Spotlight & Giveaway: The Wedding Deal by Cindi Madsen

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Cindi Madsen to HJ!

Hi Cindi and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Wedding Deal!

 
Hey, awesome readers! Big thanks to HJ for having me!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

The Wedding Deal’s about a former quarterback who inherits the most-losing team in the NFL & a HR manager who’s all about the rules & has to deal with the mess when he impulsively fires everyone. Plus he’s got his brother’s wedding in the mix and so they make a deal she’ll go with him so they can rebuild the coaching staff & ward off his mom’s attempts to set him up at the same time. Win-win! Until you know, all that sexual tension gets the best of them.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

Charlotte braced a hand on the dash. “Listen up, Edward Cullen. I’m sure you think highly of your reflexes, but I’d like my skin and bones to stay where they are, so if you’re gonna keep taking calls and speeding, I’m gonna have to insist on driving.”
“What did you call me?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know who Edward Cullen is.”
“Does he play football? For which team?”
She burst out laughing. “Technically he plays baseball. In thunderstorms.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• It’s enemies to lovers.
• Lance’s nephews are named after two of my BFF’s sons.
• Since the team is in Texas, there are mentions of all the Texas shaped foods.
• I’m a Broncos fan, so I named the team the Mustangs.
• I edited this book right around the Super Bowl & since I researched a ton about the draft (since I’m a football fan, but didn’t know as much about the draft) & it made watching the Super Bowl even more fun.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Lance is attracted to Charlotte because after hearing a lot of BS, Charlotte’s unafraid to tell him exactly how she feels. Even though how exactly how she feels is mad at him. LOL

Charlotte thinks the ex quarterback doesn’t deserve the team he inherited at first, and that he’s a bit heartless, but then she sees how much he cares & sees him with his family & realizes he has a heart of gold.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

This scene made me laugh with nerdy glee. I just like the juxtaposition of a super cool football dude talking Lord of the Rings. It also leads to further conversations where he calls her his Sam <3

This part wasn’t pushing. Just awkward. But the article had mentioned his bachelor status, and a few blogs were speculating about who he’d date—they also suggested women they’d like to see him with, a combination of beautiful actresses, models, and athletes. Good thing she wasn’t competing with them. “So, uh, now that there’s interest in who you’re dating—”
“There’s been plenty of interest in that before.”
She wound a strand of hair around her finger, suddenly understanding his need to do something to occupy his hands. She took a beat before charging on with it. “I know, but it won’t be like before, when there was a whole team of you.”
“A whole team of me?” He shook his head. “You lost me again.”
“Football players,” she said, not doing a very good job at hiding her exasperation. “I mean you were part of a team with a lot of players. Now you’re the head of a team, and you’re the only player in that arena. Does that make sense?”
“About as much sense as usual when it comes to this kind of thing.” He looked like he was trying not to laugh.
She was going to straightforwardly smack him upside the head. Deep breath in, slowly let it out. “Section four outlines the way everyone on the team is expected to conduct themselves in the public eye, and I’ve had to reprimand people for things like Facebook or Instagram posts and tweets before. Along with certain…videos. You need to be careful.”
“Videos?” He tilted his head. “I can’t have videos of me online? Pretty sure there are a lot of sports highlights on YouTube, and I can’t do much about that.”
Heat crawled up her neck and settled in her cheeks. “I’m talking viral videos. For not playing sports.” Although they also involve a lot of sweating and grunting and completions.
Lance blinked at her, confusion twisting his features.
“The sex ones, okay?” Yep, her cheeks were on fire now, in serious danger of bursting into flames.
A slow, self-satisfied smile spread across his face. “Full disclosure, I knew what you meant.”
“Grr.” She grabbed one of the couch pillows and tossed it at his head. Of course the jerk caught it. “What I’m saying is that while you’ve experienced a certain amount of scrutiny before, it’s going to be different, no matter how cocky you are, or how well you think you can handle whatever comes your way.” He’d struggled when the press discussed his personal life as a player, and this would be that on crack. “It’ll be a lot more intense from here on out. The spotlight is going to be turned way up. Think eye of Sauron.”
“Lord of the Rings?” he asked, and a triumphant grin split his face when she nodded. “Hey, I actually got one of your references.”
She bit back a smile, a swirl of triumph going through her, too. “Right. And you have the ring. Just you, no fellowship, no Sam.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah.”

Readers should read this book….

Because it’s fun and swoony and I hope it will make you laugh. It’s for fans of romance or football and is about a total underdog team. Who doesn’t love an underdog?

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m finalizing things for Just One of the Groomsmen, my summer release about a tomboy in a group of guys who’s a groomsmen who starts falling for one of the other groomsmen.

I also have a cowboy romance coming out later this year that combines adult and teen romance in one book.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: An advance copy of Just One of the Groomsmen. US only for print. I’ll send digital copy internationally.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Do you have a favorite sports team? And why?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Excerpt from The Wedding Deal:

Lance skimmed to the end of the final résumé and finished reading the last of Charlotte’s notes. Her stats, her comments—they were all spot-on. Just as he was wondering about something, she had a note about it, as if she were in his brain, already aware of exactly what he wanted.

Her silky hair brushed his jaw as he glanced down at her, so calm now that she’d drifted to sleep. It often felt like she was holding back, only occasionally letting her walls slip. Usually that was when she fled.
This evening she’d been too exhausted, and while he felt bad about that and knew it was partly on him, he couldn’t help taking a second to enjoy the moment.

Affection stitched its way through his chest, a thread tethering him to her, and he wanted to place a kiss on her forehead. Unfortunately, that’d be against the rules, and not something he’d do unless she was awake enough to consent to it. For now, he’d simply enjoy her soft breaths and the scent of her shampoo or perfume or whatever she used that made her smell so damn good.

Gradually his eyelids began to droop as well, his mind and body hitting the wall. Today had been a blur of calls and so, so many photos. Then the mess with the crybaby coach. If only another team would snatch him up and help pay off the rest of a contract he never deserved. Unfortunately, the crap timing meant most coaches had been swapped or secured about three months ago. Lance relaxed into the comfort of the couch, wrapping his arm around Charlotte’s shoulders and tucking her closer without thinking. Her hand slipped down, falling high on his thigh, and desire coursed through his veins, bringing the reality of the situation to the surface.

He forced himself to jerk awake and lift his arm from her shoulders to the back of the couch. If they slept here they’d both be sore, and she’d be sore at him, too.

“Charlotte.” He gently squeezed her knee. “Let’s get you to your room.”
Her eyes fluttered open, and she gave him a smile that he felt deep in his gut. Then dawning crossed her features, her eyes going wide. She moved to sit up, but her hand drifted higher on his thigh and then pressed right into his crotch.

He grunted, automatically curling in on himself.

“Oh shit,” she said, and he’d point out she was the one swearing now if she didn’t look so distraught.

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not! My hand just violated section three of the handbook!”

“Accidental brushes happen.”

Her cheeks flushed deeper as she shook her head. “It was embarrassing enough to fall asleep on you. Now I’m grabbing your crotch.”

He doubted replying that he was okay with her grabbing his crotch would make her feel any better. He’d rather she be gentler next time, but— Yeah, don’t go there.

“We should fill out a form.” She stood and glanced around, as if she expected one to appear out of thin air. “I’ll print one out tomorrow and we can get it on the record, and…yeah.”

Like he wanted that on the record.

Charlotte snatched her purse off the floor and straightened. “Okay, so goodbye.”

“Wait,” he said, pushing to his feet. “It’s late. As soon as I get my sixty seconds recovery from the crotch shot, I’ll walk you to your room.” He’d hoped it’d lighten the situation; instead he got a scowl. A really cute one that made him want to cup her face and kiss it off her.

“You don’t need to walk me there. You wouldn’t walk me back if I was a dude, or one of your other employees, would you?”

“Sure I would.”

Skepticism pinched her features.

“I’m serious! Those three hundred-pound defensemen are big babies—they’re scared of everything.”

Her head tilted another half inch, but her mouth trembled against a smile. He gestured her ahead of him, snagging his hotel key off the coffee table as he walked past. He held the door open for her, and as they walked down the hall, he placed a palm against her lower back.

“Before you call me on it, this is how I walked the guys home, too.”

“Shows what you know.” A smile that managed to be both haughty and flirty flitted across her lips. “I was going to let it slide.”

In that case… He splayed his hand and walked a little closer.

She slowed in front of her door and turned to face him, and his heart thundered in his chest. This woman had gotten under his skin, ridiculously fast at that.

He figured they’d already skipped a few bases, what with the hand on her butt to boost her over the balcony the other night and her accidental crotch grab moments ago. Even though he was a football guy, he hated to skip bases.

He braced his palm on the door by her head, and her throat worked a swallow, turning him on and pushing him to go ahead and voice his thoughts. “I have to confess something.”

“To your HR rep?”

“No, just to you, James.”

He leaned closer, his gaze locked on her tempting lips.

“I really want to kiss you right now.” He felt every inch between them. The only thing keeping him from giving in to the urge to flatten his body to hers was the knowledge that moving too fast would scare her off and screw everything up. “To be honest, I’ve been thinking about it since you made your first touchdown and jumped into my arms. Now I’m looking at you, and all I can think about is how much I want to kiss you.”

She licked her lips, and he suppressed a groan. His body reacted, and it was a good thing the hallway was empty, because they were about to put on quite a show. Her hand came up on his chest, her fingers curving as if she was going to grip his shirt.

He could see the battle going on in that amazing brain of hers, whether or not she should fight the pull.
Don’t fight it, he wanted to say but realized that wouldn’t make her feel less conflicted about the situation, so he searched for the right words to reassure her. “I want you to know that whatever you say or do next has no bearing on your employment. I’d never do that, and you’re way too valuable to the team for me to ever let you go. But if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll sign any paperwork you want.”

“I appreciate that. It’s not that I’m not tempted, or that I don’t feel a certain pull…” A couple of blinks and a different expression descended upon her features, her hand flattening and holding him at bay instead of grabbing and pulling him closer. He froze in place, waiting for her to make the move, silently urging her to even though he’d felt the shift. “But it’s still a bad idea. There’s no way it won’t upset the power balance, and it’d look bad to the rest of the employees and to all the people out there watching you so closely. And with you coming in and firing so much of the staff and the wrongful termination lawsuit hanging in the balance, we don’t need any more bad PR. In fact, you should be playing
up the eligible bachelor thing for extra publicity.”

“I don’t give a damn about PR,” he said. “Once we rebuild the team and they start winning, the rest won’t
matter, either.”

“But that’ll take time and money, and that means we need some good PR anyway.”

He grunted, and she sucked in a breath, her chest rising and falling. Not fear. No, that was desire. But it didn’t change the fact that she had to say the word. He nodded and slowly dropped his hand, even though everything in him balked at the idea of stepping away from this. “Think about it. And I guess since I’m the one in the so-called power position— although I’d argue that you’ve been in charge since the moment you stormed into my office—you’ll have to initiate any kissing.”

“Sure, if you want it to be awkward,” she murmured.

He lowered his voice, his gaze returning to the lips he so badly wanted to taste. “I don’t care. I just want it. Whenever you’re ready, know I’m all for it. Forms, blood samples— whatever you decide is needed—I’m game.”

She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, and he groaned again. He took the key from her hand and opened the door for her, a gentleman with very ungentlemanly thoughts.

For a few torturous yet amazing seconds, she stared at him, the chemistry snapping and sparking between them.

She reached out and squeezed his hand, a silent thank- you and good night. Or maybe an apology that she couldn’t cross lines.

Then she slipped inside, and all he could do was retreat to his room and hope that sometime before they returned to San Antonio, where his life would only get crazier and more hectic, she’d take him up on his offer.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Former quarterback Lance Quaid just inherited the most losing team in the NFL. He’s got only a few weeks until draft day to turn things around, and after firing more than half his staff, he can’t do it alone. Thankfully, his HR manager is more than capable, if only she’d stop focusing on “due diligence” and stop looking so sexy while she’s yelling at him.

Charlotte James has made a life out of following the rules. But nothing could have prepared her for Lance Quaid—he’s a human resources nightmare. The man is brash, has no filter, and, as her new boss, is constantly relying on her to cover his ass. Which is admittedly quite nice.

When Lance begs her to join him on a trip down the coast for his brother’s wedding so they can finalize details—on a strictly business basis—she agrees…after they fill out the necessary forms, of course. Away from the office, though, sparks start flying as the team starts coming together. But both of them know anything more than the weekend would be a colossally bad idea—after all, the extra paperwork would be a nightmare.
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Meet the Author:

Cindi Madsen is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and young adult novels. She sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting, revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a pretty new pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music and dancing and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband, three children, & an adorable one-eyed kitty named Agent Fury.

You can visit Cindi at: www.cindimadsen.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter to get all the up-to-date information on her books.
Follow her on Twitter @cindimadsen.
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