*~*Love Notes: Griffin to Audrey – Bittersweet by Sarina Bowen*~*
The new series is set in Vermont. True North is populated by the tough, outdoorsy mountain men that populate the Green Mountain State. They raise cows and they grow apples. They chop a lot of wood, especially when they need to blow off steam. (Beards are optional but encouraged.)
If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the orchard.
The last person Griffin Shipley expects to find stuck in a ditch on his Vermont country road is his ex-hookup. Five years ago they’d shared a couple of steamy nights together. But that was a lifetime ago.
At twenty-seven, Griff is now the accidental patriarch of his family farm. Even his enormous shoulders feel the strain of supporting his mother, three siblings and a dotty grandfather. He doesn’t have time for the sorority girl who’s shown up expecting to buy his harvest at half price.
Vermont was never in Audrey Kidder’s travel plans. Neither was Griff Shipley. But she needs a second chance with the restaurant conglomerate employing her. Okay—a fifth chance. And no self-righteous lumbersexual farmer will stand in her way.
They’re adversaries. They want entirely different things from life. Too bad their sexual chemistry is as hot as Audrey’s top secret enchilada sauce, and then some.
Check out the other books in the True North Series…
She’s the only one who ever loved him—and the only one he can never have.
Jude lost everything one spring day when he crashed his car into an apple tree on the side of the road. A man is dead, and there’s no way he can ever right that wrong. He’d steer clear of Colebury, Vermont forever if he could. But an ex-con in recovery for his drug addiction can’t find a job just anywhere.
For Sophie Haines, coming face to face with the man who broke her heart is gut-wrenching. Suddenly, he’s everywhere she turns. It’s hard not to stare at how much he’s changed. The bad boy who used to love her didn’t have big biceps and sun-kissed hair. And he’d never turn up volunteer in the church kitchen.
She knows it’s foolish to yearn for the man who returned all the heartsick letters she wrote him in prison. But the looks he sends her now speak volumes.
No one wants to see Sophie and Jude back together, least of all Sophie’s police chief father. But it’s a small town. And forbidden love is a law unto itself.
There’s a first time for everything.
Lark Wainwright used to be fearless. Her life was a series of adventures, each one more exhilarating than the last. But her recent overseas adventure was one too many. Now she’s home and in one piece. Mostly. But her nights are filled with terror.
When her best friend offers her a stay at the orchard in exchange for help at the farmers’ markets, Lark jumps at the chance to spend fall in Vermont. But her nightmares don’t stop. Desperate to keep her fragile state a secret, she relies on the most soft-spoken resident of the Shipley Farm to soothe her when her dreams prove too much.
Zachariah is a survivor, too. It’s been four years since he was tossed aside by the polygamist cult where he grew up. He’s found a peaceful existence on the Shipley’s farm, picking apples and fixing machinery. But getting thrown away by your own people at nineteen leaves a mark on a guy. He doesn’t always know what to make of a world where movie quotes are the primary means of communication. Before hitchhiking to Vermont, he’d never watched TV or spoken on the phone.
Actually, there are a lot of things he’s never done.
Zach and Lark slowly grow to trust one another. One night they become even closer than they’d planned. But Lark may still be too broken to trust anyone. When she pushes Zach away, he will have to prove to himself that he’s good for much more than farm labor.
No last names. No life stories. Those were the rules.
Once upon a time a cocky, copper-haired tourist sauntered into Zara’s bar. And even though she knew better, Zara indulged in a cure for the small-town blues. It was supposed to be an uncomplicated fling—a few sizzling weeks before he went back to his life, and she moved on.
Until an accidental pregnancy changed her life.
Two years later, she’s made peace with the notion that Dave No-Last-Name will never be found. Until one summer day when he walks into her coffee shop, leveling her with the same hot smile that always renders her defenseless.
Dave Beringer has never forgotten the intense month he spent with prickly Zara. Their nights together were the first true intimacy he’d ever experienced. But the discovery of his child is the shock of a lifetime, and his ugly past puts relationships and family out of reach.
Or does it? Vermont’s countryside has a way of nurturing even tortured souls. The fields and the orchards—and hard won love—are Bountiful.
Sometimes you fall for Mr. Right. And sometimes for Mr. Right Now…
May
Did you hear the one about the girl who walks into a bar and catches her live-in lover kissing someone else? No? You’re the only one in town who missed it.
Luckily Alec is there to wrap me up in strong arms and carry me out the door before things get too ugly. And that’s not all Alec is good at. Our unexpected chemistry makes him the perfect rebound guy.
Alec
I should know better than to hook up with my rival’s little sister, but the fiery look in May’s eyes really turns my crank. She needs cheering up, and I’m just the guy for the job.
It’s not like I’ll fall in love. Not even after a string of scorching hot trysts, and the realization that we’re good at the same things: wild nights and familial disappointment. I don’t do love, never have, never will. So this is the perfect arrangement, for both of us.
Nobody would approve, but nobody has to know…
Skye Copeland is on paid leave from her broadcasting job after accidentally drawing a pecker on the traffic map.
Let that sink in. Like it’s her fault the traffic pattern that day created a perfect schlong?
Skye isn’t laughing. She needs this job. And that’s the only reason she’s agreed to chase down a story in her least favorite place—that hell on earth known as Vermont.
A quick trip. In and out. Much like – never mind. Skye can sneak into the town that once tried to break her, get the story and get back into the good graces of her producer. Easy peasy.
Except things go sideways even as she sets foot over the county line. Her step-sister is on the run from a violent drug dealer. And the cop on the case is none other than Benito Rossi, the man who broke her teenage heart.
His dark brown eyes still tear her apart. And even as she steels herself to finally tell him off after twelve years, the old fireworks are still there.
Things are about to go boom.
Seriously…I can’t even stand how much Griffin’s note made me smile!
Keep reading to see the full Love Note!
Princess,
I’m not great at this Valentines thing, but I wanted to get you something great. Except:
You told me not to buy you any chocolate because the pregnancy weight is freaking you out. I still think you’re a hot mama, but I am trying to respect your wishes.
And I can’t splurge on a bottle of champagne because you cant drink alcohol for another…how many weeks is it?
KIDDING. I know exactly how many days until your due date. As if I could forget.
Now that I have your attention, you should also know that I went to a lingerie store in Burlington when I was making a trip to the brewery supply place with Alec.
That was a total bust. Not only did I have to watch Alec get a little too excited about buying something skimpy for May, (pass the brain bleach! I don’t want details about my sister’s sex life!) they don’t have anything in Jabba the Hut sizes.
Unfortunately I said that out loud. In the store. The look the sales woman gave me! I was all: “You don’t understand. We’re a Star Wars family. That was my lovely wife’s joke!”
She wasn’t buying it. I couldn’t get out of that store fast enough. And anyway you said something about having to buy nursing bras and I don’t know what those are and that’s way above my pay grade.
So just now I got out of bed very quietly and shut off your alarm. It’s five a.m. and I’m on my way to open the coffee shop for you. Roderick is meeting me there. We’re giving you the gift of a day off. You deserve it. After the baby is born (in three weeks and two days) a good night’s sleep will be rarer than clean shoes in a barnyard. This is the best gift I could think of. I’ll go serve muffins and make coffee for a few hours. Roderick will handle the hard stuff. He promised.
Sleep well, princess. From the minute you drove your car into the ditch in front of the farm, I haven’t been able to think about anyone else. You already know I love you. And I didn’t think it was possible that I could love you more. But when I climb into bed and you wiggle backward until your extra-large pregnant self is tucked against me, I swear I didn’t know life could be so sweet.
I wish I could give you everything in the world, Princess.
But for now, sleep.
Love,
Griff
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I love Griff and Audrey!
Such a sweet love note from Grumpy Griff!!
I’d like Griff to be my Valentine this year.
I love the Bittersweet Series and the Gift of sleep from Griff to Audrey.
Oh grumpy griff!!! Sooo sweet!!!
GAH! I loved Griffin’s note so much! I now want to reread this whole series!!!
Griffin all the way ?