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She once lost his heart on a bluff. Will she risk everything
to win it back?
Beautician Tracy Quinn spends her days making the women of
Colton, Texas beautiful, while living down the nickname of Olive Oyl, given to
her by the only man she has ever loved—Zack Cartwright. She spends her nights
alone, despite what her ex husband wants their friends and neighbors to think.
Ex-rodeo cowboy. Ex-bad-boy. Ex-Marine. Widower and single
dad Sheriff Zack Cartwright can describe his life in exes. One ex in particular
reminds him of what’s missing in his workaholic life: Tracy Quinn. For years since
she broke his heart, he’s practically made avoiding her a second job. He still
wants her, but can never go after her.
When cattle rustlers target her brother’s ranch, Tracy and
Zack are stuck working together. Her son could use a positive male role model,
and his daughter is wild for a chance at a “substitute” mom. But Tracy’s ex
threatens to sue if she lets Zack near her son, and the Colton grapevine is
abuzz with rumors about their past relationship. Is it worth the gamble to see
if what they have is more than lust?
CONTENT WARNING: Spicy sex
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Sneak Peak
“I was hoping you could keep me company this afternoon.” He
skimmed his fingers over her cheek.
Her insides, heating up like lava under the surface of the
earth, pooled in her low belly. Her lips parted.
Against her lips, he whispered, “Tracy, I want you.”
She had thought of little else since he’d left her standing
on her porch Friday night. He was asking her to enter into a sexual
relationship without any hope of a future--without love.
But she was already in love with Zack.
Both of their kids would benefit from them being together.
Hadn’t that been what she’d decided while she tossed and turned in her big,
empty bed?
With her gaze locked on his, she murmured, “I want you, too,
but I have a stipulation.”
He leaned back. “What is it?”
“I’m no one’s bed-buddy, Zack. I know what my reputation is
in this town, but it’s all wrong.” She swallowed her rapidly thumping heart
back into place. “I’ll only go through with this, if you promise to treat me as
a serious girlfriend. That means we date, we visit with our families and we
share our kids.” When his expression hardened, she quickly added, “Mandy likes
me. And I adore her. I’d like to bring her here, to the shop, for a few hours
and play. And take her shopping. I know your mom tries, but she’s busy with her
foundations and charities she does for the Junior League.”
The breath she sucked in was full of Zack’s scent of sage
and leather. “Meanwhile, you can teach Bobby how to ride and maybe take him to
the sheriff’s department and show him around. Jake won’t like it, but I’ll deal
with him.” Having laid her demands out on the proverbial table, she held her
breath, waiting for him to tell her what she could do with herself. After all,
a man of Zack’s caliber could have any damned woman he wanted. Tracy was just
handy, and according to the gossip of her ex-husband and mother-in-law, she was
easy.
He studied her for a few moments. “That’s more than one
stipulation.”
“Take it or leave it.”
“Tracy, it won’t change what I told you Friday night. I’m
never getting married again.”
His words stung as much now as they had the other night, but
she didn’t show him how much. She kept her face determined, as if she were
haggling over one of his horses, rather than her body and soul.
“Fine. But I’m not a floozy. Yes, I’ve made mistakes. But I
have my son to consider. And I’d hope you’d feel the same about Mandy. They’re
bound to see us together. What do you plan on telling your six-year-old
daughter when she asks about me? That I’m your friend with benefits? I know
that isn’t what I want to be teaching my son.” Moreover, she didn’t want to
give credence to Jake’s claim that she had no sexual morals.
“Okay,” he said at last. “We’ll play the game your way.” He
pressed her against him. “Luck would have it I’m off this afternoon, too. I’ve
already put in sixteen hours.”
When his lips captured hers, she knew she’d made a pact with
the devil, but she couldn’t stop the elation surging through her. There was
something he wanted from her. Sex was a big portion of it, but something else
kept Zack from walking away and hooking up with any one of the many available
women in town.
~~~~~~~
I was so waiting for the second book in the Colton Gamblers Series, so that I could get the story of Zack and Tracy, which happens to be one of my favorite kinds...a Reunion Story. I don't know if it's all the left over feelings, that love that has never gone away, or if it's all the angst and not knowing, but they are one of my favorite kinds, and this one was NOT a disappointment.
Tracy and Zack are both "Single Parents", Tracy with an asshole of an ex, and Zack a widower. Starting something again with the one person who betrayed you, is something that Zack never thought he would ever consider, but Tracy has always been the love of his life, and when it's meant to be, it's meant to be.
There is PLENTY of drama, which only has you cheering on Zack and Tracy and hoping that nothing else will stand in the way of their reunion. Ex-husbands, Children, Careers, and those old hurts all cause issues for these two, and I enjoyed every page!!
If you have read the first book, GAMBLING ON A SECRET, they you will truly enjoy Zack and Tracy's story, but it can also be read as a stand alone. If you have a nice day at the beach, grab this one up. Why not take a GAMBLE!!
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Meet Sara
Sara Walter Ellwood is an award winning author whose novel
Gambling On A Secret was named by bestselling author Carolyn Brown in the Happy
Ever After Blog on USA Today as one of her favorite romances of 2012.
Although Sara has long ago left the farm for the glamour of the big town, she
draws on her experiences growing up on a small hobby farm in West Central
Pennsylvania to write her stories. She’s been married to her college sweetheart
for nearly 20 years, and they have two teenagers and one very spoiled rescue
cat named Penny. She longs to visit the places she writes about and jokes she’s
a cowgirl at heart stuck in Pennsylvania suburbia. She also writes paranormal romantic suspense under the pen
name of Cera duBois.
