Romancing the Hop: Summer Lovin'

Welcome to Romancing the Hop, a blog hop celebrating romance in all its forms.

One of my favorites is the summer romance. There's something about the heat and the sun--and the poignancy of a built-in expiration date--that makes for a fun and flirty experience everyone should have at least once in their life.

In my novella, Summer Lovin', Mia is doing her best to resist her attraction to Luke, a hunky chef who lives next door to where she is dogsitting Hellboy, a mischievous Bichon. Luke is very interested in having a summer romance with Mia, but she doesn't do flings. She just has to keep reminding herself of that. . .

If Hellboy hadn't had such a short attention span the previous night, Mia might have given in to the urge to have her very first fling.

She adjusted the lawn chair so it was in a reclining position, and then grabbed the tube of sunscreen. She couldn't take a chance on falling asleep and getting burned today. And after tossing and turning all night, spending way too much time reliving the kiss, she could barely keep her eyes open now.

Talk about a kiss. It made her want to—

She squeezed the tube of sunscreen so hard it came out in a huge splat. "Ack! That's enough to cover everyone in the whole neighborhood."

She dabbed her fingers in the lotion and spread it on her arms, rubbing it up onto her shoulders. She couldn't stop thinking of Luke, which led to less-than-innocent thoughts of what could happen next.  

She couldn't let anything else happen though. It wasn't practical. Still, she liked that Luke had seemed disappointed when they'd been interrupted. She liked even more that he'd been a gentleman about it, and didn't try to press her further. He'd even been indulgent with Hellboy the Interrupter, which had made Luke's sexiness really soar off the charts.

A little "ruff!" stopped Mia's wild thoughts. Hellboy loped over to her chair, barking up a storm, his tail wagging non-stop.

"Speak of the devil."

As aggravating as he was, he was still too cute for words. Mia leaned over to pick him up, but just before her hands reached him, he spun around and sprinted toward the gate.

"Fine," she said, ignoring him, going back to rubbing sunscreen on her legs. "You're trapped here with me though."

"That doesn't sound so bad," a sexy voice said.

"Oh! Luke." She sat up. "I was talking to the dog." She laughed. "Which sounds pathetic, I'm sure. Especially since he doesn't listen to anything I’m saying."

He stood there, with his hands on his hips, and Mia had to shield her eyes to keep the sun from obscuring all of his manly yumminess. Why had she never realized how sexy a white T-shirt could be? Maybe it was because she'd never seen one emphasize a man's muscles quite like his did. Her face heated, but thankfully she could blame it on the sun beating down on her skin.

She wouldn't mind seeing those muscles without the shirt again. She had been too distracted when she'd first seen his bare chest, and it had been such an effort trying to pretend she wasn't ogling him. And the blue jeans he wore today. . .well, the Smithsonian should ask to have them in their permanent collection. They were just that perfect. Only the perfection was really in what they covered.

Luke cleared his throat.

Dear God. Mia sneaked a peek at his face, but his lips were tilted up in amusement.

"Why don't you sit down?" she offered. It would be easier to keep her eyes, and hopefully her libido, under control.

"Actually, I can't stay," he said. Somehow she kept from whimpering. "I just came over to see if you wanted to have dinner tonight."

She opened her mouth, pretty sure she should decline, but then he added, "You said how you don't like to cook, and well, I don't mind."

"I couldn't have you do that," she said, but her protest was half-hearted at best.

"It would be my pleasure."

His voice was promising something in addition to dinner, and the expression in his eyes confirmed it. Mia nearly had heat stroke, and the sun was blameless. Her brain insisted this could not be a good idea, not in the long run, but another part of her vetoed all of the rational arguments, focusing instead on pleasure.

"How could I possibly say no to that?" 

There are lots of great giveaways as part of this blog hop. When you visit each blog, make sure that you comment with your email address. This enters you into the drawing for these grand prizes:

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $130 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack

The other blogs can be found here: http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/ 

Anybody else have a summer romance story? Fiction or non-fiction -- feel free to share! I will be giving away a $10 gift card  (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Kobo) to one lucky commenter. If you are interested in following me on Facebook or Goodreads, it will give you additional chances towards the gift card. 

Enjoy the blog hop, as well as the last few days of summer!

Comments

[Dovile]

I have no real summer romance story, but I liked the romance in And One Last Thing... by Molly Harper.

spamscape [at] gmail [dot] com

[laurie g]

i would also recommend And One Last Thing... by Molly Harper too. it's a great read!

[email protected]

[Donna Cummings]

Thanks, Dovile and Laurie G, for the recommendation. I'll add it to my TBR pile!

[gaele]

I have been reading so many different books this summer I haven't been able to pick a 'one'.. I follow you on goodreads ..

[email protected]

[Molly Frenzel]

Breathe by Abbi Glines is a great summer romance.
molly dot frenzel at gmail dot com

[Donna Cummings]

Gaele, I know what you mean about not being able to pick a favorite! Thanks for the GR follow. :)

Molly, I haven't read Breathe yet, but definitely want to. I read The Vincent Boys and it took my breath away. :)

[Kelsey S.]

I follow on Goodreads and FB. I've read so many books this summer that I can't pick a favorite. I keep wanting to sit down and review them, but I have so many I still want to read that I don't have time.

kesummer69 at gmail dot com

[Marcia Tealer]

Chasing bliss by Sophie oak [email protected]

[Megan G.]

Breathe by Abbi Glines. A cute rock star meets girl on summer vacation story. I really liked it.

Megan G.

[JeanMP]

Oh Summer Lovin sounds like a great story, adding it my to buy list.

skpetal at hotmail dot com

[Trix]

I've read some great romances this summer (DIVERSION by Eden Winters, DECEPTIVE ATTRACTION by Tara Lain), but nothing with a summer theme yet.

vitajex(at)aol(Dot)com

[Shannon]

Sounds like a really fun novel, I'll have to add it to my list. No special romance for me but I did like reading Sophie Kinsella's new book.

fencingromein at hotmail dot com

[KittyB78]

The Princess Bride, or Romancing The Stone.
Sounds like a great novel!
[email protected]

[Barbara Brant]

Sounds like a great read! Thanks for the chance to win. I've had my nose in so many books this summer, I can't pick just one! LOL!

Barbara
[email protected]

[Lona Stringer]

I have read a couple good summer romances like Wicked Nights, but none of my own romance. Thx for giveaway.

blinkysthebest at aol dot com

[Deborah Dumm]

The Last Promise
[email protected]

[Diana Leigh]

No summer romance stories of my own. :( Thank you for the giveaway!

Diana
bookofsecrets(at)yahoo(dot)com

[Renee B]

What a great hop! Grand prizes, old friends to visit and new ones to meet… and chances to win at each stop too. I’m in Blog heaven!

Haven't read any romances with a summer theme, but I just finished "Like a Dog With A Bone" by Shelly Laurenston in the "Howl for It" anthology and it was a fun romantic story.
Thanks for being part of the hop and for the chance to win.
reneebennett35(at)yahoo(dot)com

[Lisa Walker]

The romance books I've read this summer are some of the In Death series by J.D. Robb. Not typical romance, but they are great!
[email protected]

[Jesse Kimmel-Freeman]

Hmm, not off the top of my head that is specific to summer. I just read Sophia Knightly's Sold on You. LOVED IT! :0)

Thanks for the giveaway!
Jesse
[email protected]

[DeeDee Griffin]

I love the Sea Breeze series by Abbi Glines! Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
deedee [at] grifmail [dot] com

[Tin]

The first thing that came to mind was the song from Grease, Summer Nights. ^_^

Favorite summer-ish romance story is Tessa Dare's ongoing Spindle Cove series.

I love that the women who visit Spindle Cove have the freedom to express themselves and explore all the things that interest them. (And they are finding love with men who appreciate their uniqueness. ^_^)

Thanks for the great giveaway!

- khriscc (at) yahoo (dot) com

[Kaylyn D]

I haven't really read any summer romances... I know I need to lol. Thanks for the giveaway.
[email protected]

[Crystal Craig]

Well, the best romance books I've read this summer have been That Boy and That Wedding by Jillian Dodd. :)

craigcrystal(at)ymail(dot)com

[Diane Sallans]

Haven't had a summer romance & i'm not sure I like the idea if it means that they are over when summer is over.
sallans d at yahoo dot com

[J.F.A]

I dont really have a summer romance story sorry! nothing happened this summer but id like to still enter into both of the giveaways!

californiazgold(at)gmail(dot)com

[Denise Z]

I do not have a summer romance story to tell and look to good reads for those daydreams :) Thank you for participating in this fun hop.
dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com

[Koonie2888]

I had to really search my memory to find a summer romance that I had read. What came to mind was Luring Lucy by Lori Foster. It was a great novella about summer romance.
koonie2888 at yahoo dot com
Michelle Bledsoe

[Delphina]

What a fun hop! delphinareadstoomuch at yahoo

[JanD]

I can't recall a summer romance I've read.
bituin76 AT hotmail DOT com