All the Days After

Former SEAL. Whiskey eyes. Irresistible grin... And, her best friend's heartbreaker brother.

“Just promise me one thing... Don’t sleep with my brother.”

No problem, right?  Sophie Jones has worked dang hard to get her life together after a rough start. She's got it all and wants to keep it that way as she settles into her new job in her new, serene hometown of Foothills, Washington where she can live the quiet life of an accountant... far from her vile, money-grubbing aunt. Trouble is the last thing Sophie wants.

Home from the Navy, former SEAL Asher Sutherland is not the guy he used to be. Although, he doesn’t have a clue who he is now. The one thing Asher knows for sure is that he wants Sophie.

One problem. In his wilder days, Asher carelessly broke the hearts of his sister’s friends on too many occasions. Neither Asher nor Sophie is willing to hurt Pippa (especially as she's gone a little bridezilla in the days before her wedding!). But, resisting the attraction may prove to be more challenging that either can withstand.

Settle in with a soothing cup of coffee and watch the sun rise in this tempting, satisfying romance set in the idyllic Pacific Northwest.

Featured on BookBub December 30, 2020. Check it out!

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Quotables

A picture of him in his uniform resided next to hers on the mantle. She could certainly understand the fuss. Maybe, just maybe, on lonely nights, she let her imagination wander and allow a fantasy or two about the sexy SEAL. Not that she’d ever tell Pippa, and she told her best friend everything. Hell, their periods were synced to the day.

Might as well be honest. She usually didn’t get to be honest in relationships.

That’s okay, I like pepperoni on my pizza…

Your mother didn’t hurt my feelings at all…

Of course I orgasmed, you’re a stallion.

Not with all the damn new parts he’d put in it; it was becoming quite the bionic rig these days. He wouldn’t be surprised if it stood up and declared it was an alien here to save Earth from the Decepticons. Wasn’t owning a Transformer every guy’s fantasy?

Too late. The screeching halted, leaving a thick, deafening silence in its stead. The body connected to the legs shoved out from under the truck and rose to stand.

Oh. So that was Asher.

Floppy as over-boiled spaghetti noodles, Sophie’s legs completely betrayed her, and she worried as to whether they could continue to hold her up. A warm, fuzzy sensation coursed rapidly through her veins. All reasonable brain activity went caput like a fried hard drive, and she forgot her own name.

Before he noticed her, with her mouth gaping open from the next garage bay, he pulled his ratty cotton shirt over his head and used it as a makeshift grease-rag to wipe the black grime off his hands and face. Now that was just unfair. His abs defied reality; that was more than a six-pack. Was that even possible? Without her consent, a dreamy sigh escaped Sophie’s mouth.

Asher nudged her with his knee. “Jalapenos on macaroni? That sounds just plain weird.” Rather than pulling away after the friendly nudge, his knee stayed, their legs melting and fusing together.

Taking a slow sip of her wine, Sophie licked away a stray drip from her upper lip and looked up to find his eyes on her mouth. Maybe she ran her tongue over the crease of her lips deliberately, knowing he was watching, or maybe not. It couldn’t be helped. Turning slightly, the distance between them closing as a result of the motion, she flashed him a sly grin, “Jalapenos make everything better. Adds a little heat.”

His eyes managed to leave her lips and reach her eyes, but he was no less flirty, the corner of his mouth turned up mischievously. “What about on ice cream? Apple pie?”

“Amazing combination.” Briefly, she allowed her gaze to get lost in his warm, whiskey eyes. With a flip-flop in her chest, her heart took a moment to remember how to beat, as if it had been getting it wrong all these years.

A timely interruption from Pippa brought her back to the moment. “Sophie adds spice wherever possible. I’m actually not sure she willingly puts anything in her mouth that doesn’t set her on fire.”

Choking on his poorly timed sip of beer, Asher caught his breath and muttered a few expletives under his breath.
All The Days After by Carrie Thorne

 

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What people are saying about All the Days After

Editorial Reviews:

"Set in the idyllic Cascade foothills of the Pacific Northwest, All the Days After by Carrie Thorne is a sexy and thrilling kick off to her new modern romance series. Old heartbreaking habits are hard to shake for Asher, a directionless Navy Seal who just found his way home, and while his kid sister may prefer that he avoid her best friend Sophie, sparks are undeniable. With thoughtful narration and deep character development that is essential for a romance to sizzle, this believable love story is an unexpectedly strong read that also feels like a guilty pleasure.

★★★★ - SPR 

"A modern classic romance, where the heroine emerges from a tough childhood, and falls in love with the forbidden brother of her best friend... The tension between the hero and heroine is strong – you’ll be rooting for them to get together and find their happily ever after, and their sex scenes are tasteful while still being rawly sexual. The author sets up the dynamic well, with each of them being warned away from the other before meeting, so that when they do meet, the instantaneous chemistry is heightened by the forbidden element. The heroine is definitely a modern woman, having gone through a rebellious phase once out of her difficult youth, and the author allows her to own her sexuality without having to apologize or justify it."

★★★★ Originally published on Reedsy Discovery