A Reckless Heart by Jennifer Wilck is a Book Series Starter Event pick #romance #bookseries #bookrec #giveaway
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    • Jan 11
    • 5 min read

A Reckless Heart by Jennifer Wilck is a Book Series Starter Event pick #romance #bookseries #bookrec #giveaway



Title: A Reckless Heart

 

Author: Jennifer Wilck

 

Genre: Contemporary romance

 

Book Blurb:

 

Meg Thurgood, former society girl, took the blame for her friend and paid a steep price. Now all she wants is solitude and a chance to rebuild her life. She thinks she's found that in an isolated house she rents from a mysterious stranger.Simon McAlter has hidden in his house on the coast of Maine since a fire left him scarred. A successful landscape architect who conducts his business and teaches his classes remotely, he's lost his inspiration and is trying to pretend he's not lonely. Simon's new neighbor is more than he bargained for. When he learns Meg's secret, will he retreat into the shadows or will he learn to see past the surface and trust in Meg's love? 

 

Excerpt:

 

In the week since Meg arrived, Simon discovered two things.

One, his tenant was not a middle-aged lady like he’d thought. Oh no. She was the woman he first spotted on the cliff—young, exuberant, and sexy as hell in a bathing suit. She walked every day this past week from the house across the way to his beach. He admired the sway of her hips each time. Despite her obvious hesitancy due to the cold, each day she’d ventured a little deeper into the water. Every time she retreated or shrieked at the temperature, he’d laughed, much to his dismay.

 

Two, he’d become a creature of habit. She destroyed his routine. He used the beach first thing each morning or as soon as he returned from work. But with her around, dancing and cavorting in the water at random times, he’d been thrown off his schedule. He wouldn’t risk running into her. As a result, he spent a lot of time at his window. Staring at the beach.

 

In the future, he’d have to be more specific with his realtor about the type of tenant he’d allow. In the meantime, he needed to determine how to get her off his damn beach.

 

He looked outside and didn’t see her. Screw it. He’d take a chance, run and take a quick swim and be home before she arrived. The ocean called to him. It drove him crazy to stay away. Before he changed his mind, he put on his trunks, grabbed a towel, and raced to the beach.

 

As his legs hit the water, he sucked in a sharp breath. The water was cold, colder than the last time he was here. As he waded deeper, his stomach shivered, and he plunged beneath the surface. He swam leisurely, coming up for air as necessary. He enjoyed the weightlessness and silence below the surface. Finally, he dunked once more, held his breath as long as possible, and shot out of the water.

 

An ear-splitting shriek greeted him as water sluiced off his body.

 

With a curse, he yanked his hair in front of his face, sank to his neck in the water, and searched for the owner of the offensive lungs.

 

Meg.

 

She stood on the shore and quaked as if she’d seen a monster.

 

As if she’d seen his face.

 

He stifled an oath, swam backward, and placed distance between them. A long period of silence stretched between her shriek and now. Someone needed to say something. Anything.

 

“Sorry,” she yelled as she approached the water’s edge. “I didn’t mean to scream.”

 

“I won’t hurt you,” he called.

 

“I...I know. You startled me. I didn’t expect you to be here.” She looked along the shoreline, rubbed her arms, and shifted from one foot to the other. “Do you come here often?”

 

“Most days.”

 

She turned as if ready to leave. He called out to her. “You’re welcome to swim, you know.”

 

With a pause, she glanced at him, eyes wide. “Thanks, maybe another time.”

 

His pulse pounded as she raced along the path and out of sight. Spots speckled his vision. She could have at least pretended.

 

No longer aware of the cold, he stalked from the ocean and dried off before he headed home. Inside his bathroom, he turned on the shower and avoided the mirror. He didn’t need to see his reflection to know how awful he looked.

 

No wonder she’d screamed. So much for swimming.

 

****


So much for swimming. And for being friendly.

 

Meg lay curled in the middle of her bed.


A man swam in her ocean. No, it wasn’t her ocean.

 

She’d gotten used to the privacy, but it didn’t mean she owned the place. If anyone did, it was her landlord, although she suspected he was too old to use it.

 

She sat up with a start. Was he her landlord?

 

He’d told her she could swim. Who else would give permission but her landlord? It wasn’t possible. He was too young. He didn’t fit her image of a recluse. The damn realtor never mentioned he was close to her age. No, he must be a trespasser, or a neighbor with permission to use the beach.

 

Her face burned. She should have been prepared. She shouldn’t have been shocked to see him in the water. It was why she’d shrieked like a schoolgirl. Her heart pounded so hard she struggled to get her breath or form sentences. Even when he’d told her he wouldn’t hurt her. Even when he’d invited her to swim, too.

 

His ebony hair covered his face. She couldn’t see his features, but his body? Broad shoulders, sculpted muscles, powerful arms. He was built better than any of the wealthy, Hollywood men she’d once known. There was a natural fluidity about him. It made her think he didn’t get those muscles from a gym. Of course, it was pure conjecture. But still.

 

She tamped her curiosity. At one point in her life that kind of man had intrigued her, hopelessly attracted her. Tempted her to seduce him. But that was the old Meg. The before-that-night Meg. The one who acted first and thought later. The one who gave little thought to who, in particular, she spent time with, male or female. The new Meg? Well, she was much more careful about whom she associated with and the reputation she cultivated. She knew first-hand the effect of guilt by association. Been there, done that. No need for an encore.

 

Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):

 







 


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Giveaway –

 

Enter to win a $40 Amazon gift card:

 

 

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Runs January 9 – January 21, 2024.


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Author Biography:

 

Jennifer Wilck is an award-winning contemporary romance author for readers who are passionate about love, laughter, and happily ever after. Known for writing both Jewish and non-Jewish romances, her books feature damaged heroes, sassy and independent heroines, witty banter and hot chemistry. Jennifer’s ability to transport the reader into the scene, create characters the reader will fall in love with, and evoke a roller coaster of emotions, will hook you from the first page. You can find her books at all major online retailers in a variety of formats.

 

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