After years of bad relationships and a cheating ex-fiancé, twenty-eight-year-old Mia Martinelli prefers healing her patients’ hearts on the Cardiac Care floor rather than risking having her heart broken again. But that all comes to a screeching halt when caring for the head roadie for Runaway Train puts her into the orbit of drummer and Latin Lover, AJ Resendiz. After a scorching weekend of steamy passion, Mia’s intention of getting out with her heart unscathed is challenged by the stud with the wicked sense of humor, especially when he wants to continue seeing her. But when the harsh reality of AJ’s hoard of female admirers sends her insecurities into overdrive, Mia bails, leaving him handcuffed to his bathroom shower.
AJ never imagined that after two weeks of the best sex and female companionship he’d ever experienced, he would need rescued by his band mates from his shower prison. Although he tries to forget the sensual brunette whose curves made his mouth water, AJ can’t get her out of his mind…or his heart. Months later when he finally seeks Mia for answers as to why she left, nothing could prepare him for their life-altering reunion.
Can AJ prove to Mia that regardless of the women after his body, his heart belongs only to her?
Book 1 Runaway Train: Music of the Heart
AJ and Mia’s First
Meeting
As
Frank went to work devouring a chili dog, Rhys jumped up on the ledge in front
of the window, swinging his legs back and forth, while I plopped down into the
heinously uncomfortable chair next to Frank’s bed. We were just shooting
the shit on all that had happened while he had been gone when the door swung
open. Immediately, I got a swift kick in the pants of the most delicious kind.
A tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed goddess of a nurse strode into the room. Through
her standard blue scrubs, I detected she possessed every attribute that gave me
instant wood—wide, curvy hips, thick thighs, a voluptuous ass, and a full,
natural rack.
“Oh
shit!” Frank exclaimed. His panicked gaze swept right and then left as if he
were trying to think of a speedy getaway. I couldn’t imagine from the way his
Angel of Mercy nurse looked, not to mention her genuinely caring expression,
that she could possibly be worthy of such fear. He was acting like she was
Nurse Ratched out of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest or something.
She
only smiled at his reaction. “Now Mr. Patterson, that’s not your usual
greeting. You’re always so happy to see me.”
“I
can see why,” Rhys muttered under his breath.
“No
shit,” I replied.
“Er,
uh…I’m sorry, Mia.” Frank gave her a reassuring smile. “I promise I’m very
grateful for the care you have been giving me.”
“I’m
glad to hear it.” Her gaze flicked over to Rhys and me. “You must be Frank’s
grandsons. He said you were coming in from out of town.”
Frank
chuckled. “Actually, those knuckleheads are my bosses.”
Mia’s
dark brows popped up at his summation. “Really?”
With
a nod, Frank said, “Yep, that’s AJ Resendiz and Rhys McGowan.” He gazed over at
us. “Boys, this is the most amazing nurse any man could ever hope for, Mia
Martinelli.”
“You’re
such a flatterer, Mr. Patterson,” Mia replied, before giving Rhys and me a
wave. “Oh wait, now I remember. You’re the guys my nursing partner was telling
me about. The ones in the band.”
Pursing
my lips into my signature smirk, I replied, “Well, we’re not just in any band.
We’re in Runaway Train. We were nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy’s
last year.”
“I’m
sorry, but I hadn’t heard of you before,” she replied, appearing genuinely
apologetic.
Ouch.
That statement was a different kick in the pants. I couldn’t remember the last
time a chick hadn’t instantly recognized us or at least been utterly
star-struck by being in our presence. I leaned forward in my chair. “Maybe
you’ll give us a listen?”
She
smiled. “Of course I will. It’s not every day I come into contact with a Grammy
nominated band.”
“Thank
you,” Rhys replied, giving Mia his own seductive smile. I fought the urge to
knock it off his face.
“Maybe
you could sign something for me?” she suggested.
My
gaze honed in on her breasts, and I knew exactly where I wanted to sign. “Sure,
I’d love to.”
Mia
cleared her throat, and I snapped my gaze to hers. The expression on her face
told me she knew exactly where my one track mind had gone. “Actually, I was
thinking more along the lines of you bringing me a signed CD or—” Mia sniffed
the air suspiciously. Her dark eyes bulged at the sight of the opened Varsity
containers in front of Frank. “Mr. Patterson, please tell me that just three
days after you underwent triple bypass that I am hallucinating the artery
clogging food in front of you?”
Frank’s
face turned the color of an overripe tomato at her admonishment. “Maybe,” he
replied weakly.
Crossing
her arms over her ample cleavage, Mia shook her head back and forth so fast I
figured she would get whiplash. “How many times have we been over your diet
since you were discharged from ICU?”
Cowering
a little, Frank replied, “Several.”
“I’m
so disappointed in you,” Mia admonished. Her wrathful gaze turned on Rhys and
me. “Since this food didn’t materialize out of thin air, I suppose you two are
to blame?”
“We
just wanted to bring him his favorite food,” Rhys replied.
Mia’s
eyes narrowed. “He just had by-pass surgery! He can’t eat stuff like this.”
I
shrugged. “We didn’t know that.”
“Did
you leave your brains in your guitar case?”
“I
play the drums,” I corrected.
“Whatever,”
Mia snapped. She grabbed Frank’s box of chili dogs and fries and slammed them
into the trash. “I suppose you would think it was a good idea to take a bottle
of champagne to someone just discharged from rehab, huh?” She started to swipe
the drink off as well, but it bounced off the trash can lid and landed straight
into my lap. Busting on impact, the ice cold orange soda coated my crotch,
stinging like tiny daggers over my skin. “Fuck!” I shouted, leaping to my feet.
“Oh
my God, I’m sorry,” Mia apologized.
What
happened next could only be expressed as something out of a warped fantasy.
With a wad of napkins in hand, Mia dropped to her knees before me—my dick
eye-level with her gorgeous face. She began furiously toweling off the front of
my jeans. It took all of two seconds for the visual, along with her ministrations,
to have me at half-mast.
“Umm,”
I began.
“Sorry,
but this will stain if we don’t get it off.”
When
I dared glancing over at Rhys, his hand covered mouth, smothering the laughter
that caused his whole body to shake. Frank wore an expression of amused horror.
Okay, so Florence Nightingale couldn’t take a hint. I guess I was going to have
to make it as plain as I could. Leaning over, I whispered into Mia’s ear.
“Carino, if you don’t stop with the rubdown, you’re going to make another mess
to clean up. Inside my pants.”
She
jerked her head up and stared into my eyes. I watched as the realization of my
words, along with what she had been doing, washed over her. My breath hitched
as waited for the usual signs of extreme mortification to follow—reddened
cheeks, stammering speech, avoiding making eye contact. All the things that
would make it easy for me to move in for the kill and have her in my bed by
midnight.
But
I got none of those.
Instead,
Mia rose up and smacked the soggy napkins against my chest. As I fumbled to
grasp them, she replied, “I’m so terribly sorry. I don’t know what came over
me.” She then proceeded to give me a sickeningly, sweet smile—one that reminded
me of Abby right before she gave one us a verbal smack-down. When she edged
closer to me, I knew I was in for it and then some. She cocked one brown brow.
“How terribly embarrassing and inconvenient it must be for you to have such a
sensitivity problem down there. I mean, chicks expect a night of passion with
Mr. Latin Lover, and they get mere seconds.” She made a tisking sound in the
back of her throat. “Pity.”
My
mouth gaped open, and instead of a witty, maybe even scathing, come-back, I
could only open and close it like a dying fish out of water. I couldn’t
remember the last time I’d been rendered completely speechless by a female
outside of my mother and abuela.
Mia
eyed me one final time before turning to Frank. “Mr. Patterson, I’ll be back to
check on you on the hour,” she replied before quickly side-stepping me and
stomping out the room.
When
the door closed behind her, Rhys and Frank howled with laugher. “Holy shit,
dude! I can’t believe what she just said to you!” Rhys exclaimed, wiping the
tears from his eyes.
I
stared momentarily at the closed door before a smile spread across my cheeks.
“Now that, gentlemen, is the future Mrs. Resendiz, right there.”
I really like that I didn't have to re-read the first book to understand what's going on. I think that takes true talent. There's been about 300 books in between the first and second book, sometimes I don't always remember what's going on. But one thing I don't like is when authors take a long time rehashing and refreshing. Katie slowly reminds us of Jake and Abby's story throughout BotH.
Overall, AJ was a sweet-dirty talking-love machine! His heart's always in a good place, he's my favorite character so far! This book was everything you could want from a romance, it was sweet, angsty, heart-wrenching and when you finish, your heart is happy!
Katie Ashley is the New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best-Selling author of The Proposition. She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her two very spoiled dogs and one outnumbered cat. She has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls, Harry Potter, Shakespeare, Supernatural, Designing Women, and Scooby-Doo.
She spent 11 1/2 years educating the Youth of America aka teaching MS and HS English until she left to write full time in December 2012.
She also writes Young Adult fiction under the name Krista Ashe.
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