Sunday Spotlight: For Better or Worse by Lauren Layne

Sunday Spotlight is a feature we’re running in 2016. Each week, we will spotlight a release we’re excited about. We’ll be posting exclusive excerpts and being total fangirls. You’ve been warned. 🙂

You guys! This book is fantastic! I’m so freaking excited to feature it on this week’s Sunday Spotlight. Josh Tanner and Heather Fowler are a fabulous couple that you guys need to meet. It comes out next week so you don’t even have a long wait. Woo freaking hoo!

This is me right now:

I’m serious. This book is freaking great!

For Better or Worse (Wedding Belles #2) by Lauren Layne
Releases on August 30, 2016 from Pocket Books

Pre-Order the Book:

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Will a budding wedding planner and her bad boy neighbor stop banging heads and start hearing wedding bells in the sexy second novel in USA TODAY bestselling author Lauren Layne’s irresistible new series that marries Sex and the City with The Wedding Planner?

When small-town girl Heather Fowler finally gets promoted from assistant to actual wedding planner, she’s determined to make it as one of Manhattan’s elite Wedding Belles. Unfortunately, her first client demands an opulent black-tie affair at the Plaza…in five months’ time. Heather’s days quickly become a flurry of cake tastings, dress-fittings, RSVP cards, and bridal tantrums. But what she’s really losing sleep over is the live music blaring from her playboy neighbor’s apartment all night.

Five years ago, Josh Tanner was an up-and-comer on Wall Street, complete with the penthouse and the migraines. But a grim cancer diagnosis made him realize there is more to life than the corner office. If only he could convince his pretty, workaholic neighbor to let loose, too. As Heather lets down her guard, Josh is surprised when he starts falling for the sweet, vulnerable woman hiding beneath those power suits. Soon, it’s Heather’s turn to convince Josh to take the biggest risk of all: love.

Heather can’t stand her next door neighbor because he’s loud and keeps her up at night. He also wakes her up early in the morning to get on her nerves. Surely that’s a sign that they’re meant for each other. Ha!

Excerpt

“Are you wearing those cute little pajamas again?” he asked.

“Tell me that’s not why you came over to wake me up.”

“Oh, were you asleep?”

His voice was all innocence, and Heather narrowed her eyes in suspicion, raising her face to the peep hole once more, only to squeak in surprise when she saw his eye right there staring back at her.

“Damn it,” she said, jerking the door open so suddenly he nearly fell inside. “Who does that above the age of seven?”

He looked her up and down, before a slow grin slid over his face. “Nice.”

Heather couldn’t help a quick glance down to affirm no strap had accidentally fallen. Nope. Technically she was covered, but she liked to sleep with her windows open to keep her bedroom cool, which meant she had a little headlight situation happening.

“Can I borrow some milk?” he asked.

She looked back at him. “Milk.”

“Yah. You know, white, creamy, delicious, comes from teats . . .”

His gaze dropped to her chest again, and Heather cursed, reaching for the gray zippered hoodie on the hook by the door and pulling it around her.

“I don’t know if I have any milk,” she said.

But he was already moving past her, entering her apartment uninvited. “Cute,” he said, glancing around.

Heather didn’t bother to say thank you. She already knew it was cute. Had deliberately made it so, with endless hours of Pinterest time searching for inspiration followed by more endless hours searching every vintage furniture shop in the city. She’d wanted a combination of minimalist and Bohemian chic, and she’d nailed it, if she did say so herself.

The walls were painted a dark teal, with plenty of original and slightly beat-up- looking canvas prints adding contrast. The area rugs were bright and slightly tattered, and intentionally so. The white couch was kept from looking stark by a handful of bold throw pillows, and a bunch of stubby pillar candles in varying heights covered her coffee table, end tables, and the window sill.

But the real crown of the room was her window seat. An actual window seat with a view of Central Park.

Hell. Yes.

“Mrs. Calvin used to love sitting here,” he said, running a finger over the purple cushion. “Although she had an ugly yellow pad.”

“Insisted on taking it with her,” Heather said dryly.

“I’m sure you were crushed. You have no idea how many times I watched her drop a glob of cottage cheese onto the cushion before the Chihuahua gobbled it up.”

Heather refused to engage or to be charmed. “I don’t think I have any milk.”

“Now, now, neighbor,” he said, turning to face her. “You didn’t even look.”

“Fine. If it’ll get you to leave . . .”

She stomped into the kitchen to look for milk.

“The other night when you were so cranky. I thought for sure you must be a morning person.” He followed her into the kitchen and leaned his forearms on her counter as she jerked open the fridge door. “I see now that that this irritable thing you have going on is more of a twenty-four/seven thing.”

“Since you remember last weekend so well, I don’t suppose you also remember that I mentioned that I’m a wedding planner, with Saturdays being my biggest days?”

“Today’s Sunday.”

“I know it’s Sunday,” she said, yanking out a carton of milk and slamming the door shut as she turned to face him. “I know it’s Sunday because I spent all of yesterday on my feet, trying to pry champagne out of drunken teenagers’ hands before they could get into a car, and then got felt up by the bride’s drunken uncle.”

He studied her for several moments, his eyes searching her face, before he rapped his palm lightly on the counter and stood up. “You know what you need, 4C?”

“Yes. Sleep.”

“Pancakes,” he countered.

“Pancakes?”

“Exactly.” He came towards her and plucked the milk from her hand, glancing down at it. “Nonfat. Not my usual jam, but I think Mom can make this work.”

“Mom?”

Before Heather could register what was happening, Josh had placed a big warm hand on the small of her back and was ushering her towards the front door of her own apartment.

“I don’t want pancakes,” she said through gritted teeth as she tried to push herself backward against his hand, to no avail. Jesus, those muscles didn’t lie—the guy was strong like an ox.

“Everybody wants pancakes, 4C.”

And apparently, just as stubborn.

“Heather. My name is Heather.”

“That’s way too pretty a name for someone as snippy as you.”

“I’m not snippy, I’m tired,” she said, meaning it. She knew she was sort of a bitch around this guy, and she wasn’t loving herself right now, but he really did have the worst timing.

Heather just wanted one good night’s sleep before she faced him again, and then maybe she could find her smile, find something nice to say, maybe even flirt.

happy sigh

I’m fangirling hard on this one because I loved it. I zipped right through this entire book because I couldn’t read it fast enough. I loved every minute of this book. Every single minute.

Wedding Belles Series

Giveaway: We’re giving one lucky winner their choice of one of our Sunday Spotlight books. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter for one of this month’s features.

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Are you as excited for this release as we are? Let us know how excited you are and what other books you’re looking forward to this year!

About the Author

Lauren Layne is the USA Today Bestselling author of more than a dozen contemporary romance novels.

Prior to becoming an author, Lauren worked in e-commerce and web-marketing. A year after moving from Seattle to NYC to pursue a writing career, she had a fabulous agent and multiple New York publishing deals.

Lauren currently lives in Manhattan with her husband and plus-sized Pomeranian. When not writing, you’ll likely find her running (rarely), reading (sometimes), or at happy hour (often).

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