About the Author
Lauren Layne is the New York Times bestselling author of more than two dozen romantic comedies.
Her books have sold over a million copies, in eight languages. Lauren’s work has been featured in Publishers Weekly, Glamour, The Wall Street Journal and Inside Edition.
She is based in New York City.
Join Lauren at www.laurenlayne.com to get news on her latest books, or keep up to date with her on Instagram: @laurenlaynebooks.
Just some of the reasons to indulge yourself in Lauren
Layne’s irresistible romances:
‘A powerhouse romance author’
PopSugar
‘A delight – as sweet and bubbly as a glass of champagne’
Beth O’Leary, Sunday Times bestselling author
‘The word charm is pretty much synonymous with Lauren Layne’
Hypable
‘The queen of contemporary New York City romance’
BookPage (starred review)
‘She’s the queen of witty dialogue!’
Rachel Van Dyken, New York Times bestselling author
‘Lauren Layne’s books are as effervescent and delicious as a brunch mimosa. As soon as you read one, you’re going to want another – IMMEDIATELY!’
Karen Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author
‘Sweet and full of humor . . . readers will be rooting for Gracie to find her Prince Charming’
Booklist
‘Layne crafts a gleefully shameless homage to Little Shop Around the Corner and You’ve Got Mail that sparkles like champagne fizz . . . A delight’
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
‘A charming, swoony, funny, must-read delight of a book!’
Evie Dunmore, USA Today bestselling author
‘The perfect read while sipping a mai tai on the sand’
Cosmopolitan
‘Crackling with humor and sizzling with romantic tension, this charming modern fairy tale sparkles. I couldn’t put it down!’
Alexis Daria
‘A charming, witty, and lively narrative that reads like a ‘90s rom-com’
BookBub
‘Chic and clever! . . . Comes to life like a sexy, comedic movie on the page’
Tessa Bailey, New York Times bestselling author
‘I couldn’t put it down! . . . I love a sassy heroine and a funny hero and Layne delivers both . . . Lauren Layne knocks this one right out of Park Avenue!’
Samantha Young, New York Times bestselling author
By Lauren Layne
Standalone
The Prenup
To Sir, With Love
Made In Manhattan
You, Again
The Central Park Pact Series
Passion On Park Avenue
Love On Lexington Avenue
Marriage On Madison Avenue
Wedding Belles Series
From This Day Forward (e-novella)
To Have And To Hold
For Better Or Worse
To Love And To Cherish
Oxford Series
Irresistibly Yours
I Wish You Were Mine
Someone Like You
I Knew You Were Trouble
I Think I Love You
Love Unexpectedly Series
Blurred Lines
Good Girl
Love Story
Walk Of Shame
An Ex For Christmas
I Do, I Don’t Series
Ready To Run
Runaway Groom
About the Book
‘Hard pass on that guy, right?’
Mackenzie ‘Mac’ Austin just wants what any modern, commitment-phobic woman in New York wants: a no-strings-attached hook-up, steamy enough to brag about over mimosas the next morning.
What she doesn’t want is her dating app’s latest suggestion: preppy, corporate Thomas Decker. So, obviously, she rejects the guy without a second thought. There’s just one snag: he’s sitting next to her, so he witnessed her do it. And now he’s calling her out.
After the initial embarrassment, Mac is determined not to let it bother her, but Fate has other plans – and Thomas isn’t going anywhere. First, he pops up as her new boss. And then he reappears as her best friend’s soon-to-be brother-in-law.
As the not-so meet cutes add up, Mac is sure that uptight Thomas is the last man that a free-spirit like her should want. Only the more time she spends with him, the more Mac realizes that the man she can’t get away from has become the same one that she wants to keep close. . .
CHAPTER ONE
Friday, September 9
“Another Malbec?”
I glance up from my phone at the bartender, and the fact that she already has the wine bottle poised over my glass makes me think I’m not doing a great job of hiding the fact that I’ve just been stood up.
I smile and nod in thanks as she tops my glass off rather generously, then turn my attention back to my phone.
God bless Collette. My best friend has maintained a reassuring, steady barrage of messages, all of the men can rot variety.
Indeed.
But whereas my best friend is blowing up my phone in grand style, my date, on the other hand, remains steadily, painfully silent.
I suck in my cheeks, and for the tenth time, debate the possibility of texting him. Just something cute and nonchalant. Hey, did we cross wires? Hey, am I at the right place? Hey, did I get the wrong date?
If I tack a casual lol on the end of it. That erases any note of vulnerability, right?
Haha, whoops, did my assistant put the wrong date in my calendar, lol.
There! I start to type. That’s downright breezy.
With a little groan of disgust, I delete the message without hitting send. I don’t even have an assistant.
I take a sip of wine and say a regretful goodbye to the opportunity to explore Kris Powers’ intriguing tattoos up close and personal tonight. I suppose that’s what I get for crushing on a trainer at my gym. If I’ve learned anything from my flaky, free-spirited mother, it’s to never pursue a man who’s better-looking than you.
But oh, how I like the pretty bad boys.
Give me a guy with too-long hair, an aversion to razors, and an inked-up, sculpted bicep, and I end up, well . . . here. Nursing wine, alone, because I’ve got a soft spot for men I can’t count on.
Like mother, like daughter . . .
It’s the way of us Austin ladies. The “settle down” gene skipped right on by us. In place of the commitment chromosome, we got what I like to think is a charming blend of wild child and free spirit.
I mean, we’re not feral. It’s just that our romantic philosophy leans towards love the one you’re with, and love translates more to, well, sex.
But I’m not a cynic. Really, I’m not. I believe in happily-ever-after! I just don’t happen to believe that happily-ever-after has to involve a man—or at least not be limited to one man.
Which is why my below-the-waist parts are disappointed at Kris’s no-show, but there will be no mourning beyond a brief case of Lady Blue Balls.
There are, after all, always other fish in the sea.
And in Manhattan? There are a whole lotta fish. And I know just where to find them: TapThat.
As in, my favorite dating app of late.
Yeah, yeah. I know. Classy.
But also? Sort of addicting.
TapThat happily exploits our human proclivity for snap decisions and gut reactions. You’re presented with a potential match, and then you get five seconds and only five seconds to decide whether you’re feeling it.