He rejected her. She loathes him. Now they have to fool
everyone and pretend they actually like each other.
Endurance
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He
rejected her. She loathes him. Now they have to fool everyone and pretend they
actually like each other.
Tanner Harris has been busy shagging his
way through the ladies of east London, but getting caught by the paparazzi
buck-naked with his trouser snake in his hands means he’s sowed his last wild
oat.
Dr. Belle Ryan once thought Tanner Harris
was the perfect kind of bearded bad boy she needed to relieve a bit of stress
after her intense job as a surgical fellow, but an icy cold rejection from
London’s sluttiest footballer puts the two at each other’s throats.
Fate and a favour conspire to put Tanner
and Belle back in each other’s paths and they’re forced to do a lot more than
get along to save face and their careers.
EXCERPT
I cheers my beer with hers and chug the rest down. I drop the bottle and begin swirling Indie around in a childish spin that sends us both flying in different directions and crashing to the ground. Hot, sweaty hands wrap around me and pull me to my feet.
“Thank you, Good Samaritan,” I slur, turning to face my gallant saviour.
When my eyes glance up and focus, I’m stunned by the bearded vision before me. “You look like a guy I know!”
He clutches his hands firmly around my waist and holds me to him. “You look like a girl I want to know.”
I laugh half-heartedly and try to pull away.
“Are you trying to leave me, lass?” he slurs into my ear.
I frown and my head bobbles. “How could I leave you, Jesus? You’re God’s son…You’re everywhere.” I throw my hands out wide to punctuate my “everywhere” and attempt to stumble away.
He grabs me again, this time his hands dipping lower to my arse. My good mood evaporates instantly. “Hey!” I shout. “Watch your fucking hands!”
I attempt to shove him away, but he feels like one of those doors that you push when you’re supposed to pull. He doesn’t budge. He leans in close and whispers in my ear, “I’d like to put my hands on your tight little—”
Right when I’m about ready to punch the wank stain in his vile mouth, I nearly fall over as a strange momentum spins me away. The man’s hands are no longer groping me. They are now pinned deftly behind his back by no other than—
“Tanner?” I utter with a gasp, my hands covering my mouth at the shock of the scene before me.
“Shove the fuck off, you disgusting prat, before I turn your wrist into a pretzel.” Tanner pushes him into a nearby table, and the man almost topples over but catches himself before scurrying away without a look back.
Blue, angry eyes swerve to me. “Ryan,” Tanner growls, slicing a hand through his hair to get it off of his face. “I’ve texted you like twenty times.”
“I…I…I haven’t looked at my mobile in a while.”
“No fucking shit.” His bearded jaw is taut with anger. “I’m taking you home.”
He reaches out for my arm but I yank it away from him.
“No, you’re not.”
His shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath. “I’m taking you home. You’re completely pissed.”
My eyes narrow. “Of course I am. It’s Tequila Sunrise night.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” he snaps. “Let’s go.”
I shoot him a murderous look when a voice interrupts us. “I’ve got mine. You got yours?” I turn to see Camden holding a sleepy-looking Indie against his body.
Determination slices through Tanner’s voice. “I’ve got her.”
I turn to face him, stumbling a bit as I wag my finger in his face. “Hey, I am not yours!” Suddenly, Tanner bends over and I’m airborne for a second, landing heavily on top of his shoulder. “Are you fucking kidding me, Harris?” I begin pounding on his back but it’s to no avail. “I’m in a dress. My arse is hanging out for all of England!”
“Your arse was hanging out when you spread out on the floor a minute ago. I’m taking you home, Ryan. Even if you’re kicking and screaming.”
“You’re such an arrogant arsehole!” My hands stop their assault on Tanner’s backside in favour of covering my rump. This is mortifying. I hang my head and let my hair cover my face, praying like fuck I don’t see anyone I know. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Believe it, woman.” Tanner pauses at the door and turns his body so my head is facing a different direction. “Now, tell this nice man I’m not a rapist.”
A bouncer-looking bloke turns his head upside down to make eye contact with me. I mumble, “He’s not a rapist. Just a walking dead man.” I straighten a bit with my crescendoed scream. The bouncer lets out a hearty laugh that dumps hot coals into the pit of my belly. So not the reaction I was looking for.
He moves to let us pass and then Tanner drops me down in front of a cab. I ball up my fists and wallop him a few times. “I’m not a petulant child, you animal.”
He doesn’t even flinch.
I exhale in concession and fold myself in behind Indie and Camden. When we’re all in the cab and it begins moving, Tanner breaks the silence with a surprisingly jovial tone. “Well, did you all have a fun night?”
REVIEW
***1/2
There's a plethora of adult sports romances out now but Amy Daws has my attention because she helps fill the void that I have when it comes to football. No, not that football. FOOTBALL, as in the "beautiful game". And she makes it even better by setting the series in London!
Daws draws us back into the Harris football family, this time with Tanner whose many sexual antics tend to get him in loads of trouble. The media attention he invites is not exactly what Papa Harris wants for his son, his club or the family. It goes absolutely wrong this time when Tanner is thrown out of his lady-friend's house buck naked. With limited options he calls Indie, his team's sports doctor who also happens to be his twin brother's girlfriend. It's not Indie who comes to his rescue but Belle, her roommate who is none too fond of Tanner or his deviant ways. She's not that thrilled either about coming to help him but if there's a proper way to do things, she'll do the opposite. Coming from a well-to-do family with ties in many social circles, Belle has always felt adrift from her parents' priorities to mingle with the rich and influential. So if there ever is a way she can subtly stick it to her parents, especially her ambitious dad, she'll do it. She wasn't banking on the paparazzi plastering her pictures of her and a naked Tanner all over the place though. Oops! Now she appears to be one of his clueless conquests instead of being the hardworking and respected doctor that she is. This latest event angers her and her family, and puts her dad's political aspirations in jeopardy. As a way to make it up to them and to Belle, Tanner's solution is for them to pretend date so that the media won't think it's a one-off. Not ideal but it just might get dad off her back.
I liked Challenge but I like Endurance more. I think it's the playfulness between Tanner and Belle that does it for me. They're both sharp and witty which makes any conversation between them pretty entertaining and of course, loaded with sexual innuendos. They can cut each other with a sentence and also call each other any bull. Making the best of the awkward situation does prove to be too much when the lines get blurred. If it's all pretend, how far should they go in opening up to each other or caring about the other's well-being? For Belle, seeing Tanner with his close-knit family kicks up all sorts of feelings about her own dysfunctional family. And Tanner hears alarm bells when he realizes that Belle is one of the few women in his life who gets through to him. Outside of their evolving relationship, they're both also working on their respective careers. She's working her way up in her chosen area of medicine and he's trying to adapt to his new role within his football organization without his twin by his side.
I think Amy Daws has become one of my go-to authors. I like how she transports me to a different place and when it comes down to it, I'm entertained. I finished this book pretty quickly because I was having too much fun with Tanner and Belle and their craziness. Fancy a hot footballer and his wicked humour? How about a young career woman who calls it like it is? Endurance will work just fine for you!
~ Bel
Meet “the other” Harris TWIN in Challenge!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amy Daws is a lover of all things British and her London-based love stories bring the incredible city to life on every page. Read all about hot British men, hilarious heroines, and unforgettable and original ensemble casts that pull out all the feels. For more of Amy’s work, visit www.amydawsauthor.com
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