Title: Stirring Up Trouble
Author: Andrea Laurence
Release Date: October 12, 2015
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Summary
When
a prim and proper baker and a laid-back bartender have a neighborly
disagreement that gets them both in trouble with the law, a sweet
reconciliation is stirred up in the playful third romance in Andrea
Laurence’s sexy Rosewood series.
Maddie’s
life is perfectly sweet. Her bakery’s tasty treats are rising to the
top of every must-have list in town, and her commute is just a block
away by foot. She loves everything about her little downtown Victorian
bungalow—except for her unbearably noisy neighbor, Woody’s. The bar’s
obnoxious and sexy owner, Emmett, seems to live to aggravate Maddie. But
he mostly thinks she could use a stiff drink to dislodge the stick up
her ass. He’s just trying to run his business. Bars stay open late, they
play music, they serve alcohol. If she doesn’t like it, why did she buy
a house across the street?
When
Maddie and Emmett’s battle lands them in front of the local judge,
they’re ordered to do several weeks of community service cleaning parks
and painting over graffiti. As they scrub away the latest works of art
by the town’s anonymous “Penis Picasso,” the baker and the bartender
slowly begin to see there’s more to each other than meets the eye. So
what happens if they wave the white flag and surrender into each other’s
arms?
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Author Biography
Andrea Laurence has
been a lover of reading and writing stories since she learned to read
at a young age. She always dreamed of seeing her work in print and is
thrilled to finally be able to share her special blend of sensuality and
dry, sarcastic humor with the world. A dedicated West Coast girl
transplanted into the Deep South, she's working on her own "happily ever
after" with her boyfriend and their collection of animals including a
Siberian Husky that sheds like nobody's business.
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Message From the
Author:
Hey
everyone. I’m excited to be here today to tell you about my latest sassy, sexy
Rosewood romance – Stirring Up Trouble. This is the third book in the series,
featuring the great characters you’ve grown to love and a few you’ve grown to
hate. This book features Chamberlain sister and prissy princess, Maddie. She’s
purchased an old Victorian home across the street from the town bar, owned by
laid back bartender, Emmett Sawyer. These two couldn’t be more different, from
the hours they keep, to their ideas of a good time, but sometimes opposites
attract and for these two, it’s explosive. But first, they’ve got to stop
trying to make each other miserable and that’s going to require the help of the
town judge, some sweet treats and the infamous town vandal, the Penis Picasso.
Here with me today are Maddie and Emmett. We’ve asked them what sweet treat or
frosty drink reminds them of one another, so I’m going to turn it over to them!
Maddie: It just so happens that it’s also Emmett’s
favorite treat, but I’d say he’s one of my homemade MoonPies. Now, for those of
you who’ve had a MoonPie, they don’t look like much of a gourmet treat on the
outside and frankly the ones you get at the gas station really aren’t. They’ve
got a reputation as being a little country - but like Emmett - looks can be
deceiving and the MoonPies I make in the shop have so many layers of
surprising, refined flavors. They’re made with homemade marshmallow cream,
sandwiched between freshly baked gingersnap cookies. Then I dip them in a dark
chocolate ganache and sprinkle the edges with some crushed, candied pecans.
They’re a little spicy and very sweet, just like Emmett. I just can’t get
enough of him.
Emmett: Hey, folks. So, if I had to sum up Fancy in
a drink... she would be imported French Champagne. The good stuff, not some
knockoff sparkling wine. She would be a little sweet, a little dry. If you’re
not used to her, she can give you a headache. Some people thinks she’s too
fancy for everyday consumption, but once you’ve tasted her, nothing else quite
measures up. That’s my Maddie in a glass.
***
Stirring Up Trouble Excerpt
“You know, Fancy Pants, that’s your problem.”
Her eyes widened as he used his new favorite
nickname for her. He didn’t know why it would offend her. She was a fancy pants,
through and through. “I don’t have a problem.”
“Yes, you do. You think you’re so much better than
everyone else, but you’re not. So what? You studied in Paris. Estelle was a
self-taught baker using her grandmother’s recipes, and her chocolate chip cookies
were better than yours.”
Maddie gasped. “My chocolate chip cookies are made
with vanilla beans from Madagascar and chopped milk and dark chocolate from
Switzerland!”
“It’s a cookie, not a piece of art that needs
provenance to display in a gallery. Some people just want what’s familiar.
Nobody’s grandma used vanilla beans from Madagascar. Importing all that fancy
stuff might make you feel special, but it doesn’t make you better. Frankly, I
think it would hurt your bottom line. You think you’re going to pay back your
daddy for this place while you blow money on embossed pink pastry boxes and
imported chocolate? This isn’t a patisserie on the Champs-Élysées, Fancy Pants.
You might think it sets you apart, but to be successful, you need to know your
customer. People around here don’t care where Madagascar is, much less if
that’s where your vanilla comes from.”
“People want high-quality products, and that’s what
I’m going to give them. My clientele is a little more sophisticated than yours.
I suppose you’re well versed in your customers and what they want, right? Beer
and football.”
“Damn right, and that’s what I give them.” Emmett
turned to face her and leaned down so she heard every word he said. “They want
a place to relax and unwind. They want to watch sports and listen to music. You
might think that I started bringing those bands in just to keep you up at
night, but you’re giving yourself a little too much real estate in my brain,
Fancy. It doesn’t have anything to do with you. You’re just an unwelcome
distraction.”
Maddie looked up at him, her full bottom lip
trembling slightly as he railed at her. “Earlier you said I was beautiful—a
sadist—but beautiful. Am I distracting because I drive you crazy or because I’m
beautiful?” she asked in a breathy voice that made his chest and his pants
tighten at the same time.
Those pouty lips made him want to run the pad of
his thumb across them and kiss away her frown. It was a ridiculously unhelpful
thought, but like he’d said, she was a distraction in a variety of ways. He
wished she wasn’t so attractive because that just crossed the wires in his
brain. He’d much prefer her outsides matched her annoying insides, then it
would be easy to ignore her.
She had the shiniest hair he’d ever seen. It was
always up in a ponytail or a bun, which was a shame because it was like
shimmering chestnut silk. He wanted to know what it would look like if it fell
free around her shoulders. He wondered how it’d feel to run his fingers through
it. Her skin was like porcelain and her eyes like the shells of a robin’s egg.
Maddie’s every feature was delicate and feminine, rousing a protective nature
in him he wasn’t used to.
And then she opened her mouth and ruined
everything.
“Both,” he said.
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