Title: More Than A Friend
Series: A Cottage Grove Novel
Author: Amber Nation
Genre: Romantic Comedy Stand Alone
Release Date: October 13, 2015
Bentley Jenkins has lived in his older brother, Baylor’s shadow since the day he was born. Never feeling like he could live up to the high standards that was expected of him, he set out to make his own name for himself. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a well-respected one.
Playboy, smooth talker, ladies man; these were just a few of the names that he was directly associated with. He took pride in the fact that he never had to seduce a woman to get her to fall at his feet. Normally, a look, a wink, and a flash of his sexy grin was all it took.
Any woman would jump at the chance to be with him, so much that he’s never heard the word, no.
Until her.
Until the woman who claimed to be infatuated with him for years.
Until the woman he now couldn’t seem to get out of his head no matter how hard he tried…
Placed him in the Friend Zone.
Miriam Armstrong changed his entire perspective on women and for the first time in his life, he found himself wanting to settle down, to be a one woman man. But first, he needed to prove to Miri that the chemistry between them was worth being pursued, and that he wanted to be…More Than a Friend.
Other titles in the Cottage Grove Series include:
More Than A Memory
More Than A Fling
The third and final installment in the Cottage Grove Series. More Than A Friend can be read as a complete standalone with a HEA.
Making my way into the kitchen I saw Eden leaning against the bar boring holes into her phone. “Baylor miss a check-in?” I teased her as I placed a brief kiss on her temple as a greeting. Something I began doing just to rile Baylor up. It was always amusing to see his eyes flare with jealousy.
That guy was fucking pussy whipped.
“No, I just got off the phone with Julia. She said that she wasn’t feeling well. I’m just worried about her, she has no one in Nashville since I moved away.”
Julia is Eden’s partner-in-crime and her right-hand woman. Jules had a snarkiness to her that I would’ve been completely balls deep in if it wasn’t for the fact that she was trying to cover up her blatant attraction to Baylor’s best friend, Dean. I may have been called a lot of things in my life and I wasn’t exactly high on Dean’s list, but I’m not, nor will I ever be a cock blocker.
“Eden, you know you’re worrying will all be in vain. You’re a newlywed, let loose a little. You worry way too much.” I perched onto one of the barstools across from Eden and leaned onto my forearms.
“I take it that I’m actually early for once since my punctual older brother isn’t here?” It wasn’t all too often that I didn’t get scolded for being the tiniest bit late.
“Bentley…You are far too hard on Baylor and not to mention yourself.”
This is what always happens when I’m around family. Maybe this was the way most families were, but I was a bit tired of the same old song and dance, constantly trying to stick up for myself. I leaned back in my seat, “No, Baylor is too hard on me. I’ve done well with the business for the past six months, he needs to cut me some slack and quit breathing down my neck.”
Eden released a long sigh, “He’s just stressed.”
“And again that all falls on me, right? Make a few mistakes in your life and you’re forever making up for it.” My voice was now to the point of rising. I noticed her grimace and then frown making me feel even guiltier. The weight was just continuing to stack on my shoulders.
Even the strongest of mountains crumbled when pushed too far.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t come here to argue.” It seemed it was always me left apologizing.
Same shit, different day.
“Moving on. You brought up the topic of being a newlywed…” My heart immediately sank in my chest. I didn’t need Eden on my ass about settling down too. I liked my sister-in-law, but there was only so much pressure I could withstand. I didn’t want to have to take her out.
Mob style. The messier, the better.
“Have you used your groomsman gift?”
I gave her a sideways glance as I rubbed the back of my neck and tried to suppress my chuckle. She completely caught me off-guard. In all honesty, I had forgotten about the present. I originally thought it was a stupid gift, but then an idea suddenly hit me…
I was back to leaning forward on the countertop, and I looked her dead in the eye, no sign of amusement in my voice, “Do they give happy endings at this place?”
“Bentley!” She gasped as she quickly retrieved a dishtowel and snapped it against the bare skin of my forearm. She really shouldn’t be appalled, this was me we were talking about.
“What?!” I rubbed my arm with the slightest bit of pressure trying to get the sting of the cloth material to subside. “It’s a legitimate question. I’m going for a massage, it’s for relaxation, sometimes they may help relieve tension in other areas. You know, go the extra mile in the name of great customer service.” I ended with waggling my eyebrows, which just earned me a childish eye roll.
Rude much…
“This isn’t a shady place, Bentley. Maybe for that particular service you’d need to find a whorehouse.”
“You kiss my brother with that mouth?” I couldn’t believe that I actually heard her correctly. Suggesting a whorehouse. As if I needed to go to that much trouble to find a woman.
Pfft.
She smirked, “I relieve your brother’s tension with this mouth,” and countered with a bright flash of her pearly whites.
I stood from my chair, a shell-shocked expression plastered on my face. Covering my hands over my ears, I yelled, “AH! Abort! I can’t unhear that shit! I’ll talk to you later.” I decided I would take my chances getting choked out by my preteen niece than deal with this shit.
Amber Nation is a stay-at-home mom and wife currently residing in Southern Indiana with her husband and two beautiful daughters. Amber writes Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, and Romance Comedy novels. She loves hoarding paperback books, shopping, concerts, road trips, and watching her daughters sport it up on the field or in the court. Her personal motto is to always believe in yourself and above all else, be you!
