Book info:
Title: Breaking Roman
Author: Alexis James
Series: The Moran Family #3
Publication date: June 27th, 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Synopsis:
They call me Romeo.
I love romancing women, and I’m good at it.
Too bad it is all a ruse.
Roman, the youngest of the three Moran brothers, is the only one who has ever believed in true love. Too bad his one special person barely acknowledges his existence.
Sabrina Morris spends her days running the HR Department of The Moran Group, and her nights corralling her teenage daughter. She doesn’t have time for love. She’s heard the stories, but Roman is not at all what she expects him to be. His gentle nature catches her completely off-guard. She doesn’t expect to be attracted to him, and she certainly doesn’t expect him to be equally drawn to her. But can she see past his Romeo façade and allow the warm, loving man into her life?
Excerpt:
Prologue
They call me Romeo. It’s not my given name,
but that hardly matters.
I earned the
moniker when I was a young little shit, maybe twelve. My friends and I were at
the beach, like we were most every day during the summer, taking full advantage
of the fact that we live near the water in Miami. We were cussing, simply
because we thought it sounded cool (it didn’t), strutting around with fake
bravado trying to impress all the girls we’ve known since kindergarten. My
friend Raul dared me to talk to Missy Evers, the new girl who recently moved
here from Idaho. An hour after that first chat with cutie-pie Missy, who by the
way still rocks a bikini like nobody’s business, she was holding my hand. Two
hours later my tongue was working hard to get into her mouth and I got my first
feel of a female breast, even if it belonged to a relatively flat-chested
twelve-year-old girl. That little make-out session happened strategically
within eyesight of my group of boisterous friends, because at that age only two
things matter: getting some action and making sure your friends know about it.
And that’s all it took for the nickname to stick. Now, at the ripe old age of
twenty-nine, it’s something I despise.
I was a halfway
decent guy even back then, so most of my time with Missy was G-rated. When she finally
took off with her giggling friends in tow, she was starry eyed, hanging on my
every word. My dumb buddies, who knew nothing about who or what the
Shakespearian Romeo was really like, pranced around like a bunch of idiots,
harping, “Romeo got him some!” Groping a girl with a bunch of onlookers was
considered “getting some.” How messed-up is it that?
In all the years
that I’ve carried the stupid nickname around, I’ve served it well. Even my
sweet mama calls me that, though in her eyes I’ll always be her baby boy.
Honestly, I’m a hopeless romantic. I believe in love and all the great things
that come with it. I believe in monogamous relationships, unlike my older
brothers, who up until a few years ago made bed-hopping an Olympic event. That’s
not to say I don’t do my own share of bed-hopping, but mine is more about the …
research, part of my daily quest to find my ideal mate. I date frequently,
constantly searching for the one woman who stands above all others. The one
woman who I have an immediate connection with and see myself standing next to
when we’re old and gray. When I date we have some laughs together; I charm and
wine and dine. We flop around on the mattress a few times and by week two I’m
usually bringing the lucky lady home for Sunday dinner with my entire family.
No one has ever
lasted past Sunday dinner.
It’s not that my
family isn’t welcoming, because they are. But Mama figured out years ago that
in my hunt for Mrs. Right, first I’d have to spend my time with all the Miss Wrongs
out there. She’s gracious and kind to whichever woman I bring home, giving me a
knowing look at the end of the meal that silently says, “Oh hell no.” Well … without
the swearing, but you get what I’m saying. My devout Catholic mother would
never, ever swear.
In the past few
years I’ve brought upwards of twenty different women home to meet my family. Some
don’t last through the entire meal. Some make the grave mistake of seeing
dollar signs. While my family’s empire is considerable, I down play it as much
as possible. I do well, I make good money, have a cool car and a decent place
to live. But I’m not the millionaire my oldest brother Cruz is or the numbers
guy that my other brother Marco is. I’m the black sheep brother, different in
every way from the other two arrogant dicks I happen to be related to. I enjoy
getting my hands dirty, wearing ratty jeans, and romancing women. Cruz and
Marco are both suit-wearing hotshots who ooze over-confidence and up until Cruz
got hitched to Mia and Marco shackled himself to Amita, they were both serious
players. Well, to be fair to my oldest brother, I’m only assuming he was a
player before meeting Mia. It’s not like he ever shared any tawdry bedroom
happenings with me. That’s cool and all and to each his own, but it’s not my
style. I see no point bullshitting my way between a woman’s legs, especially
when I can say a few nice things and treat them decently and still get the same
result.
I suppose I’ve
earned the damned nickname, but that sure as hell doesn’t mean I like it. I
have a hard enough time keeping up with my two older brothers without that damn
label being tossed around. Maybe I’m being over-sensitive; my actions don’t
exactly discourage the name. I just don’t think anyone takes me seriously anymore
and who knows, maybe I’ve done that to myself. Maybe I really am Romeo.
What my brothers
don’t know is that this Romeo found his Juliet years ago, more than three to be
exact. He met her simply by chance, one of those meant-to-be moments that has sadly
turned out to be anything but. His Juliet is blind to his advances,
businesslike and driven in everything she does. His Juliet is beautiful, ethereal,
and totally and completely untouchable. So he continues to wine and dine,
romance and sweet talk, all as a ruse to hide what’s really in his heart. It’s
nothing more than a lame attempt to somehow figure out what makes Juliet tick
and in doing so keeping all the unwanted family questions at bay.
Whether or not I am
a true Romeo remains to be seen. What I do know is that I’ll be whomever I have
to be to get to know the illusive Juliet.
Breaking Roman by Alexis James
Copyright ©2017 by
Alexis James. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any written,
electronic, recording, or photocopying without written permission of the
publisher or author. The exception would be in the case of brief quotations
embodied in the critical articles or reviews and pages where permission is
specifically granted by the publisher or author.
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or
dead, is purely coincidental.
First Edition First
Printing
Cover: Cover To Cover Designs
Editor: Maxann Dobson, Polished Pen
Formatter: Champagne Formats
Library of Congress Catalog Number:
Cover: Cover To Cover Designs
Editor: Maxann Dobson, Polished Pen
Formatter: Champagne Formats
Library of Congress Catalog Number:
ISBN:
Paperback: 978-0-9980618-4-9
Ebook: 978-0-9980618-5-6
Author Bio:
Alexis James lives on the beautiful Central California coast. When she’s not spending time with her hubby of almost 30 years or her amazing kids, you can find her tapping away on the computer. She loves reading, spending time with family, reading, camping, reading….and writing too! She enjoys a good date night, an inexpensive glass of wine, and any story that can make her smile and/or cry.
Alexis’s first novel, Losing Faith, was released in September 2014. Her second novel, Loving Emma, is a standalone, though it does feature some characters from Losing Faith.
She invites you to visit her author pages on Facebook and Goodreads, and her website: alexisjamesauthor.com. You can also follow her on Twitter (@alexisjames27) or you can email her at: alexisjamesauthor@gmail.com.
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