Friends to lovers—can Natalea Jones and Drake Harte break through their friendship barrier and find happiness?
Natalea Jones has had a rough life. An absentee father. A gambling-addicted mother who seems to show up only when she needs something—preferably money. Natalea survived her childhood and teenage years because of her best friend, Drake Harte, and his family. Even though she’s been in love with Drake for years, she refuses to let her lust get in the way of their friendship. Life without Drake is not possible and sex would certainly complicate things.
Drake Harte is not only known as the most eligible bachelor and firefighter in Gamble Park, Florida, he’s also known for sexing the ladies and leaving them. Only he knows the reason he can’t make a commitment to the women throwing themselves at him—he’s in love with his best friend. It’s time he either goes for it or moves on…and he’s going after Natalea with everything he’s got.
General Release Date: 10th May 2016
“All right, ladies and gentlemen,” Natalea Jones crooned into the microphone. She stood on the tiny black stage in the far corner of her small venue. “Ahem, perhaps I should say ladies because I’m pretty sure the women outnumber the men by a landslide. Another thirty minutes, girls. Show starts at eight-thirty. We need to give some of the guys time to clean up after their shift.”
The women erupted into cheers and a few men moaned, though Natalea was confident they didn’t mind being in a confined space with a bunch of soon-to-be hot and bothered women. She placed the microphone on the stand and observed the crowd.
Another busy Saturday night. This one was especially busy given the fact she’d agreed to host the Gamble Park Firemen’s Calendar reveal. Women went crazy over firemen. She understood why. There was something about a guy in a uniform—particularly a fireman’s uniform—that kicked a woman’s libido into gear.
She glanced around with pride at the rectangular building she called hers. This place wasn’t just her career, her means of survival—it was her home. Her studio apartment upstairs was the first solid and stable roof she’d ever had over her head. Hers—mortgage and all.
Memorabilia of famous female outlaws covered the brick walls—hence the name of the bar, The Misbehaved. Old photographs of Calamity Jane and Lillian Smith hung in rustic frames. Unloaded rifles from the late 1800s resembling those her favorite women of ill repute would have used during their hair-raising days were mounted on wood. At one point, Natalea had won an eBay auction for a pair of boots worn by none other than Annie Oakley herself. Those, of course, sat in a locked glass display behind the bar. Yep, The Misbehaved was her baby and she was proud of it.
As the saying went, Well-behaved women seldom make history! She agreed wholeheartedly. She’d done some things in her past that would not be described as ‘well behaved’. Stealing—whether money or food—in order to keep from starving or relying on friends to feed her. A couple rounds in juvie for shoplifting had taught her some hard-learned lessons. Thank God those days were in the past.
Jessica is a born and raised small town Ohio girl, who moved to the Sunshine State after graduating from college. She graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree in English. What college major could possibly be better than one that makes you read novels and write about them! Now she is thrilled to be able to share all the hot stories floating around in her head.
Jessica loves to travel and travel often! She shares her love of travel with her husband and children. She’s a huge sports fan, especially football. She loves the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Ohio State Buckeyes! She’s a wine-making (and wine-tasting) aficionado. She loves all music. And nothing is better than sunset at the beach!
In the journey of life, she also married a wonderful man and had three beautiful (and sometimes crazy) children. Life is always an adventure!
You can take a look at Jessica's Website, read her Blog and follow her on Twitter.
Reviewed by Book Magic
Ms. Jayne has penned a wonderful best friends to lovers story with warm and inviting characters that have made me eager to read more of this author's work. The story was wrapped up nicely with Drake...
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Reviewed by My Book Filled Life
This was a really fun friends-to-lovers story, which makes the story seem much more realistic because Natelea and Drake have known each other foreverrrrrrrr. It's obvious they have chemistry, but w...
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