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Released November 28th, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n Jack Valentini isn\u2019t my type.<\/p>\n Sexy, brooding cowboys are fine in the movies, but in real life, I prefer a suit and tie.\u00a0 Proper manners. A close shave.<\/p>\n Jack might be gorgeous, but he\u2019s also scruffy, rugged, and rude. He wants nothing to do with a \u201crich city girl\u201d like me, and he isn\u2019t afraid to say so.<\/p>\n But I\u2019ve got a PR job to do for his family\u2019s farm, so he\u2019s stuck with me for ten days, and I\u2019m stuck with him. His glares. His moods. His tight jeans. His muscles.<\/p>\n His huge, hard muscles.<\/p>\n Pretty soon there\u2019s a whole different kind of tension between us, the kind that has me misbehaving in barns, trees, and pickup trucks. I\u2019ve never done anything so out of character\u2014but it feels too good to stop.<\/p>\n And the more I learn about the grieving ex-Army sergeant, the better I understand him.\u00a0 Losing his wife three years ago left him broken and bitter and blaming himself. He doesn\u2019t think he deserves a second chance at happiness.<\/p>\n But he\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t need to be his first love. If only he\u2019d let me be his last.<\/p>\n \u201cSecond chances are not given to make things right, but are given to prove that we could be even better after we fall.\u201d<\/em> \u2014Unknown<\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWow,\u201d she said, shutting the screen door behind her. \u201cThat was close. Thank you so much.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re welcome.\u201d I crossed my arms, wishing I\u2019d thought to grab a shirt. \u201cWant to tell me what you were doing out there?\u201d<\/p>\n Her cheeks colored. \u201cUm, I was taking a run.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUp a tree?\u201d<\/p>\n She laughed nervously. \u201cNo. Well, I didn\u2019t start out in a tree. That happened later.\u201d<\/p>\n I cocked my head, unable to resist giving her a hard time. Not so sure of yourself now, are you, Barbie?\u00a0<\/em> \u201cOh yeah?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. See, I left the cottage I\u2019m renting without using the bathroom by mistake,\u201d she began, twisting her fingers together, \u201cand I was planning on running a loop around the farm, but it\u2019s bigger than I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh. So you were looking for a bathroom in the woods?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, yes.\u201d She swallowed. \u201cSort of. But then I heard a splash and saw you\u2026\u201d Her cheeks were practically purple now.<\/p>\n I played dumb. \u201cSaw me what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSaw you naked, OK?\u201d she blurted, throwing her hands up. \u201cI admit it\u2014I saw you naked.\u201d<\/p>\n I had no hangups about nudity, but I was damn serious about my privacy, and about people sneaking up on me. But her embarrassment was funny. The two times I\u2019d seen her before, she\u2019d been so polished and poised. It felt good to put her in her place a little.\u00a0 \u201cSo you climbed a tree for a better view, is that it?\u201d<\/p>\n Bowing her head, she dragged the toe of one shoe across the wood planks of the porch floor. \u201cSomething like that.\u201d Then she looked up at me. Took a breath. \u201cI\u2019m really sorry. I shouldn\u2019t have done that. I was\u2014I mean, I got\u2014I couldn\u2019t\u2014\u201d She sighed, briefly closing her eyes. \u201cI have no excuse. Will you accept my apology?\u201d<\/p>\n She was prettier without makeup, I decided. And the way she wore her hair off her face emphasized the wideness of her eyes, the angle of her cheekbones, the arch of her brows. Her lips didn\u2019t need all that glossy crap, either. They were a perfect rosy pink, and I wondered if they\u2019d feel as soft as they looked.<\/p>\n Fuck. I hadn\u2019t kissed anyone in three years.<\/p>\n Clearing my throat, I took a step back. \u201cYeah. It\u2019s fine.\u201d Now get out of here.<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t move. \u201cSo you\u2019re not going to fire me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI never hired you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know. But I really want this job. I think I can help, Jack. I know I can.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSuit yourself. I want nothing to do with it.\u201d My name on her lips was trouble. Needing some distance from her, I started walking toward the dock to get my shoes and socks, but she followed me. God, she was a pest. It reminded me of the way Steph used to tag along after the boys when we were kids, wanting to get in our games.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you going to be like this the entire time I\u2019m here?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n \u201cLike what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMoody and uncooperative?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy? Do you hate me that much?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t hate anybody. I just don\u2019t see why we should pay some city girl who\u2019s never set foot on a farm to advise us.\u201d We reached the dock, and I leaned down to get my stuff.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not even asking to be paid, so piss off!\u201d she shouted, her voice carrying on the water.<\/p>\n I straightened. \u201cOh, you\u2019re working for free?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen you\u2019re an idiot. Or so rich you don\u2019t need the money.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not an idiot,\u201d she said through clenched teeth.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you\u2019re rich, then.\u201d I don\u2019t know why I was being such an asshole. But for some reason, I did not want to let her see another side of me, or see another side to her. \u201cI should have guessed.\u201d<\/p>\n She crossed her arms. \u201cAnd what\u2019s that supposed to mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt means you look like you\u2019ve led a charmed life. Like you\u2019ve had everything you\u2019ve ever wanted handed to you. Like you\u2019ve never gotten your hands dirty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo get them dirty.\u201d<\/p>\n I almost fell off the dock. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGet them dirty. Teach me about working this farm. I want to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n Was she serious? The last thing I needed was to drag her ass around all day, explaining things. Or stare at her ass all day, imagining things. But one look at her defiant face and I shook my head. \u201cWhy do I feel like if I say no, you\u2019ll just keep bothering me?\u201d<\/p>\n She smiled and clasped her hands behind her back, rocking forward on her toes.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I will. I don\u2019t like being told no.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course you don\u2019t.\u201d Jesus, she was trouble. A bad apple\u2014smooth and shiny on the outside, spoiled rotten on the inside. But for no good reason, I found myself giving in.\u00a0 \u201cFine. Go change your clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. When she\u2019s not writing or reading, she gets her kicks from TV series like VEEP, Game of Thrones, House of Cards, and Homeland. She occasionally runs three miles, but only so she can have more gin and steak.<\/p>\n Melanie is the author of the HAPPY CRAZY LOVE series, the FRENCHED series, and the sexy historical SPEAK EASY duet, set in the 1920s. She lifts her glass to romance readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.<\/p>\n AMAZON<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0GOODREADS<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0TWITTER<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 WEBSITE<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After We Fall by Melanie Harlow Released November 28th, 2016 iBooks\u00a0 |\u00a0 Nook Synopsis Jack Valentini isn\u2019t my type. Sexy, brooding cowboys are fine in the movies, but in real life, I prefer a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[290],"tags":[432,308],"class_list":["post-13930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-news","tag-excerpt-reveal","tag-melanie-harlow"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/After-We-Fall.jpg?fit=150%2C225&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-3CG","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}iBooks\u00a0 <\/a>|\u00a0 Nook<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nSynopsis<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"after-we-fall-cover\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/After-We-Fall-Cover.jpg?resize=640%2C484&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nAdd to Goodreads<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nExcerpt<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nAbout the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Check out our Melanie Harlow Author Spotlight<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h4>\n