Spotlight & Giveaway: Can’t Help Falling in Love by Sophie Sullivan

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Sophie Sullivan’s new release: Can’t Help Falling in Love: A Novel

A struggling waitress and the heir to a major Seattle company stumble into a high-profile fake engagement while simultaneously trying to keep up with their own love lives in this flirty fall rom-com!

 
Lexi Danby is looking for some no-strings, fall fun. Once a college track star, she was forced to drop out when her father passed away. Now she’s trying to make ends meet while putting herself through school and caring for her grieving mother. When her comically bad waitressing lands her directly in the path of a handsome, charming stranger named Will, Lexi may just have found the distraction she’s been looking for. Their first date looks promising until a misunderstanding at a party thrusts Lexi and Will into a fake engagement they can’t talk themselves out of. And Will turns out to be a member of Seattle royalty.

Will Grand is heir to a major company, and Seattle’s most eligible bachelor. But he’s been placed in charge of an important merger with a company that values family above all else, and needs to show them that he’s settled down. While a fake engagement is advantageous from a business standpoint, it’s not so great for a budding relationship with a woman who’s wary of commitment. With a woman who Will is beginning to care about much more than he could have anticipated.

As Lexi gets a taste of Will’s glamorous world and the pair keeps up the pretense of their fake engagement for the press, they decide to see where a more casual relationship takes them out of the spotlight. And amid apple picking in comfy flannels, outdoor breweries in the crisp air, and fun Halloween preparations, Lexi starts to realize the scariest part of the season might just be taking a chance on love.

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from Can’t Help Falling in Love: A Novel 

From Can’t Help Falling in Love by Sophie Sullivan. Copyright © 2024 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.

Two

Lexi couldn’t fight the little bounce in her step as she dropped off Will’s soda—the right one this time. Without spilling it. She cleared her tables, put the umbrellas up, properly this time, and received a decent tip from the three ladies. Progress.
Brett’s lips moved but he didn’t quite smile. “Can you cover for Tiff on Monday morning?” he asked as he refilled the ice.
“I can’t,” she said, with real regret. There was a Monday-morning seniors group that preordered their meals and tipped great. She’d just have to carry food without dropping it. “I still have my full-time job. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll ask someone else,” Brett said, gesturing to the pass bar when the bell rang. “That’s your table two order.”
Because she didn’t want to walk away with him seeming disappointed, she took a tiny leap and shared an idea she’d been turning over. “I was thinking that if you wanted to capitalize on having the senior crowd on Mondays, you could run a couple of specials geared toward them, maybe even do a buy one meal get half off if you bring someone new on a Monday morning.” Regulars were great, but turnover and volume were better.
Brett’s lips pursed in a considering way. Two years younger than her, he had a degree and ran a staff of twenty so she wasn’t sure he’d take her suggestion.
The kitchen bell chimed again, reminding her of her order. Brett arched his brows, saying nothing about her idea and everything about what she should focus on without speaking at all.
She was thinking about missed opportunities as she brought Will his sandwich. The side of fries smelled delicious. She needed something to eat. Will set his book to the side as she approached. His soda was empty again. He could really put them away. Or maybe he wants you to keep coming back to his table.
Running a hand through his thick, dark hair, he gave her the kind of grin that stuck in a person’s head for longer than it should. The kind she’d probably see later when she closed her eyes.
His brows lifted. “This looks great. Thank you,” he said, putting a napkin across his lap.
“You’re welcome. The food here is really good. Something I appreciate since I’m not great at cooking. Breakfast foods are my sweet spot. Trust me, if I was cooking for you, you wouldn’t be saying thank you.” Her cheeks warmed immediately as she set the plate down. Why had she said that? Why would she be cooking for him?
Will didn’t seem bothered by it. He picked up a fry, lips quirking. “Not one of those people who think the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach?”
Lexi set a few extra napkins on his table, picked up his glass. “Sure. That could work. As long as it’s not my food they’re serving up.”
Will laughed again, the sound more enjoyable than the smell of fries. That was saying something since she was getting hungrier by the second.
“I’ll be right back.”
Two guys walked onto the patio, seated themselves at a table for six. Six people ordering food at once was a lot. Though they could just be table jerks—a specific type of customer that sat at much larger tables than they needed.
“Be right with you,” she told them. Hurrying to the bar, she ordered Will’s refill then grabbed her pad and pen off the tray. She shoved them in her apron pocket—basically the waitress version of a fanny pack. She envied the waitresses who, despite wearing the apron and having notepads and pens, didn’t need to write stuff down. Her memory had become as sedentary as the rest of her life.
Leaving the tray, she took Will’s soda to him, asked how everything was.
His gaze sparkled with amusement she didn’t understand.
“Delicious. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
She hurried away, her heartbeat racing at the thought of those guys being joined by four other people. You can do this. You’ve done it before. Step by step. Take their orders, deal with the rest as it comes.
“Hi, guys. I’m Lexi. How are you today?” She pulled her pad out of her pocket.
The darker-haired guy slid his sunglasses to the top of his head. “Better now,” he said, winking at her.
It took effort to keep her eye roll internal. She didn’t mind a little flirting, but cliché, cheesy lines weren’t her favorite.
“We’re good. How are you?” the red-haired guy asked.
“Can’t complain.” Not at the moment, anyway. With a wide smile, she gestured to the rest of the table. “Are you expecting others?”
The dark-haired guy shook his head. “Nope. Just us. We’ll have two of whatever is on tap and on sale.”
So, just table jerks. Relief whipped through her. Two-top table? She could handle that. Once she got them settled, she could even handle another. It was just the all-at-once that stressed her out, flustered her, made her feel like she was running in four directions at once with no view of the finish line.
“Sounds good. Be right back.”
They picked up the menu and started talking about a concert they’d seen. Lexi glanced at Will. He was already looking her way. Their gazes locked and he sent her a soft smile. Her shiver wasn’t from the breeze.
“You good?” She mouthed the words more than said them.
He nodded. Lexi was hyperfocused as she returned to the bar, ordered the drafts. More customers had shown up. The music could barely be heard over the chatter. Other waitresses served large tables of four or more. Not a competition. Brett saw her at the bar, handed one of the busboys a bin, saying something to him before coming to fill her order.
“The other sections are getting slammed. Next table needs to be yours,” Brett said, pouring the beer.
“No problem,” she said, pleased she sounded confident. “I’ve only got the two tables. I’m ready.”
He nodded, set the beer on her tray. “You’re getting better at this, Lexi. Don’t let yourself get flustered.”
“Thanks.” He really was a nice guy. He’d given her plenty of chances to get this right. Channeling the girl she’d once been, the one who’d tackled every obstacle like a hurdle in track, she straightened her shoulders. She had this.

From Can’t Help Falling in Love by Sophie Sullivan. Copyright © 2024 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.

Excerpt. ©Sophie Sullivan. Posted by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
 
 

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Meet the Author:

SOPHIE SULLIVAN (she/her) is a Canadian author as well as a cookie-eating, Diet Pepsi-drinking, Disney enthusiast who loves reading and writing romance in almost equal measure. She writes around her day job as a teacher and spends her spare time with her sweet family watching reruns of Friends. She has written Ten Rules for Faking it and How to Love Your Neighbor, and has had plenty of practice writing happily ever after as her alter ego, Jody Holford.

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