Title: Folk Around and Find Out
Series: Good Folk: Modern Folktales #2
Author: Penny Reid
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Comedy
Release Date: October 20, 2022
BLURB
He needs to get her out of his system. Just once…
Hank Weller doesn’t help people. He leaves that do-gooder nonsense to his best friend, Beau Winston. Hank does what he wants, when he wants, with whomever he wants—and Hank does not want to hire Charlotte Mitchell to be an exotic dancer at his club, The Pink Pony. Sure, he can’t help noticing the dips and curves of her, how shrewd, smart, and funny she is, the fire in her hazel eyes. He’s always noticed. She’d probably draw a crowd and entice the regulars. But after Charlotte’s messy, public divorce made Hank’s club out to be the culprit—and made her the single mother of four kids—he doesn’t need or want any additional bad press courtesy of Charlotte Mitchell. Or the distraction. Unfortunately for him, the town’s prettiest charity case doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the words nope, no, and never.
Charlotte Mitchell doesn’t much like Hank Weller. Once upon a time, she used to. Years ago, she liked him a whole heckofalot despite other folks in town labeling him as “eccentric” and “nonconformist,” which were polite southern alternatives to “filthy rich” and “self-centered douchebag.” Her opinion of him changed dramatically after he volunteered to be her date to junior prom and then promptly stood her up. They haven’t so much as acknowledged each other in over a decade. But a sudden family emergency means Charlotte needs access to Hank’s club ASAP. Unfortunately for her, the narcissistic fancy-pants doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the words help, generosity, and compassion.
But he’s about to find himself schooled. Charlotte is going to teach Hank a lesson once and for all about basic human decency, whether he likes it or not.
Spoiler alert. . . he likes it. ;-)
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EXCERPT
The next time I awoke, it was to morning sunlight streaming in through the windows and to me on top of a real-life Hank-Weller-body pillow.
My sluggish brain only required a few seconds to recall why he was in my bed and how I’d bawled all over him before summarily passing out. I didn’t feel embarrassed by the memory. I felt curious, slightly numb, and an erect penis through a layer of his jeans and my pajamas, pressing against the inside of my thigh.
“Are you awake?” he whispered hoarsely. “Please say you’re awake.”
I swallowed and closed my eyes, not willing to yield my position on top of and next to him. This was a surprise. I’d never enjoyed sleeping in the same bed with anyone. I’d never co-slept with my kids. In my youth, I couldn’t sleep at camp or other situations where sharing a bed had been required. With my ex, I’d tiptoe out of the room once he was snoring and spent most of our marriage slumbering on the couch.
But this? Waking up with my leg curled over Hank’s groin, my arm flung over his chest, and my ear resting over his heart? I could get used to this.
“I’m awake,” I said haltingly. “But unless the kids are up, I’m not ready to move, if that’s okay with you.”
His hand moved on my bare back. I realized belatedly that he’d slipped it under my shirt at some point, tugging me closer until my entire torso pressed more fully against him.
“You’re still sick,” came his rumbly voice, giving me the sense the words were more for his benefit than for mine. “You will be sick for a while. I should keep my hands to myself until you are well . . . unless you ask me not to.”
My head was still a bit cottony, my throat a little dry, but I didn’t think I had a fever and my ears no longer ached. I felt almost normal. It’s amazing what hydration, rest, and the presence of a sexy boyfriend can do for a person.
“I don’t feel very sick,” I said, my mouth curving with giddy pleasure before I could prevent it. He must’ve felt the movement against his chest because he chuckled.
“Oh no. Don’t smile,” he groaned, sounding pained. “I can’t resist your smiles.”
“You find my smiles irresistible?”
“You know I do. Smile at me and I’m yours to command.”
Oh my goodness. I liked the sound of that. Warmth unfurled in my chest and I ducked my head.
He shifted at my silence, his hand sliding from the center of my back to my bottom, resting above the fabric of my pajamas. “Charlotte Mitchell, are you feeling shy?”
“A little,” I admitted. I did feel shy. I also felt many other things, all of which were too large and unwieldy to contemplate or share at present.
Hank kissed the top of my head. “Then, you be shy. I’ll stay right here, ready to be of service, just in case you start feeling bold.”
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Penny Reid is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of the Winston Brothers and Knitting in the City series. She used to spend her days writing federal grant proposals as a biomedical researcher, but now she writes kissing books. Penny is an obsessive knitter and manages the #OwnVoices-focused mentorship incubator / publishing imprint, Smartypants Romance. She lives in Seattle Washington with her husband, three kids, and dog named Hazel.
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