By: Beth Ciotta
Releasing
February 27th, 2016
BC Ink
When fate bobbles your dream,
sometimes you have to make your own magic…
Award-winning author Beth Ciotta presents Marry Poppins, the third book in the
contemporary fairy tale series—Impossible Dream—celebrating hope, love, and the
magic of the human spirit!
She wants a family.
He needs a wife. A marriage-of-convenience solves a myriad of problems for
unlucky Georgie Poppins and down-on-his-luck Bryce Morgan. Falling in love
wasn’t part of the bargain so no one is more surprised than Georgie and Bryce
when sexual sparks ignite a full-blown romance. Unfortunately, as love swells,
trouble mounts, including a glitch at Impossible Dream.com—an Internet company
designed to match people with their most avid desire. Maybe Georgie and Bryce
weren’t meant to be after all.
As a nanny in my real life, I am always eager to read a nanny romance and even
though the female lead in this story is not a nanny, it is still a delightful
story.
Georgie
Poppins had a rough childhood, where her Mom bounced from Husband to boyfriend
to husband again and again. But thankfully Georgie managed to have a great
network of friends and and her ex-step brother Ryan…oh and Ryan's best friend
Bryce "The Bullet" Morgan, the man with whom she has been in love
with for years! But today Bryce is marrying another women and she has lost her
chance. So she enlists the help of an agency to help her find a
"insta-family" but 4 months later she is still left waiting.
But
in a calamity of events happen and Bryce and Georgie end up in a married and
friends with benefits. But when embarrassments from the past to haunt them, can
they keep their relationship together?
This
is such a sweet story that makes me laugh, cry and full in love with this
couple and the calamity that Georgie gets herself into. The writing, plot and
the characters were great, it did get a little confusing for me with the
texting and journal writing, but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book.
I
give Marry Poppins 4 stars!
Most
of her waking moments didn’t seem real. Visiting places she never dreamed she’d
see in person, alongside the man she once dreamed she’d marry. Not only that,
they were rooming together and sleeping together—albeit platonically.
Aside
from that one unexpected and amazingly perfect kiss, Bryce had kept his lips to
himself. Georgie would have been disappointed except his attraction was
evident. She felt it. She sizzled with it. Something was building. Something
was going to happen between Georgina Lou Poppins and Bryce-The Bullet-Morgan.
The anticipation was exhilarating. The ultimate foreplay—and the most he’d done
was hold her hand while navigating crowds. Or palming the small of her back
while guiding her through an entrance.
His
touch had been warm and welcome. He made her feel safe and cared for, as if she
were his to worry about. Every brush of his hand felt like a lover’s caress.
Maybe
they weren’t destined for forever, but they were destined for at least once.
She
didn’t want to jinx it. She didn’t want to cheapen it with girlish, gossipy
exchanges with her friends. She didn’t want to rush it or force it—patience
recommended—so she played it cool. No easy feat. Especially when they were
first waking up or preparing for bed. Or basically anytime they were alone in
the hotel suite—that king-sized, pillow-soft mattress screaming for action of
the horizontal-mambo variety.
Sort
of like now.
“Are
you sure there wasn’t anything else you wanted to do tonight?” Bryce asked as
he shrugged out of a suit jacket and draped it over the chair.
A
loaded question, considering, yeah, she’d like to jump his bones. Georgie
answered cautiously as she sat on the sofa and unbuckled her left strappy heel.
“Not for anything, but these shoes weren’t made for walking.”
“No,
they weren’t.”
Georgie
glanced up and caught Bryce staring at her legs.
The
sexually charged air crackled and Georgie had to bite her tongue as she fumbled
with the buckle of her other—not exactly, but as close as she owned—FMPs.
Bryce
had treated her to dinner and a show. A musical playing in Leicester Square,
which was sort of like New York’s Times Square albeit it more quaint (according
to Bryce, who’d been to New York City, unlike Georgie).
Even
though Bryce had assured her not all people dressed up for the theater, Georgie
couldn’t resist going all out. Fortunately, Angel had supplied her with two
dresses suitable for finer entertainment. Georgie had settled on a simple black
halter dress and strappy red heels. The same heels she’d worn to Bryce’s
non-wedding. The difference was her non-wedding dress had skimmed her knees.
This hemline stopped mid-thigh. So, yeah, her legs were on prime display.
Feigning
innocence, she asked, “Anything wrong?”
“I
should go.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere.
I need to walk this off.”
It
was all she could do to stay seated, to feign calm. He looked gorgeous and
miserable and she wanted to tackle him to the floor. “Walk what off?”
Bryce
palmed the back of his neck and rubbed. He blew out a breath. A tense breath. A
really tense breath.
Georgie
practiced extraordinary patience.
“That
dress. Those shoes. You. The past few days.” He stuffed his hands in the
pockets of his trousers, studied the toes of his boots.
Georgie
waited.
“You
look hot, dammit.”
Her
pulse kicked. If only he didn’t sound so disappointed. “Thank you. I think.”
“I
can’t be here. This—and don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking
about—can’t happen.”
Heart
pounding, Georgie took a leap of faith. Enough patience. Time to initiate
derring-do. She rose to her bare feet and closed the distance between them.
“Okay. No pretending. Let’s face this head on.” She inched closer, pressing her
body to his, acknowledging his oh-so-noticeable package. “Why can’t this
happen?”
He
remained frozen, staring down at her in stoic silence.
“Because
I’m Ryan’s sister?” she prodded. “Because you’re on the rebound? Because you
don’t love me and you don’t want to complicate matters with meaningless sex? Because
you’re conflicted about the twins and your future and you need me to be there
for them and for Arlo so you can honor your charity commitments and pursue
whatever?”
She
rattled off everything she could think of because there wasn’t one forthcoming
bone in Bryce’s infuriatingly hunky body. The man guarded his innermost
thoughts as if they were a flipping national secret.
He
worked his jaw. “Yes.”
“To
what?”
“To
everything.”
She
wanted to punch him—the big stubborn, noble, ex-jock. “What if I told you
meaningless sex is all I’m interested in? What if I told you I have no
intention of bailing on your nanny job—no matter if this happens or not—because
that job is the only thing keeping me afloat until my dream job comes through.
Which—in case I didn’t mention it before—should be soon.”
If
she said it often enough, maybe it would happen. Maybe she’d get that golden
email from Impossible Dream alerting her of a wondrous opportunity. As it was,
the only notices she’d been getting were from bill collectors.
Jerking
her thoughts back to pleasant ground, Georgie dug in. “Here’s the thing.
Ignoring this attraction won’t make it go away, Bryce. Addressing it might. If
it helps,” she lied, “I meant what I said that day at Grace Chapel. This isn’t
a matter of the heart. This is purely physical.”
And
that was about all she could muster in the derring-do department without
sacrificing her pride.
Bryce
closed his eyes and cursed.
When
he reached for his jacket, Georgie turned her back. He was leaving. Fine. “Go for
your walk. Forget I said anything,” she said while fumbling with the zipper at
the back of her dress. “I’ll be in bed by the time you get back, sleeping this
off.”
She
heard the door open…
Don’t
cry. Don’t cry. Do. Not. Cry.
…and
shut.
“Dammit,”
she swore when the zipper wouldn’t budge and her temper overflowed.
“Screw
it.” Bryce cupped her shoulders and turned her in his arms.
Beth Ciotta is an
award-winning author who specializes in quirky romantic adventures. Dubbed “fun
and sexy” by Publishers Weekly, her work includes contemporary, historical, and
paranormal romantic fiction. Beth lives in New Jersey with her husband, two
zany dogs, and a crazy cat.
A retired professional performer, Beth now pours her artistic passion into her
writing. To learn more about her colorful life, visit her website at www.bethciotta.com
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