Spotlight & Giveaway: Risky Play by Rachel Van Dyken

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Rachel Van Dyken’s new release: Risky Play

Even one-night stands deserve a second chance in New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken’s novel of sporting desire.

What else can a virgin do when she’s ditched at the altar? Seattle heiress Mackenzie Dupont is treating herself to a single-girl honeymoon in Mexico and a desire to relinquish her innocence to a gorgeous one-night stand. Fake names. True pleasure. But when she wakes up alone, Mackenzie realizes just how much anger is left in her broken heart.
 
Suffering a tragic personal loss, pro soccer player Slade Rodriguez has his reasons for vanishing without a goodbye. Right or wrong, he’s blaming the beautiful and infuriating stranger he never wants to see again. They’re both in for a shock when Mackenzie shows up as his new personal assistant. And they both have a lot to learn about each other. Because they share more than they could possibly know, including a common enemy who’s playing his own games. And he’s not afraid to get dirty.
 
Now there’s only one way Mackenzie and Slade can win: to trust in each other and to stop hiding from the lies they’ve told, the secrets they’ve kept, the mistakes they’ve made, and the attraction that still burns between them.

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from Risky Play 

I just mauled a nice stranger with a kiss.

And gave him a fake name.

All within the span of five minutes.

This was not normal behavior.

But he’d been there.

And those eyes.

Paired with my absolute panic that we were about to die, I just … I reacted.

And it felt good.

So.

Good.

The last time I’d reacted to something without thinking, it had been with hives after eating too much peanut butter. Well, that and the vacation. Two instances.

I wasn’t reactive.

I was a planner.

Which was probably why my parents were so concerned about my impromptu trip. I was the girl that had a wedding book at age five and had picked out my colors and flowers at six.

“Where are you staying, Ashley?” Hugo asked.

Oh duh, me. He was talking to me. I was Ashley, not Mackenzie. “Um, the Secrets resort, something…” I frowned. All I could remember was that I’d booked the penthouse with a swim-out because Alton said he’d want his own private pool for us since we wouldn’t be leaving the room at all.

I blushed at the thought.

Funny, since the guy had never passed third base the entire time we were together.

Saving it for later, he said.

Making it special, he said.

He respected my father too much, he said.

Hugo handed me my bag. “Me too.”

“You too?” I said in a confused voice as we were shuffled out of the plane by security and enough police officers to make my head dizzy.

“Secrets,” he said slowly. “It was one of the first ones to pop up on my search engine. I booked it and didn’t look back.”

“Oh.” My head felt warm as I followed him off the plane and toward customs. He went into a different line, not that I was watching.

By the time my passport was stamped and I found my luggage, he was nowhere to be found.

I tried not to be disappointed.

After all, this vacation was about me.

Not the handsome stranger I’d kissed in first class when I thought I was about to die.

“You ready?” Hugo said from behind.

I jerked and then turned as he dangled the keys to what looked like a Ferrari—the rearing horse emblem was a dead giveaway—in front of my face.

I was used to money.

But my family didn’t spend it if it wasn’t necessary.

So renting an expensive foreign car?

Not necessary when you could invest!

Who was this guy?

“You’re not one of those people that kidnap Americans and then get a ransom, are you?” I asked stupidly.

He bit down on his lip. “Do I look like a kidnapper?”

“Well…” I narrowed my eyes and studied him. “No. Yes. I’m not sure.”

He leaned in until we were chest to chest. “Trust me.”

I sucked in a breath, he was so close, and the gold flecks in his eyes were so hypnotic I didn’t even blink. “Can I?”

He shrugged. “Who knows? You’re being spontaneous, you’re the one with all the regrets.”

“Not true—” I started to argue.

He silenced me with a brief kiss that left me shocked, aroused, and my heart pounding. “Then why the question? The one thing you ask before you plummet to your death is what you would do different, which makes me assume you would do a lot of things different, and you don’t look like the type of girl who gets into cars with strange men.”

“That’s because I listened about stranger danger in school.” I smirked.

He barked out a laugh. “I must have missed that lesson.” One side of his mouth lifted in a cocky half smile. “I skipped a lot of school…”

“Shocking.” I crossed my arms.

“Get in.”

“But—”

“Send a text to your mom, dad, best friend.”

I tried not to cringe at the words best friend.

“Let them know where you are and where you’re going just in case you really don’t trust me, then get in the damn car.”

He was already taking my bags when I texted my mom my location and turned on my GPS.

And then I was suddenly sitting with a complete stranger in a sexy electric-blue Ferrari that roared to life so hard and fast I almost felt sorry that we couldn’t just take it out for a few hours. Then again, he was a stranger. Would it be weird to ask for a joy ride? Something told me that’s how good girls get kidnapped or end up pregnant, sports cars and guys who look like that.

Hugo put on a pair of black Ray-Bans and grinned over at me. “You ready for vacation?”

“Ready.” I wasn’t ready. I so wasn’t ready. This wasn’t me. This behavior. But something was building in my chest, something exciting, something that felt both wrong and right at the same time.

He hit the accelerator.

Excerpt. ©Rachel Van Dyken. Posted by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
 
 

Giveaway: eBook Copy of Risky Play (Red Card #1) by Rachel Van Dyken – Gifted via Amazon

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Meet the Author:

Rachel Van Dyken is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and #1 New York Times bestselling author known for regency romances, contemporary romances, and her love of coffee and Swedish fish. Rachel’s also recently inked a deal for her Wingmen Inc. series—The Matchmaker’s Playbook and The Matchmaker’s Replacement—to be made into movies.

A fan of The Bachelor and the Seattle Seahawks (not necessarily in that order), Rachel lives in Idaho with her husband, a super cute toddler son who keeps her on her toes, and two boxers. Make sure you check out her site, www.RachelVanDykenauthor.com, and follow her on Twitter (@RachVD).

Social Media Links

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