Novel Excerpt: ‘Rainy Day Friends’ by Jill Shalvis

Taking a deep breath, she stripped out of her top and skirt. When she looked up, she found Mark suddenly at the water’s edge, the water lapping at his calves. His eyes were dark, very dark, and she pointed at him. “Don’t take this the wrong way.”

            “Is there a wrong way to take it when a beautiful woman strips out of her clothes?” he asked without a smile, although it was in his voice. “I’m taking it that you’re planning a swim.”

            “Actually, I’m planning on kicking your ass at boogie boarding,” she said. “And that is all.”

            His mouth quirked. “Duly noted.”

            “Your pants are ringing,” she murmured as his phone went off.

            He came all the way out of the waves, water sluicing off his extremely fit body. A few drops clung stubbornly to all those lean muscles and she had to admit, she’d have done the same thing if she was one of those drops of water.

            He bent to his pants to fish out his phone. Even in only the moonlight, his eyes seemed to gleam as he stared at Lanie in a way that suddenly made her want to forget boogie-boarding in lieu for something else entirely.

            No. Not going to fall for him, she reminded herself sternly, no matter how grounded and real and charismatic he seemed. It would only bring heartache.

(Guess what: Jill will be taking over Frolic’s Twitter @onfrolic on June 21. Get all your juicy questions ready and stay tuned for more details!)