Perfect Fit
Authors: Carly Phillips
RAVES FOR THE NOVELS OF
Carly Phillips
“[An] entertaining and sexy romance…[A] fun and romantic summer read…Will please readers with its mischievous characters, red-hot passionate encounters, and spirited plot.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“Fast-moving and sexy…Her many readers will clamor for this.”
—
Booklist
“This sassy, sexy story with a rapid-fire pace…will send readers looking for the rest.”
—
Library Journal
“Fast-paced and fabulously fun, Carly Phillips entertains with witty dialogue and delightful characters.”
—Rachel Gibson,
New York Times
bestselling author
“A sassy treat full of titillating twists sure to ring your (wedding) bell.”
—
Playgirl
“A titillating read…on a scale of one to five: a high five for fun, ease of reading, and sex—actually I would’ve given it a six for sex if I could have.”
—Kelly Ripa
“This is one of Phillips’ best, a lighthearted, fast-moving plot filled with her signature quirky characters. The book also shows depth of heart, outlining some of the life choices we make that perhaps could use a second look. Great fun with a bit of insight tucked in—fans will be clamoring for this one! HOT!”
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RT Book Reviews
“Once again Carly Phillips has done it. She knows how to combine suspense, romance, and comedy. Loved it.”
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Night Owl Reviews
“An entertaining read from start to finish that fans of Ms. Phillips, both new and old, are sure to enjoy.”
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Joyfully Reviewed
“Carly Phillips’ characters are always believable, and I think that’s what makes her books keepers…The only issue a Phillips fan will have is leaving these wonderful characters.”
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Fresh Fiction
Berkley titles by Carly Phillips
SERENDIPITY
DESTINY
KARMA
PERFECT FIT
Specials
FATED
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
PERFECT FIT
A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley mass-market edition / January 2013
Copyright © 2012 by Karen Drogin.
Excerpt from
Perfect Fling
by Carly Phillips copyright © 2012 by Karen Drogin.
Cover art by Hugh Syme. Cover design by Annette Fiore DeFex.
Interior text design by Kristin del Rosario.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-101-61851-6
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®
Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
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| ALWAYS LEARNING | PEARSON |
I am so lucky to have the following people in my life:
If not for Janelle Denison, who reads my pages, rereads my pages, and talks me through my “I’m stuck” moments, I’m not sure there would BE a Serendipity! Leslie Kelly and Julie Leto, my plotting buddies and close friends, whose brains save me each and every time. I DO need a stinkin’ plot and thank goodness you two are great at twists and turns and even better at being friends. And Shannon Short, who is my constant, who e-mails/talks me through things I cannot discuss here, but who understands this business as well as anyone and lets me vent and share the ups and downs…You have no idea how much I value you all! I can’t imagine my life without each one of you in it and I hope I give back as much as you give to me.
A special shout out:
Writing can be a very solitary profession—unless you’re an Internet junkie, like me. A special thank you to my #Sprint partners on Twitter—Marquita Valentine, @marquitaval; Lissa Matthews, @lissamatthews; Olivia Kelly, @oliviakelly_;and Andris Bear, @andrisbear—you were there for me at 9
A.M.
for the writing of this book. You were invaluable in keeping me motivated, in my chair, turning out words in our thirty-minute shifts. We may not have met in person (yet) but I feel like I know you all. Thanks and I hope you’re there for the next book, too!
A special thank you to Alexis Craig—@Dispatchvampire—whom I also met on Twitter and who allowed me to pick
her brain about all things cop related. I hope I didn’t drive you too crazy! Thanks to Kelli Bruns for the nursing info.
And locally, a very special thanks to Frank for answering my questions in e-mail form, not laughing (at least not when I could see or hear), and for having the utmost patience. Not to mention for taking care of my parents. I’m grateful!
Any and all police- and/or nurse/injury-related mistakes are solely my own!
Special excerpt from
Perfect Fling
One
Perfection was overrated, Mike Marsden thought, as
he approached his childhood home. He arrived in time for dinner, just as he’d done every Sunday since his return to his hometown of Serendipity, New York, almost a month ago. Sunday evening meal at his parents’ house was mandatory, and each of his siblings would be there. Nobody said no to Ella Marsden. And since Mike had been away for a half dozen years or so, his mother was especially glad to have him back, no matter how uncomfortable the notion of coming home made him.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and looked up at the white clapboard house with blue trim and matching shutters. Small but well kept, the two-story home on a residential street was as perfect on the outside as it was on the inside. Same as it was when he’d left for Atlantic City all those years ago. Maybe that was why he was itching beneath his skin now. The idea of perfection made him antsy. It always had. And despite wanting to please his parents, Mike was the kid who’d always tried their patience.
Impulse control issues, his teachers called it. Mike blamed heredity. He couldn’t stick with one thing very long, be it his small hometown, a relationship, or a monotonous job. Simon Marsden, Mike’s adopted father and the man who’d raised him, had been the police chief of Serendipity. Mike’s brother, Sam, had followed in his footsteps, becoming a homegrown cop like his dad. Their sister, Erin, was the assistant district attorney to Serendipity’s D.A.
And Mike? He liked his life, choosing his career as a New York City undercover cop, where he’d carved out a name for himself by skating the rules instead of strictly following them. He made sure his job, his women, and even his friends were easy enough to walk away from when the impulse arose. Never again would there be a repeat of a woman misinterpreting his intentions or expecting too much. He’d run from that strangled feeling once before, ending up in Atlantic City. He wasn’t about to repeat past mistakes or risk what he knew was a genetic inability to stick around.
Yet here he was, back in his small hometown, having taken over his father’s job as chief of police while his dad fought cancer. The doctors said it was treatable, and Mike forced himself to believe it. Coming home was the least he could do for the man who’d both raised him and treated him no differently than his biological children—even if Mike hadn’t always deserved it. The situation was temporary while Simon recovered, or Mike didn’t think he’d have been able to say yes to the position.
He knocked once and let himself inside, the smell of his mother’s pot roast seducing his senses and making his stomach grumble.
“Michael, is that you?” his mother called from her post in the kitchen. When he was a kid, he’d thought she had a sixth sense that told her which child walked in the door, but as an adult he realized they each had their own arrival time and his mother intuitively knew their routine.
