Book info:
Title: Romancing the Wallflower
Author: Michelle Major
Series: Crimson, Colorado #8
Genre: Adult contemporary romance
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: August 22nd, 2017
About
ROMANCING THE WALLFLOWER
Dedicated kindergarten teacher Erin MacDonald isn't the
type to make the first move on a man—especially gorgeous David McCay, her
secret crush. But when a crisis involving one of her pupils offers a chance to
help the pro baseballer turned local brewery owner, Erin goes way out of her
comfort zone. So way out she makes a shocking suggestion!
David
moved to the Colorado mountain town to look after his sister and her son. Now
he's a stand-in parent to his nephew, trying to fight his attraction to
Erin…who just propositioned him. David is nobody's hero. So why can't he
convince the sweet, kindhearted beauty that she deserves better than him? Is it
because they're the perfect imperfect match?
On Sale in Print: August 22, 2017
On Sale in Digital: September 1, 2017
Excerpt:
Erin
MacDonald choked on the gulp of strawberry daiquiri she’d just swallowed. “I’m
not staring at anyone’s butt,” she said as she grabbed a wad of napkins and
dabbed at her chin and shirtfront. “And don’t talk so loud.”
Melody
Cross, one of the second-grade teachers at Crimson Elementary, snorted. “It’s a
crowded bar on a busy Thursday night. No one can hear me.”
But
Melody had the kind of booming voice that could quiet a room full of squirming
eight-year-olds the afternoon before summer break. The tall table they stood at
was a good five feet from the bar, but Erin swore she saw the man’s broad
shoulders stiffen.
“Want
me to take a picture of him?” Suzie Vitale, her fellow kindergarten teacher,
offered with a tipsy smile. “It lasts longer.”
Before
Erin could stop her, the curvy blonde aimed her phone at the backside of the
gorgeous guy who not only worked the bar but also owned Elevation Brewery. The
brewpub had opened a little over a year ago and had become a popular hangout
for both locals and tourists in the quaint mountain town of Crimson, Colorado.
Erin
had noticed David McCay, the brewery’s owner, the first time she’d stepped into
the nouveau rustic—and very on-trend for Colorado—space. He was tall and lean,
with dark blond hair that curled around the collars of the flannel shirts he
favored. David McCay was as handsome as a movie star and built like he spent
endless hours tossing huge sacks of barley—or whatever it was beer brewers did.
Erin,
who was built like she spent her days sitting cross-legged on a reading rug,
had surreptitiously watched him each time she came into the bar with friends or
coworkers for a random happy hour or birthday celebration. He was often tending
bar or sometimes she’d spot him coming out from the back, wearing the heavy
rubber boots and backward ball cap that she’d quickly learned were his uniform
when actually brewing beer.
Colorado
was known for its craft brews, and the fact that Elevation had made a name for
itself so quickly was a testament to his hard work and talent at running a
business.
At
least that’s what Erin wanted to believe. Her mother liked to remind Erin that
she too often assumed the best about people, which allowed them to regularly
take advantage of her.
But
David McCay hadn’t taken advantage of her, even though it was the stuff of her
fantasies. Even though his nephew, Rhett, was now in her kindergarten class and
David had been with the boy and his mother for back-to-school night. Erin had
barely been able to put a sentence together with David towering over the other
adults in the back of her classroom, but he hadn’t bothered to acknowledge her.
Heck, it was doubtful he even knew she existed.
Except
when she blinked and looked up, he was staring straight at her. Sparks of
awareness flamed through her body, setting every inch of her skin on fire. He
lifted one thick brow as if he could read her thoughts. Which might be
impossible since it felt like all of her brain cells had spontaneously
combusted under the weight of his stare.
She
heard Melody giggle behind her, and Suzie gave her a little shove forward.
David now stood at the edge of the bar, only a short distance from her, with
movement all around him. Customers in groups laughed and talked. A waitress set
her tray on the rich wood bar top. A group of women at near the edge of the bar
vied for his attention. But his focus remained on Erin.
Then
something—someone—suddenly blocked her vision. Cole Bennett, Crimson’s recently
elected sheriff, was talking to David. Cole was also tall and broad, and to use
one of her mom’s favorite expressions, made a better door than a window.
Erin
shifted to the right as she overheard Cole mention Rhett, David’s nephew.
David’s gaze hardened and his jaw clenched. Unable to stop herself, she moved
forward, sidestepping a couple heading toward the back of the bar and a group
of twentysomething guys who looked like they’d just come off a hiking trail,
until she stood directly behind the sheriff.
She
was five feet four inches tall in the clogs she favored for work, so both men
towered over her and were completely unaware she was listening to their
conversation. Invisibility was Erin’s unintentional superpower. She knew much
more than she should about her coworkers and neighbors, simply because people
didn’t notice she was there.
“Rhett
is safe,” Cole told David. “But they can’t get him to come out.”
“What
the hell was Jenna thinking?” David asked, then scrubbed a hand over his jaw.
“No, don’t answer that.”
“She’s
in trouble, David. The crowd she’s running with—”
“I’ll
handle it.” He pulled a set of keys out of one of the pockets in his tan cargo
pants. “I just need to tell Tracie I’m leaving for the night. I’ll be over for
Rhett.”
“I
have to call Social Services,” Cole said softly, and Erin felt the tension
ratchet up a notch.
“Give
me some time with him first, okay?”
“Can
you—”
“I’ll
handle it,” David repeated. He moved behind the bar and spoke to the woman
filling two pint glasses from the tap.
The
sheriff walked out of the bar, patrons instinctively clearing a path for him
although he wasn’t in uniform tonight.
When
she looked up, David McCay stood toe-to-toe with her. She realized she’d moved
forward to block his path from behind the bar.
In
her daydreams, she’d compared his eyes to the brilliant summer sky above the
ragged peak of Crimson Mountain or the iridescent cobalt of a tropical lagoon.
But now his frosty stare was more like the ice blue of a glacier, so cold a
shiver passed through her.
“I
don’t have time for this, sweetheart. You and your friends are going to have to
play your liquid courage bar games with someone else.”
“It’s
not a game,” Erin said.
“Darlin’,
you ordered a froofy drink in my bar. It’s either a game or a joke.”
This
close to David, the heat and frustration radiating off him made her feel
different from the woman she knew herself to be. She was aware of her body in a
way that was new and exhilarating. She wanted more. She wanted…something she
couldn’t name. Still, the promise of it made her weak with longing.
Also
braver than she’d ever been. Or maybe crazy was a better word, because when
he moved to step around her, she placed a hand on his arm.
“I can help with your
nephew.”Author Bio:
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Michelle Major grew up in Ohio but
dreamed of living in the mountains. Soon after graduating with a degree in
Journalism, she pointed her car west and settled in Colorado. Her life and
house are filled with one great husband, two beautiful kids, a few furry pets
and several well-behaved reptiles. She’s grateful to have found her passion
writing stories with happy endings. Michelle loves to hear from her readers at
www.michellemajor.com.
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