On Tour with Prism Book Tours.
The Man She Knew
(By Way of the Lighthouse, #1)
by Loree Lough
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 384 pagesby Loree Lough
Contemporary Romance
June 1st 2017 by Harlequin Heartwarming
Don't they both deserve a second chance?
Fourteen years ago, one reckless act cost Ian Sylvestry everything, including the girl he planned to marry. Since then, he has fought hard to turn his life around. Returning to his Baltimore town after serving a prison term was the first step. Winning back Maleah Turner's trust is a far more daunting challenge. From their first sparks-flying reunion, it's obvious they still have powerful feelings for each other. In fact, they might be even stronger together now. But if their second chance is going to work, Maleah has to believe that Ian is a changed man. She really wants to believe…but she simply isn't convinced.
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Excerpt
“Will you listen to that?” Ian’s aunt shouldered Maleah into his arms. “They’re playing your song.”
A little wine had sloshed over the rims of the glasses, dampening the skirt of her brocade gown. Small price to pay, she decided, and smirking, began moving toward her table.
“People are starting to stare. Dance, you two, dance!”
He relieved her of the goblet, and led her to the center of the floor. “Don’t know what gets into her sometimes. Sorry.”
“No apology required. I’d have ended up on the floor just now if you hadn’t caught me.”
He’d forgotten how good, how right she felt in his arms. If she kept looking up at him that way he’d kiss her, long and hard and…
Ian cleared his throat. “You look pretty good in an evening gown.”
“And you look pretty good in a tux.”
“Good thing it didn’t snow, like Marty Bass said it would.”
“In his defense, he said might.”
“So he did…”
“But you’re right. If it had snowed, I’d break my neck in these shoes.”
Smalltalk. Ian disliked it almost as much as pretending the foot and a half separating them was okay, when what he really wanted was to draw her so close he could feel her heartbeat, drumming against his chest.
An elderly couple plowed into his back, driving his bearded chin into her forehead.
“Sorry,” he said, inspecting her face. “That’s a relief. No whisker scratches.”
“Any plans to shave the beard someday? Not that you don’t look handsome, just as you are.”
“It serves a purpose,” he said cautiously.
“Oh?”
If hearing why he’d grown it didn’t turn her against him, once and for all, nothing would.
“There was this new guy at Lincolnwood,” he began. “Skinny li’l fella with thick glasses and buck teeth.”
“What was he in for?”
“Caught his girlfriend in bed with his cousin.”
Maleah gasped. “He killed his cousin?”
“And the girlfriend. Those skinny guys can fool ya. But I digress. He looked crossways at a couple of the tough guys one day, and they started in on him. Three against one wouldn’t have been fair, even if he’d been the size of a linebacker.”
“So you stepped in…”
“Yeah, and one of the guys whipped out a shiv.” Ian took her hand in his, guided her forefinger along the ropelike scar on his cheek. Maleah snapped her hand back so fast, he wondered how she kept from punching herself in the jaw.
“Sorry you asked?”
“No.”
She looked into his eyes. Deep into his eyes.
“I’m…I’m sorry that happened to you.”
He waved her sympathy away. “Good crowd,” Ian said, surveying the room. “How much do you think the Washburne Institute raked in tonight?”
“Why? Are you going to round up your buddies and rob the ticket counter?”
The wisecrack cut to the bone, surprising Ian so badly that he nearly trod on her toes.
“Now I’m the one who’s sorry,” she said, pressing her forehead into his chest. “That was completely uncalled for, and didn’t come out at all like I intended it.”
He couldn’t imagine how she’d intended it, because the only thing Ian could think of was an article he’d read in the Sunday Sun about how that the brutal truth was often hidden behind sarcastic humor. If that’s how she really felt…
If, biggest li’l word in the English language.
If he had a lick of sense, he’d walk away, this time for good. But like it or not, he loved her more now than he had all those years ago.
He’d done his time, paid the price for his crime, and it hurt like crazy hearing her admit, straight out, that she still saw him as capable of armed robbery. He’d never been much good at hiding his feelings. In the off-chance she’d look into his eyes again and see that she had the power to inflict pain, Ian pulled her close, so close she couldn’t see his face at all. With any luck, the song would end soon and he could leave her alone on the dance floor without looking like an inconsiderate jerk.
Bestselling author LOREE LOUGH once sang for her supper, performing across the U.S. and Canada. Now and then, she blows the dust from her 6-string to croon a tune or two, but mostly, she writes novels that have earned hundreds of industry and "Readers' Choice" awards, 4- and 5-star reviews, and 7 book-to-movie options. The Man She Knew, #1 in her “By Way of the Lighthouse” series, her 3rd for Harlequin Heartwarming, is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Harlequin.com.
Tour Schedule
June 3rd: Launch
June 4th:
June 5th:
June 6th:
June 7th:
June 8th:
June 9th: Grand Finale
Tour Giveaway
- Two winners will receive a $10 Amazon eGift Card (open internationally)
- Two winners will receive an ebook of THE MAN SHE KNEW (open internationally)
- Two winners will receive a $10 Amazon eGift Card (open internationally)
- Two winners will receive an ebook of THE MAN SHE KNEW (open internationally)
- Two winners will receive a print copy of THE MAN SHE KNEW (US only)
- Ends June 13th
a Rafflecopter giveaway
- Ends June 13th
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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