Happy Book Birthday to What Lola Wants by Calista Fox
What Lola Wants
(Leave Your Shoes On #1)
by Calista Fox
Published September 15th 2015 by Forever Yours
LOLA KNOWS WHAT SHE WANTS
Lola Vonn isn't sure exactly when it happened, but sometime between ages seven and twentysomething, her best friend, Alex, got hot. Really hot. He's hotter than the blazing Arizona sun-and definitely hotter than the nerdy-cute mathlete she grew up with. And, when she needs to crash at his apartment while looking for a place of her own, Alex becomes a temptation she can't resist. But while unbuttoning Alex's buttoned-up self is scorchingly fun, wild child Lola fears risking the best friend she's ever had on a fling.
HE KNOWS WHAT SHE NEEDS
Alex Reed has wanted Lola since they were teenagers and now that she's parading around his condo in sexy stilettos and short nighties, he can't stop the more-than-just-friends fantasies he has every time he looks at his new curvy blonde roommate. Luckily he's no longer the painfully dorky teenager he once was-and it's high time he showed Lola that he's the man for her.
Lola vowed to herself not to rattle Alex's cage while staying with him. Not too much, anyway. It was sort of a natural compulsion. Everyone should have a little excitement in their lives. A few twists and turns.
Regardless, she tidied up the breakfast bar, relegating herself to her room so Alex would have the space he needed to adjust to her being there. He deserved that from her.
She slipped off the stool just as he came through the door, though, foiling her good intentions.
"Thought you were having beers at Pete's," she casually said.
"A beer." He gave her a once-over, shoved his hands into the pockets of his dress pants and shook his head. "What are you wearing?"
"Huh?" She glanced down at her short, red-lace nightie. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon, and I was just looking at my notes before I go to bed."
"You do own a robe, right?"
"Actually, no."
"Geez, Alex. It's just a nightie." She set aside her papers and wine. "What's the big deal?"
"Nothing." He disappeared into his room, but came back seconds later, carrying a plush, navy-colored robe with a gold emblem on the chest from a fancy New York hotel where he'd attended this year's insurance convention. Or maybe it'd been last year. She couldn't keep track.
Thrusting it at her, he said, "Do me a favor and cover up while you're here."
She eyed him curiously. "Alex, women wear less than this on the beach. On TV, even."
He stared unwaveringly, his eyes locking with hers. As though he didn't dare look anywhere else but her face.
"Yes, I have breasts," she announced. "Newsflash! Not."
"Just wear the robe, Lo."
She took a step closer to him, but didn't accept the garment he offered. "What is going on?"
"There are reflective surfaces in my condo. I'm sure you can see—on you—that is much more than 'just a nightie.'"
Her gaze dropped again. Okay, so there was a healthy amount of cleavage on display. Not to mention thigh. Maybe a little ass cheek. Whatever.
She glanced up at Alex—and caught the flash of lust in his eyes. Possibly because there weren't glasses to deflect the unexpected expression?
Something clicked in her brain.
Oh, no way...
A smile spread slowly over her lips. "Oh, my God."
He shook his head again. "Don't make anything out of this."
Too. Late.
Something had changed... She'd been wrong all along.
Was she imagining this, or...?
Her body instantly gravitated to his as she took a step toward him, barely realizing it. "Alex—you're hot for me."
He groaned. "No, I'm not."
She'd seen that look before, after all. On other men.
Her gaze roved him from head to toe. He appeared thoroughly disgruntled. In a very sexy way. Completely unkempt. So not his style. His dark hair was unruly, which likely made him crazed, since he was an every-strand-in-its-proper-place kind of guy. He'd rolled up his sleeves and had loosened his tie. Something she'd never known him to do. He didn't go for the disheveled look, but it totally worked for him. Especially with his current brooding, which made her skin tingle.
Her breath hitched.
Maxi had nailed it—Alex had become tall, dark and delicious. He was single and, alas, hetero as far as she knew.
Sure, Lola was unpredictable and impulsive. So very different from him in every conceivable way, yet...opposites attracted, right?
What the hell are you thinking?
Her spinning curiosity came to a screeching halt. Alex was so not her idea of a hot hookup.
Well, maybe it could be hot. He had chiseled facial features and broad shoulders. Really nice hands, with long, blunt-tipped fingers and neatly trimmed nails.
And though it seemed that he tried not to devour her with a hungry gaze...he did.
She beamed, rocking back and forth on her bare heels as exhilaration trilled down her spine. "When did this happen?"
About Calista Fox
Calista is a former PR professional, now writing fast-paced, steamy books to set your pulse racing! She is an Amazon bestseller and has won many Reviewer's and Reader's Choice Awards, as well as Best Book Awards and other competitions with publication as first prize. Calista is a college graduate and teaches online writing classes. She is also Past President/Advisor of the Phoenix Chapter of Romance Writers of America.
http://www.calistafox.com/