Chick Magnet
Author: Emma Barry
Publisher: Montlake
Release Date: January 24, 2023
Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Snippet:
Nic didn’t want to get up, not now and maybe never again. She was exhausted. But it was probably a curious neighbor who’d seen the moving truck, and Nic needed to make a good first impression. She slid her aching feet back into her flip-flops, forced a smile onto her face, and dashed down the hallway.
The hello died, or more precisely evaporated, in her mouth when she opened the door. An enormous, wide-shouldered, sandy-blond-haired, broad-faced man—good looking in a pillaging-Viking sort of way—stood on her steps. He had been smiling, a polite, neighborly sort of smile, but as soon as he and Nic locked eyes, the corners of his mouth fell, and crisp parallel lines appeared across his forehead.
“Um, hey. What can I do for you?” Nic asked after an almost inappropriately long pause. He was just so good looking, and he appeared to be so annoyed, and she was so tired. Too tired for the puzzle this was going to be, for whatever apology she was going to have to offer. For what, she didn’t even know.
“Do you have chickens?” His tone wasn’t rude, but it was curt.
For a minute, it was all Nic could do to blink at him. Did she have chickens? But this wasn’t about Nic at all. The guy probably hated chickens, assuming they’d be smelly or loud and bring down his property values somehow. The kind of person who lobbied cities to keep the poultry laws strict and punitive.
She knew all about how to handle that type. She needed to be charming and to promise him some eggs, and he’d fade into the background.
“Yes, I do,” Nic said. “But they won’t bother you. In fact, I—”
“One of them is loose.”
About the Book:
Nicole Jones needs a fresh start. “Chick Nic” to millions of internet fans, the social media star and her flock of chickens bask in the spotlight—until she’s publicly dumped by a YouTuber for clout. She has no choice but to round up her birds and move on.
But when one of her hens has an emergency, Nic gets her first taste of her new stomping grounds—and it isn’t good. Veterinarian Will Lund is wildly attractive, yes, but he’s also surly. In fact, he comes right out and calls her a menace for parading her chickens on social media.
As neighbors, Nic and Will can’t exactly avoid each other. Then again, maybe they don’t want to. The two can’t deny their smoldering attraction, and it isn’t long before late-night confessions lead to backyard shenanigans.
Is this the start of a neighborly relationship—or could something more be hatching?