of the rolls...this could end badly. My husband is smoking the turkey, though, so at least there will be one delicious thing. (My sister is hosting, thank goodness, so I won't have to panic clean my house either. 😜)
Today I have some fun book recommendations for you along with a QUICK sneak peek of Vacations Like This. 😜
Here's a little (unedited) scene for you with absolutely zero context, so you're just going to have to guess 😉:
MACK
"I'm a surveyor. I've never been considered a dream crusher before. I'm a dream builder." I rubbed a hand over the front of my face, afraid I'd start laughing at any moment and put myself in more hot water with her. But it was just too fun to see her this angry. I was glad I'd been wrong. It wasn't often people got angry at me. This was an entirely new experience.
I held out the bagel plate to her.
"Did you poison it? Steal it from a neighbor? Something shady like that?" She asked as she took it from me.
"I mugged someone in the grocery store parking lot for that bagel."
Her lips tightened together, and her jaw muscle twitched.
There was nothing worse than trying to fight with someone who was indomitably cheery. So, I smiled and pulled out some butter knives and peanut butter. I set my own bagel plate on the counter next to hers and set the jar of peanut butter between us.
"Please don’t make things worse by defiling that bagel with peanut butter," she said in disgust as she searched her very crowded side of the fridge for some cream cheese.
I kept my eyes on her as I began slathering peanut butter on the bagel. "You mean this bagel?"
She slammed the container of cream cheese onto the counter and glowered at me.
I didn't bother hiding my laugh. No one was mad at me. No one. I was Mack. I was the problem solver and shoulder to cry on. I'd never crossed the line with anyone enough for them to get angry at me. So for it to finally happen—for someone to hold a pretty grudge against me for things out of my control?
It was comical. For it to be Kimber who even while furious had absentmindedly set out an extra mug for me? Way too much fun. Her anger wasn't aimed to crush. It was meant as a statement.
She slammed the butterknife into the cream cheese and spread it on the bagel liberally.
Crumbs flew as she spread it unevenly on the second half.
I filled my knife with more peanut butter. Maintaining eye contact with her dagger-look, I finished making my other bagel half. The knife bumps against my opposite hand smearing peanut butter on my thumb.
Kimber spread another layer of cream cheese on her bagel. She looked as though she were prepping a house foundation.
I stuck my thumb in my mouth and sucked the peanut butter off.
Kimber's eyes widened and she dropped the knife. She picked up both pieces of bagel and took a big bite of one, crumbs flying as she tears a bite away with her teeth. A speck of cream cheese sat on her upper lip, and I fought the urge to stare at it. It sat there as a perfect reminder that I had been there before. Like a little red dot on my maps app. Return to previous location? Yes, please.
We stood there together, Kimber eating her bagel angrily, me eating my bagel…distractedly. When we both finished, we put away our topping choices and bumped elbows as we worked together to clean up the crumb mess.
❄️❄️❄️❄️
You can preorder Vacations Like This here!
And in the meantime I have three fun closed door romantic comedies for you to read while you're waiting! 😉
Lots of love and awkward hugs,
Carina Taylor
After a disastrous family Thanksgiving, all I wanted was to avoid anything holly and jolly this year, so an unexpected business trip seemed like the perfect escape plan . . . until I landed smack dab in the middle of a freaking winter wonderland, otherwise known as Carole Cove, Montana. It’s merrier and brighter than the North Pole. The town even comes with its own Mr. Holiday—Noel Holiday, that is. Not only is he holly and jolly but he’s hotter than the lattes he sells at his café. And for some reason he would love nothing more than to share the magic of the season with me.
Unfortunately, this little trip of mine isn’t exactly filled with good cheer. But Noel’s kisses have a way of making me believe in Christmas miracles. And a miracle might be exactly what it takes to keep the holidays from being ruined forever. Read here!
Tyler is hard enough to resist. Put a baby goat in his arms? Oh, I’m a goner.
Romance is the last thing on my mind when I meet Tyler at a wedding.
Yes, he’s gorgeous. Yes, we have instant chemistry.
But I can’t go there with him. I’m too busy convincing my skeptical parents I’m ready to run our family farm to give Tyler’s smoldering smile a passing glance.
Fine. I glanced. And possibly . . . kissed.
But then I went home all the way in a different state. See? Crisis averted.
Until Tyler shows up in North Carolina looking for a job. Of course, I give him one. We’ve already established I’m terrible at resisting his charm.
It’s a disaster waiting to happen, really. Tyler doing manual labor within easy sight of my office window. Me trying NOT to randomly tumble into his arms. But no matter how cute he looks holding a baby goat (or how much I wish I was that baby goat), he’s off-limits until I earn my dad’s trust.
The trouble is, there’s always a risk when you push away something good. If you push too hard, you just might lose it forever.
Love Off-Limits is a stand-alone novel in a connected series. Enjoy the charming small-town appeal of a mountain farm, characters with closed-door but still sizzling chemistry, and of course, a baby goat named Penelope to tug on all your heartstrings.
Aiden Shaw is the smuggest, most infuriating man I’ve ever met. Ever. He’s also my next door neighbor.
We’ve been at war for four bitter years. But last night, Aiden crossed a line.
The worst part? My public humiliation was caught on camera, and the video’s a viral sensation.
Now, the entire internet is raving about our “off the charts chemistry” and “crackling sexual tension.”
Apparently, everyone is delusional. And blind.
Yet when Aiden turns up on my doorstep, asking me to pose as his girlfriend, I find myself saying yes. Even if that means taking a couples vacation with him. Yup, couples vacation. With my mortal enemy. Who I have to pretend to be madly in love with.
Great.
I can put our war on ice for a little while, Aiden Shaw.
But in the end, someone’s gotta lose.
And it’s not going to be me.
The Neighbor War is a laugh-out-loud funny, swoony, closed door romantic comedy. Expect some mild language and suggestive jokes alongside sizzling hot chemistry and tension you could cut with a knife—all without the explicit scenes.