Love Irresistibly

Love Irresistibly (FBI/U.S. Attorney)

James, Julie

Penguin Group US (2013)

Praise for

About That Night

“Filled with fast quips and chemistry that heats up the pages. Readers will love the back-and-forth between the main characters . . . and the story is a fantastic romantic comedy. This one would be great on the big screen.”

—
RT Book Reviews
(Top Pick)

“Julie James’s best book to date! . . . It is utterly enchanting, sensual, and fabulous. Julie James gives a robust voice to contemporary courtships! Amusing and sexy, Julie James’s books are flirtatious temptations for every reader.”

—
Romance Junkies

“The sexiest book of Julie James’s yet . . . Smart [and] fun.”

—
Smexy Books

A Lot Like Love

“Julie James writes books I can’t put down.
A Lot Like Love
kept me up way past midnight!”

—Nalini Singh,
New York Times
bestselling author

“Sexy fun. Romance fans will pop their corks over this one.”

—
Library Journal

“Fueled by equal measures of seductive wit, edge-of-the-seat suspense, and scorching-hot sexual chemistry, James’s latest scintillating novel of romantic suspense is a rare treat.”

—
Chicago Tribune

“[James] exhibits her trademark sizzle and wit.”

—
Booklist

“You’ll fall head over heels for
A Lot Like Love
.”

—
USA Today

“Julie James . . . is mastering the genre of romantic suspense.”

—
The News-Gazette
(East Central Illinois)

“James writes characters so real you can almost reach out and touch them. A delicious blend of romance and suspense.”

—
RT Book Reviews

“Just the right balance of charm, love, action, and touches of humor and suspense.”

—
Fresh Fiction

“There’s a whole lot to love about
A Lot Like Love
from Julie James. This is a superb read, plain and simple.”

—
Babbling About Books, and More

Something About You

“Smart, snappy, funny yet realistic. I can’t count the number of times I laughed while reading the book . . . This is one book I can totally recommend.”

—
Dear Author

“From first impressions to the last page, it’s worth shaking your tail feather over . . . This is a contemporary romance well worth savoring, and laughing over, and reading all over again.”

—
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

“Just plain fun! James is a master of witty repartee.”

—
RT Book Reviews

Practice Makes Perfect

“A tantalizing dessert—a delicious, delightful read that all hopeless romantics will enjoy.”

—
Chicago Sun-Times

“A fast-paced romantic comedy, packed with hilarious situations and sharp dialogue . . . A talented writer . . . Expect a lot of sparks to fly.”

—
San Francisco Book Review

“A sophisticated contemporary romance . . . proves that [James] is a master at conveying both courtroom and behind-the-scenes maneuvering.”

—
Booklist
(starred review)

Just the Sexiest Man Alive

“Fantastic, frolicking fun . . . Read
Just the Sexiest Man Alive
, and you will be adding Julie James to your automatic-buy list!”

—Janet Chapman,
New York Times
bestselling author

“Witty banter and an amazing chemistry . . . bring this delightful story to life.”

—
Chicago Sun-Times

“Remind[s] me of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy movies: they have that funny edge.”

—Eloisa James,
New York Times
bestselling author

“Witty and romantic.”

—
Publishers Weekly

Berkley Sensation titles by Julie James

JUST THE SEXIEST MAN ALIVE

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

The FBI/US Attorney series

SOMETHING ABOUT YOU

A LOT LIKE LOVE

ABOUT THAT NIGHT

LOVE IRRESISTIBLY

Love Irresistibly

JULIE JAMES

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

USA / Canada / UK / Ireland / Australia / New Zealand / India / South Africa / China

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

For more information about the Penguin Group, visit penguin.com

LOVE IRRESISTIBLY

A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author.

Copyright © 2013 by Julie James.

Excerpt from
Something About You
by Julie James copyright © 2010 by Julie James.

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.

Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group.

BERKLEY SENSATION
^®
is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

ISBN: 978-0-425-25119-5

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Berkley Sensation mass-market paperback edition / April 2013

eBook ISBN: 978-1-101-61741-0

Cover photo by Claudio Marinesco; image of satin background by Shutterstock.

Cover design by Rita Frangie.

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.

Contents

Cover

Praise

Also by Julie James

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgements

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-one

Twenty-two

Twenty-three

Twenty-four

Twenty-five

Twenty-six

Twenty-seven

Twenty-eight

Twenty-nine

Thirty

Thirty-one

Thirty-two

Thirty-three

Thirty-four

Thirty-five

Special Excerpt from
Something About You

One

Two

For Ellery

Acknowledgements

As with all my books, I owe thanks to several people who, out of the kindness of their hearts, continue to answer every pesky e-mail from me bearing the words “Quick question” in the subject line. I’m particularly grateful to Kevin Kavanaugh for all his expertise and anecdotes that helped me create the world of Sterling Restaurants, and also to Andy Lansing, who graciously took the time to chat with me about life as a general counsel in the restaurant industry.

Continuing gratitude goes to John, assistant U.S. attorney extraordinaire, whose advice has been invaluable to the FBI/US Attorney series. I also owe a special mention to Diana Phung for getting me hooked on
Friday Night Lights
—which, in turn, inspired me to add a story line about a former football player to this book. Thanks as well to Chris Ernst and, particularly, Tom Fleming, for sharing their knowledge of the game.

I am truly fortunate to work with a fantastic editor, Wendy McCurdy, who understood what I wanted to do with this book and knew exactly how to push me to get there. Thanks to Erin Galloway, my fabulous publicist, and the entire team at Berkley, and to Elyssa Papa and Kati Brown, my awesome beta readers, who roll up their sleeves and do what they do even when working under some very tight deadlines.

Thanks to my friends and family for all their support, and to my husband, son, and daughter for putting a smile on my face every day.

Finally, thanks to you, dear readers, for the e-mails, the tweets, the Facebook posts, and the readers’ choice nominations and awards. You guys are awesome, and I wish I could thank every one of you.

Oh, wait—I just did.

One

BROOKE PARKER STEPPED
up to the bar at The Shore restaurant, ready to place her lunch order. The bartender, however, beat her to the punch.