Virtual Book Blast Tour for A Perfect Trade by Anna Sugden, a Contemporary Romance novel available July 1, 2014 from Harlequin.
****GIVEAWAY ALERT****
Anna will award a $15 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter, as well as 3 signed copies of A Perfect Trade, 3 exclusive A Perfect Trade notebooks and 4 exclusive A Perfect Trade key rings to other randomly drawn winners (international giveaway).
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A Perfect Trade
by Anna Sugden
by Anna Sugden
Truman "Tru" Jelinek's life is pretty much off the rails. With his professional hockey career on thin ice, and his personal life falling apart, he's ready to implement some serious changes. Helping Jenny Martin—the only girl he's ever loved—make her dreams a reality is a good place to start.
There's just one problem: Jenny doesn't want his help. She barely wants to speak to him. But Tru is prepared to negotiate a deal that even Jenny can't refuse. As trading favors turns into sharing passion, he has to face the truth that when it comes to Jenny, the game is far from over.
EXCERPT
A familiar tickle between his shoulder blades alerted Tru to
who his brother was smiling at. Though he knew it was a mistake, Tru couldn’t
resist turning around.
Jenny.
His heart jerked in his chest, as it always did when he saw
her. As it had since the first time he saw her, back in first grade.
Her smile, bright for his brother, faded when she noticed
Tru. Her expression became cool and distant before she turned away pointedly.
Tru’s gaze lingered, despite his best intentions. She must
have come straight from work; she wore a blue suit that matched her eyes. The
above-the-knee skirt and coordinating blue spiked heels showed off her long,
shapely legs.
His stomach twisted when a man approached Jenny and hugged
her, before pulling out a chair for her. There was something familiar about the
guy. Tru’s tension eased when he realized it was her boss, Harry Sturridge.
Though Tru was annoyed with himself for caring who Jenny ate dinner with, he
couldn’t help being relieved it wasn’t a teammate. He wasn’t in the mood to
deal with that tonight.
Sturridge said something to make Jenny laugh. The husky
sound seemed to reach out and caress Tru through the bustle and noise of the
restaurant.
Shifting to ease the sudden tightness in his groin, he
forced himself to look away and focus on his meal, slicing into his rib eye.
Surprised when Ike didn’t make his usual crack about the
antagonism between him and Jenny, Tru looked up. Ike was staring at the
television, where, based on the logo on the screen behind the commentators, a
studio panel was discussing the Ice Cats.
“What’s up, bro?”
“I’m not sure.” Ike pulled his cell out of his pocket,
tapped the screen and frowned.
Tru knew instantly it wasn’t good news.
Ike didn’t keep him in suspense. “The Scartellis just fired
Phillip Hannah. They’ll announce a new general manager in the next few days.”
Tru’s appetite vanished. That was a bigger organizational
shake-up than anyone had anticipated. “Max’s days must be numbered, too. A new
GM always wants to bring in his own coach. That means changes throughout the
roster—maybe even a total rebuild—and the easiest guys to get rid of are the
unrestricted free agents.”
Tru pushed back his chair angrily. “That puts my neck firmly
on the block.”
“Cool your jets. The team needs experienced players, even
in rebuild mode.”
“They have plenty of veterans—you, Jake, Scotty Matthews,
Ralinkov, Juergen. Hell, even guys like J.B., Mad Dog and Blake have Cup
experience. I’m expendable.”
Ike couldn’t deny that. “The Cats won’t let you go for
nothing. They’ll want something in return. On the upside, lots of decent teams
need a skilled defenseman.”
“Great. Except I don’t want to move. I don’t want to start
over with a new team, in a new town, with a new freaking system. I wanted to
spend the summer making sure I was 100 percent fit for next season, not looking
for somewhere to live.”
“Talk to Andy. That’s why you pay your agent the big bucks.
Find out what it would take for them to re-sign you.”
“Right.” Tru stood and tossed some bills on the table.
“Catch you later, bro.”
“You’re leaving good rib eye?”
“Yeah. But you won’t let it go to waste.”
Tru wound his way between the tables, heading toward the
door. What a great year; first his love life, then the season and now his
career going down the toilet.
Almost too late, he realized he couldn’t avoid passing
Jenny’s table. He tried not to catch her eye. Unfortunately, as he walked
behind her boss’s chair, their gazes clashed.
His pulse jumped. Heat seared through him.
For an instant, Tru thought he saw an answering fire in her
turquoise depths, but it was extinguished immediately and replaced with ice.
She averted her eyes abruptly and smiled softly at her dinner companion.
The sting of the virtual slap was as sharp as if her palm
had connected with his cheek.
Tru continued without breaking his stride. Her laugh scraped
his raw nerves like a whetstone on a steel skate blade.
Jenny’s reaction toward him was the one thing he could rely
on right now. Wasn’t that a sorry state of affairs? He pulled out his cell and
called his agent, desperately hoping there was something Andy could do to keep
him with the Cats. Unfortunately, Tru’s gut told him the chances of a miracle
save had just skated out of town with his GM.
BUY LINKS
Barnes & Noble:
iBooks:
The Book Depository:
AUTHOR BIO
Harlequin Super Romance author, Anna Sugden, loves reading and writing happy endings as much as hockey! When not reading or watching hockey, she loves football, good food & wine, making simple cross-stitch projects, and collecting memorabilia, penguins and fab shoes!
A former marketing executive and primary teacher, Anna lives in Cambridge, England, with her husband and two bossy black cats. Learn more about Anna, her heart-warming romances and her shoes at www.annasugden.com .
WHERE CAN YOU FIND ANNA???
Website: ww.annasugden.com
Facebook: ww.facebook.com/annasugden.romanceauthor
Twitter: ww.twitter.com/annasugden
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/annasugden
Romance Bandits blog: www.romancebandits.com
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Thanks so much for stopping by today Anna, and the best of luck with A Perfect Trade.
Cheers,
Nancy
Hi everyone and thanks so much for stopping by! Thanks too to my fabulous hostess! :) Hope you enjoyed the excerpt of Tru & Jenny's story!
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