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In the close-knit town of Marchfield, where gossip spreads faster than a teenager’s texts, English teacher Audrey Fremont and Algebra instructor Oz Taylor find themselves at the center of a scandal—and a romance neither saw coming.
A few too many drinks at Happy Hour and a glimpse of his infuriatingly sexy shoulders lead to a one-night stand that should have ended there—but didn’t. Relentlessly organized and a bit of a perfectionist, Audrey is horrified to discover that Oz is one of her new coworkers. Yet, stolen glances in the hallway, moments in the copy room, and snarky banter make keeping it “no strings attached” nearly impossible to maintain.
With meddling friends and nosy colleagues already placing bets on their romance, Audrey and Oz can’t ignore the chemistry simmering between them. But just when Audrey thinks she’s got everything under control, a surprise confession from Oz leaves her questioning everything she thought she knew about love.
In a town where everyone’s watching, Audrey and Oz must decide: will they keep playing it safe, or risk their hearts on a love that could change everything?
EXCERPT TWO:
Val giggled. “Audrey and Oz were trading tongues."
“Stop it!” Audrey jumped off my lap. I missed her soft, warm body immediately.
“Damn,” Keith whistled. “You do know, Audrey, he uses that tongue to teach math."
Bobby high-fived Keith and then bent over laughing. When Bobby stood back up, her face was red. She gasped for breath between chuckles. Mel patted her back.
I stood up, brushing past my not-so-well-meaning friends to stand by Red.
“Audrey likes big axes," Val rapped while the others laughed. Audrey’s lips twitched and then straightened as she seemed to choke down the urge to join in.
“Sir Mix-A-Lot should sue your ass for butchering his song,” I joked.
And of course, Bobby jumped in. “And when Oz walks in with his big hard ax–”
“Are you buffoons drunk?” I interrupted her, crossing my arms over my chest.
Audrey turned away and let out a soft sound beside me. I heard her take a deep, shaky breath. If these idiots made her cry, they would regret it. I hated it when women cried.
I followed her, reaching over to pat her shoulder. What should I say? When she looked up at me, I braced myself for a look of wet humiliation. But Audrey’s green eyes sparkled as she burst out in laughter.
“Big, hard ax,” she gasped between giggles.
My own lips quivered, and I let out a chuckle. “My ax is pretty impressive.”
AUTHOR BIO:
M. Jayne LaDow is a playwright and author who leapt into writing romance after spending thirty-three years wrangling middle school English students. Her rom-coms are hilariously inspired by her years in education, where she was regularly pied in the face, sang classroom karaoke, and dressed up like characters from novels. She resides with her very patient husband, two brilliant yet snarky children, three cuddly rescue cats, a toe-biting tortoise, and a bearded dragon who judges her life choices from his terrarium.
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Good morning! It's so exciting to see my book up on your site. Thank you so much for sharing. Did everyone have a great weekend? I just got back from a trip to Massachusetts -- 13 hours both ways and a ferry trip -- to help clean out my mom's house. Sadly, no road trip tropes occurred. I'd love to hear about your road trip adventures.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for featuring ONE NIGHT STANDS AND LESSON PLANS today.
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