Enter to Win 1 of 3 Copies of Guarding Sophie
Guarding
Sophie
Love and Football #5.5
Love and Football #5.5
By: Julie Brannagh
Releasing November 10, 2015
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Five Reasons Why GUARDING SOPHIE’S Sophie and Kyle Fell in Love
One of the best things about being a romance author is that I spend my days helping two characters fall in love. Some love stories write themselves. Others take a bit longer, but once the hero and heroine realize there’s nobody else for them, things get rolling! I knew Kyle and Sophie’s “backstory” before I sat down at the computer keyboard for the first time. They missed their chance in high school, but it was magic when they met up again!
1. Kyle lost his heart when he met Sophie in high school, and he never quite managed to get it back. Imagine his surprise to run into her in the grocery store, ten years later and three thousand miles from their hometown.
It couldn’t be her. And it couldn’t be anyone else, either.
He hadn’t seen her for almost ten years, but he’d never forgotten her. The high school cheerleader outfit with the short skirt was gone. Her flyaway cinnamon-colored hair was contained in a long, thick braid that hung over one shoulder. Her nose was still dusted with freckles, and he saw her glance up from her work as one of the customers passing by her with a cart called out, “Hi, Sophie!”
2. Sophie had always had a little thing for the handsome Kyle Carlson, and she still regretted that she couldn’t go to the high school prom with him.
He pulled in a huge breath and blurted out, “Will you go to the prom with me?”
His heart sank as he watched tears rising in her eyes. She stared at the sidewalk they stood on and clasped her hands in front of her. He saw her take a huge gulp of air.
“You’re a day late,” she said. “Danny asked me yesterday.” She looked into his eyes again. “I wanted to go with you so badly, and I thought you weren’t going to ask, and I— – I’m sorry,” she said. “I wish I could.”
Her soft pink mouth quivered. She’d hurried away from him without another word.
3. Kyle
isn’t letting the chance to spend some time with Sophie pass him by.
“Want to get a
coffee later? We can catch up a little,” he blurted out.
“With you?” She
looked startled.
“Uh, yeah. When
are you off for the day?” Kyle said.
Sophie
has reasons why they can’t date, but she wants to catch up with Kyle, too.
“Where to?” he
said as she snapped her seat belt on.
“Caffeine
Addiction is pretty good. Have you been there yet?”
“I haven’t been
anywhere yet,” he said. “Maybe you could tell me a few of your favorite places
here.”
“I thought you
lived here,” she said.
“For the past
two days,” he said, and he saw the smile he remembered so well move across her
face.
4. Kyle
and Sophie’s coffee date turns into a lot more…
Kyle took a bite
of the quesadilla and let out an appreciative “Mmmm.” He tried to say something
else that was muffled due to a mouthful of food.
“I’m glad you
like it,” she said, pressing one hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh.
“It’s really
good. Are you sure you don’t want to move in here? There're two guest rooms
upstairs,” he coaxed. “You can cook as often as you’d like. I’ll do the dishes,
too.”
5. Dessert,
or kissing? How about both?
“We’ll deal with
that later,” he whispered back. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for years now, Sophie.
I think you want to kiss me, too.”
She looked into
his soft eyes. He moved even closer, and his hand slid to the back of her neck.
His mouth was a breath away from hers. She reached up to hold his face in her
hands, too. Her fingertips slid over the stubble on his cheeks. He was a man,
not a teenager. She was a woman who knew how painful love could be, instead of
a girl who still believed in happily-ever-afters.
Want
to find out what happens next? GUARDING SOPHIE will be out on November 10th.
I hope you’ll love Kyle and Sophie’s story– I loved writing it!
If
you’d like to share your love story in the comments, I look forward to reading
it!
BLURB:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
USA Today Bestselling Author, Julie Brannagh has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She lives in a small town near Seattle, where she once served as a city council member and owned a yarn shop. She shares her home with a wonderful husband, two uncivilized Maine Coons and a rambunctious chocolate Lab.
BLURB:
Hearts beat and sparks fly when two
people find shelter in each other.
Seattle Sharks wide receiver Kyle
Carlson needs to escape and Noel, Washington, is the perfect place for him to
do it and figure out his next step. He likes the seclusion and predictability
of the small town…until the biggest surprise of his life turns up in the local
grocery store.
Sophie Hayes has her own reasons for
disappearing without a trace and moving to Noel. This mountain town makes her
feel safe for the first time in a long time. But her quiet routine is
threatened when Kyle walks back into her life. Growing up in the same Florida
town, she always had a little thing for the sexy football player. This tie to
her old life, though, could mean she has to run again, even if her heart wants
to stay.
When the reason she fled shows up in
Noel, Kyle and Sophie, with a little extra help from his teammates, must decide
to stay and fight for the life, and love, they’ve found together.
Buy Links: Amazon | B&N | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo
Kyle
Carlson wore sunglasses, but they were no match for the brilliance of Noel,
Washington’s late-spring sunshine. Noel was a mountain pass and a ninety-minute
drive away from his life in Seattle. The small town was the perfect place to
get lost for a while.
He
shielded his eyes with one hand as the real estate agent and interior decorator
he’d hired drifted into view. The real estate agent held out a shiny new set of
house keys to him.
“It’s
all yours, Kyle. Congratulations.”
“Thanks,”
he said. “Everything’s ready to go?”
“Of
course,” the decorator said. “You wanted simple but comfortable and earth
tones. I hope you’ll love it. If you have questions or need anything else,
please give me a call right away.” She dug into what Kyle knew was an expensive
designer handbag and extended her brightly-patterned business card to him.
“Thank you for the business and enjoy.”
“Take
a look inside,” the real estate agent said. “I think you’ll love it.”
“I’ll
do that,” Kyle said. “Thanks again.”
The
real estate agent and interior designer shook hands with him and got into their
car. He raised a hand in farewell as they followed the winding, narrow road
back to downtown Noel, I-90 and civilization as quickly as possible.
Kyle
longed for privacy like other people wanted drugs or alcohol. He hadn’t always
been so anti-social. The past seven years of dealing with scores of family
members, “friends” and others who thought he was their personal ATM machine
since he was drafted into the NFL had finally taken its toll. He realized that
his profession didn’t really lend itself to anonymity. Maybe he should have
become a plumber or an auto mechanic instead of the starting wide receiver for
the world champion Seattle Sharks. If he’d had a more unobtrusive life, he’d go
to work from seven to four or so, go home, put his feet up, have a beer and
quit worrying about the problems that came when one was lucky enough to earn a
staggering income for catching a football six months a year.
Kyle
walked up the front path and climbed two stairs to the A-line’s wraparound
front porch. The front door of his new cabin was hardwood inlaid with baguettes
of beveled, leaded glass. Two stories featured floor-to-ceiling windows that
looked out over a view of blue skies, puffy white clouds, and endless
evergreens. Instead of the rustic, unfinished structure most people would
imagine when hearing the word “cabin”, his new place was as luxurious as the
stylish Seattle hotel he’d just checked out of. It was also the perfect place
to hide out for a couple of months.
He
stepped over the threshold of the cabin he’d spent a shocking amount of money
on and took a deep breath. Sun-warmed, lemon-scented air surrounded him. The
front door shut behind him as he glanced around.
The
floors were hardwood. The furnishings were earth tones, man-sized, with a few
brightly colored accents to draw the eye.
A gas fireplace with a stone surround dominated most of one wall in the
living room. A long staircase led to a loft that overlooked the first story and
three bedrooms. He’d thought long and hard about the extra two bedrooms before
buying the place. If he had nowhere for anyone else to sleep, they’d be a lot
less likely to visit, which worked for him.
He
let out a contented sigh as he realized the only sound was his breathing. He’d
bought the house in the name of a trust his family and friends knew nothing
about. He’d moved out of his huge house in Newcastle two days ago and used the
proceeds from its sale to fund the house he was currently standing in and a
one-bedroom condo in a Bellevue high rise, also in the name of the trust. It was his choice who found out where he was
and what he was doing from now on.
He’d
have almost two months of solitude before training camp started. He couldn’t
wait.
USA Today Bestselling Author, Julie Brannagh has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She lives in a small town near Seattle, where she once served as a city council member and owned a yarn shop. She shares her home with a wonderful husband, two uncivilized Maine Coons and a rambunctious chocolate Lab.
When she’s not writing, she’s
reading, or armchair-quarterbacking her favorite NFL team from the comfort of
the family room couch. Julie is a Golden Heart finalist and the author of contemporary
sports romances.
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