Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Lea Nolan’s WANT ME ALWAYS!
I was so happy to be included in all of the celebration for this book’s release, and I’m thrilled that it’s out “in the wild” now, for everyone to enjoy. Here, we have an exclusive excerpt from the book, a short Q&A with the Lea, and a giveaway you can enter!
About Want Me Always:
Title: WANT ME ALWAYS
Author: Lea Nolan
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Her mind says no…
Wren Donovan’s done with love. Betrayed and humiliated by her ex-fiancé, she retreats to her family’s beach house on Heron Harbor Island to lick her wounds and gorge herself on ice cream, spray cheese, and a box of glazed donuts. Wren vows to devote herself to her law career and swears off men forever, but she isn’t prepared for what being reunited with her oldest friend makes her feel…
His heart says yes, please…
Smith Connors can’t believe his eyes when Wren walks into his restaurant. He’s loved her since they were kids, when summertime found them inseparable best friends. As a boy, he’d never felt good enough for Wren. But now he’s a rising-star chef with a thriving business who knows what he wants—which means he’s not letting beautiful, brilliant Wren get away again.
Smith determines to show Wren how good they could be together, and soon neither of them can resist the heat growing between them. He’d do anything to earn her faith—and her heart, if only she could learn to trust again.
He was trying to tease her. And dammit, it was working.
It wasn’t fair. Wren had admitted her attraction and Smith was using it against her. It was time to turn the tables.
They put the finishing touches on the last wall, then turned to face each other.
“You’ve got a little paint.” Smith pointed to a small white dot on her T-shirt that she already knew was there.
“Well, you’ve got a lot of paint.” Wren swiped her still wet brush across his broad chest.
His eyelids stretched wide. “Did you really just do that?”
She nodded. “Uh huh. And guess what? I’m going to do it again.” Wren swung the brush in the opposite direction, drawing a giant white X across his black T-shirt.
Smith’s jaw dropped as he stared at his chest. “This is one of my favorite shirts.”
Oops. That might have been a mistake. Nervous laughter bubbled up her throat. “Sorry?”
He lifted his head to meet her gaze. “Oh, it’s on now.” With a devilish glint in his eyes, he bent and scooped a handful of paint from the tray, then hurled it at her. It splattered her T-shirt and leggings.
“Aaah!” Wren squealed, then ran across the tarp and ducked behind the covered furniture in the center of the room.
“You think you can hide from me?” Smith laughed as he stalked toward her.
“Um…maybe?” she giggled, crouched behind the dresser.
He loomed over her, his hand filled with another pool of white paint. “Uh uh. You started this war, you’ve got to fight in it.”
Wren stood, wearing her best sweet-and-innocent smile, the one she used when facing a particularly harsh judge in court.
“Truce?” she asked, her right hand tucked behind her back.
His lids narrowed. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t dump this on your head?”
“Because it would be really hard to wash out.”
Smith exhaled. “That’s fair.” He slapped the paint on the tarp, then wiped his hand on the only dry spot left on his T-shirt.
Shaking her head, Wren clucked her tongue. “It isn’t smart to disarm yourself before your opponent does.” Rising on tiptoes, she pulled out the paintbrush she’d kept hidden behind her back and wiped it across his forehead.
Surprise flashed in his eyes. “You fight dirty.”
She shrugged. “I am a lawyer.”
“I’ll show you dirty.” In one smooth movement, Smith hoisted her up in his arms, and deposited her on the dresser top. Spreading her knees wide, he wedged himself between her legs and leaned in so far, she was nearly lying flat, propped on her elbows. A mischievous smile played on his lips. “That wasn’t very nice.”
“But it was funny.”
Smith’s eyes sparkled. “True, but you still deserve to be punished. What should your punishment be?” His hard length pressed against her. It was hot and hard and made her insides coil with need.
Wren swallowed. “It’s never a good idea to ask the accused to set their own punishment. They always go too light. I’ll leave it to you to decide.”
Kiss me. Hard and rough. Then rip off my clothes and do whatever you want.
“Hmm, what do you deserve?” His gaze bore into her.
Her breath raged as electric energy sparked between them.
Smith’s own fierce desire was written on his face. So what was he waiting for? All he had to do was dip his mouth to hers, then do all the things he’d promised last night.
Finally, his lips curled at the ends. “I’ve got it. But you’re not going to like it.”
Wren smirked. “Try me.”
Grab Your Copy:
Kindle | Barnes and Noble | Apple Books | Kobo
Advance praise for Want Me Always:
“A heartfelt story that will make you laugh and swoon! The perfect feel-good read!” –Laura Kaye, NYT Bestselling Author
“A seaside reunion story that will have you believing that love heals heartbreak and truly transcends time.” ~ Christi Barth, USA Today bestselling author
The blurb for WANT ME ALWAYS gives away two con-rom tropes that I LOVE — friends-to-lovers AND foodie romance. Are these some of your favorite tropes, as well, or did they just work best for this particular story? What other romance tropes do you love?
I love the friends-to-lovers trope. I think it helps show the reader that the hero and heroine are perfect for each other, and probably always have been, but they just haven’t realized it yet. The best relationships are built on friendship so it a very believable trope to build a story on. As for the foodie romance trope, it just sort of happened as Smith’s character revealed itself to me. He’s a local celebrity chef on Heron Harbor island, where the story and series is set, and he chose his profession for a very specific reason.
As for other tropes, I love a good enemies-to-lovers story, and opposites-attract are always fun too. Those two tropes set up instant conflict and there are so many ways to ratchet up the tension between the hero and heroine.
In our excerpt, the characters are obviously playful and having fun with each other, can we expect the same lighthearted feel throughout the whole story? (please say yes, please say yes, lol!)
Of course! This is a fun, swoony, and sometimes sexy book that has sections that still make me laugh even though I wrote it, lol! Okay, so I’m biased, but I can honestly say that this book, and Smith and Wren’s relationship, will put a smile on readers’ facec. And really, with everything happening in the world today, what more can anyone ask?
From the graphics on your website, it appears there are two other books coming soon. Will those be related to this story in any way, or are they completely separate stand-alones?
Yes! There are two more books in the Heron Harbor series. CLAIM ME NOW is coming November 10, 2020 and HOLD ME FOREVER will follow in April 2021. They will follow Wren’s sisters, Raven and Lark, as they find their own happily ever afters, and while those books are part of the series, each will be a standalone novel.
For those of us who originally met you through your teen fantasy stories, do you have anything “magical” coming any time soon?
Oh, I wish. Unfortunately I’m not writing young adult books right now, but I do intend to get back to them one day. I love YA so much and miss it terribly. And I especially miss fantasy and magic. There’s something so freeing about making up a spell or a curse and building a whole world around it. Some day, some day.
Actor John Krasinski has started an online “good news” show, so I’m asking every author I interview to share one good thing. It can be on any topic, related to you or not related to you at all, as long as it’s something good. What would you like to share?
Here’s my something good: Being at home has forced me to become a lot more physically active than I normally am. I’ve been walking our dog, Rosie, about two miles each day. In addition to the physical exercise, I’m also using the time to listen to audio books that I download from our local library. I can’t believe I never accessed that resource before. Library audio books are awesome!
Here’s a recent picture of Rosie, the Rescue Red Retriever, that I took during one of our walks. Isn’t she the cutest?
Thanks so much for having me here today! Take care and stay healthy!
xo
Lea
About the Author:
Lea Nolan is a USA Today bestselling author who writes smart, witty contemporary stories filled with head-swooning, heart-throbbing, sweep-you-off your feet romance. She also pens books for young adults featuring bright heroines, crazy-hot heroes, diabolical plot twists, plus a dose of magic, a draft of romance, and a sprinkle of history.
Born and raised on Long Island, New York she loves the water far too much to live inland. With her heroically supportive husband and three brilliant children, she resides in Maryland where she cracks crabs and bakes ugly birthday cakes.
Connect with Lea Nolan:
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