Title:
Hairpin Curves
Author: Elia Winters
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Imprint: Carina Press (Carina Adores)
On-Sale: July 28, 2020
Format: Trade Paperback *also available in
ebook and audiobook formats.
Price: $14.99 U.S.
ISBN: 9781335146656
Book Description: RITA® Award—winning author Elia Winters
delivers a sexy, playful frenemies-to-lovers road-trip romance.
Megan Harris had hopes of seeing the world, but
at twenty-five she’s never even left Florida. Now a wedding invitation lures
her to Quebec…in February. When her ex-friend Scarlett offers to be her
plus-one (yeah, that’s a whole story) and suggests they turn the journey into
an epic road trip, Megan reluctantly agrees to the biggest adventure of her
life.
A week together in a car is a surefire way to
kill a crush, and Scarlett Andrews has had a big one on Megan for years. The
important thing is fixing their friendship.
As the miles roll away, what starts as harmless
road-trip games and rest-stop dares escalates into something like intimacy. And
when a surprise snowstorm forces Megan and Scarlett to hunker down without the
open road as distraction, they’ve got a bigger challenge than making it to the
church on time: facing the true nature of their feelings for each other.
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 in trade paperback, ebook and audiobook
formats.
·
The Hideaway Inn by Philip William Stover (available now!)
·
The Girl Next Door by Chelsea M. Cameron (available now!)
·
Just Like That by Cole McCade (available now!)
·
Better Than People by Roan Parrish (available August 25)
·
The Love Study by Kris Ripper (available September 29)
·
The Secret Ingredient by KD Fisher (available October 27)
·
Just Like This by Cole McCade (available November 24)
·
Teddy Spenser Isn’t Looking
for Love by Kim Fielding (December 29)
Buy Links
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Elia_Winters_Hairpin_Curves?id=_N7HDwAAQBAJ
Excerpt
Megan hadn’t brought a lot of clothing
on this trip, anticipating getting to do laundry at some hotel along the way,
but she had a couple of nice outfits in addition to the dress she planned to
wear for the wedding. She selected an emerald green sweater dress from her
suitcase. She was normally more of a jeans kind of girl, but this dress made
her feel cute, and it felt very Nashville when she paired it with some
knee-high boots. She gathered up her clothes and undergarments and headed for
the bathroom.
When she left the bathroom, Scarlett was
pinning up her curls into two buns up near the top of her head. It was one of
the cutest hairstyles she wore, and one that always made Megan wish for
something other than her own super-straight brown hair. Scarlett looked away
from her hair when Megan entered the room, her gaze skimming down Megan’s body
in a way that made Megan burn up inside.
Before Scarlett could say something,
whether it was going to be a compliment or not, Megan blurted out, “I don’t
know what to do with my hair.”
Scarlett tapped her lips, studying her
like she was an interesting painting. “You want me to curl it?” Scarlett
asked.
“My hair doesn’t curl.” Megan had never
had any luck with that. “It’s too fine.”
Scarlett tucked the final bobby pin into
her own style and walked over to Megan, running her hand through Megan’s hair.
The contact sent a chill all down Megan’s spine. Oh, she wanted Scarlett to
keep touching her like that.
“It’s pretty fine.” Scarlett gathered up
a bunch of Megan’s hair in her hands. Megan shivered. Hopefully Scarlett
wouldn’t notice the shiver. “It would curl if you didn’t wash it so much. You
need it to get dirty.”
Megan laughed, and it sounded breathless coming out. “I don’t
really do dirty.”
Scarlett still had the hold on her hair,
and she tipped Megan’s head back to look at her. “You sure about that?”
The unspoken after last night hung
in the air between them. Megan sucked in a breath, her lips parting, and their
gazes locked. Then it was like Scarlett had suddenly realized what she said,
and she slid her hands out of Megan’s hair and backed away. “Your hair is cute
just like it is. You don’t need to do anything to it.” She turned toward the
mirror again and fumbled with her makeup bag. Was it Megan’s imagination, or
were Scarlett’s hands shaking? “You, uh, ever think about cutting it?” Scarlett
asked.
Megan was still rattled and warm all
over. It took her a moment to process Scarlett’s words. “Oh. Yeah, actually.
Sometimes I think about a pixie cut. Cutting all of it off. But I get nervous.”
“It’s a big step. But you’ve got the
perfect heart-shaped face for it.” Scarlett glanced over, then back at the
mirror. “If you ever want to do it, there’s probably a million great salons
along our road trip. Could be a fun change. And it grows back.”
She was talking fast. Megan was having a
hard time thinking. “Yeah. Maybe. I’ll…do my makeup.”
She had the new makeup from Sephora to
try, and while it wasn’t her area of expertise, she put together what she hoped
was a good look—not super fancy, but she didn’t end up looking like a clown, either.
When she returned from the bathroom, Scarlett was done.
“What about lipstick?” Scarlett asked.
“I’m wearing some.” Megan resisted the
urge to touch her lips in reflex.
Scarlett frowned. “Nude?”
“It’s light pink.”
“You
need a bold lip. Something really red. It would bring the whole look together.”
“I don’t have anything really red.”
Megan stuck with all light pinks whenever she got makeup, which wasn’t very
often. Red was showy and ostentatious, and she wasn’t the type of person to try
to get noticed.
Scarlett rummaged in her bag and pulled
out a lipstick. “Here. Let me.” She touched Megan’s chin, gently tilting her
head back, and then began to apply the lipstick with focused precision. Megan
tried not to shiver as Scarlett held her face perfectly still, her attention
locked onto Megan’s lips. When she finished, they held that pose, and desire
flared up in Megan like a flashover. She wanted to lean forward and ruin that
perfect lipstick against Scarlett’s berry-red mouth.
Copyright © 2020 by Elia Winters
Author Bio
RITA™
Award-winning author Elia Winters is a fat, tattooed, polyamorous bisexual who
loves petting cats and fighting the patriarchy. She holds a Master’s degree in
English Literature and teaches at a small rural high school, where she also
runs the drama club. In her spare time, she is equally likely to be found
playing tabletop games, kneading bread, cross-stitching, or binge-watching
Marie Kondo. A sex educator and kink-positive feminist, Elia reviews sex toys,
speaks at kink conventions, and writes geeky, kinky, cozy erotic romance. She
currently lives in western Massachusetts with her loving husband and their
weird pets.
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