Title: Not a Mistake
Series: A Hot Under Her Collar Novel
Author: Amber Belldene
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 15, 2016
Sometimes a scandal isn’t a sin…
On the night she graduates from seminary, Jordan Sykes finds herself in bed with Dominic Lawrence, the ethics professor she’s crushed on for years. Two months later, she discovers she’s pregnant and is determined to hide it to protect his career. Maybe, if she loves her new church like hell, they won’t fire her for being a single mother.
Dominic knows the difference between right and wrong, and he’s filled with remorse after sleeping with his favorite student. He’s offered the job of his dreams, but he'd be a hypocrite to accept without making things right with Jordan first.
Dominic proposes marriage to save their careers, never expecting they will prove a perfect—and passionate—match. But can Jordan give her heart to a man who still believes the first night they spent together was a mistake?
“I take it you’re feeling better?”
“Uh huh,” she mumbled, pointing at her full mouth and chewing, her eyes showing the tension of what might be a grimace, had her mouth been free to make the expression.
On second look, she was still a little green around the edges. He couldn’t imagine two donuts was the recommended breakfast to recover from the stomach bug.
“Should you be eating that?”
She wiped a pink sprinkle from her mouth with the back of her hand. “Doctor’s orders. Don’t get hungry. Keep something in my stomach.”
Interesting advice. But what did he know? He hadn’t had a stomach bug since he was in diapers.
“What are you doing here?” Her whisper was strained, as tense as her eyes had been.
Right. This wasn’t any easier for her. What did she feel? Shame, guilt, plain old now-that-we’ve-had-sex-everything-is-different awkwardness?
He raised his arm and pointed his laptop’s remote at the screen. The cover of Sins of the Fathers appeared.
“You’re presenting? I thought Dan—”
“He has the same stomach bug as you, apparently. Why you aren’t in bed—?”
“I’m not your student anymore. Stop bossing me around.” She set down her plate to cross her arms.
God. Why on earth was that so cute? And he’d never once bossed her around, simply advised her academically. Which had been a true pleasure—she’d been sharp and dedicated.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. I’m simply concerned for your health.”
“Oh, is that what you’re feeling?” She glanced back to the screen then leaned close. “Because I would have guessed you are feeling like Swiss cheese, eaten up by guilt and regret.”
His shirt shrunk another size, right there on his body. How did she know him so well? He who made a point of being known by very few people.
She buttoned up her jacket and hoisted her purse up higher on her shoulder. “I can’t stay here and watch you talk about this book while trying not to reveal your self-loathing.”
He scanned the crowd to make sure no one was watching them, then leaned close to whisper. That delicious sandalwood scent clung to her, stirring the parts of him deeper than reason, or right and wrong. “Then accept my apology and stay.”
To his shock, tears shone in her eyes. Oh, hell. He’d made her cry.
“I can’t, really. I’m sorry for that, and for so many things. But I just can’t be sorry about what happened. I don’t want to take it back, or call it a mistake.”
Amber Belldene is always reading racy books at the most inappropriate times, and has been observed ogling her Kindle in the church parking lot. Even as a kid, she hid novels inside the service bulletin to read during sermons, an irony that is not lost on her when she preaches these days. Amber is a romance writer and Episcopal priest who believes sexuality is vital to spirituality, love is beautifully messy, and stories are the best way to explore human truths. Evidence of these convictions can be found in Amber's steamy paranormals and quirky, hot contemporaries, which have been published by Omnific, Entangled, and Lyrical/Kensington. She lives with her husband and two children in San Francisco and can be found at amberbelldene.com.
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