Deal Breaker
by Julie Archer
Series: Holiday Springs Resort, #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 30, 2020
A fall destination wedding with friends to break up the monotony of adulting? Yes, please!
It all sounded like fairy-tale bliss until Sophie remembered her best friend's brother was going to be a groomsman. She'd been in love with Max since high school. Autumn had deemed Sophie’s crush on her brother as "gross" and vetoed any further talk about it - ever. Would it be wrong for a girl to hope for a little fun with the hottest guy in the bridal party?
When a little too much booze and a game of truth or dare the night before the big wedding has Sophie planting a giant kiss on Max’s lips - and him running as fast as he could to barf after – she’s certain the two of them don't stand a chance.
Sophie was off-limits for Max but that didn't stop him from fantasizing about her. While his word was normally his vow, his attraction wouldn’t be denied.
For years, Max had dreamt of how their first kiss might be. Although he had imagined it countless ways, never did he picture it being alcohol-fuelled. His stomach lurched and he rushed to the bathroom to puke his guts out. What should’ve been an incredible greeting became yet another embarrassing experience.
Now not only did Max have a massive hangover to deal with, he had to figure out a way to undo the mess he’d made with the one girl he ever really wanted.
Was their first kiss their last or can Max convince Sophie it shouldn't be a deal-breaker?
Nestled deep in the mountains of Pennsylvania, Holiday Springs Resort promises to bring the heat this winter!
Join Forever Write PR and seven amazing authors as they take to the slopes on the adventure of a lifetime and find their happily ever afters.
From hot bartenders to brooding exes, Holiday Springs Resort is the place to be. Each story features a brand new couple and a fun trope to love from our amazing line up of authors including: second chance romance and best friend's sibling to jilted brides and friends to lovers. Your holiday wonderland won’t be complete without a widower, office, and enemies to lovers romance.
We’ve got a remarkable line of up must-read romance authors including, A.M. Williams, Julie Archer, Kim Bailey, Moni Boyce, S.E. Rose, Stacey Lewis, and B. Ivy Woods.
Follow the Holiday Spring Resort series on Facebook for more on release dates, cover reveals, and exclusive book news ➝ https://www.facebook.com/HolidaySpringsSeries
Copyright @Julie Archer 2020
Autumn’s voice chimed from the depths of my bag. “Soph? Sophie? Are you still there?”
I scrabbled to retrieve the phone. “Yes, sorry. Did you hear that? It’s totally unheard of for him to offer me an early finish.”
She laughed. “You should have taken it. We could have had coffee, and you could give me tips for my date.”
I echoed her laughter. I was the last person she should be taking dating advice from. “Now, where were we?”
“Travel plans for the wedding. You, me, Jodie.”
And Max, I added silently. Ugh. Why was I thinking about him now?
“Max has to be there early, for the rehearsal dinner or something, otherwise he’d drive us.”
I drifted off into a fantasy of spending several hours in a confined space with Max Coady, watching him drive, the muscles in his forearms working as he took control of the wheel, breathing in his aftershave…reluctantly I shook myself back to the present. Seriously, I had to get this crush under control. Maybe I’d meet someone at the wedding who would sweep me off my feet. I sighed.
Who was I kidding?
Unrequited love was a bitch.
Of course, I couldn’t tell Autumn this. Not since she’d decided at the age of fourteen that I couldn’t ever—EVER—date her brother. I’d had to keep my fantasies under control since then. Maybe that was one of the reasons I hadn’t managed to find a serious boyfriend. Because no one ever compared to Max.
“Soph? Where are you?” Autumn’s voice broke into my reverie. “I asked what time you want to meet on Friday. It’s going to take us around an hour and a half to get there.”
“Ha, longer if Jodie’s in charge of directions.” I half giggled, half grimaced. I’d been on enough road trips with Jodie to know we needed to add at least another half an hour onto our trip time. She had an uncanny knack of getting close to a place, but not actually to it. There had been plenty of times we’d driven past where we were meant to be simply because she couldn’t work out how to get us there. “Do we have a map?”
“Didn’t you get the ton of information Brianna sent with the invite? I reckon there’s a map in there with directions from every state in the US!” Autumn laughed.
I thought back to the day the invitation pack had plopped onto my doormat. Thicker than a college acceptance pack, it contained every single piece of information about the day. Not to mention a few pictures of throwbacks to the proposal, engagement party, and bachelor and bachelorette parties. Apart from finding out the date, I’d shoved the rest of it in a drawer in my kitchenette. I was still finding glittery horseshoes in my apartment weeks after the damn invite had been delivered.
“Well, good. Because with Jodie driving, we’ll probably need them!”
Autumn’s voice chimed from the depths of my bag. “Soph? Sophie? Are you still there?”
I scrabbled to retrieve the phone. “Yes, sorry. Did you hear that? It’s totally unheard of for him to offer me an early finish.”
She laughed. “You should have taken it. We could have had coffee, and you could give me tips for my date.”
I echoed her laughter. I was the last person she should be taking dating advice from. “Now, where were we?”
“Travel plans for the wedding. You, me, Jodie.”
And Max, I added silently. Ugh. Why was I thinking about him now?
“Max has to be there early, for the rehearsal dinner or something, otherwise he’d drive us.”
I drifted off into a fantasy of spending several hours in a confined space with Max Coady, watching him drive, the muscles in his forearms working as he took control of the wheel, breathing in his aftershave…reluctantly I shook myself back to the present. Seriously, I had to get this crush under control. Maybe I’d meet someone at the wedding who would sweep me off my feet. I sighed.
Who was I kidding?
Unrequited love was a bitch.
Of course, I couldn’t tell Autumn this. Not since she’d decided at the age of fourteen that I couldn’t ever—EVER—date her brother. I’d had to keep my fantasies under control since then. Maybe that was one of the reasons I hadn’t managed to find a serious boyfriend. Because no one ever compared to Max.
“Soph? Where are you?” Autumn’s voice broke into my reverie. “I asked what time you want to meet on Friday. It’s going to take us around an hour and a half to get there.”
“Ha, longer if Jodie’s in charge of directions.” I half giggled, half grimaced. I’d been on enough road trips with Jodie to know we needed to add at least another half an hour onto our trip time. She had an uncanny knack of getting close to a place, but not actually to it. There had been plenty of times we’d driven past where we were meant to be simply because she couldn’t work out how to get us there. “Do we have a map?”
“Didn’t you get the ton of information Brianna sent with the invite? I reckon there’s a map in there with directions from every state in the US!” Autumn laughed.
I thought back to the day the invitation pack had plopped onto my doormat. Thicker than a college acceptance pack, it contained every single piece of information about the day. Not to mention a few pictures of throwbacks to the proposal, engagement party, and bachelor and bachelorette parties. Apart from finding out the date, I’d shoved the rest of it in a drawer in my kitchenette. I was still finding glittery horseshoes in my apartment weeks after the damn invite had been delivered.
“Well, good. Because with Jodie driving, we’ll probably need them!”
Julie Archer is the author of contemporary romance featuring rock stars, small towns, a healthy dose of angst, some steamy times, and always a happy ever after!
When not writing, she can usually be found binge-watching teen drama series on Netflix, or supporting Spurs (the English Premier League football team, not the American basketball team!) from my armchair, and running around after her two feline children, Corey and Elsa.
Real angst. Real romance.
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