Title: Naughty & Nice
A Man of the Month,
Sycamore Mountain Series Novella
Author: LM Fox
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Grumpy/Sunshine, Small Town
Release Date: September 15, 2022
BLURB
Trevor
I came to Sycamore Mountain to start over.
Focus on my career, not little miss sunshine.
The brotherhood of firefighters is the only relationship I want.
Trust me. This tart is the last thing I need.
Iâve been down that road.
Beautiful girl who can have any man she wants.
Well Addie Briggs can focus on someone else.
No sultry siren is worth going through that heartache again,
no matter how naughty I think she could be.
Addison
Of all the men to fall for,
I have to pick a grumpy hero.
Heâs the hottest thing Iâve ever laid my eyes on,
throw on his fireman turnout gear and Iâd do almost anything he asked.
But this guy is jaded and scarred. He fights me at every turn.
Yet, I can tell thereâs a softness under his tough exterior.
Iâm going all in. Because Iâm not ready to give up on Mr. Nice guy.
PURCHASE LINKS
Free in Kindle Unlimited
EXCERPT
âWhat the fuck, Ashley?â âTrevor. What are you doing here?â âLast I checked, I live here,â I shouted as the burley naked jock before me hastily reached for his pants. He looked like a linebacker. The thought had barely left me before I noticed his shirt. The big W insignia confirmed he was most likely on the Washington football team. While visiting the training camp in Richmond had long been on my bucket list, I now wanted to kick that fucking pail down the road. âI thought youâd be at work.â âObviously. How long has this been going on?â All thoughts of grabbing my assignment for my IT class were gone. âI was going to tellââ âTrev, weâve got a call,â Jamie yelled through the door. I turned to notice heâd paused briefly to verify what he was seeing. âWhen I get here in the morning, I want your stuff gone,â Iâd spat. That painful memory is charred into my brain. The betrayal made worse when Jamie later confirmed her lover was NFL player Martin North. He was 250 pounds of raw muscle. Nosey neighbors confided later heâd been visiting my home for months. I wondered why she wouldnât have broken it off with me instead of sneaking around with a baller worth millions. Until Jamieâs continued investigation revealed, the player was just that. A married celebrity who was having an affair with my girl. Since then, heâs left his wife and children, and he and Ashley have been on the local tabloid circuit. I couldnât turn on the television or open a local magazine without seeing the two of them. As if that wasnât bad enough, Ashleyâs face was plastered on every billboard in town. If she wasnât modeling jewelry for anyone traveling the interstate to see, she was painted on restaurant murals and large airport advertisements. She was fucking everywhere. Iâm aware I was partially to blame. I dove in headfirst. But there was never a moment I didnât think both of us were all in. Sheâd wax poetic about our future, travel, and eventually having kids. But I guess itâs hard to compete with a larger-than-life superstar with a bank account to match. I hadnât had many serious relationships prior to Ashley. My plate had been full, beginning my career with the fire department and looking out for my mother. My dad had fought a hard battle with melanoma. They discovered it too late to offer much hope of recovery. Cancer instantly decimated our flawless life. Weâd gone from a tight family focused on Sunday dinners and the arrival of Noahâs kids to heartbroken in the blink of an eye. My mother was tough as nails, but I knew it was a façade. Noahâs wife, Becca, would try to bring the boys over to distract her grief-ridden thoughts, but I imagined the lonely, depressing time between visits was suffocating. Unable to bear the thought of her hurting alone, I decided to move back home, convincing my mother I wanted to save money with plans to pursue my graduate degree. Hell, thereâs no faster way to kill your sex life than living with your parents. But I slept better at night, knowing it was the right thing to do. Iâll always treasure that time with my mom. Caring for her as we mourned my father, we grew even closer. Weâd always had a tight relationship, but you donât truly appreciate your parents until life throws you a curveball. Iâd been blessed with a happy, loving cohesive family and knew Iâd never settle for anything less if I chose to marry. Moving to Sycamore Mountain would be hard on both of us. In hindsight, itâs clear I was merely mesmerized by Ashleyâs physical splendor. Visits with my nephews hadnât brought out her maternal side. However, like me, I figured she was at a different stage of life. She was focused on her modeling career. Iâm not making this mistake twice. Getting caught up with some superficial bitch whoâd leave the moment someone with a better reputation or bank account came along. Lost in my thoughts, I didnât realize what good time Iâd been making. My eyes land on the bright green highway sign. âWelcome to Sycamore Mountain.â Exiting the interstate, I quickly determine this is a one-horse town. As I approach the light at the end of the off-ramp, there's a lone gas station, and I spot a fast-food restaurant across from a bait and tackle shop. Luckily, according to the GPS, the realtorâs office is only about ten minutes away. Miles of desolate farmland interspersed with clusters of evergreen trees engulf the windows of my vehicle. Occasional picturesque hay bails are dotted amongst the tall grass, but otherwise, the scenic area is enchanting. Unspoiled by the strip malls and housing developments of Hanover. Thereâs not a billboard in sight. This thought briefly brings a relieved smile to my face until it dawns on me that I probably stand a better chance of meeting a bear in this town than a beautiful woman. I mightâve had a better chance of getting laid living with Mom than here. As I continue down the road, I stand corrected. Thereâs at least one female under sixty here. I spot a woman out for a walk with her baby along the grassy edge of the highway. Looking about, it seems an odd place to meander. While wearing yoga pants and a hoodie, Iâm surprised at my fixation on her. Iâm not usually into MILFâs. Iâm in no way ready to settle down with a girl with a kid. But sheâs got a fucking phenomenal ass. Itâd be a crime not to look. As I grow closer, my eyes are drawn to the face of the child looking back at me. Thatâs either the ugliest kid on the planet or⦠Is that a chicken?
AUTHOR BIO
Born and raised in Virginia, LM Fox currently lives in a suburb of Richmond with her husband, three kids, and a chocolate lab.
Her pastimes are traveling to new and favorite places, trying new foods, a swoony book with either a good cup of tea or coffee, margaritas on special occasions, and watching her kids participate in a variety of sports.
She has spent the majority of her adult life working in emergency medicine and her books are written in this setting. Her main characters are typically in the medical field, EMS, fire, and/or law enforcement. She enjoys writing angsty, contemporary romance starring headstrong, independent heroines you canât help but love and the hot alpha men who fall hard for them.
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