Spotlight & Giveaway: Right Girl, Wrong Side by Ginny Baird

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Ginny Baird’s new release: Right Girl, Wrong Side

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Ginny Baird brings her signature charm to this multicultural story about two disputing families sharing a beach house and the messiness that comes from falling in love with someone who your family is determined to despise.

 
Busy flower shop manager Evita Machado can’t wait to get to Nantucket. With a bad breakup behind her, relaxing at the shore with her folks and her brothers and their families sounds like the sure cure for heartache, and their vacation destination looks like an amazing place! But when they arrive at the quaint rose-covered cottage, another group has already put down stakes: the Hatfields.

Ryan Hatfield was Evita’s former crush from high school, but their business rival moms refused to let them date. Now history professor Ryan is here for a week with his parents, who won them this oceanfront rental in a society silent auction. Once it’s clear there’s been a double-booking due to a bidding mistake, Ryan’s mom digs in her heels, meaning to stay. When Evita’s mom won’t back down either, both sides tepidly agree to share the luxury accommodations by dividing the cozy space.

With the boisterous Machados livening things up and the strait-laced Hatfields tamping them down, can Evita and Ryan keep the peace between the warring factions while fostering a growing chemistry between the two of them?

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from Right Girl, Wrong Side 

“Did you know it’s three thousand miles to Portugal from here?” he said, scanning the waves. The darkened sea seemed to stretch on forever, endlessly out into oblivion.
“Yeah. That’s very cool.” She noticed he’d scooted a little closer. Or maybe she’d moved nearer to him. When their shoulders made contact this time, it felt fitting and right. She leaned into him, and he did the same, the heat of their bodies mingling in the moonlight. Though they’d shared snatches of conversation here and there since their arrival, that had been in broad daylight or around the others. Somehow being out here all alone under the stars felt a lot more intimate.
“Almost makes you wonder if there’s someone over there staring out at the sea and looking this way.”
She blew out a breath. “I hope none of them are in the situation we’re in.”
“I know, right?” He rubbed his neck. “How crazy is this? Our two families winding up at the same beach cottage in Nantucket.”
“Maybe it’s fate,” she teased.
“Or Karma.”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “I’m talking about our moms. Maybe the universe has brought them back around. Landed them here together so they can finally settle things.”
Evita sighed. “I wish.”
“Yeah. I wish too.” He set his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, staring out over the ocean. “That’s a long time to hang onto feelings. Since high school.” She knew he was talking about their moms, but still her heart pounded. Because part of her had hung onto certain feelings too. Although she hadn’t known it until she’d seen him again.
“I’m not even sure what happened to make things so bad between them,” she said. “I know about the election, but not why they both wound up so angry about it.”
“Yeah, I know about that vaguely too,” he said, “but not really any of the specifics. Just that my mom had really wanted to win and that her dad had put extreme pressure on her about it. He was like that, my grandpa. Stiff upper lip and high expectations.”
“Oh no.”
“Yeah. I wouldn’t be surprised if…” His voice trailed off as he turned away.
“Ryan? What is it?”
“Not sure. It’s just a feeling I have. I think the way my mom is now might have something to do with that. The way she was raised by my grandparents. She was their only kid, so they pinned all their hopes on her. I’m guessing they didn’t cut her much slack.”
Which was why Evita supposed Ryan had decided he should. He was mature enough to guess she had her reasons for being who she was, and he allowed her grace for that. Evita’s heart swelled with admiration at his forgiveness and understanding.
“My mom’s no saint either,” she admitted honestly. “But she’s been a really good mom to me and my brothers in her own way.” Evita’s shoulders sank. “It’s so hard to believe our two moms are still at odds with each other after so much time.”
“Even though they shouldn’t be,” he told her. “They’re both doing so great with their jobs. And well.” He swallowed hard. “With pretty much lots of things.”
Evita pursed her lips. “I guess I didn’t understand the full level of tension between them until seeing them together here. Whatever happened in high school must have been bigger than we know.”
“At least our high school days weren’t full of drama. Huh?”
“Speak for yourself.” Her tone was coy, but she didn’t care. It felt good talking with Ryan again. Fun.
He perused her, and her pulse fluttered. “You weren’t a drama queen.”
“Not me, silly. Others.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Like say…” She rolled her eyes. “Layla Petroski.” She drew out the words.
“Case in point.”
“She was homecoming queen too.” Plus, amazingly beautiful and blond, although nobody was entirely sure if that was her natural hair color.
“Yeah. Hard to forget that.” He shook his head. “She loved that tiara of hers.”
“Whatever happened to her?” Evita asked, the tiniest bit curious. And. Okay. Megawatt jealous. Once Ryan had started dating Layla, there was obviously no chance for her. Not that it could have happened anyway. Her stomach tightened when she remembered how incredible Layla and Ryan had looked together. A golden couple of sorts in high school.
“She moved to LA. Got a bit part in something.”
“That’s impressive.”
“I suppose.” He shrugged. “We didn’t keep up after high school. We were on different paths.”
“You were both very similar though,” she joked. “Teachers’ pets.”
“The teachers liked you.”
She shrugged. “Maybe so, but not as much as Layla, because I mouthed off to them.”
He didn’t disagree. “Only when they deserved it.”
Evita sighed at the memories. “Oh gosh. We had so much fun together in chem class.”
“We had more fun out of it.” He got a playful gleam in his eyes.
She ducked her chin. “Yeah.”
“What were we thinking? Sneaking off campus for coffee? We could have gotten suspended. You know that?”
“Wasn’t that the fun of it?” she asked with a sassy edge.
“No. The fun of it was in not getting caught.”
“Ha ha! Our parents would have freaked.”
“No joke. I guess we were lucky.” Evita couldn’t help but feel lucky now, having the chance to see him again after so many years. The ocean roared, and a rough wind combed through her hair. Then the evening seemed to settle with gentle breezes rippling across the sea. It was nice out here with Ryan. Like old times.
His shoulder brushed hers. “Remember that time we skipped class to hang out at the football stadium?”
“We weren’t just hanging,” she contested. “We were cramming for our chemistry exam.”
“Yeah, but we missed drama class to do it.”
Evita smirked. “I told you my high school days were low drama.”
Ryan held up a hand. “Not true! You were in that one play.”
“I was a stagehand, Ryan.”
“Still counts.”
“It was a requirement of the class.”
He laid a hand on his heart. “But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.”
Evita shut her eyes, taken back. He’d been the very best Romeo. But Layla of course had been his Juliet.
Ryan caught up with Evita backstage. She’d been arranging props, which at the moment meant moving lots of stuff around, including fake daggers and empty vials of supposed poison.
He lightly touched her arm. “Hey, how are ya?”
“Um, me? Pretty good.” They spoke in hushed whispers while the action continued on stage.
“Dress rehearsal’s going well, don’t you think?”
“Mm-hmm. You and Layla are doing great.”
Ryan rubbed the side of his neck. “Evita? Is something wrong?”
But how could she tell him she was falling when Layla kept inching her way closer? “No. I’m good,” she lied. “How about you?”
He shifted on his feet, looking swarthy in his balloon britches, ruffled shirt, and cap. “Yeah. Me too.”
She pasted on a brave smile. “Keeping breaking a leg,” she said, unable to let him know he was also breaking her heart. And, when she watched him kiss Layla on stage from behind the curtain, her heart cleaved in two, because what was supposed to be a fake kiss looked so real.
Ryan gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, his touch silky smooth. Surf crashed against the shore, and waves combed the darkened beach. “Where were you just now?”
Her voice trembled. “Thinking.” She was aware of him sitting beside her. So close.
“About ‘Romeo and Juliet’?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh.” He stared back at the ocean. “Some play.”
“You and Layla were a hit.”
“It wasn’t Layla that I cared about.” Her face heated when turned to her. “I liked you a lot back then, you know.” His husky confession stunned her. “I mean, a lot, a lot.” Wait. Was he saying what she thought he was? He couldn’t mean that he’d actually crushed on her too?
She caught her breath, hoping the answer was yes. “But you and Layla dated?”
He smiled softly. “Yeah but Layla came after.”
“After what?”
He looked at her so intensely it was like gazing into the sun, and oh how she welcomed that warmth. He cupped her cheek with his hand, and her skin tingled at his touch. “After I realized I didn’t stand chance with you.” The words landed like weighty raindrops, nourishing her parched soul. All that time spent waiting—hoping.
“Evita.” He searched her eyes. “You had to have known.”
“I didn’t know,” she whispered. “Honestly.”
Ryan leaned closer, his spicy scent washing over her. “And if you had?”

Excerpt. ©Ginny Baird. Posted by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
 
 

Giveaway: 1 Print copy of Right Girl, Wrong Side. US only

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Meet the Author:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Ginny Baird writes wholesome contemporary stories with a dash of humor and a lot of heart. She’s fond of including family dynamics in her work and creating lovable and memorable characters in worlds where romance is a given and happily-ever-afters are guaranteed. She lives in North Carolina with her family.

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