**Planning for Love by Christi Barth**
Good Morning,
Everyone! So thrilled to see you all today! I have featured this talented
author before on my blog! I reviewed RULING THE PRINCESS not that long ago. Fantastic read! Today she is here to tell us more about a brand new
book and series! Please allow me to feature once again on the blog Christi
Barth and her latest release, PLANNING FOR LOVE …. And HAPPY RELEASE DAY!
**CHRISTI BARTH**
**BIO**
USA
TODAY bestselling author Christi Barth earned a Masters degree in
vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage. A love
of romance then drew her to wedding planning. Ultimately she succumbed
to her lifelong love of books and now writes award-winning
contemporary romance, including the Naked
Men and Aisle Bound series.
Christi can always be found either whipping up gourmet meals (for fun, honest!) or with her nose in a book. She lives in Maryland with the best husband in the world.
Christi can always be found either whipping up gourmet meals (for fun, honest!) or with her nose in a book. She lives in Maryland with the best husband in the world.
To find out more about Ms. Barth, please visit:
**PLANNING FOR LOVE**
Publication
date:
May 12TH, 2020
Series:
Aisle Bound #1
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
**BLURB**
In the harsh
spotlight of reality television, a romance-a-holic wedding planner tries to
snare the anti-Cupid.
Chicago wedding planner Ivy Rhodes lives and breathes romance. She won’t let anything burst the perfect bubble of happiness she creates for her clients. So she’s immediately on guard when a reality television crew appears to tape one of her weddings. Tall, blonde and sexy, the cameraman’s a relentless flirt, and Ivy follows his easygoing charm straight into the bedroom.
Ever since a scandal ended his career as a news videographer, Bennett Westcott is relegated to filming reality catfights and bridezillas. His latest assignment comes with the bonus of a gorgeous wedding planner. But Ivy ruins their one-night stand by turning too serious too quickly. Although a big fan of lust, Ben’s allergic to love. He rejects her and everything she holds dear, leaving her brokenhearted.
The network builds a reality show around Ivy, Planning for Love. She signs the contract before learning the man who shredded her heart into confetti will spend the next three months filming her. Suddenly Ben has to spend every day with the woman he knows he shouldn’t be with, but can’t resist. And Ivy’s stuck wondering, how do you plan for happily ever after when the guy you want doesn’t believe in it?
Chicago wedding planner Ivy Rhodes lives and breathes romance. She won’t let anything burst the perfect bubble of happiness she creates for her clients. So she’s immediately on guard when a reality television crew appears to tape one of her weddings. Tall, blonde and sexy, the cameraman’s a relentless flirt, and Ivy follows his easygoing charm straight into the bedroom.
Ever since a scandal ended his career as a news videographer, Bennett Westcott is relegated to filming reality catfights and bridezillas. His latest assignment comes with the bonus of a gorgeous wedding planner. But Ivy ruins their one-night stand by turning too serious too quickly. Although a big fan of lust, Ben’s allergic to love. He rejects her and everything she holds dear, leaving her brokenhearted.
The network builds a reality show around Ivy, Planning for Love. She signs the contract before learning the man who shredded her heart into confetti will spend the next three months filming her. Suddenly Ben has to spend every day with the woman he knows he shouldn’t be with, but can’t resist. And Ivy’s stuck wondering, how do you plan for happily ever after when the guy you want doesn’t believe in it?
**EXCERPT**
“Bennett Westcott, you’re
the bravest man I know.”
Ben took a long sip of his
wine. Then another. By the fourth sip, Ivy wondered if she should try matching
him drink for drink. As the chasm of silence widened, Ivy began to wonder if
she’d managed to set a record for quickest ruined date ever.
With the harshness of
fingernails down a chalkboard, the scrape of metal chair legs against concrete
rent the air. Ben shoved back, tossing his napkin on the table as he stood. He
sucked in a deep breath, expanding his already wide chest. Then he scrubbed his
hand from his forehead all the way down to the nape of his neck. Still staring
out at the lights twinkling on block by block across the city skyline.
“Trust me when I say I’m
about as far away from brave as this planet is from Pluto—all I do is make it
through the day.” Finally, he directed his gaze straight at Ivy. “But I’m
honored and humbled you think so. It goes a long way toward mending the
tattered shreds left of my so-called pride.”
Ben bent from the waist to
drop a soft kiss in the middle of her forehead. He pulled back, looked at her
with those slice of summer sky eyes. Ivy held her breath, afraid the smallest
puff of air would break the cobweb of intensity spinning ever wider between
them.
“Damn. I was planning to
save this for the fireworks.”
“Save what?” She didn’t
understand, and she almost didn’t care. Who needed the power of cognitive
thought when a handsome man held you tight in the unwavering tractor beam of
his eyes? “What fireworks?”
“Gib told me there’d be
fireworks in about an hour. Because of Memorial Day. It’s why I brought you
here—for the view.”
Her heart flipped. Turned
right around in a somersault like she used to do down the grassy slope at her
grandparents’ house.
“On the other hand, why
should I wait for the City of Chicago to light up the sky?” He framed her face
with those big, wide palms, tilted her head back. “Let’s make our own
fireworks.”
Before she could savor the
sexy promise in his words, Ben kissed her. A gentle touch for the space of a
heartbeat—well, three beats at the rate Ivy’s heart raced—and then he sank into
her mouth, as if it were a feather pillow to cradle him. Firm, deep kisses that
somehow contained the richness of melted chocolate, the kick of a strong
margarita, and the undeniable allure she’d succumbed to all those months
before.
The earth tilted on its
axis. No, it was Ben bracing his hand on the back of her chair, tipping it back
for a better angle. Her feet dangled in the air. She hooked them around the
chair legs in an attempt to anchor herself. Silly, really. The floor had
dropped out from under her the minute his tongue slipped in between her lips,
tasting, questing. And she knew without a doubt those strong arms wouldn’t let
her fall.
Her hands reached out to
feel them, to caress the tight, corded steel beneath his jacket. A quiver grew
deep in her core at discovering she couldn’t wrap her hands all the way around
his biceps. Muscles like that belonged to a broadsword-wielding knight. One who
carried her off on a white horse while the crowd cheered.
The crowd cheered. It
wasn’t just one of her flights of fancy. Ivy pulled her concentration from
where it lay, writhing, somewhere close to the edge of her red lace panties.
The roof deck had erupted into applause, catcalls and whistles. Her eyes flew
open. She tapped her toe against Ben’s calf, wrenching out of the lip lock.
“We’ve got an audience.”
Undeterred, he nuzzled
just below her ear. “Put on a good enough show, maybe we’ll get a free meal out
of it.”
Ivy kicked once more, this
time aiming the hard point of her sandal against his shin. But she made sure to
let the laughter in her throat burble through. “Enough.”
With a gentle tap he
lowered the chair to the ground. Then he ran the side of his thumb across her
lower lip, setting off one last chain of sparklers in her veins. “Nope. Nowhere
close.”
For a man who eschewed
romance, he sure managed to say the right things. While Ben straightened his
coat and sat back down, Ivy let her brain catch up to her speeding pulse. What
the heck just happened? Hadn’t she just spent two endless months trying to get
Ben out of her system? To no avail?
It was one thing to accept
his invitation to dinner, to try and work through the white hot...whatever that
flared through her system every time she looked at him. She’d banked on a
couple hours of basic conversation in a noisy restaurant to lay a groundwork of
knowledge about what made Bennett Westcott tick. Her master plan for tonight
only played out through the end of dinner. A simple dinner between colleagues.
With a side order of
chemistry sizzling loud enough to drown out the shouts of Opa as a waiter
walked past with a platter of flaming saganaki cheese held aloft.
Buy Links
**GIVEAWAY**
Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)
Thanks so much for joining us today!
HAPPY READING!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment
I lurve comments! Say whatever is on your mind; just keep it respectful. I am always game for a conversation. :)