Forced proximity, natural attraction
Moving in with her brother isnât what free-spirited Grace McKnight imagined doing at age thirty. But under the circumstances, itâs for the best. The complicating factor? Kyle Clark, her brotherâs business partnerâaka the most infuriatingly buttoned-up person Grace has ever met.
Living with Kyle causes as much friction as Grace expected. And plenty she didnât. She and Kyle have more in common than she thought. Now, instead of pressing his buttons, sheâd rather undo them. Only, getting closer to Kyle means discovering his darkest secrets, and convincing himâand herselfâthose secrets wonât tear them apart.
âI wish you wouldnât push this.â
But Grace wanted to push. It was something far more appealing than dealing with the fact she hadnât gotten over all her fears in seven long-ass years.
âIâm not pushing anything. If you donât feel anything for me, walk away.â
Kyle didnât. Indecision played all over his face. From what she knew about Kyle, she imagined there was quite the internal war going on inside that all-too-active brain of his, but she could wait it out.
She knew what his lips would feel like on hers, but just the faintest of touches. She had a vague sense of what he would taste like, but their kiss from a few days ago had been so brief, so totally on her that it was really just a teaser, an appetizer.
And now, she was really interested in the main course.
Dear Reader,
Itâs rather surreal to sit down and write a âdear readerâ letter for my very first Mills & Boon Superromance. Iâve been reading these from authors I greatly admire for years, and to now be one of them is...well, something Iâm very, very proud of!
When I set out to write Too Close to Resist, I started pretty much as alwaysâtrying to write a story people can recognize or relate to. But I knew I wanted to do two things within that realm: first, I wanted to write two main characters who were fundamental opposites. As that idea grew, I realized I wanted them to have dealt with similar things in their pasts, and have that cause those differences. So it wasnât just that they had different personalities, they had completely different ways of dealing with traumatic events.
The second thing I knew, perhaps even before I knew who Grace and Kyle really were, was that I didnât want the hero to swoop in and save the heroine in any situation. I wanted Grace, whatever danger might befall her, to be standing in that moment alone. There would be no white knight saving her, but a partner who would stand beside her in the aftermath. Support her and comfort her, but not âfixâ anything for her.
I couldnât be happier with how that turned out, or how much I love these two and the way they stand by each other. I hope youâll enjoy them too!
If youâre on Twitter, so am Iâprobably more than I should be. I love to talk to readers, @NicoleTHelm. Visit my website at www.nicolehelm.wordpress.com.
Happy reading!
Nicole Helm
P.S. Keep an eye out for my upcoming titles from Mills & Boon E, coming later this year!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicole Helm grew up with her nose in a book and a dream of becoming a writer or an artist. When her middle school art teacher poked fun at her stick figure birds, she decided to focus on writing. Luckily, after a few failed career choices, a husband, and two kids, she gets to pursue that writing dream. She lives in Missouri with her husband and two young sons, and writes her books one babyâs nap at a time.
For my mom.
Iâve been waiting for the perfect book to dedicate to you. One that would mean something extra special, but as I thought about what that âextra specialâ might be, I realized, that was irrelevant. Every book Iâve written, every character Iâve come up with, goes back to you reading chapters out of Charlotteâs Web and Little House on the Prairie to me. Every heroine with a backbone, a strong belief in herself and a sense of humor is because you taught me those things just by being you. Thank you for everything, always.
CHAPTER ONE
âTHANKS AGAIN FOR doing this.â Grace McKnight sat in the passenger side of her brotherâs truck and tried not to feel like a coward or a failure.
She wasnât succeeding.
âHappy to do it.â
Grace fidgeted in her seat. Jacobâs good-natured acceptance of her proposal didnât make this any easier. Nothing about Barryâs getting out of jail had made life easier. Nothing.
Seven years after heâd beaten her into a three-day coma, Barry was still influencing her life. No matter how Grace tried, she couldnât find another alternative.