Everyone knows that if you play with fire youâll end up getting burnedâŚ
What happens when you attend a first responderâs bachelor auction with your best friends? Well, if your name is Madison Kelly like me, your friends end up bidding on a date for you with your high school crush.
Thatâs right. Even back when I was âFatty Maddieâ to all my classmates, I had eyes for the quarterback of our football team. Not like I was the only one.
Mauro Bianco may fight fires for a living, but he still sets my heart ablaze. One look at the rugged, muscular man heâs turned into and I want to slide down his pole.
One date. Thatâs all Iâm committed to. A few hours and I can tuck him back into that tattered old shoebox in my closet.
As always, the universe has other plans. I never wouldâve predicted that in a matter of days heâd turn from my dream guy into my enemy.
Amazon US ~ https://amzn.to/2QniH03
Amazon UK ~ https://amzn.to/2NahFGM
Amazon CA ~ https://amzn.to/2p0uGnR
Amazon AU ~ https://amzn.to/2CO16f0
iBooks | B & N | Kobo | Google Play
My brothers widen their stances, share a look of amusement and cock their eyebrows at me.
âHate to break it to you, but Maddie didnât bid on you. Lauren did.â Luca laughs while Cristian chuckles.
âIâm going out with a Madison and she didnât go to our high school. Which reminds me.â I pull out my phone.
âMaddie is Madison, you idiot,â Luca says. âHer and Lauren were my year.â
âI went to high school with Madison?â I try to let her face come back to me, and though I can picture her bright blue eyes and long chestnut hair, nothing about her is familiar from high school.
âYes, but she definitely wasnât hanging out at the bonfires and football pep rallies.â Luca grabs his helmet off his bike. The only responsible thing Iâve seen him do in the last few years.
âWell, shit and she doesnât even want to go out with me? Her friend bid on me?â
Luca straddles his bike with a grin. I look over to Cristian, but heâs putting his shirt back on and starts fiddling with his earbuds. They obviously think this conversation is over.
âYeah, but weâre all in the same boat.â Cristianâs thumb moves over his phone screen. âMaddieâs awesome and I think youâll have a good time with her.â
âShe seemed pretty quiet and way too accommodating,â I say.
Luca kicks his stand up, letting the bike rock a little under him.
Cristianâs hands freeze on the screen of his phone. âAnd thatâs bad?â he asks.
âI want a woman who knows what she wants. Has her own damn opinions. Doesnât just agree with everything I say.â
Cristian peeks over his shoulder, a look of amusement that matches Lucaâs. âYou want a girl to come up and grab your nuts?â
âI want a girl who knows what her favorite food is, has an opinion about where she wants to go for dinner, likes whatever sports team she likes and doesnât default to my favorites.â I stuff my hands into my pockets, digging out my keys for my truck.
âWell then, Maddie might not be the one. Like I said, sheâs nice.â Cristian slaps me on the shoulder. âTreat her good though, okay?â He inserts one earbud.
âWhat do you think Iâm going to do, leave her in Garfield Park?â
He puts his other earbud in. âThatâs not even funny man. I have a friend in that district and the shit that goes down there…â He shakes his head.
Cristian loses the entire point of my statementâthe fact Iâm not a jackass. Iâm not Luca.
âItâs one date,â I say. âAnd who knows, maybe sheâs nice but still has a wild streak.â
Christian again glances over to Luca whoâs smiling like heâs fucking Mickey Mouse.
âWell, good luck on your date,â he says.
Cristian jogs away and Lucaâs bike starts up.
I head to my truck.
The conversation is over, but Iâm curious now.
Whereâs my damn yearbook?
â¤ď¸ My Review:
A terrific start to a new series about three sexy Italian brothers in public service and three women that are friends and roommates. I love the start with the bachelor auction and the girls’ antics. You know where the stories are going but it’s so much fun getting there. Or at least in that case of the first one about the hunky fireman, Mauro. What’s not to love? The hot hunk was endearing even as a drunk teenager but as a grown-ass man he’s swoon worthy. Maddie’s been crushing on him since high school when he was the teen heartthrob and she was the overweight, insecure, nerdy girl. The author’s character development of Maddie was understated and fantastic. She’s sympathetic and smart and grows up to be a gal with a mind of her own. And she’s still crushing on Mauro ten years later! The M&M romance is so sweet and captivating without too much drama but lots of good feelings. This entertaining story about a loving family, great friends and sweet love is wonderfully written and will melt your heart. Along with the romance there are lots of laughs with the Italian family, the sexy brothers and their Mama. The ending sets up for the next brother story. Can’t wait!
Piper Rayne, or Piper and Rayne, whichever you prefer because weâre not one author, weâre two. Yep, you get two USA Today Bestselling authors for the price of one. Our goal is to bring you romance stories that have “Heartwarming Humor With a Side of Sizzle” (okay…you caught us, that’s our tagline). A little about us… We both have kindleâs full of one-clickable books. We’re both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We’re both chauffeurs to our kids. Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too.
Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Bookbub | Website
