Release day Blitz!!! Jagged by Kristen Ashley
Zara Cinders always
knew Ham Reece was the one, but he wasn't interested in settling down. When she
found someone who was, Ham walked out of her life. Three years later, Zara's
lost her business, her marriage, and she's barely getting by in a tiny apartment
on the wrong side of the tracks. As soon as Ham hears about Zara's plight, he's
on her doorstep offering her a lifeline. Now, it will take every ounce of will
power she possesses to resist all that he offers.
Ham was always a traveling man, never one to
settle down in one town, with one woman, for more time than absolutely
necessary. But Ham's faced his own demons, and he's learned a lot. About
himself, and about the life he knows he's meant to live. So when he hears that
Zara's having a rough time, he wants to be the one to help. In fact, he wants
to do more than that for Zara. A lot more. But first, he must prove to Zara
that he's a changed man.
EXCERPT
When I saw who was
outside, my mouth dropped open.
Luckily, the
doorbell buzzing stopped.
Unluckily, the last
person on earth I wanted to see was standing outside my door.
“Jesus, you don’t
have a peephole?” Ham growled, looking incensed and Graham Reece looking, or
worse, being incensed was a very bad thing. I’d learned that five months ago.
I didn’t have it in
me to concern myself with Ham being incensed. I was more concerned with him
being there at all.
To express this, I
asked, “What the hell?”
“Open the fuckin’
door, Zara.”
I stared a beat,
then pulled myself together.
This was not
happening.
We were done.
I pushed the door
closed.
The problem with
this was it didn’t work, seeing as the toe of Ham’s boot was wedged between it
and the jamb.
“Open the door,
Zara,” he repeated.
“We’re done,” I told
him through the gap in the door. “Move your foot.”
“Open the door.”
“We’re done, Ham,” I
snapped.
“Right, then move
back.”
“What?”
He didn’t repeat his
order. He moved his foot but only so he could rear back and plant his shoulder
in the door.
The chain popped
right open, as did the door, and I went flying.
I righted myself as
Ham, now in my apartment, slammed the door.
“You’re payin’ for
that!” I yelled.
His eyes were beyond
me, examining my new space as his mouth moved.
“Not a problem. I’ll
reimburse what they take out of your security deposit when we move you out of
this dump.”
I didn’t know what
he meant and I also didn’t care.
I switched subjects.
“How did you get
here so fast?” I asked, and his eyes finally came to me.
“I hope to Christ
you didn’t miss local gossip because you’re spendin’ your days at Deluxe Home
Store and your nights at some titty bar.”
“I’m not working at
a titty bar, Ham, so you can stop concerning yourself with me and move on”—I
paused—“again.” I bit off the last word then what he said penetrated and I
asked, “What gossip?”
“Managing The Dog,
Zara, have been for a week. I live in Gnaw Bone.”
I felt my eyes get
huge as my stomach clenched.
“You’re managing The
Dog?” I whispered, aghast.
“Yeah. And you just
got a new job. You start after you work out your notice at Deluxe,” he
returned.
“What?” This also
came out quiet and horrified.
“You’re waitressin’
for me. Shit hours but, if I remember correctly and since the view hasn’t
changed except to get better, with your face, tits, and ass, great tips. In the
meantime, we’re movin’ you out of this shithole and, you don’t got a girl who
can take you on, you’re bunkin’ with me.”
Bunking with him?
Was he high?
“I am not moving in
with you,” I declared.
Kristen Ashley grew
up in Brownsburg, Indiana, and has lived in Denver, Colorado, and the West
Country of England. Thus she has been blessed to have friends and family around
the globe. Her posse is loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want
to write.
Kristen was raised in a house with a large and
multigenerational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in
the heartland, and Kristen grew up listening to the strains of Glenn Miller,
The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon, and Whitesnake.
Needless to say, growing up in a house full of
music and love was a good way to grow up.
And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting
better...
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