Title: The Girl Next Door
Author: Chelsea M. Cameron
Length: approx. 60,000 words / 272 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Imprint: Carina Press (Carina Adores)
On-Sale: May 26, 2020
Format: Trade Paperback
Price: $14.99 U.S.
ISBN: 9781335146946
Book Description:New York Times bestselling author
Chelsea M. Cameron is back with the opposites-attract,
sweet-and-sexy small-town romance you’ve been waiting for.
Iris
Turner hightailed it out of Salty Cove, Maine, without so much as a backward
glance. Which is why finding herself back in her hometown—in her childhood
bedroom, no less—has the normally upbeat Iris feeling a bit down and out. Her
spirits get a much-needed lift, though, at the sight of the sexy girl next
door.
No
one knows why Jude Wicks is back in Salty Cove, and that’s just how she likes
it. Jude never imagined she’d be once again living in her parents’ house, never
mind hauling lobster like a local. But the solitude is just what she
needs—until Iris tempts her to open up.
A
no-strings summer fling seems like the perfect distraction for both women. Jude
rides a motorcycle, kisses hard and gives Iris the perfect distraction from her
tangled mess of a life. But come September, Iris is still determined to get out
of this zero-stoplight town.
That
is, unless Jude can give her a reason to stay…
Excerpt
My parents and I
hadn’t really talked about what happened and why I was back, mostly because it
wasn’t for just one reason. There were many reasons, all culminating with me
packing my shit in my car, loading up my dog, abandoning my friends, and
driving back here.
I asked Mom if
there was any ice cream in the freezer and she said that there was. While I was
getting a spoon, I glanced out the window, which happened to look right into
our neighbor’s living room.
Jude.
The lights were on
and she stood in the living room wearing nothing but a sports bra and some
athletic shorts. The spoon I’d just grabbed clattered on the floor. As I stood
up from retrieving the spoon, I found her staring directly at me. Instead of
looking away like a normal person, I stared back.
Her hair had been
long in high school and her arms hadn’t been so…sculpted back then. At least
not that I remembered. My mouth went dry and I held on to the spoon for dear
life.
“What are you
looking at?” a voice said behind me and I shrieked and dropped the spoon again.
I turned around and found my mom leaning over my shoulder to see what I’d been
staring at.
“Oh, nothing, just staring off into
space.” I rushed with my spoon and the ice cream back into the living room. My
parents kept the room dark and the only light was from my dad’s lamp and the
TV, so I could hide in a corner with my lobster-red face.
What had come over
me? I’d just stood there leering like a fucking creeper. Part of me expected a
knock at the door and for her to storm in and ask what I’d been staring at.
That didn’t happen,
but it didn’t stop me from looking up from my book every few minutes to check
and make sure.
Before bed, I took
Dolly out to do her business and my eyes kept flicking over to the house. The
lights were still on, but I wasn’t going to stare this time. I hadn’t asked for
more information from my mom about Jude, but I did wonder what she was doing
back here. She’d hated this town, from what I remembered, so it couldn’t just
be because of her parents’ house.
High school in a
small town in Maine was brutal for anyone who didn’t conform, and Jude had been
adamant about not conforming. I’d done my best to get through, and the drama
club had been my safe haven. I’d never thought seriously about acting after
high school, since that was way out of my league, but I still thought about it
every now and then. There was a community theater group a few towns away. Could
I put myself out there and get into it again?
Dolly was taking
her sweet time, sniffing the bushes at the edge of the porch to find the right
one to pee near. I jumped as I heard a door slam, the door to the neighbor’s
house.
I froze with my back to the house,
pretending I wasn’t completely aware of what was happening. Was she leaving
again on that motorcycle? Where would she go tonight? The only bar in town
closed in less than an hour, and there was nothing else open. Unless she might
be going to a friend’s house for a party?
Or
perhaps she was going to the beach for a midnight swim. I shivered at the
thought of Jude slipping beneath the waves like a mermaid.
One-click with confidence. This title
is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for
with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
Carina Adores is home to highly romantic contemporary love stories
featuring beloved romance tropes, where LGBTQ+ characters find their
happily-ever-afters.
A new Carina Adores title is available
each month:
·
The Hideaway Inn by Philip William Stover (available May 26, 2020)
·
Just Like That by Cole McCade (available June 30, 2020)
·
Hairpin Curves by Elia Winters (available July 28, 2020
·
Better Than People by Roan Parrish (available August 25, 2020)
·
Full Moon in Leo by Brooklyn Ray (available September 29, 2020)
·
If You Can’t Stand the Heat by KD Fisher (available October 27, 2020)
·
Just Like Us by Cole McCade (available November 24, 2020)
Buy Links
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Chelsea_M_Cameron_The_Girl_Next_Door?id=GjXEDwAAQBAJ
About
Chelsea M. Cameron
Chelsea
M. Cameron is a New York Times, USA Today and internationally bestselling
author from Maine who now lives and works in Boston. She's a red velvet cake
enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader, and world's
worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials,
tweeting, and playing fetch with her cat, Sassenach. She has a degree in
journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to
write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn
out to be just as weird as she is. Visit her at www.chelseamcameron.com.
Connect
with Chelsea M. Cameron
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