Spotlight & Giveaway: Home With You by Liza Kendall

Posted March 27th, 2020 by in Blog, Spotlight / 38 comments

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Liza Kendall’s new release: Home With You

 

Spotlight&Giveaway

 

Anything is possible in Silverlake, Texas when love takes the reins…

 
Rhett Braddock swore to himself that he’d never return to Silverlake. But when the opportunity arises to buy a piece of his lost, happier youth, he’s drawn to the community–and the family–he once loved.
 
Mending fences might not be as hard as he thought–until he ends up in bed with his best friend’s sister.
 
Julie Riggs is over Rhett Braddock. So what if he’s a dreamboat Dallas millionaire? His less than flattering dash the morning after their hot, steamy night together made it clear he wants nothing to do with her. Besides, she has her horses and the Riggs stables to save.
 
But when Rhett buys the Riggs property as a favor to her brother, the temptation is more than Julie can resist.

 

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from Home With You 

She just didn’t want to be around Rhett. He knocked her off-kilter. He always had, and he always would. It was so much easier to be angry at Rhett than to be attracted to him. Desire for him led nowhere good. Nowhere good at all.
“You’re getting sunburnt,” he told her, and dropped his cowboy hat over her head.
She was absurdly touched. Touched in the head, probably.
Half an hour later, Rhett’s black T-shirt was soaked through. He switched off the sander, set it down, and grabbed the hem of the shirt with both hands, tugging it upward.
“What—what are you doing?” she asked, alarmed.
“What does it look like?” Off came the shirt, whipping over his head and sailing down to the grass next to them. “This is sweaty work.”
It was one thing to watch him shirtless at a distance, but this was up close and too personal. Jules swallowed and looked everywhere, anywhere, but at Rhett Braddock’s bare chest. His bare arms, bronzed by the sun and cut with muscle. She resumed applying the primer to a pole.
“Jules?”
“Hmm?”
“You’ve already painted that one.” His voice rumbled with amusement.
“What? Oh. Well, it needed another coat,” she said, flustered.
“Is there some reason you’re keeping your head down and refusing to look at me?”
“Yes. You’re … half-naked.”
“And that’s a problem for you?”
“No—why would it be a problem?” Somewhat desperately, she met his gaze. And then … then, go figure, but her own gaze slipped south. To his chiseled lips, the stubble on his stubborn chin, and lower still to his pecs and—dear Lord, that was more of a twelve-pack than a six-pack at the abs—and—no! Stop at the belt buckle and move up again, Jules. Eyes up. Back his, which are crinkling at the edges in a most annoying and oh-so-sexy way …
She had to speak—say something—do something—anything. Anything to break this unbearable tension between them. Tension that could be chased away only by—
“What changed you so much?” Jules blurted.
The crinkles around Rhett’s eyes disappeared. “Huh?”
“It’s you. This is the you I grew up with. Followed around, like a puppy. Who is that other guy? The one in a suit? Where’d he come from?”
Rhett shrugged and set down the sander. “He … evolved.”
“From?”
He leaned back against the wall of the barn and folded his arms over those magnificent chest muscles, glowing with sweat. “Imagine what happens, Jules, when a kid from rural Texas trudges, in his western boots and his Wranglers and his pearl-snap-buttoned shirt and his belt buckle the size of a dinner plate, into a fancy East Coast prep school.”
“I don’t know.”
“D’you think those kids welcome him with open arms? Ask him for a good barbecue recipe?”
His face had gone completely blank.
“I’m guessing not.”
“Not. Exactly. Those kids are more likely to open with a snicker, scale up to outright mocking, and finish with shoving that kid’s face into a urinal. And that’s just for starters, darlin’. That’s just the first day or two.”
“Oh, Rhett. I’m sorry …”
“Then they find out he goes by ‘Rhett.’ And it gets nothin’ but worse. Maybe they dog-pile on him and pound on him until he agrees to holler, “Scarlett, save me!” just to get them off him. Just to breathe. And then that goes round the whole school, and there’s more snickering and more dog-piling.”
Horrified, all she could do was stare at him.
“And he gets real, real sick of all of this, so he learns to fight back. And fight hard. And sometimes dirty.” Rhett’s eyes had gone hard and cold. “Now they treat me differently. Suck up to me, the billionaire, for donations and blather on about school spirit. Ain’t that grand?”

Excerpt. ©Liza Kendall. Posted by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.

 

Giveaway: One copy of HOME WITH YOU. (Please note we are unable to ship out any giveaway copies at this time due to PRH working remotely and the warehouses having to adjust their mailings due to the effects of COVID-19. We will send out this giveaway copy when we’re back in the office.

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and post a comment to this Q: What did you think of the excerpt spotlighted here? Leave a comment with your thoughts on the book…

 
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Meet the Author:

Liza Kendall is the combined pen name of two award-winning, bestselling authors who’ve known each other forever and decided they could work together without someone ending up dead.
 
 
 

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38 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Home With You by Liza Kendall”

  1. erahime

    First of, love the cover (the dog!!!! ). Second, definitely there is chemistry between the hero and the heroine.

    Thanks for the excerpt, HJ!

  4. Diana Hardt

    I love the cover. I liked the synopsis and excerpt. It sounds like a wonderful book. Thank you for sharing.

  6. hartfiction

    Great excerpt. It allows me to see into the hearts of both Julie and Rhett. Julie’s attraction to Rhett is fairly witty, and Rhett shows a piece of his injured soul.

  8. Karina Angeles

    Wow! Can’t wait to read how Julie tries to comfort Rhett after his confession about his bullies.

  16. Kathleen Bylsma

    Wow! That excerpt really sets up why people change in various ways….thanks

  17. hendeis

    What an insight into Rhett’s character! Really let’s her know where he’s coming from….

  21. Kay Garrett

    Liza Kendall is a new to me author so I thank you for introducing me to her. “Home with You” sounds wonderful. I really enjoyed the excerpt and have now added this book and author to my Goodreads want to read list.

  24. Patricia B.

    Rhett is someone who has had to defend himself and fight hard for everything he has earned. I think he really needed to get out of the rat race and bad memories, and get back to his roots with the good memories. I am interested in finding out how his friend’s property got into trouble and how he figured Rhett would be interested in it.

  31. laurieg72

    It sounds like they have a second chance to get their relationship on track. It also sounds like they can both help each other out at her family’s stables. Her brother must recognize the chemistry between them. I’m looking forward to seeing how they work together on the stables and on their relationship.

  36. Ellen C.

    Sounds like they both have some unresolved issues to deal with. Good excerpt.