by Layla Hagen
“Admiring the ring again?” he asks.
“It’s a great ring.” One month after moving to London, Nate surprised me by officially asking me to marry him. Got on one knee, popped the question, and gave me the most beautiful ring—a classic princess cut in white gold, but with a green sapphire instead of a diamond. I absolutely love it.
“Can’t wait to put another one on your finger.”
“We have to wait until after the twins’ weddings.” Christopher and Victoria announced they want to get married this year. Shortly after, Max and Emilia set the date too, also for this year. That means we’ll wait a while, because three weddings in one year is too much, even for my family.
“Or I could use my persuasion skills.” He wiggles his eyebrows, holding my gaze captive with his.
“No, you can’t use your bedroom stare when we’re in public. Absolutely not. We agreed.”
“You don’t make the rules, fiancée.”
His voice sends tendrils of heat all over my body, and I’m starting to understand the benefits of a private jet. Despite my siblings’ insistences, I refused to use the company’s jet because it still doesn’t feel right, no matter what they say. So here I am, captive to his charms, in public.
Unable to form a witty comeback, I resort to elbowing him slightly. Just then a flight attendant passes us, asking if there’s anything we need and reminding us to shut off our phones. Before I do, I send my mother a quick message, letting her know we’re taking off on time. We’re heading straight to their house from the airport, where she’s hosting a family dinner.
“Oh, that reminds me. Clara is going to be at dinner too,” Nate states. “She’s slowly becoming an adopted Bennett.”
Clara has become very close to my family indeed. It’s endearing to watch her with them. After having lost her parents so young and spending most of her childhood in group homes, I think she’s a little overwhelmed by the size of the family, not to mention our shenanigans. And I’d agree with Nate, except I have my doubts. Adopted Bennett is a moniker my family came up with years ago for close friends—platonic friends. The last few times Clara attended family events, I caught Blake giving her some very non-platonic looks. They were downright hot.
Now, I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I’m fairly certain my dearest brother is the next to fall. If not, Pippa and I are more than happy to give him a push.
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Dear Reader,
This is the end of Alice and Nate’s story. Blake and Clara’s book will be next. It will be released mid-2017. Please sign up HERE to be notified about the release date for the book (you will also receive a FREE copy of my full-length romance Found in Us if you sign up. The retail price is $3.99).
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Other Books by Layla Hagen
The Bennett Family Series
Book 1 in the Series: Your Irresistible Love
Sebastian Bennett is a determined man. It’s the secret behind the business empire he built from scratch. Under his rule, Bennett Enterprises dominates the jewelry industry. Despite being ruthless in his work, family comes first for him, and he’d do anything for his parents and eight siblings—even if they drive him crazy sometimes. . . like when they keep nagging him to get married already.
Sebastian doesn’t believe in love, until he brings in external marketing consultant Ava to oversee the next collection launch. She’s beautiful, funny, and just as stubborn as he is. Not only is he obsessed with her delicious curves, but he also finds himself willing to do anything to make her smile.
He’s determined to have Ava, even if she’s completely off limits.
Ava Lindt has one job to do at Bennett Enterprises: make the next collection launch unforgettable. Daydreaming about the hot CEO is definitely not on her to-do list. Neither is doing said CEO. The consultancy she works for has a strict policy—no fraternizing with clients. She won’t risk her job. Besides, Ava knows better than to trust men with her heart.
But their sizzling chemistry spirals into a deep connection that takes both of them by surprise. Sebastian blows through her defenses one sweet kiss and sinful touch at a time. When Ava’s time as a consultant in his company comes to an end, will Sebastian fight for the woman he loves or will he end up losing her?
AVAILABLE ON ALL RETAILERS. You can find the links HERE.
Book 2 in the Series: Your Captivating Love
Logan Bennett knows his priorities. He is loyal to his family and his company. He has no time for love, and no desire for it. Not after a disastrous engagement left him brokenhearted. When Nadine enters his life, she turns everything upside down.
She’s sexy, funny, and utterly captivating. She’s also more stubborn than anyone he’s met…including himself.
Nadine Hawthorne is finally pursuing her dream: opening her own clothing shop. After working so hard to get here, she needs to concentrate on her new business, and can’t afford distractions. Not even if they come in the form of Logan Bennett.
He’s handsome, charming, and doesn’t take no for an answer. After bitter disappointments, Nadine doesn’t believe in love. But being around Logan is addicting. It doesn’t help that Logan’s family is scheming to bring them together at every turn.
Their attraction is sizzling, their connection undeniable. Slowly, Logan wins her over. What starts out as a fling, soon spirals into much more than they are prepared for.
When a mistake threatens to tear them apart, will they have the strength to hold on to each other?
AVAILABLE ON ALL RETAILERS. You can find the links HERE.
Book 3 in the Series: Your Forever Love
Eric Callahan is a powerful man, and his sharp business sense has earned him the nickname ‘the shark.’ Yet under the strict façade is a man who loves his daughter and would do anything for her. When he and his daughter move to San Francisco for three months, he has one thing in mind: expanding his business on the West Coast. As a widower, Eric is not looking for love. He focuses on his company, and his daughter.
Until he meets Pippa Bennett. She captivates him from the moment he sets eyes on her, and what starts as unintentional flirting soon spirals into something neither of them can control.
Pippa Bennett knows she should stay away from Eric Callahan. After going through a rough divorce, she doesn’t trust men anymore. But something about Eric just draws her in. He has a body made for sin and a sense of humor that matches hers. Not to mention that seeing how adorable he is with his daughter melts Pippa’s walls one by one.
The chemistry between them is undeniable, but the connection that grows deeper every day that has both of them wondering if love might be within their reach.
When it’s time for Eric and his daughter to head back home, will he give up on the woman who has captured his heart, or will he do everything in his power to remain by her side?
AVAILABLE ON ALL RETAILERS. You can find the links HERE.
Book 4 in the series: Your Inescapable Love
*A steamy and swoony friends-to-lovers romance*
Max Bennett is a successful man. His analytical mind has taken his family’s company to the next level. Outside the office, Max transforms from the serious business man into someone who is carefree and fun. Max is happy with his life and doesn’t intend to change it, even though his mother keeps asking for more grandchildren. Max loves being an uncle, and plans to spoil his nieces rotten.
But when a chance encounter reunites him with Emilia, his childhood best friend, he starts questioning everything. The girl he last saw years ago has grown into a sensual woman with a smile he can’t get out of his mind.
Emilia Campbell has a lot on he
r plate, taking care of her sick grandmother. Still, she faces everything with a positive attitude. When the childhood friend she hero-worshipped steps into her physical therapy clinic, she is over the moon. Max is every bit the troublemaker she remembers, only now he has a body to drool over and a smile to melt her panties. Not that she intends to do the former, or let the latter happen.
They are both determined not to cross the boundaries of friendship…at first. But as they spend more time together, they form an undeniable bond and their flirty banter spirals out of control.
Max knows Emilia is off-limits, but that only makes her all the more tempting. Besides, Max was never one to back away from a challenge.
When their chemistry becomes too much to resist and they inevitably give in to temptation, will they risk losing their friendship or will Max and Emilia find true love?
AVAILABLE ON ALL RETAILERS. You can find the links HERE.
Book 5 in the series: Your Tempting Love
Christopher Bennett is a persuasive man. With his magnetic charm and undeniable wit, he plays a key role in the international success of his family’s company.
Christopher adores his family, even if they can be too meddling sometimes… like when they attempt to set him up with Victoria, by recommending him to employ her decorating services. Christopher isn’t looking to settle down, but meeting Victoria turns his world upside down. Her laughter is contagious, and her beautiful lips and curves are too tempting.
Victoria Hensley is determined not to fall under Christopher’s spell, even though the man is hotter than sin, and his flirty banter makes her toes curl. But as her client, Christopher is off limits. After her parents’ death, Victoria is focusing on raising her much younger siblings, and she can’t afford any mistakes. . .
But Victoria and Christopher’s chemistry is not just the sparks-flying kind. . .It’s the downright explosive kind. Before she knows it, Christopher is training her brother Lucas for soccer tryouts and reading bedtime stories to her sister Chloe.
Victoria wants to resist him, but Christopher is determined, stubborn, and oh-so-persuasive.
When their attraction and connection both spiral out of control, will they be able to risk it all for a love that is far too tempting?
AVAILABLE ON ALL RETAILERS. You can find the links HERE.
The Lost Series
Novella Lost
Lost is a FREE is a prequel novella to Lost in Us and can be read before or after.
Whatever might help him forget his past and numb the pain, James has tried it all: booze, car races, fights, and then some. Especially women. College offers plenty of opportunities for everything. . . Especially when you have a trust fund to spend.
Serena spirals deeper and deeper into a hurricane of pain. But no matter how far she falls, there’s no redemption from the overwhelming guilt. Two souls consumed by their pasts fight to learn how to survive. But all hope seems to be lost. Until they meet each other.
AVAILABLE AS A FREE DOWNLOAD. You can find the links to all retailers HERE.
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Lost in Us: The story of James and Serena
There are three reasons tequila is my new favorite drink.
• One: my ex-boyfriend hates it.
• Two: downing a shot looks way sexier than sipping my usual Sprite.
• Three: it might give me the courage to do something my ex-boyfriend would hate even more than tequila—getting myself a rebound
The night I swap my usual Sprite with tequila, I meet James Cohen. The encounter is breathtaking. Electrifying. And best not repeated.
James is a rich entrepreneur. He likes risks and adrenaline and is used to living the high life. He’s everything I’m not.
But opposites attract. Some say opposites destroy each other. Some say opposites are perfect for each other. I don’t know what will James and I do to each other, but I can’t stay away from him. Even though I should.
AVAILABLE ON ALL RETAILERS. You can find the links HERE.
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Found in Us: The story of Jessica and Parker
Jessica Haydn wants to leave her past behind. Hurt by one too many heartbreaks, she vows not to fall in love again. Especially not with a man like Parker, whose electrifying pull and smile bruised her ego once before. But his sexy British accent makes her crave his touch, and his blue eyes strip Jessica of all her defenses.
Parker Blakesley has no place for love in his life. He learned the hard way not to trust. He built his business empire by avoiding distractions, and using sheer determination and control. But something about Jessica makes him question everything. Not only has she a body made for sin, but her laughter fills a void inside of him.
The desire igniting between them spirals into an unstoppable passion, and so much more. Soon, neither can fight their growing emotional connection. But can two scarred souls learn to trust again? And when a mistake threatens to tear them apart, will their love be strong enough?
AVAILABLE ON ALL RETAILERS. You can find the links HERE.
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Caught in Us: The story of Dani and Damon
Damon Cooper has all the markings of a bad boy:
• A tattoo
• A bike
• An attitude to go with point one and two
In the beginning I hated him, but now I’m falling in love with him.
My parents forbid us to be together, but Damon’s not one to obey rules.
And since I met him, neither am I.
AVAILABLE ON ALL RETAILERS. You can find the links HERE.
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Standalone USA TODAY BESTSELLER
Withering Hope
Aimee’s wedding is supposed to turn out perfect. Her dress, her fiancé and the location—the idyllic holiday ranch in Brazil—are perfect.
But all Aimee’s plans come crashing down when the private jet that’s taking her from the U.S. to the ranch—where her fiancé awaits her—defects mid-flight and the pilot is forced to perform an emergency landing in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.
With no way to reach civilization, being rescued is Aimee and Tristan’s—the pilot—only hope. A slim one that slowly withers away, desperation taking its place. Because death wanders in the jungle under many forms: starvation, diseases. Beasts.
As Aimee and Tristan fight to find ways to survive, they grow closer. Together they discover that facing old, inner agonies carved by painful pasts takes just as much courage, if not even more, than facing the rainforest.
Despite her devotion to her fiancé, Aimee can’t hide her feelings for Tristan—the man for whom she’s slowly becoming everything. You can hide many things in the rainforest. But not lies. Or love.
Withering Hope is the story of a man who desperately needs forgiveness and the woman who brings him hope. It is a story in which hope births wings and blooms into a love that is as beautiful and intense as it is forbidden.
AVAILABLE ON ALL RETAILERS. You can find the links HERE.
Your Alluring Love
Copyright © 2017 Layla Hagen
Published by Layla Hagen
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Published: Layla Hagen 2017
Cover: http://designs.romanticbookaffairs.com/
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Acknowledgements
There are so many people who helped me fulfil the dream of publishing, that I am utterly terrified I will forget to thank someone. If I do, please forgive me. Here it goes.
First, I’d like to thank my beta readers, Jessica, Dee, Andrea, Carrie, Jill, and Kolleen. You made this story so much better!!
I want to thank every blogger and reader who took a chance with me as a new author and helped me spread the word. You have my most heartfelt gratitude. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family. I would never be here if not for their love and support. Mom, you taught me that books are important, and for that I will always be grateful. Dad, thank you for always being convinced that I should reach for the stars.
To my sister, whose numerous ahem. . .legendary replies will serve as an inspiration for many books to come, I say thank you for your support and I love you, kid.
To my husband, who always believed in me and supported me through all this whether by happily taking on every chore I overlooked or accepting being ignored for hours at a time: I love you and I could not have done this without you. Thank you for being there for me every single day.
