Happy #BookBirthday to Holiday Spice by Samantha Chase

Holiday Spice 
(The Shaughnessy Brothers #6)
by Samantha Chase 
Mass Market Paperback
Expected publication: October 3rd 2017 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN 1492616370

Darcy Shaughnessy has gotten used to her overbearing brothers chasing away any man she wants to date. But a chance meeting with a brooding -- and deliciously handsome -- artist is about to make this holiday season one to remember.

There's only one thing Benjamin Tanner loves more than his woodcarving: solitude. Then he gets snowed in with Darcy in his cozy cabin in the woods, and their heated feelings begin to melt the icy barrier between them.

With Ben's need for privacy and Darcy's love of family and social life, will opposites still attract once the snow clears and the holiday festivities come to an end?

AMAZON | B&N

EXCERPT

It had been tempting to watch her for a little bit longer. Everything about Darcy was so expressive that even though Ben hadn’t heard one word of her exchange with the security guard, he had been able to imagine the entire conversation based on the look on her face.

It was highly entertaining.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her expression one of total confusion.

“Savannah called me and told me you weren’t able to get on a flight. So here I am,” he said, offering her a small smile.

She frowned.

Seriously? Even when he came to save her, she was still pissed at him?

“What if I had gotten on a flight between the time Savannah called you and the time you got to the airport?”

He shrugged. “Then I would have made a very perilous trip for nothing. I would have gotten here sooner, but people don’t know how to drive in the snow. I passed a bunch of accidents.”

“You could have been one of them.”

Another shrug. “I have a truck that happens to be exceptional in the snow, and I’m used to driving in it. It wasn’t a big deal. You need to drive slowly, and you’ll be all right.”

Darcy looked around and made a noncommittal sound. “So you just got here, huh?”

“No, I’ve been here for a while. I couldn’t get past security, and it took some time to page you. I tried calling you several times, but I kept getting a message that all circuits were busy. I guess with the storm moving in and all.” He paused and gave her a lopsided grin. “Anyway, I saw you when you were on the escalator, but you didn’t see me.”

“There’s, like, a million people here,” she said with a hint of sarcasm. “And I wasn’t looking for, well, you.”

He frowned at her tone. “What did you think you were coming here for?”

“Honestly? I thought my brother had been able to charter a plane for me.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Sorry to disappoint you. But the only charter you have is me—in the form of a truck and a trip back to the lake.”

“Oh. So I guess I’ll get a room at the hotel,” she said, and he noticed she wouldn’t look directly at him.

“I just planned on bringing you to the cabin until the storm is over and flights are back to normal. It won’t be more than a couple of days. No need for you to have to go to a hotel or anything.”

Now she did look at him. “No, really, it’s okay. I’d prefer to go to the hotel.”

She was looking at him with a hint of defiance, and he figured he’d let her have her way for now. The sooner they got on the road, the better. There was already a very real possibility they weren’t going to get home until after dark. It would be pointless to drag this out.

“That’s fine. No problem.” He motioned toward her suitcase. “I’ll take that for you. Let’s get going.”

“Oh.”

Ben could hear the relief in her voice and smiled to himself. For right now, he was happy to have a truce with her. They had a long drive ahead of them, and he’d rather it be peaceful rather than tense and awkward.

He waited while she pulled her coat out and got herself together, and then they made their way out to the parking garage. The traffic was insane, and he prayed it wasn’t going to be as bad as he was fearing.

It was.

And it was tense and awkward.

The Shaughnessy Brothers Series

Author Info

Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than forty titles under her belt! When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.  https://www.chasing-romance.com/