Who needs Mr. Right when you can have the perfect Mr. Wrong?
Ryder Diamond—the town’s golden boy—doesn’t have time for taking chances, let alone love. Against his better judgment, he lets his buddies set him up on a blind date with a girl who’s only passing through town. But temporary or not, Whitney James sets fire to desires he can’t control.
Before they know it, Ryder and Whitney are in a supply closet, drowning in lust. She’s only in town for the summer—what better way to spend it than in the arms of Mr. Perfect? Except, she’s wild and free, and he’s Mr. Stability. Which means he may as well be Mr. Wrong.
And her new job? It’s with Ryder’s sister.
Sex and the inability to keep their hands off each other are the only things they have in common. But this little hook-up has “disaster” written all over it...and the only way Ryder can save his reputation is by avoiding the sweet little firecracker who could ruin it all.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Discover the Chasing Love series…
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Chasing Temptation
Chasing Desire
Rules of Seduction
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Joya Ryan All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Entangled Publishing, LLC
2614 South Timberline Road
Suite 109
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.
Brazen is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC. For more information on our titles, visit www.brazenbooks.com.
Edited by Stephen Morgan
Cover design by Heather Howland
Cover art from 123RF
ISBN 978-1-63375-391-4
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition September 2015
To Devika,
Thank you for all your support and kindness. Your encouragement and honesty is a gift I cherish. You helped make this book possible.
Thank you, my friend.
Chapter One
Ryder Diamond looked in the mirror and scowled. Why the hell had he agreed to a blind date? Sure, his buddies were all settling down with their true loves. Even his best friend Bass was playing house with Ryder’s little sister—something that still made Ryder’s hand twitch with the need to punch him.
“And now I’m letting him set me up on a blind date,” Ryder mumbled.
The snap of an opening beer can sounded from behind him, and Ryder turned to find Huck walking into his room. Only it wasn’t a beer he was holding.
“What the hell is that?” Ryder asked, and motioned to the can in Huck’s hand.
“It’s coconut water. Supposed to be really good for you.” He took a big swig, and Ryder almost retched. A few months ago¸ Huck had been double fisting beers and slamming them faster than he could open the next one. But things had changed for his friend—like the love of a good woman.
“Speaking of what the hell…” Huck said. “What the hell is that?” He eyed Ryder’s shirt.
Ryder looked down the front of himself. “It’s a tie.”
“No, no, no, no.” Huck took a swig of canned water and yelled over his shoulder. “Bass, get in here. This is bad.”
Ryder glared and crossed his arms as Bass walked in and chuckled at Ryder’s appearance.
“Are you going to church there, handsome?” Bass joked.
“What are you two even doing here?” Ryder asked, tugging at his tie and taking it off. He tossed it on the floor and unfastened the top two buttons of his shirt.
“Well, I had come to watch the game,” Huck said. “But apparently you’re putting on a different kind of show.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a single dollar bill. “Gonna give us a dance, big boy?”
“Fuck off,” Ryder said, rolling up the cuffs of his blue dress shirt.
“Sorry, can’t do that, either.” Huck huffed like a distressed teenager. “Autumn is doing her pregnancy workout video and kicked me out. It’s not my fault she looks amazing in those tight pants. When she bends over, I just want to—”
“I can see why she kicked you out,” Ryder said.
“Well, I came to make sure you don’t mess this up,” Bass said. “You’ve been an asshole lately, and you need to get laid, or at the very least get out and socialize.”
“I’m plenty social,” Ryder defended himself.
Of course, by “social”, he meant that he was in town running errands, or he was working. But he always chatted with people whenever he could. The town was important to him. His family had built it, for Christ’s sake. And Ryder’s father and grandfather had shoes particularly difficult to fill, since their legacies were the beacons of pride around there.
Which was why he tried to present the best side of himself at all times.
He also was running a business that relied on his small town to stay local and use Diamond Construction when they needed something built. It was a delicate balance of good will, good faith, and good manners.
“Social?” Bass challenged. “Is that what you call working eighteen-hour days? I didn’t bring my dictionary with me, but I’m pretty sure those are two very different things.”
As if the universe were on cue, his cell phone buzzed with a text. Clara Davenport. She was the only daughter of Milton Davenport who, presently, was sort of Ryder’s boss. The man owned a ton of land in Diamond. Land in need of developing. It was the kind of business relationship that could secure Ryder’s future and the future of his employees.
Take the current development project. Ryder and his team were remodeling the Davenport Hall, which was where the eighteen-hour days were coming in. But this hall could lead to more deals with Davenport. He just needed to see this project through with no distractions, no problems, and things would be fine.
He glanced at his phone and hit ignore. Because the one thing that was not fine was Clara calling and texting looking to “discuss ideas” on the interior decorating of the Hall only to rope Ryder into a pseudo-date. Not that she’d call it a pseudo-date, but subtlety wasn’t her strong suit. She was arrogant, cold, and laying it on thick, and it was clear she was after Ryder for a lot more than his renovation skills. And he just wasn’t interested.