Smittened

Book excerpt: A Bad Boy, a Good Girl, and Ice Cream Collide in the Best Little Wedding Town in America! Dahlia Mallard has finally found her destiny—running an ice cream shop in Bliss, the happiest bridal town in the Midwest. Problem is, her heart is bigger than her bank account, and she needs a serious influx of cash to get through the winter. Her last-ditch effort? Convincing country music superstar Billy Brenton to commit to attending her risqué flavor-tasting event to boost ticket sales. But the closest she can get to Billy is his drummer, the womanizing Mikey Diamond. Mikey loves the ladies, and he makes no secret of it. But he’s not such a fan of this town devoted to weddings, love, and marriage. And he’s even less of a fan of people using him to get to Billy. When circumstances land Mikey in Dahlia’s house, though, all his caution—and all his interest in any other single ladies—flies out the window. Dahlia’s quirky and funny and, unlike his usual women, she doesn’t tolerate any of his baloney. But when Mikey discovers that Dahlia, too, is using him to get close to Billy, will he take the chance to be her hero instead, or will he revert to his manwhore ways? * * * From Smittened: The doorbell dinged out the ice cream truck song that Great Aunt Agnes, rest her soul, had installed shortly before she kicked the bucket. Two years, and Dahlia still couldn’t figure out how to change it to a normal ding. She popped up to the front of the store to take care of her customers. Except it wasn’t customers. It was Mikey. She braced herself and girded her loins, which, quite honestly, needed a lot of girding. Especially when he aimed that smile and those gray eyes at her. He strolled over the black checkered floor, all lanky grace and undeniable sensuality in his leather jacket, cowboy boots, omnipresent ball cap, and new blue jeans. “My favorite ice cream lady,” he said. Her heart squeezed. Charmer, she reminded herself. And not even a good one at that. “You say that to all the ice cream ladies you meet.” “Not anymore.” He winked and propped his elbows on the glass counter over the tubs of ice cream. He lifted a suggestive eyebrow. “Was hoping to try some of that Cherry Popper ice cream for lunch.” “What—how—who—Hush!” No one was supposed to know anything on her adults-only menu until the tasting. Which meant he’d been snooping more in her house. The only thing more annoying than the smug in his smile was the way her pulse fluttered in response to it. “Saw a note,” he said casually. “I’m a big fan of cherries.” “So you’ve said a couple hundred times,” she muttered. He peered closer, his grin spreading wider to show off a row of perfectly aligned pearly whites. “Why, Miss Dahlia, you’ve been watching BillyVision.” He knew her name. Oh, sweet holy ducks, he knew her name. It sounded so exotic in his Southern drawl. Daawl-ya. “Well, yeah,” she forced out. “Billy’s hot.” His smile went bigger, and for the first time since last night’s fire, she noticed his eyes crinkling at the edges too. “But I’m better.” Yes. Yes he—no. No. She didn’t need to add philandering pig to her list of dating disasters. “I guess,” she said. “Sort of like the mashed potatoes that go with the Thanksgiving turkey.” The ego in his grin didn’t waver. “So you want to cover me with gravy? I might could be up for that.” That was not an image that should’ve been sexy. Chocolate syrup, yes. Warm caramel sauce, absolutely. Lumpy brown gravy on Mikey? Ducks help her, it was not totally revolting. She stepped back from the counter and grabbed a rag to wipe at an imaginary ice cream dribble. “You should probably stick to playing music,” she said. “Not sure you could do the gravy justice.” “Sure I could, sweet pea. I’m a man of many talents.” * * * Other Books in the Misfit Brides series: Blissed (Natalie and CJ) Matched (Will and Lindsey) Sugared (Kimmie and Josh, release date TBA) * * * If you liked Smittened, you'll love Southern Fried Blues! Check out Jamie Farrell's Officers' Ex-Wives Club series today! Keywords: Contemporary romance, Romantic Comedy, Smart Romance, Country rock star, ice cream, small town, bad boy, good girl, quick reads, musician, sexy romance, quirky romance