The Bookish Babe: Excerpt and Giveaway: Worth the Fall by Claudia Connor

Worth the Fall by Claudia Connor releases today, and I'm happy to have an excerpt and giveaway to share with you. I've been hearing great things about this one, and am hoping to read it soon. Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

Worth the Fall (The McKinney Brothers, #1)

Series: The McKinney Brothers #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Loveswept
Publication Date: 9/9/14

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Prepare to be swept away by a talented debut author with a passionate, powerful story to tell.

They meet on a beach. . . . Abby Davis isn’t wearing a skimpy bikini or sipping umbrella drinks, not when she’s busy chasing around four little ones. And Matt McKinney isn’t looking for fun—he’s a Navy SEAL, a grown man with a long list of missions . . . and fallen brothers.

They only have a week. . . . Abby has brought her children to this beach to start over, to give them the enjoyable memories they deserve. Matt’s been sidelined by a combat injury, and haunted by the best friend he lost and the promise he made: to remain a SEAL—focused and dedicated. This leaves no time for what he’s always wanted: a family.

But a week is all it takes. . . . Matt opens her heart while Abby soothes his soul. And though they plan to say good-bye when the week is over, something magical happens on that beach, something neither can forget. Something utterly, completely worth falling for.

He liked watching her when she didn’t know. There were no games. No trying to impress him. Just beautiful and real. The kind of woman a man would do everything in his power to keep. He at least wanted to keep her for now.

Abby settled in the chair beside him, and a calm washed over him like the waves of the Atlantic. For the first time in a long time outside of work, he felt like he knew what he was doing. Knew where he was supposed to be.

She shifted and he imagined her cute little bottom wiggling in front of him. Abby. He liked to say her name, liked to think it. He felt the air move, inhaled her scent as she leaned closer. Looking her fill, was she? Well, he’d make damn sure he got his turn. He forced himself to breathe slowly and evenly until he couldn’t take it anymore. “You’re staring,” he said, opening his eyes and angling his head, catching her in the act.

She jerked back all discombobulated. “No, I’m not.”

“You were.” But she wasn’t nearly as close now, making him regret interrupting the moment. “I felt you.”

She gave him a snarky look, if one could call it that on such a gorgeous face. “You couldn’t have felt me. I didn’t touch you.”

“Well, I did.”

“Superhuman powers?” she asked.

He smiled. Snarky voice too. “Close your eyes.”

“What?”

“Close.”

She made a point of watching the kids.

“I’ve got the kids. Trust me,” he added.

With his last words, her eyes snapped back to his. She searched his face, but finally her eyes closed.

Her chest rose and fell as she breathed, the top of her bathing suit cupping soft, sweet breasts. He leaned close enough to see each fine hair of her feathered brow.

Unable to fight it, he cupped her face, gently smoothed the furrow between her brows with his thumb. Her eyes popped open, and he dropped his hand but didn’t move back. An involuntary smile stretched his face as a warm feeling spread through him. Happiness maybe?

“Could you feel me?”

“Of course I could.” She averted her gaze and tucked flying strands of her hair behind her cute little ear. “You were touching me.”

Yep. He had an effect on her. And she couldn’t hide it worth a damn. His smile grew.

He’d let her think she could. For now.

“What?” she asked, catching more silky strands in her fingers.

She has no idea how beautiful she is. Then, realizing how close he was to putting his lips to hers, he forced himself to sit back. “Don’t fight it.” “Huh?”

“Your hair.” He could smell it from here, the wind blowing her scent over him. “It wants to be down.”

Keeping her eyes on his, she slowly pulled the elastic band from her hair and all that dark silk tumbled down past her shoulders. Damn. He needed a diversion.

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Claudia Connor attended Auburn University, where she received her undergraduate and masters degrees in early childhood education, and completed her studies in Sawbridgeworth, England. Always a lover of happy endings, she enjoys movies, reading, and spending her days pouring out the stories in her head. She lives near Memphis, Tennessee, with her husband and three daughters.

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