We are so excited to be bringing you the release of TANGLED UP IN YOU, the final book in New York Times bestselling author Samantha Chase's Shaughnessy Brothers series. Lovers of small town contemporary romance won't want to miss this one--be sure to grab your copy today!
About TANGLED UP IN YOU
They'll change each other's fate...
One fateful night Bobby Hannigan sustains a gunshot wound that could end his career as a police officer. If that's taken from him, he doesn't know what he'll do. The only ray of hope is Teagan Shaughnessy—a kindhearted single mom who understands his struggles...
Teagan and her young son have just moved back to the Carolina coast to be near family. When she meets Bobby, the timing feels wrong, but everything else feels oh-so-right. Bobby and Teagan each had plans for their own futures. But they're finding that those plans are meaningless if they can't be together...
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Excerpt
He was only five feet from the door when Teagan stepped in front of
him. Bobby stopped short so he wouldn’t slam into her.
“Oh no. You are not doing this again.”
“Excuse me?”
With her arms crossed over her chest, she nodded. “This running
away crap? I’m done with that.”
He still wasn’t sure he understood what she was getting at, and she
must have figured that out.
“First time we met? You walked away after a plate almost slipped
out of your hands.”
“Teagan…”
“Then you pretty much sprinted out of here last week after you hurt
your shoulder.”
“I had ice cream first.”
She gave him a sour look. “And you didn’t come back like you said you
would.” She stepped in close to him. “I prefer it when people honor their
word.”
Now he was getting a little annoyed.
“I think if Anna hadn’t asked you to come today, I’d probably never
have seen you again. I mean, sure, maybe at some Shaughnessy family event years
from now, but other than that, you would have done whatever you could to avoid
me. Except thanks to Anna, you did come back, and you’ve played with Lucas and
by now he’s got some sort of hero-worship thing going on with you. So if you
think I’m going to just let you pull another disappearing act, you’re crazy!”
She was doing her best to keep her voice down, but there was no
mistaking how angry she was. Now what was he supposed to do? Or say?
Teagan must have taken his silence for something else because she
let out a huff of annoyance and stepped aside, motioning toward the door.
“Fine. Whatever. Just go.”
He heard her annoyance, but he saw
her disappointment. And that got to him more than anything else.
Instead of walking out the door, he advanced on her. Her eyes went
wide and she took a step back, even as he took another toward her.
“You’re wrong,” he said, his voice low and gruff. “I did want to
see you again. Since the day we met, I’ve wanted to see you again. Even after I
stormed off like a jackass, all I could think about was how good it would be to
see you again.”
Teagan took two steps back and hit the wall. Bobby moved in until
they were toe-to-toe. “I don’t like asking anyone for help or needing help, but
the fact that I kept embarrassing myself in front of you? It was almost more
than I could stand.”
“Bobby, you had nothing to be embarrassed about. I totally
understand what you’re dealing with,” she argued.
But he shook his head. “You don’t. You can’t,” he countered. “I’m
just a man, Teagan, and I can’t help but have a little pride. I don’t like
looking weak. I don’t like being
weak. If we had met at any other time—”
“But we didn’t,” she whispered.
Yeah, it was crazy to wish for something he couldn’t have. In a
perfect world, he wouldn’t have gotten shot. In a perfect world, he would have
been confident enough to ask her out. And in a perfect world, he’d have every
right to close the distance between them and kiss her.
She swallowed hard, her big blue eyes never blinking, and watched
him as if waiting for…something.
“What is it you want from me, Teagan? You want me to apologize for
walking away? For not coming back? What? Tell me what it is you’d like me to
do.”
He hoped and prayed she wanted the same thing he did.
“I want you to stop running. You have nothing to fear from me,” she
said, brutal in her frankness. “I don’t care that you’re still recovering. I
don’t care that you may need help from time to time. But I expect honesty from
my friends, Bobby. Always.”
Friends.
The kiss of death.
Dammit.
So many retorts were on the tip of his tongue, yet he couldn’t
speak. Friends? So the attraction he’d been feeling was all one-sided? For a
man who never had to put much effort into getting a woman, this was like being
hit in the face with the ball all over again.
“Friends,” he finally said.
She nodded. “It’s all I can offer you.” Apparently, he was that
transparent. “My main priority is Lucas, and I’m not looking to get involved
with anyone. Especially someone who…” She paused and looked down at the floor.
“Someone who what?” he prompted, feeling more than a little annoyed
now.
After a moment, she looked back up at him. “Someone with a history
of being a serial dater,” she said defiantly. “If I were single, no kids, it
would be one thing, but I have my son to worry about. I don’t get involved in
casual relationships. I can’t. As it is, I was scared even to let you come and
watch him today, because other than my dad, Lucas hasn’t had any other male
role models. Now that I see how quickly he bonded with you, I regret my
selfishness.”
“How the hell were you selfish?”
“I was desperate to have a day to myself!” she cried. “To get my
nails done and my hair cut and do all the things I haven’t had the time to do
in forever. And now I’m going to be hearing all about you for who knows how
long!”
Now he was thoroughly confused.
“So now I’m not good enough even to have around as a friend?” he
asked incredulously.
“That’s not what I’m saying, Bobby. I’m saying…I don’t want to
confuse Lucas. I don’t want him getting attached to someone who has no interest
in sticking around.”
Again the questions about Lucas’s father came to mind, but he was
too wrapped up in all the ways Teagan was insulting him right now to ask.
He leaned in close. “You don’t know anything about me.” He meant to
sound menacing, and he felt like he pulled it off.
“I know enough. People talk,” she replied confidently.
“People? What people?”
“Quinn,” she said with a smug smile. “He told me all about you.”
If he thought he was angry before, it was nothing compared to how
he felt right now. How dare his brother-in-law say anything derogatory about
him! That crap was supposed to be all ancient history.
“You know my history with your cousin,” he countered. “Of course he
was going to talk trash about me. And why would you even ask him? Why not just
come to me if you wanted to know something?”
“Because you were usually walking away. When was I supposed to ask
you anything?”
Okay. She had a point. But still…
This wasn’t getting them anywhere. He wasn’t doing himself any
favors with the way he was acting right now, and thanks to Quinn, she already
had a bad opinion of him, one that he would have to fight. Stepping away from
her, he raked a hand through his hair and let out a weary sigh. Maybe it was
time to just let this go. His life was total crap right now, and she wasn’t
looking to get involved with anyone, so why was he fighting this?
When he faced her again, he had his answer.
Because she was beautiful.
Because she challenged him.
Because she had the potential to break his heart.
In a perfect world, all the obstacles would be removed. But this
wasn’t a perfect world and he was an imperfect man. And because he had nothing
left to lose, he leaned in and kissed her.
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About SAMANTHA CHASE
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.
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