Love, Diamonds, and Spades
L
OVE,
D
IAMONDS, AND
S
PADES
(A
C
ACTUS
C
REEK
N
OVEL)
BY
VIOLET DUKE
COPYRIGHT © 2015 VIOLET DUKE
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, this book and any portion thereof may not be reproduced, scanned, transferred, or distributed in any print or electronic form without the express written permission of the author. Participation in any aspect of piracy of copyrighted materials, inclusive of the obtainment of this book through non-retail or other unauthorized means, is in actionable violation of the author’s rights.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, media, brands, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and registered trademark owners of all branded names referenced without TM, SM, or (R) symbols due to formatting constraints, and is not claiming ownership of or collaboration with said trademark brands. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is purely coincidental.
Ebook ISBN:
194119897X
Ebook ISBN-13:
978-1-941198-97-1
BOOK DESCRIPTION
A standalone companion novel to Love, Chocolate, and Beer: Rylan & Quinn’s story*
Surprise! The flood of fan mail worked, you guys! LOL. I love that you all fell so hard for Rylan & Quinn in Love, Chocolate, and Beer (I did too). *grin* I hope you enjoy their by-rabid-request parallel story that I just adored writing for you all. Happy reading!
She’s the Self-Proclaimed Wicked ‘Witch’ of the West
Fiercely independent single mom Quinn Christiansen is used to flying solo. She’s been raising her young son and figuring out how to pay his pediatric hospital bills on her own for years now. And truth is, Quinn loves the notorious reputation she’s already gained in town of having a heart too hard for any man to break. Because it is. Two carats too hard, to be exact. Courtesy of the two-carat heirloom she’d had to barter to cover her ex’s debts when he took off after she got pregnant. The day she’d promised herself never again.
So color her
pissed
when the universe goes and decides to make the one man in Cactus Creek not afraid of her natural ball-busting charm
another
gambling musician. A ridiculously handsome, wickedly gruff and gritty,
pushy
one at that.
He’s Everything She’s Sure She Can’t Possibly Want
Rylan Grey isn’t used to getting a woman so worked up…well, not in a bad way, at least. But somehow, his mere existence seems to annoy the guarded and gorgeous Quinn to no end. Surprising, really. A dirt-and-jeans landscaper by day with a regular gig to perform for a packed house by night, Rylan considers himself a decent guy. Sure, he’s made some gambles to get to where he’s at, but they were all of the life variety, with risks as important as the rewards, fate betting as the house, and not a single dollar in play.
While Rylan never wagers anything he’s not willing to lose—namely his heart—he’s more than ready to ante up once he sees past Quinn’s icy defenses. Quick as a firecracker, loyal to a fault, and sweet when no one’s looking, she could be his riskiest gamble yet.
*This standalone can be read before or after Love, Chocolate, and Beer, but, it is recommended that it be read after. Happy reading!
OTHER TITLES BY THE AUTHOR
The CAN’T RESIST Series
R
ESISTING THE
B
AD
B
OY
*
F
ALLING FOR THE
G
OOD
G
UY
*
C
HOOSING THE
R
IGHT
M
AN
*
F
INDING THE
R
IGHT
G
IRL
K
EEPING THE
R
EBOUND
F
LING (
Winter 2015)
H
AVING THE
R
EAL
T
HING
(Spring 2016)
*Three-Book serial trilogy, also available in the NICE GIRL bundled box set
The CACTUS CREEK Series
L
OVE,
C
HOCOLATE, AND
B
EER
L
OVE,
D
IAMONDS, AND
S
PADES
(*NEW* Added to series by fan request)
L
OVE,
T
USSLES, AND
T
AKEDOWNS
L
OVE,
E
XES, AND
O
HS
(Spring 2015)
L
OVE,
S
IDELINES, AND
E
NDZONES
(Spring 2015)
L
OVE,
S
TILETTOS, AND
C
UFFLINKS
(Fall 2016)
L
OVE,
M
EDDLING, AND
M
ISTLETOE
(Fall 2016)
The UNFINISHED LOVE Series
(Cactus Creek Reunions)
Book 1 & 2: Caine & Addison
(Summer 2015)
Book 3 & 4: Gabe & Hannah
(Summer 2015)
Book 5 & 6: Max & Kennedy
(Fall 2015)
Book 7 & 8: Drew & Skylar
(Winter 2015)
--
Coming in 2016 from Penguin Random House --
The FOURTH DOWN Series
(Cactus Creek Nights)
Book 1: (Jackson's story)
Title TBA
Book 2: (Bennett's story)
Title TBA
Book 3: (Donovan's story)
Title TBA
DEDICATION
To every single fan who wrote, emailed, commented on Facebook, tweeted, and messaged me with well-wishes, positive thoughts, prayers, strength, funny emoticons, love, hugs, and other uplifting notes during my medical leave the past six months.
I am thankful for each and every one of you for generously sending me all your good juju and for overall, just keeping my spirits up and a smile on my face on even the hardest and most painful days.
You are each so very special, I hope you know that.
With you all by my side, I’m positive I’ll get back to Violet-cartwheeling soon.
Love you! Stay fabulous.
CHAPTER ONE
SHE WAS DOWNRIGHT
gorgeous.
Rylan Grey felt like he’d been sucker-punched the moment he saw her.
Striking blue eyes and angel blonde hair—only way to describe it, really—gathered up in one of those sexy gravity-defying knots that was somehow locked in place by a single ballpoint pen. She was the definition of effortless class. The few strands that had escaped the pen’s clutches softened her pretty, elfin features and framed a deeply distracting set of lips that Rylan was sure would be cover model dazzling if the woman were smiling.
But she wasn’t.
No doubt because a smile would clash with the laser-sharp glower she’d just sliced his way, dissecting him in an instant with almost palpable disapproval.
Huh.
If not for his friend Dani putting a hand over his mic and whispering something to him at just that moment, Rylan would’ve chalked up the whole thing to a mysterious case of one-sided hate-at-first-sight.
“Criminy,” grumbled Dani in his ear, “I can’t believe he brought
that woman
with him to the meeting.”
In the timespan of that one brief sentence, Rylan watched
that woman’s
disapproving glance disappear and transform into a small frown of…disappointment.
Only to be replaced swiftly by a double-dose of the disapproval again a blink later.
Dani crossed her arms, nodding over at the evil villainess in question, and the man standing beside her that Rylan hadn’t even noticed until now. “She better be here to grovel. Can you believe that video ad stunt she pulled outside? With
my
customers!”
Rylan made a point to sound more sympathetic than amused. “Ah, so
that’s
the woman you told off the other day.” The little pre-grand-opening marketing stunt by the newest business in town—a relocated chocolate shop right next door to Dani’s brewpub—had made local news by nightfall. And while he agreed it had been a little below the belt, you kind of had to respect the boldness it took to pull off.
So the rumors were true.
There really
was
a new queen ball-buster in the neighborhood dangerously close to taking the impressive title away from Dani, the current reigning alpha business woman in Cactus Creek who simultaneously held the crown for town sweetheart as well.
From the looks of it, the two women couldn’t be more different. Granted, as a female beer brewer, Dani had learned to develop a bark
and
bite that could make a pigheaded man piss his pants. But usually, she was more the Miss-Congeniality-who’d-wrestle-a-gator-to-prove-herself type with charming smiles and disarming wit in her arsenal.
The woman standing across the way from them, on the other hand, looked like she might very well be the undefeated champ in the sport of blindfolded testicle sharp-shooting.
It was odd how much
more
attractive that seemed to make her. To him, at least.
Sure, most of the women Rylan dated could easily compete with the still-clearly-irked woman in the looks department, but at the moment, he could barely conjure up mental images of their faces to compare.
Literally.
He literally couldn’t remember the names of any of those women right now, let alone what they looked like. Not with the frowning wood nymph’s artic gaze covertly scanning him from head to toe…fight it though she was obviously trying.
He probably wasn’t helping by openly staring at her the way that he was—civilized decorum be damned—but he couldn’t seem to stop. He told himself it was simply because her eyes were this intense sapphire color, the exact shade of the desert wildflowers he’d planted all over the Henderson’s estate last week, a relatively uncommon color he rarely got to work with in Arizona landscaping.
