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5 Things Every Respectable Southern Lady Needs according to Babette Holden
1. Pearls.
Every respectable lady needs a strand of pearls. Preferably, ones passed down
from a great great relative whose name comes from a flower, a spice, or a
biblical do-gooder.
2. A
blue-ribbon pie recipe. The best way to a man’s heart is through his
stomach, and the best way to impress his mama is with a prize winning homemade
pie.
3. A
ring. Heirloom, diamond, and big enough to catch the attention of every
other lady in town, but not so big as to be boastful.
4. A
devoted mother who loves and cherished her daughter—and in times of
doubt can steer her daughter in the right direction, which is always the
direction that leads to the alter.
5.
Above all else, a true respectable southern lady needs a husband.
A TASTE OF SUGAR
Sugar, Georgia #3
by Marina Adair
Forever Mass Market
A blast from her past…
Charlotte
Holden, Sugar’s favorite pediatrician, knows better than anyone that love only
leads to heartbreak. Instead, she’s focused on creating the Grow Clinic, an
outpatient center for children. All she has to do now is to host the best
Founder’s Day Parade in the history of Sugar, Georgia, to win over a big-city
donor. Easy as peach pie. Then sexy Jace McGraw blows back into town and utters
those three words every woman dreads: we’re still married.
…leads to tantalizing trouble
Jace
McGraw was making an offer on his dream business in Atlanta when he was told
that his wife had some credit issues. Wait, his wife? The annulment went
through years ago—or so he thought. He’d walked away only to keep his troublemaker
reputation from ruining her dreams. But now that they have a second chance,
Jace offers Charlotte a deal: he’ll grant a discreet divorce in exchange for 30
days and nights of marriage. Because this time he isn’t going to let her go
without a fight.
Excerpt from A Taste of Sugar:
Excerpt from A Taste of Sugar:
“Morning,
Dr. Holden,” he said, unfolding himself from the car.
“You’re
late.” Charlotte stood and swished her way down the steps toward him. No good morning, no thanks for coming, just a you’re
late as though they had plans, as though he’d disappointed her again.
“Sorry,”
he said coolly, tapping the face of his watch. “Forgot to set it to Charlotte
Standard Time.”
She
stopped a few feet from him, and he could see the hesitation in her expression.
Hesitation and something else. Something that looked an awful lot like
vulnerability. Oh, there was a good portion of irritation and hostility glaring
at him through those baby blues, but behind it all was definitely
vulnerability. Interesting.
“You’re
the one who said we had to go to Atlanta today.”
“I
believe you told me you were too busy to make the time,” he said, not sure how
he was going to handle six hours in an enclosed space with her. Just standing
downwind taking in her floral scent was making him hard.
“I
changed my mind.”
Jace
looked at her for a long moment, then laughed. She was serious.
“Darling,
you don’t change your mind. Ever.” Charlotte Holden might be a Southern belle,
but her Kevlar wall of stubbornness could rival a Southern granny’s—and having
been raised by the most mule-headed granny in the world, that was saying a lot.
Oh, he believed that Charlotte had changed her mind, he just didn’t know why.
“So what happened with your debutante sisters yesterday that has you desperate
enough to call me?”
“Sugar
Peaches,” she corrected. “And since when do you keep up on Sugar gossip?”
“Since
you started calling yourself a Sugar Peach. I mean, weren’t the Peaches your
mom’s thing?”
Charlotte
had once confided in him that she moved to Atlanta to escape the pressure of
following in her mother’s footsteps. The pageants and parties and social ladder
climbing were Babette’s dream for Charlotte. Charlotte’s dream was to save
lives—and she was a master at it.
“Well,
it’s my thing now,” she said, and he couldn’t help but notice the resignation
in her voice. He wanted to know what else had changed, then realized it didn’t
matter anymore. “And that means I have to be back as soon as possible.
Founder’s Day is only three weeks off, and I have a lot to do.”
“Yeah,
me too.” He had to get an annulment, convince his buddy to fix Hattie’s car, and secure that loan before Dale pulled
his offer.
“Good,
because as the current regent of the Sugar Peaches it falls to me to plan the
Founder’s Day Fair, so this trip needs to be a quickie,” she said, her bossy,
take-charge tone making him smile.
“Quickies
aren’t really my specialty,” he said. “But who am I to argue with a lady?”
“Easy
and discreet, Jace. The last thing I need right now is to explain this to my
parents,” she clarified as though he was slow, as though he didn’t know just
how anxious she was to put the past behind them. Which shouldn’t have pissed
him off, because that was what he wanted, too. But it did.
“Easy
and discreet? Kind of like our marriage?” he mused.
She
looked at him for a long moment and then slowly shook her head. “Nothing about
our marriage was easy, Jace,” she said, and the absolute certainty in her voice
made him want to prove her wrong.
“There
was one easy thing between us,” Jace said, stepping into her and closing the
distance, trapping her between the car and his body. He reached behind her
neck, crushed his mouth to hers, and kissed the hell out of her.
Only
one touch, and she was kissing him back. No hesitation, no second-guessing,
just—pow —debutante to seductress. Not
interested to tongue down his throat
in two seconds flat.
And
holy fucking God, it was perfect. The way she felt, the way she tasted, the way
she crawled up his body and demanded more...How had he forgotten this side of
her?
That
insane pull between them, which he’d convinced himself didn’t exist, wasn’t
only burning a hole through his clothes—and his mission—it also wasn’t
one-sided. Which told him that he should a) back the hell up, and b)
immediately cancel this field trip they had planned. Before things got crazy.
But
then she made this sexy little sound in the back of her throat—the one that
used to drive him batshit crazy, that still drove him batshit crazy—and he was
a goner.
So
he deepened the kiss, because why the hell not? Charlotte had her prim and
proper hands all over him, and he was certain that this was the best kiss he’d
ever had. Hot and needy and raw and so damn desperate it was like driving down the
track at three hundred miles per hour with no breaks.
Then
he realized that this was not only the best kiss ever, but probably also their
last kiss ever, and he slowly pulled back, tugging her lower lip between his
teeth as long as he could until the connection finally broke. And damn, he wished
he hadn’t stopped.
That
one second of uncharged air was all Charlotte needed. Sure, she was breathing
heavily, and her gaze was dazed and confused. A mirror image of his own. But
within a split second her eyes frosted over and that unflinching fortitude was
back.
Not
that he was fooled. Jace knew that they had chemistry, remembered how electric
they were together, but what had arched between them just now floored him. And
it had floored her, too.
Charlotte
cleared her throat. “This changes nothing.”
Jace
lowered his gaze to her hands, which were resting on the buckle of his belt.
“Oh, it changes something.”
Buy the book!
SUGAR’S TWICE AS SWEET
He’s trouble she doesn’t need…
Thanks to a cheating fiance, Josephina Harrington’s perfect life just crashed and burned. Moving in with her overbearing parents is definitely not an option. No, she needs to prove she can make it on her own. And she will—by turning her great-aunt’s old plantation house into a destination getaway. She’s just not expecting her contractor to be so hands-on—and so totally irresistible.
…but everything she wants
Bad-boy golf champion Brett McGraw figured his hometown of Sugar, Georgia, was the perfect place to lay low and get his life back up to par. The leggy blonde with a pint-sized pup is the kind of sweet ’n’ sassy trouble he never saw coming. She doesn’t know a nut from a bolt and before long, he’s renovating her house…as she steals his heart. Can he convince Josephina that his womanizing ways are in the past and he’s ready for forever?
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SUGAR ON TOP
She's sassy and sweet
The
last thing Glory Mann wants is to become chairman of the Miss Peach Pageant in
Sugar, Georgia. Spending months hearing nothing but the clinking of pearls and
judgment? No thank you! But when Glory is forced to take the rap for a scandal
she didn't commit, the judge sentences her to head the committee. Even worse,
her co-chairman is rugged, ripped . . . and barely knows she's alive.
He's ready and willing
Single dad Cal McGraw can't take any more drama in his life. After a difficult divorce, his little girl became a boy-crazy teenager and his hands are full. The last thing he needs is to spend his down time with the town bad girl. Glory is pure trouble-tempting and tantalizing trouble. But he can't deny the strong chemistry between them-or how her touch turns him inside out. Now as squabbles threaten to blow up the contest and the town of Sugar itself, Cal must risk everything on the sexy wild card to get a second chance at love . . .
He's ready and willing
Single dad Cal McGraw can't take any more drama in his life. After a difficult divorce, his little girl became a boy-crazy teenager and his hands are full. The last thing he needs is to spend his down time with the town bad girl. Glory is pure trouble-tempting and tantalizing trouble. But he can't deny the strong chemistry between them-or how her touch turns him inside out. Now as squabbles threaten to blow up the contest and the town of Sugar itself, Cal must risk everything on the sexy wild card to get a second chance at love . . .
Buy the book!
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