Darling Springs #2
Lauren Blakely
Goodreads
Goodreads
July 28, 2026
My secret workplace romance starts innocently enough…at a birthday party.
But when a rowdy partier knocks me into a lake and a sexy stranger comes to my rescue – my night becomes one to remember.
A night so steamy I almost forget why I’ve sworn off men after a failed office romance.
But I’m focusing on my shiny new future—my dog-training business is suddenly the hottest thing in town, thanks to a new actress client.
Trouble is, the brand new doggy daycare in Darling Springs that I’ve contracted with… is owned by none other than my sexy stranger. Thanks, fate.
Sawyer turns out to be a total grump in a tailored suit, no matter how sunshine-y I am. Even when he squeezes that hard body past me as I bring donuts to work. Or when he pretends he’s not roaming his dark eyes over me as I teach Fido to sit, stay and come.
But when I need a dance partner for the town fundraiser that my client’s roped me into, I sense an opportunity. And, it turns out Mr. Serious Boss is up for dance lessons.
Then the entire Dirty Dancing experience.
Giving into our chemistry once won’t hurt. Two might be pushing it. By the seventh, it’s undeniable--I’ve got a crush on him too.
Chloe Rivers is having a bad day. Sawyer Dumont is having an equally bad day. Two strangers meet at a ridiculous party and end up having one ridiculously hot night at a hotel.
Chloe is a bit of a hot mess. She just lost her job and needs a new one, her car is on its last wheels, and she is struggling to make ends meet. Her ex did a number on her life. She is friendly, easygoing, a bit of a risk-taker, and impulsive.
Sawyer is broody, confident, organized, alpha, and takes charge. He has been burned by love and is starting over, and trying to focus on business expansion.
Together, they make each other's night much brighter than their day.
But a funny thing happens on the opening day of the new doggie day care in town.
These two are so much fun together, even when they are not trying to be. They respond strongly, have amazing chemistry, get into their own heads but say what they are thinking, and challenge each other. But they also both have reasons not to act on their attraction or try for anything more. But they taunt, tease, and tempt each other and have a few slip-ups and miscommunication issues. They have common goals and their lives are intertwined by work and their pasts have left trust issues and fears, and they do not want to jeopardize the new businesses they are building.
But sometimes the heart and body want what they want, and the mind starts to lose the battle.
I loved these two! They were opposites but balanced each other. They are both stubborn and confident in what they want, but can also find compromise. They like to one-up each other. They tease and flirt even though they know they shouldn't. It is just so obvious how much they like each other, even when they try not to or upset the other. Their sexual tension and chemistry simmer, and they are combustible in the bedroom together. But they both have big trust issues and plenty of reasons they think a real WE would not be a good idea.
Chloe is sunny, sassy, feisty, impulsive, honest, and she is not afraid to take risks or ask for what she wants. She loves to tease and taunt him and gets under his skin.
Sawyer is Mr. Serious Businessman and Boss, but he knows what he wants. He is usually a rule-follower, professional, efficient, analytical, and stubborn. He pays attention and is a good listener. She crashes into his world, sending it spinning, making him say things he shouldn't, and challenging all of his rules. And they find themselves sharing secrets and gaining a better understanding of each other, and taking baby steps toward building trust.
This is a sweet, hot, witty, and fun, grumpy-sunshine, opposites-attract, small-town, mixing business with pleasure romance with shared secrets, surprises, teasing, temptation, amazing chemistry, and all the feels. They both have baggage, past pain, and trust issues that run deep. They have shared goals. And they try to have boundaries in place, but their rebel hearts do not want to be contained, and those pesky feelings keep getting involved. This one had me totally invested, smiling, swooning, fanning myself, and having so much fun!
But a funny thing happens on the opening day of the new doggie day care in town.
These two are so much fun together, even when they are not trying to be. They respond strongly, have amazing chemistry, get into their own heads but say what they are thinking, and challenge each other. But they also both have reasons not to act on their attraction or try for anything more. But they taunt, tease, and tempt each other and have a few slip-ups and miscommunication issues. They have common goals and their lives are intertwined by work and their pasts have left trust issues and fears, and they do not want to jeopardize the new businesses they are building.
But sometimes the heart and body want what they want, and the mind starts to lose the battle.
I loved these two! They were opposites but balanced each other. They are both stubborn and confident in what they want, but can also find compromise. They like to one-up each other. They tease and flirt even though they know they shouldn't. It is just so obvious how much they like each other, even when they try not to or upset the other. Their sexual tension and chemistry simmer, and they are combustible in the bedroom together. But they both have big trust issues and plenty of reasons they think a real WE would not be a good idea.
Chloe is sunny, sassy, feisty, impulsive, honest, and she is not afraid to take risks or ask for what she wants. She loves to tease and taunt him and gets under his skin.
Sawyer is Mr. Serious Businessman and Boss, but he knows what he wants. He is usually a rule-follower, professional, efficient, analytical, and stubborn. He pays attention and is a good listener. She crashes into his world, sending it spinning, making him say things he shouldn't, and challenging all of his rules. And they find themselves sharing secrets and gaining a better understanding of each other, and taking baby steps toward building trust.
This is a sweet, hot, witty, and fun, grumpy-sunshine, opposites-attract, small-town, mixing business with pleasure romance with shared secrets, surprises, teasing, temptation, amazing chemistry, and all the feels. They both have baggage, past pain, and trust issues that run deep. They have shared goals. And they try to have boundaries in place, but their rebel hearts do not want to be contained, and those pesky feelings keep getting involved. This one had me totally invested, smiling, swooning, fanning myself, and having so much fun!
This brings back the girl crew and some characters from It Seemed Like a Good Idea and some other LB world cameos. And there are dogs. Lots of cute dogs. And supportive family and friends wingman-ing and helping along the way.
Sawyer and Chloe meet at a birthday party full of big names and feisty pooches. He comes to her rescue when a particularly rambunctious guest knocks her in the water, and they spend a steamy night with promises of one night only. Both are in the mood to let loose, and embark on a competition about who had the worse day. Their one night passes and Chloe heads back to Darling Springs to pick herself up and put all her energy into building her business. Only, it turns out Sawyer owns the building she has just leased space in.
I loved the banter between these two and the spark that flies from their very first meeting. They are immediately comfortable with each other and though they are only in it for the one night, both find a comfort they weren't expecting. The each have reasons for not wanting things to continue beyond their first night, but their chemistry makes it difficult when they are working in such close proximity. The games they create to continue their interactions only add to the entertainment value of these two.
Darling Springs is an absolutely darling setting for this series. The doggy daycare/training aspect of this book is so on brand for Lauren Blakely that I’m surprised it has taken this long to get this combo of characters! I love the way the shops in town band together and love watching as the town navigates their booming fame.
This was a charming, sweet and spicy small town romance, and had me grinning from start to finish from so much fun!
SAWYER
“Just like I remembered.”
Her shoulders shudder, and she sounds buzzed as she asks, “Yeah? What did you remember?”
“How good you taste. Your cinnamon scent. The way you melt when I kiss your neck,” I murmur against her soft skin, kissing the column of her throat now.
“It’s my lotion. It’s from Kind. All my lotions are. And bodywashes. I love them,” she says, breathless, babbling as she mentions the brand too, like I needed to know that. It’s sexy, though, the fact that she’s not thinking clearly enough to edit her thoughts. She’s just rambling as I kiss her. And it feels like a peek behind the curtain into her feminine world.
“Drives me crazy,” I say as I travel back up her neck, finding her mouth once more and sealing my lips over hers.
She claws at my shirt as I kiss her. I thread my hands through her hair. The song ends. The car’s quiet for a beat, the only sounds the rustling of clothes, the slide of our mouths, the staccato breaths.
When the next Sam Cooke tune begins, I stop pretending I’m willing to let this night end in the car. I break the kiss, run my thumb across her top lip, then nod toward her home. “What’s it going to be?”
She nibbles on the corner of her bee-stung lips. That just-been-kissed look is real good on her. “What are you offering?”
“You want me to surprise you again, Chloe?” A tremble seems to rush through her. I can hardly wait another second. “Let me come inside, sweetheart.”
Darling Springs #1
Our 5 star reviews
Grumpy meets sunshine in this charming and hilarious forbidden small town romantic comedy from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely! Where there's only one bed in the room...
I really don't need a bodyguard―I run a small-town lavender farm, for bee's sake! But I'm getting one anyway since my identical twin sister just booked the movie role of a lifetime and it's being shot in my hometown. And guess who my new broody, tattooed protector is? None other than the guy I had a one-night stand with last month.
Correction: he's the guy with the wicked mouth and heated eyes who ran out on me before the bang without so much as goodbye. And of course he arrives in my tiny hometown where the film is shooting right in the nick of time to save me from the paparazzi at the market. The coffee shop. The dress shop too. I'm trying hard to stay mad after the third time the sexy jerk rescues me.
Correction: he's the guy with the wicked mouth and heated eyes who ran out on me before the bang without so much as goodbye. And of course he arrives in my tiny hometown where the film is shooting right in the nick of time to save me from the paparazzi at the market. The coffee shop. The dress shop too. I'm trying hard to stay mad after the third time the sexy jerk rescues me.
To top it all off, he's staying in the cottage at my farm. With me. And there's only one bed.
Maybe just one night would relieve all this tension? But one night turns into another, and then into sharing hearts and secrets that are best locked up. Especially since he's leaving and I'm staying, and there's no way we can be more than a summer romance that ends far too soon.
Small town, rom com, grumpy/sunshine, bodyguard, mistaken identity, forbidden romance, only one bed
Lauren Blakely
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A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s cute but spicy. Lauren likes dogs, cake, and show tunes and is the vegetarian at your dinner party.
A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s cute but spicy. Lauren likes dogs, cake, and show tunes and is the vegetarian at your dinner party.
