Rash & Rationality
Happily Ever Austen Series Book 2
by Ellen Mint
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Love is a lot closer and more complicated than Marty ever dreamed.
Marty Dashwood is a true romantic. Hearts, chocolates, kisses on the hand—the whole nine yards. His killjoy brother Eldon doesn’t believe in love at first sight, but one day Marty will have the perfect meet-cute, she’ll fall helplessly in love with him and they’ll live happily ever after.
Brandy’s worked with Marty for almost two years. He’s the best friend she could ever have hoped for after the accident that took her husband. So she should be happy that Marty finally found what he’d always wanted, right?
So why does it feel like every time she sees Marty with the ‘Social-Media Angel’ he rescued from a mugger, a piece breaks off her heart? How can she explain any of this to him before she loses her best friend forever?
Reader advisory: Rash and Rationality is a modern gender-swapped friends-to-lovers Sense & Sensibility, set in a cozy bookshop.
Rash & Rationality Excerpt
Motown
piped through her little apartment, causing her hips to sway as she worked the
roller up and down the wall. Marty stood beside her, attempting to put his tiny
brush to work and only covering a tenth of what she could.
“I’m
going to beat you,” Brandy declared.
“Only
because you stole that,” he complained, pausing in his artistic swipes at a
flat wall. With paintbrush perched on his hip, he pointed at the roller that
was constantly splattering paint back at her. Fat drops landed in her hair, but
Marty somehow avoided all the spray. Maybe he was just that lucky.
Brandy
dipped the roller through the paint tray. “I can’t steal what I bought. Not my
fault you brought a tiny tool for a big job.”
“Ouch,”
Marty scoffed. “I’ll have you know it’s not the size of the tool but the
consistency and rhythm of the strokes that matters.” He cracked a smile at her
and heat burned across her face. Had to be her damn apartment and the shitty
air conditioning.
So
much exercise in a tight space with two bodies…it was no wonder she felt
flushed. Struggling to reach the ceiling, Brandy pushed harder against the
wall. A large swipe of gross yellow lingered above their heads. “Damn it!” she
gasped, straining on her toes and making no progress.
Her
blackmailed man paused in his delicate strokes to watch her. The flush returned
again, causing her to break out in fully flustered sweats. Uncertain what to
do, Brandy kept trying to reach what she couldn’t get.
“Here,”
Marty said. “Trade?” He passed her the small brush and took the roller for
himself. Starting where she’d already greened up the wall, Marty began to inch
the paint higher. A slick roll scattered over the yellow, but the line was
light and left a two-inch gap above their heads.
He
gritted his teeth and took a step closer, straining his hand far above his
head. Out of ideas, Brandy stepped back and watched Marty. It was obvious he
couldn’t get any farther past what she ‘d done, but he didn’t seem to want to
give up.
She’d
never thought of him as short. Okay, compared to the average guy, he was
smaller. But it didn’t matter, not to be her friend. Not to be her…not to work
in the shop. He never seemed to have that little-Napoleon complex, like a
chihuahua trying to bite a Great Dane’s ankles. To think it bothered him to the
point he felt like he had to prove himself with a cheating…
And
there you go, thinking it’s your job to fix his relationship.
What?
You’ll slot into the place where Janeth was kicked out of? Like you’re ready
for that.
Too
much pizza and alcohol sloshed about inside her, unsettling her stomach. Brandy
reached to touch it, when she caught the paint-soaked brush in her hands. That
would have been quite the mess—
“Ah!”
Marty cried, and his straining tiptoes collapsed. He splattered right onto the
wall that was coated in wet paint.
“Oh
no.” Brandy dashed to his side, but it was too late. A great smear of mint
green covered the entire front of his black T-shirt. Marty held up his hands,
showing one stained palm too. The other clung to the roller and he stared in
shock at the mess he’d made.
A
strange smile rose on his lips and he took a step closer. “Brandy, come here.”
“What?”
“Give
me a big hug!” he said, flailing both hands.
She
took a step back and knocked right into the damn stool she’d moved so they
could reach the ceiling in the first place. Movement in her peripheral vision
caused her to turn back to find Marty advancing.
“Don’t
you dare,” she warned, shaking the brush at him.
He
snickered at the empty threat. “Come on. It’s tradition.”
“No,
it’s not,” she shouted, laughter escaping. Marty lunged for her, but Brandy was
quicker and ducked under his arms. He spun around but kept lumbering toward her
like a reanimated corpse.
“Of
course it is. The Fourth of July hug.”
“Stop!”
She full-on giggled, running for her kitchen. Marty was quick on her heels, his
entire torso glistening from the wet paint.
What
was she doing in here? The stove and counters trapped her in place, pinning her
between escape and Marty. He winked and—in his smoldering voice—said, “Don’t
you want to be wrapped up in these arms?”
Yes.
And
she hated herself for it.
“Here.”
Yanking a towel off the stove, she wiped at Marty’s hand. That seemed to slow
the charging beast. His minty-green belly showed, but it stopped the attack.
Instead, he stood silent as she wet the towel and kept cleaning him off.
“So
you don’t…” Brandy glanced away from his nearly spotless palm up into his face.
A breath rolled between his barely parted lips and his Adam’s apple dropped.
Shaking
off the rise in her body, she said, “So you don’t make a mess of my place.”
“Too
late for my shirt,” Marty said with an accepting sigh. “Well, don’t want to be
a poor guest.” And, before she could get another towel to sponge off the paint,
he gripped the neck of his shirt and yanked it off.
Holy
crap. Shame tried to direct her to look anywhere but at the
half-naked man attempting to rinse off the paint. But she couldn’t escape the
pull. Instead of the nearly full spread of man fur of her dream, he only had a
light smattering that was a softer brown than his head hair. It dashed halfway
across his rounded pecs, then pointed straight down his flat stomach. Even with
a giant pizza sitting in there, she could make out a hint of a four-pack flush
to his half-moon belly button. And it was sexier than anything she could have
dreamed.
Pride & Pancakes
Happily Ever Austen Series Book 1
When a cold-hearted singer and a hard-headed journalist are trapped together in a blizzard, there will be sparks—and pancakes.
When Beth Cho is tasked with interviewing elusive musician Tristan Harty, it’s hate at first sight. Despite his sapphire-blue eyes and lithe frame, he’s got to be the most infuriating man on the planet.
Tristan Harty is already sick of reporters and this one is proving no different. Sure, she might be adorable with her ebony hair and big brown eyes, but her incessant need to dig into his past is dragging on his last nerve.
The bickering duo vow never to meet again, but Mother Nature has other plans for them, trapping them in a Vermont cabin via a blizzard. The more Beth learns about the aristocratic Tristan, the harder it is for her to keep her professional distance, just as Tristan discovers that a loving heart beats inside the beautiful reporter.
But what happens when the snowstorm’s over, and the melted Tristan and enamored Beth are free to leave? Can their reluctant attraction bloom into a deeper love now their cold-as-ice judgment has thawed?
Reader advisory: Pride and Pancakes is a sweet yet steamy contemporary story inspired by the immortal Pride & Prejudice. There are references to sexual abuse, death from drug overdose and death in car crash.
Ellen Mint adores the adorkable heroes who charm with their shy smiles and heroines that pack a punch. She has a needy black lab named after Granny Weatherwax from Discworld. Sadly, her dog is more of a Magrat.
When she's not writing imposing incubi or saucy aliens, she does silly things like make a tiny library full of her books. Her background is in genetics and she married a food scientist so the two of them nerd out over things like gut bacteria. She also loves gaming, particularly some of the bigger RPG titles. If you want to get her talking for hours, just bring up Dragon Age.
Follow the tour HERE for special content and TWO giveaways!
Giveaway #1
Here's a link to my landing page: https://ellenmint.blog/summer-giveaway/
Giveaway #2
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