This is not the résumé Ginger Halloway ever imagined having. But thanks to a miracle pill, which makes her size 22 body instantly sexy, that’s what happened.
Yet, now Lance Franklin is showing interest in her, and she can’t figure out if he really likes her for her, or if it’s just because of a bizarre drug.
And her wild bunch of friends, The Misfits…well, they’re always getting her into some interesting situations.
So, yep, business as usual. Except for the guy. What the hell should she do about him?
As for Lance, he believes he’s lucky to have found Ginger. But can he convince her they should go for it?
With some new attention from the hottest guy she’s ever met, Ginger can’t help but wonder…is this all too good to be true?
(CONTENT WARNING: Watch for foul language, steamy scenes, and a pesky yet messy ability to choke on your dinner while laughing. If you’ve come expecting just a lighthearted, slapstick romance, you may not get that here. The author approaches sensitive topics in the best way she knows how. Just be prepared for all the feels to be deeper than usual for this genre – an emotional romantic comedy. No unruly cliffhangers, HEA guaranteed.)
Her heart jolted again as she noted twenty good-sized men had converged upon her. Yep, this was happening.
Escape, she thought. Now.
Panic mode set in, and she stumbled away from the hardwood counter, treaded straight for the exit. A hand caught her arm and spun her around.
A man with sandy blonde hair, brown eyes and handsome features appeared before her. “Ginger, baby, come on. Where are you going? The party has just begun.”
She shrugged his hand off. “I’m sorry. I have to go. I need to cancel—”
He frowned. “But we had a date.”
A nice face didn’t equate to decent moral character. “No, I don’t remember you,” she breathed.
“I saw you and knew I had to have you. You’re mine.” His eyes flashed.
Ginger stepped back a bit. Seriously? What the hell was up with him? They were virtual strangers.
“What’s wrong, baby? Haven’t had one like me before?” He flexed his muscles, as if to illustrate a point, and then glanced down at her with a wide smile. It was clear he in fact thought he was something. At that moment, she noticed the line of quarterbacks not too far behind him. Never one to waste an opportunity when she had it, Ginger ducked under his outstretched arm and beelined around the crowd in the opposite direction. Though there was only one exit, she hoped the man might get stuck by the traffic jam in the main aisle. Once on the sidewalk outside, she ran as fast as her legs would take her in those stupid high heels on the hard pavement.
This was insane. Surely InstaSin hadn’t caused such chaos?
She couldn’t believe that. Maybe it was just poor planning. A guy might take it the wrong way if you went ahead and set up another date after him. Still, most men knew those dating sites weren’t exclusive. So, why get too possessive? The ownership on all their faces was worrisome, to say the least. She’d never met them before today and could just remember a handful of names. Thank God surnames were concealed on the site, or she’d be in real trouble once she got out of this. How many G. Halloway’s could exist in San Francisco?
After a couple blocks, Ginger paused to take a breath or two. But they’d give up by now, right? Hell, maybe it was paranoia and all those men weren’t after her.
Of course not. This was just a bizarre mix-up…
“Ginger! Stop!”
She looked over her shoulder and froze. Sure enough, almost two football teams had come after her. Dressed in various types of attire, from dress casual to ultra-casual, with the same hard look on their faces. It was all about the prize.
She hadn’t wanted this, though. There was an obvious hunger in their eyes too. The dangerous kind. Nausea shifted through her belly, threatened to evacuate the diet sodas she’d had at work, and Ginger veered off to the right. She didn’t know where she was heading, but couldn’t wait to get in a cab and speed toward her apartment.
This unique experience wasn’t relished at all.
A scream tore out of Ginger as someone snagged at her hair, and she yanked away, stumbling across the street. The pull on her scalp was nothing compared to the panic she felt now. She doubled her efforts as she raced down the pavement, feet pounded in her green heels.
Please, please, God. I’ll never use a dating site again if you just get me out of this right now.
A hand shot out, grabbed her arm, and she screeched again.
“Darlin’, come on,” a male voice coaxed, and a wonderful scent drifted in her nose. But everything happened so fast, she couldn’t register what it was. “There’s no time. You’ll be safe in here.”
The voice was soothing. Ginger calmed at once and found she was led up a short stairway into a tall, light gray structure. Inside, she backed away from the glass a little, breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the group pass by after a few moments.
Each breath was labored, and her forehead, upper chest and lower back were sweaty. Her feet and legs ached. She felt like this when she visited the gym, exhausted, practically passed out, draped over the treadmill’s handlebars. Now, each breath hitched in her chest. And the boob pain wasn’t a joke. She winced, passed a hand down her face, and turned to confront the new threat.
He was a looker, for sure, with deep brown, spiky hair and nice blue eyes. The man wore a gray business suit. He’d obviously just come from work. And Jesus, he was tall and muscled, topped six feet no problem. He had handsome features, with a Roman nose and somewhat full, made-to-be-kissed lips.
Get ahold of yourself, Ginger.
His eyes widened as he took in her appearance.
“Not you too,” she moaned. But hell, for all she knew, maybe he’d never seen a melting green marshmallow before.
“Are you okay, ma’am? Why were those men chasing you?”
She managed, “I don’t know.”
That was the truth. They hadn’t warned InstaSin would be like this, and it was just twenty-four hours in. Extreme sexiness? Check, if the response she’d received was any indication. Grounds for a restraining order? Nope. They certainly hadn’t covered this in the drug’s description.
Marie Lavender lives in the Midwest with her family and two cats. She has been writing for a little over twenty-five years. She has more works in progress than she can count on two hands. Since 2010, Marie has published 21 books in the genres of historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, romantic comedy, dramatic fiction, fantasy, science fiction, mystery/thriller, literary fiction and poetry. An avid blogger on the side, she writes adult fiction, as well as occasional stories for children, and has recently started some young adult fiction. She also contributed to several anthologies. Though she has some standalone titles on the market, her current published series are The Heiresses in Love Series, The Eternal Hearts Series, The Magick Series, The Code of Endhivar Series, The Misfits Series and The Blood at First Sight Series.
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