Release Blitz, Excerpt & Giveaway:: Falling for Raine: Lane Hayes
The gentleman, the hot mess, and a little British adventure…
Raine
Moving to London is scary and daunting, but I desperately need this job–and a redo. Okay, so I may have oversold my qualifications. That shouldn’t be a big deal, though. I mean, being an assistant’s assistant seems easy enough, and I’m a fast learner.
Hold up!
I’m already in over my head with spreadsheets, new pronunciations, and temperamental appliances. And just as I’m mentally preparing to face going home early, the big boss offers me an opportunity I can’t refuse. And I definitely should because Graham Horsham is an infuriating, complicated grumpy bear with a razor-sharp tongue, a wickedly dry sense of humor, and…I like him far too much.
Graham
I’ve been bamboozled. I’m not quite sure how I ended up with an assistant who spills coffee daily, wears wrinkled shirts, and chatters nonstop. He can’t stay, but I don’t want him to go and that’s madness. The Horsham Group is closing one of our biggest deals ever and I won’t jeopardize it. This one is personal.
Yet so is Raine.
He’s a breath of fresh air—silly, impetuous, lighthearted, good-natured, and…quite lovely. I like him more than I want to admit. For some reason, I can let my guard down with him. It’s unnerving and probably unprofessional.
But not to worry…I will not, under any circumstances, fall for Raine.
Falling for Raine is an MM, age-gap romance featuring a British gentleman, a desperate but adorable American, and a UK adventure!
One quirky, klutzy, anxious, messy American.
One successful, controlled British CEO.
One unexpected hot night after a work event.
What happens in Vegas is supposed to stay in Vegas.
But these two are just about to find out that their lives will cross again.
Raine is ready to embark on his new English adventure even if he might have padded his resume a bit. It seems like a fun night in Vegas before he leaves is a good idea and he has a fantastic night. And then it’s off to England he goes.
Graham Horsham is an intimidating, rich, successful British financier who likes control, cleanliness, and no attachments. His life is busy so every once in a while he’ll go out for some quick relief. The last time he did this happened to be in Vegas.
And now his new employee from the United States looks really familiar. Graham is intimidating and scares most of his regular staff, but for some reason, Raine just treats him like a normal person. Graham guards his heart and is not looking for distractions from his big business deal or any kind of attachments. But he finds himself acting uncharacteristically around Raine. Even though they both know working together could get complicated and dynamics keep changing.
These guys are such opposites in every way, but somehow they just have this connection and chemistry. They don’t want to think about each other, but they get under each other's skin.
I loved seeing Graham try to be the stoic, intimidating, emotionally distant man, but then acting uncharacteristically and having trouble forgetting Raine who was only supposed to be a one-and-done hookup. I loved seeing peeks of the playful charmer under his more reserved, stoic, hard facade.
And Raine is like this storm and fresh air and sunshine all at once. He’s kind of happy chaos. But he’s great with people and witty, congenial, and charming. But he has also been hurt by having to be kept a secret in the past. And he does have his own strengths even if they’re just not exactly with the job that he originally applied for.
I loved seeing Graham try to be the stoic, intimidating, emotionally distant man, but then acting uncharacteristically and having trouble forgetting Raine who was only supposed to be a one-and-done hookup. I loved seeing peeks of the playful charmer under his more reserved, stoic, hard facade.
And Raine is like this storm and fresh air and sunshine all at once. He’s kind of happy chaos. But he’s great with people and witty, congenial, and charming. But he has also been hurt by having to be kept a secret in the past. And he does have his own strengths even if they’re just not exactly with the job that he originally applied for.
This is a witty and fun, age-gap, fish-out-of-water, opposites-attract, rich suit and broke history nerd, grumpy-sunshine romance that starts in Vegas and migrates to England. It's about letting down walls and letting people in, priorities, and finding someone that challenges you to be your best and truly live life.
What in the hell was going on? It was as though I’d entered an alternative universe. Everything looked the same, but it was different.
Of course it was Raine.
I studied him shaking hands with everyone in the shop as I shrugged on my jacket. He was…hypnotic, addicting—a cross between an inappropriate dinner party guest and a fistful of forbidden sweets when you were on a diet. He didn’t fit in this world I’d carefully constructed, yet I kept inviting him in and forgetting whatever reason I’d concocted for this to make sense.
Like now.
“Perhaps you’d like to try something on.” I stuffed my hands into my pockets so I wouldn’t be tempted to touch him.
He widened his eyes and sidled close, whispering under his breath, “Are you nuts? One shirt here costs half my rent. Unless…oh, no. Oh, no, no, no!”
“What?” I demanded, pulling him with me outside.
“Are you going daddy on me?”
“Excuse me?” I furrowed my brow, stopping under the eaves where rain sluiced off the roof and fell like a curtain around us on two sides.
“Slow your roll, G, I’m not looking for a meal ticket, and I’m not taking hand-outs. I can be talked into bedroom daddy kink, but if you want me to call you Daddy—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, you daft man. I do not want you to call me Daddy,” I growled just as a well-dressed man stepped onto the mat next to me, pausing for a moment to close his umbrella and dart a quick look between us.
Raine pursed his lips, then burst into laughter when the man entered the shop. “Ha! You should see your face. I was kidding.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I huffed, my lips twitching.
“I’ll be good, Daddy. Don’t spank me.”
“Don’t test me.” I pretended not to notice him fanning himself with a slack-jawed expression as I gestured toward the pub on the next block. “If we stay under the eaves, we’ll stay dry, but we’ll have to hurry.”
“No need. I bet they sell umbrellas in there.”
I squinted at the tourist shop at the corner on the opposite side of the street, its windows papered with Union Jack memorabilia. “That’s crap, Ray-n.”
“So what? It’s fun crap. My treat.”
He sprinted into the deluge, dashing into the tourist shop while I stared after him. What was he doing? Now he’d be wet and stuck with a tatty tourist umbrella that would undoubtedly flip inside out at the first gust of wind.
A crack of thunder spurred me into action. I borrowed a sturdy umbrella from Ives and Harris with the promise to return it as soon as possible, then walked down the street to find Raine.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d managed to make a friend in under five minutes. He stood in front of a wall stuffed with tartan throws, holding two compact umbrellas and chatting up a salesman. It took a bit of persuading to convince him he didn’t need the blanket—however, I couldn’t talk him out of purchasing two Union Jack umbrellas. I warned him that they were poorly made, but he didn’t care.
We squabbled all the way to the pub, argued over what to order, who was paying, and where to sit before finally settling into a table for two at the window. I frowned when he beamed a sunshine smile my way.
“Stop being so happy,” I teased, cradling my glass. “It’s miserable out there.”
“But it’s warm and yummy in here,” he countered, sliding his calf along mine under the table. “And you’re cute when you’re cranky.”
“I am neither cute nor cranky. I’m—okay, never mind, I am cranky. If we’d come straight here, we could have avoided the queue and had that corner booth.” I pointed at the booth currently inhabited by a gaggle of noisy businessmen. “Do you ever listen to reason?”
“Have you met me?”
Lane Hayes
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Lane Hayes loves a good romance! An avid reader from an early age, she has always been drawn to well-told love story with beautifully written characters. She loves wine, chocolate and travel (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband and her fabulous pup, George.
To celebrate the release of Falling For Raine, Lane is giving away the Winner's choice of an audiobook or ebook of your choice from her published works!
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