The Sweetest Thing (39 page)
Read The Sweetest Thing Online
Authors: Jill Shalvis
Dear Reader,
Marriage of Convenience. Those three words alone will convince me to buy a book. I can’t think of anything I enjoy more than
a romance where two people who would never have chosen each other, find themselves having to negotiate a marriage neither
one wanted. So when I had the chance to write historical romance, I knew that it wouldn’t be long before I wrote a Marriage
of Convenience book.
NEVER A GENTLEMAN is that book. Diccan Hilliard is known among Society as The Perfection. Suave, smooth, sophisticated, with
a taste for only the most beautiful women, he has a keen wit and rapier tongue. The fact that he is also a member of Drake’s
Rakes, a group of aristocrats caught up in espionage, is a well-guarded secret. That secret, though, leads to marriage vows,
when he wakes to find that his enemies have left him naked in bed with Grace Fairchild, the woman known to his friends as
The Most Notorious Virgin in Britain.
Poor Grace. As tall as a man, painfully plain with an ungainly limp, Grace has spent her life following her father around
the world with the army. She has no
female accomplishments, no wish to mingle in a society that has long since shunned her, and even less desire to be shackled
to a man who did not choose her, especially since she has long been fascinated by him. But Grace has secrets too. The question
is, will those secrets help her gain Diccan’s love, or condemn her to loneliness? And will Diccan’s secrets cost them not
just the chance at a lasting love, but their very lives?
Do you like Marriage of Convenience books as much as I do? What draws you to them? Let me know at my website,
www.eileendreyer.com
.
Enjoy!
Dear Reader,
Writing a romance called THE SWEETEST THING, which centers around a decidedly not sweet heroine, amused me. Tara Daniels is
wound a little tightly and
likes things her way. She’s also a former southern belle who appreciates the fact that she’s right. A lot.
The Sweetest Thing? Not exactly.
But her heart’s in the right place, always. And, as it turns out, there’s a man who melts her like butter on a hot roll. Not
only that, but he can soften her in a way that she isn’t sure she likes. See, Tara thinks she has it all together, but it
turns out she doesn’t. She doesn’t know a lot about herself. About all she has is the fact that she can cook like nobody’s
business. Oh, how she loves to cook.
Tara was a challenge for me because—here’s where I must admit it—I got a lot of her recipes from my husband. True story. I’m
married to a big guy who works with his hands and is the ultimate Alpha Man—and yet he can cook. Don’t try to figure him out;
it’ll hurt your brain, trust me.
Good Morning Sunshine Casserole is all his. Just don’t tell him I “borrowed” it and am telling the world that it’s my heroine’s.
It would just go to his head.
Good Morning Sunshine Casserole
Praise for Jill Shalvis and Simply Irresistible
Simply Irresistible
Jill Shalvis
and
Simply Irresistible
“Shalvis writes with humor, heart, and sizzling heat!”
—Carly Phillips,
New York Times
bestselling author
“Heartwarming and sexy… an abundance of chemistry, smoldering romance, and hilarious sisterly antics.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“A Jill Shalvis hero is the stuff naughty dreams are made of.”
—Vicki Lewis Thompson,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Chick with a Charm
“Jill Shalvis has the incredible talent for creating characters who are intelligent, quick-witted, and gorgeously sexy, all
the while giving them just the right amount of weakness to keep them from being unrealistically perfect.”
“Witty, fun, and sexy—the perfect romance!”
—Lori Foster,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Back in Black
“Ms. Shalvis’s characters leap off the page.”
—
RT Book Reviews
“Fast-paced and deliciously fun. Jill Shalvis sweeps you away!”
—Cherry Adair,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Black Magic
“Shalvis’s writing is a perfect trifecta of win: hilarious dialogue, evocative and real characters, and settings that are
as much a part of the story as the hero and heroine. I’ve never been disappointed by a Shalvis book.”
“Five Stars!… A talented writer.
Simply Irresistible
is fun, full of humor, and simply delightful in every way.”
“Riveting suspense laced with humor and heart is her hallmark and Jill Shalvis always delivers.”
—Donna Kauffman,
USA Today
bestselling author of
Some Like It Scot
“A fun, energetic read… this series is going to be one to watch as Jill Shalvis combines her quirky writing with a small-town
America setting, while adding in some sizzling heat to make
Simply Irresistible
… simply irresistible!”
“A beautiful start to this new series. The characters are as charming as the town itself. A pleasure to read.”
“A fun, hot, sexy story of the redemptive powers of love. Jill Shalvis sizzles.”
—JoAnn Ross,
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Homecoming
“Great leads and a stand-out romance… I laughed outright after a few pages. Soon after that, I had to gulp back my tears…
what a range of drawn emotions.”
“The very talented Jill Shalvis delivers up a delicious romance… hilarious… sparkling… one of her best books so far. I, for
one, cannot wait to read the next two books in the series.”
—
TheRomanceReadersConnection.com
“One of those books that totally and absolutely encapsulates its title… utterly irresistible. The romance instantly jumps
off the page… Jill Shalvis seems to have a golden touch with her books. Each one is better than the previous story.”
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2011 by Jill Shalvis
Excerpt from
Head Over Heels
copyright © 2011 by Jill Shalvis
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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First eBook Edition: April 2011
ISBN: 978-1-609-41872-4
