Any Fin For Love
by
Petie McCarty
Contemporary Romance
Publisher:
Publication Date:
Page count: pages
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SYNOPSIS:
Cody Ryan’s father never missed fishing the annual Loon Lake tournament until his unexpected passing. So this year, Cody packs up her how-to fishing videos and her dad’s old johnboat and gives him one final entry.
Gage Connor needs some R&R away from his coast guard deployment catching drug smugglers along the Louisiana coast, so he borrows a bass boat from his buddy and heads to Loon, Alabama to do some fishing.
When Gage and Cody meet at Loon Lake, their attraction is immediate and intense—until the two discover there is only one boat slip left on the lake and they both need it, and there’s only one vacant hotel room left in Loon and they both want it. Thus, their competition begins. Both vow to keep their distance from the other to fight the temptation, but fate has other plans. The tournament pairing party picks the two-man teams and chooses Gage as Cody’s partner.
For two days.
Alone on a boat.
Working as a team.
Good things come to those who bait . . .
EXCERPT:
Double damn!
Gage looked over Lila’s head and saw Cody stomping toward the dock, a big Igloo cooler in her arms, fire in her eyes, and steam escaping from her ears. Okay, no steam, but she looked mad enough for some. He swallowed hard and tried to pry Lila’s arms free, but she was having none of that.
“Now you just hold still, cutie patootie,” she drawled, “and let little ole Lila give you my special good-luck hug.” She crushed her barely-covered breasts against his abdomen, causing the neckline on her tank top to droop almost to her navel.
Cody had reached the dock and stomped so hard he could feel the vibration in the boards. Her glare could singe the fins off an alligator gar, and Gage had Lila stuck to him like a tick. He was a sitting duck.
Cody looked even madder now than when she left to get the rest of her gear, which could only mean . . .
Wait a minute! She’s jealous.
Of Lila.
Cody’s glare deepened upon final approach.
And Gage grinned for real.
Zeke Tumson, my ass. She likes me.
He stopped trying to struggle free of Lila and waited for Cody to get to the boat and the fireworks to begin. Lila felt his struggle cease and snuggled in closer, rubbing every inch of her breasts against his gut, then laying her cheek on his chest. A week ago, Lila’s antics might have elicited a very pronounced and noticeable reaction. Today—he glanced down to check—nothing. His gaze shot to Cody steaming down the dock. Had she done this to him?
“Mmmm,” Lila cooed and squiggled her body again, “good luuuuck.”
Cody marched mere steps away. When Lila purred, Cody hesitated for a heartbeat, made a sharp left, stepped down into the johnboat, and proceeded to hook up her livewell.
Gage waited a five-count, but Cody kept her head down and fooled with the tubing attached to the cooler. He knew he had to move. If he didn’t, Lila would be in his shorts any second.
Maybe he should let . . .
Nope, bad idea.
Cody would push him overboard later, then drive off and leave him. Heck, she may already be planning that.
He cleared his throat to be sure Cody heard. “Thanks for seeing us off, Lila,” he said politely.
No reaction from Cody.
“I didn’t come to see her off,” Lila sniped. “Just yooouu,” she cooed and rubbed her breasts against his gut again.
Cody missed it. She never looked up.
“All right, you get on back to your registration table, and let me get to my fishing.” Gage took Lila’s shoulders and physically set her back.
Still ignoring him, Cody finished with the livewell and picked up a fishing rod.
Lila batted her eyelashes. “I’ll be waiting when you get back, sugar. What say we have dinner tonight?”
No way would he answer that question. He just smiled and stuck a foot out to step down in the johnboat at the same instant Lila hooked her finger in his belt loop to tug him back.
Too late, Gage saw the butt end of Cody’s rod push off on the dock cleat, and the johnboat shot back the full three feet of loose bow and stern line.
His sneaker stepped into thin air, and he dropped like a rock.
Gage hit the water at an angle, and Lila followed him in, her finger still hooked in his belt loop.
Gage looked over Lila’s head and saw Cody stomping toward the dock, a big Igloo cooler in her arms, fire in her eyes, and steam escaping from her ears. Okay, no steam, but she looked mad enough for some. He swallowed hard and tried to pry Lila’s arms free, but she was having none of that.
“Now you just hold still, cutie patootie,” she drawled, “and let little ole Lila give you my special good-luck hug.” She crushed her barely-covered breasts against his abdomen, causing the neckline on her tank top to droop almost to her navel.
Cody had reached the dock and stomped so hard he could feel the vibration in the boards. Her glare could singe the fins off an alligator gar, and Gage had Lila stuck to him like a tick. He was a sitting duck.
Cody looked even madder now than when she left to get the rest of her gear, which could only mean . . .
Wait a minute! She’s jealous.
Of Lila.
Cody’s glare deepened upon final approach.
And Gage grinned for real.
Zeke Tumson, my ass. She likes me.
He stopped trying to struggle free of Lila and waited for Cody to get to the boat and the fireworks to begin. Lila felt his struggle cease and snuggled in closer, rubbing every inch of her breasts against his gut, then laying her cheek on his chest. A week ago, Lila’s antics might have elicited a very pronounced and noticeable reaction. Today—he glanced down to check—nothing. His gaze shot to Cody steaming down the dock. Had she done this to him?
“Mmmm,” Lila cooed and squiggled her body again, “good luuuuck.”
Cody marched mere steps away. When Lila purred, Cody hesitated for a heartbeat, made a sharp left, stepped down into the johnboat, and proceeded to hook up her livewell.
Gage waited a five-count, but Cody kept her head down and fooled with the tubing attached to the cooler. He knew he had to move. If he didn’t, Lila would be in his shorts any second.
Maybe he should let . . .
Nope, bad idea.
Cody would push him overboard later, then drive off and leave him. Heck, she may already be planning that.
He cleared his throat to be sure Cody heard. “Thanks for seeing us off, Lila,” he said politely.
No reaction from Cody.
“I didn’t come to see her off,” Lila sniped. “Just yooouu,” she cooed and rubbed her breasts against his gut again.
Cody missed it. She never looked up.
“All right, you get on back to your registration table, and let me get to my fishing.” Gage took Lila’s shoulders and physically set her back.
Still ignoring him, Cody finished with the livewell and picked up a fishing rod.
Lila batted her eyelashes. “I’ll be waiting when you get back, sugar. What say we have dinner tonight?”
No way would he answer that question. He just smiled and stuck a foot out to step down in the johnboat at the same instant Lila hooked her finger in his belt loop to tug him back.
Too late, Gage saw the butt end of Cody’s rod push off on the dock cleat, and the johnboat shot back the full three feet of loose bow and stern line.
His sneaker stepped into thin air, and he dropped like a rock.
Gage hit the water at an angle, and Lila followed him in, her finger still hooked in his belt loop.
REVIEW:
5 stars!
A contemporary romance with so much more!
Any Fin For Love is a new contemporary romance by
veteran author Petie McCarty, and her skilled hand really shows! Not only are
there great characters, main and supporting, but the romance is accompanied by
bittersweet memories, sparkling dialogue, suspense, and danger, all set around
an annual fishing tournament held outside of Loon, Alabama. I was immediately
captured by the story, smiling at the circumstances of our two lead characters
and turning pages like crazy to see what happened next.
Our heroine, Cody Ryan, retraces her recently departed
father’s annual trip to participate in a fishing tournament. Spurred by regret that
she was too busy when he was alive, she has the sweetest intentions to honor
his annual tradition, but there is just so much she doesn’t know. She slowly
realizes her disadvantage, yet she perseveres; she’s one game gal. Our hero,
Gage Connor, desperately needs some R&R from his stressful Coast Guard job
chasing drug smugglers and is wound tighter than a drum. Why he thought entering
a fishing tournament would be a better respite than a leisurely vacation just
doing some fishing escaped me (if this were real life.) Still, it was a great
device to throw these two together, and his stress adds just that little extra
pressure to the situational comedy. I loved their inevitable pairing during the
tournament, and all the aforementioned sets the stage for the fun and
excitement to come.
This great premise gets dialed up to “11” with the addition of stellar supporting characters, some good and some very shady ones with evil doings on their minds. One of my favorite secondary characters was Dougah Broussard. Introduced early on, I enjoyed his manner of speech with its smattering of Cajun patois and his advice to Gage regarding his love life, work life, and whatever.
With its engaging characters, fun setting, fishing, and multiple storylines, I recommend ANY FIN FOR LOVE to readers who enjoy contemporary romances with a touch of comedy and a good dash of suspense.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Petie spent a large part of her career working at Walt Disney World—"The Most Magical Place on Earth"—where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night, including her new series, The Cinderella Romances. She eventually said good-bye to her "day" job to write her stories full-time. These days Petie spends her time writing sequels to her regency time-travel series, Lords in Time, and her cozy-mystery-with-romantic-suspense series, the Mystery Angel Romances.
Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband and an opinionated Nanday conure named Sassy who made a cameo appearance in No Angels for Christmas.
Visit Petie's web site online at https://www.petiemccarty.com or her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/petie.mccarty.
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
Petie McCarty will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Thank you for your kind words! And for taking valuable time to read and review my story. All best, Petie
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