That Day

The man I had a crush on is now my enemy. Harriet The dreamiest guy I've ever met insulted me cruelly, dashing all my hopes that we were meant to be together. Naturally I unleashed my righteous fury upon him. So, funny thing. It turns out I...might have...misunderstood. You might say we had an ugly misunderstanding. Ha ha. You know what I hate? When characters in novels get bogged down by pointless misunderstandings. Like, this is not Jane Austen, people. This is real life and adults use their words. As a mystery bookworm, and a fan of Agatha Christie, I know what comes next in this tale. I confess my mistake, he chuckles, and after a few mishaps and coincidences, we passionately leap into each other's arms. Except there's one complication - after what I did, he flat-out hates me. It turns out that in real life, when somebody hands you a thing of beauty, you may only get the one chance to grab it. That day, I, Harriet Phillips, quick of temper and romantically clumsy, lost mine. I threw away the best thing I ever had. To top it off, I made an enemy of what I'm starting to think is the perfect man. And the magic fix? Doesn't actually work. Not when Mr. Right can't bring himself to say a civil word to you. Lee In a heated, reckless moment I made a major error of judgment. I lowered my guard with a curvy sweetheart who pushed all my right buttons. Between her Agatha Christie obsession and her lack of pretentiousness, she seemed utterly sincere, the ideal person to trust. Turns out the woman is not the angel I thought she was. Fortunately she showed me her true colors before I gambled everything on a whim and told her all my secrets. I'm well rid of the troublesome shrew and done with my one attempt at a serious relationship. Though I'm left with one annoying problem. That day I felt a connection. Connections of that sort are rare. I'm still not clear on what was real about her and what was fake. As much as I despise Harriet, I haven't been able to forget her. However, a man in my position must force himself to be ruthless. Right, then. Agenda: Put that day behind me once and for all. Go back to the shallow beauty queens I was dating before. Forget Harriet's passion, her offbeat personality, and all her soft, round parts. Obstacles: Her voice is carved into my brain. It doesn't help that as the sister of my employee, Harriet is unavoidable. Next steps: Double down on my new role as CEO of the family company. Remove all traces of Harriet from my phone. Stop dreaming about how her luscious curves would feel in my hands. Above all, don't reply to her last text. Dear Reader: In my new steamy standalone romance, Harriet and Lee are friends-turned-enemies-turned-lovers. Harriet loves mystery books (especially Agatha Christie), cycling, and book conventions. She hates rich snobs. Lee loves business, honesty, and attitude. He hates being fooled. I hope you love what happens when these two disparate personalities come together and have tons of fun journeying into their world! Love, Deana