Breaking
Up with Barrett
The
English Brothers Book 1
Katy Regnery
Genre: Short contemporary romance
Date of Publication: 7/21/14
ISBN: 978-0-9912045-2-6
ASIN: B00M0DQIEC
Number
of pages: 171
Word
Count: 50,000
Cover
Artist: Kim Killion, Hot Damn Designs
Book Description:
Breaking
Up with Barrett is the first of five books about the
Philadelphia-based, wildly-handsome English brothers who are all on
the look-out for love.
(Except
Alex. He's a womanizing manwhore. And maybe Stratton, because he's
wicked hot, but super awkward around girls.)
Barrett
English, aka "the Shark," is the fair-haired, first-born of
the English brothers, and the CEO of the oldest, most prestigious
investment banking firm in Philadelphia. He rules the boardroom with
an iron fist, refusing to take no for an answer and always getting
his way.
Emily
Edwards, a first-year doctoral student at the University of
Pennsylvania, grew up in the gatehouse on the outskirts of Barrett's
childhood estate. The daughter of his family's gardener and
housekeeper, she was always looking through the window of privilege,
but forced to remember her place at the very periphery of the
kingdom.
When
business partners suggest that a fiancee might soften Barrett's image
over business dinners, he approaches Emily for the "job" of
fiancee. And while love wasn't necessarily on Barrett's radar, he
begins to realize that Emily always has been. But will his
take-no-prisoners boardroom tactics work on the heart of the woman he
loves?
Excerpt
CHAPTER 1 Breaking Up with Barrett
Barrett English.
Emily’s heart
kicked into a gallop as she looked down at the caller ID on her
buzzing phone. Trying to steady her suddenly shallow breathing, she
closed her eyes for a brief second before pushing back from the
coffee shop table where the rest of her study group continued to
discuss early-American industrialization.
“Be right back,”
she whispered to her roommate, Valeria, and ducked out the backdoor
of the café into an empty alley.
“Hello?”
“Mr. English for
Miss Edwards?”
“Okay.”
A moment later his
smooth, polished baritone voice came on the line. “Good afternoon,
Emily. Thank you for picking up.”
“I was at study
group,” she said, leaning against a brick wall and cringing at the
way she made it sound like his call wasn’t welcome.
“I’m sorry to
interrupt you.”
“N-no. It’s
fine,” she answered quickly, wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans
as she sandwiched the phone between her shoulder and ear. Damn it,
she wished she could be cooler, but her mind always went blank the
moment she heard the low rumble of his voice.
“I’ll be
brief,” he said. “Tomorrow night. The Union League Club. Seven
o’clock.”
Emily sighed. She
had plans tomorrow night with a sensitive, easy-going, doctoral psych
student named Chad who’d asked her out more than once. She’d
repeatedly turned him down, but Val had insisted that after four
months spent at Barrett English’s beck and call, Emily needed to go
out with someone with whom she actually had a chance.
“Emily?” he
prompted.
“How late?”
“Three hours
minimum. Possibly four.”
Pushing her hand
through her straight blonde hair, she knew it would be smart to
decline Barrett’s request and go out with psych cutie as planned.
The arrangement she had with Barrett—while beneficial to her bank
account—wasn’t doing her social life any favors. Nor her heart,
which didn’t seem to comprehend that Barrett only called her
because she was his employee. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to
say no to him.
“Engagement ring?”
she asked.
“Per usual.”
“The Chanel or the
Givenchy?”
“As you wish.”
“Hair band or
chignon?”
“You always look
presentable, Emily. I leave the details to you. Smith will pick you
up at six forty-five. Are we done?”
“Yes,” she
answered and the line immediately went dead.
“Goodbye,” Emily
said wistfully in the quiet of the alley, disappointment making her
grimace. She fisted the phone in her hand until the case pinched her
skin and shook her from her trance. “See you tomorrow! You’re
welcome! By the way, I love you, you jerk!”
Her yell caused a
flurry of commotion overhead as a flock of pigeons departed in a
hurry for safer, quieter lodgings, one of them pausing just long
enough to crap on Emily’s shoulder with a big, fat plop.
Fantastic. The
perfect metaphor for my life.
She stared at the
goopy greyish-white spot in surrender before taking a deep,
restorative breath, tucking her phone into her jeans and heading back
inside to clean her shirt and rejoin her study group.
An hour later, she
trudged home beside Valeria, who started scolding her as soon as
Emily shared her last-minute plans for tomorrow night.
“So you’ll have
to reschedule with Chad? Geez, Em, I don’t understand why you keep
saying yes to Barrett!” said Valeria, turning up her collar. “Why
not just say no?”
“He has a way
about him.” Emily sighed. “I always consider saying no, but I
somehow end up saying yes.”
Though they’d
never been close or intimate, Emily had known Barrett her entire
life—well, not really known him, because they were from very
different parts of Haverford Park, but he’d been a peripheral part
of her life since birth. The economic nature of the call she’d just
shared with him was textbook Barrett: businesslike, methodical and
goal-oriented. Emily somehow knew he wasn’t trying to offend her—he
was merely taking care of their mutual business as efficiently as
possible. It just hurt that he employed efficiency over warmth since
it verified what she had suspected for months: Barrett had little to
no personal interest in Emily, despite her growing feelings for him.
Valeria continued in
the no-nonsense tone she used when student teaching. “Here’s a
solution: say no next time. ‘No, Barrett, I refuse to play the part
of fake fiancée for you. Take a hike.’ Three words, Em—TAKE. A.
HIKE.” Valeria held up three fingers one by one, then tucked them
back into the pocket of her pea coat. “Darn, it’s cold.”
“It’s October in
Philadelphia.” Emily pointed out.
“Don’t change
the subject.”
“Okay, Val. I’ll
say no next time. Here goes. ‘No thanks, Barrett. You don’t make
me do anything disgusting. You barely say a word to me. I get to
dress up in gorgeous clothes I could never afford, have an expensive
glass of wine, and enjoy a scrumptious dinner with people who go out
of their way to be polite to me. And yes, I’m flat broke and so is
my roommate, but no thanks, I don’t want your one-hundred an hour
to play your fake fiancée. Keep it.’ How does that sound?”
“Not so smart.”
“I rest my case,”
said Emily, though the case was far from closed in her heart and
mind, which feuded in a tightly locked conundrum. Lately, her heart
murmured that she should walk away from Barrett before her feelings
for him grew any stronger, while her head insisted she couldn’t
possibly turn her back on the income he offered.
Falling
for Fitz
The
English Brothers
Book
2
Katy
Regnery
Genre:
Short contemporary romance
Date
of Publication: 7/27/14ISBN: 978-0-9912045-3-3
ASIN: B00M72V65C
Number
of pages: 165
Word
Count: 50,000
Cover
Artist: Kim Killion, Hot Damn Designs
Book
Description:
Falling
for Fitz is the second of five books about the Philadelphia-based,
wildly-handsome English brothers who are absolutely not on the
look-out for love.
(Except
Barrett, who fell in love when he was eight-years-old. And Fitz, who
met the girl of his dreams at nineteen. And maybe even Weston, who
just doesn't know it yet.)
Fitz
English and Daisy Edwards fell in love during one magical summer when
they were teenagers. When something tragic happens at the end of the
summer, Daisy tells Fitz she never wants to see him again. Despite
his feelings for her, he respects her wishes and for almost a decade
Fitz and Daisy go their separate ways.
Nine
years later, when Daisy moves home to Philadelphia, they meet again,
and both are shocked to discover that the feelings they had that
summer are just as deep and real today. There's a little snag,
however. It seems that Daisy is engaged to someone else, and she's
come home to get married.
Can
Fitz get Daisy to fall for him all over again before it's too late?
Only if Daisy can learn to trust the man who shattered her heart once
upon a time.
Excerpt
CHAPTER 1 Falling
for Fitz
Fitzpatrick English
walked into the ballroom at the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware,
stood in the doorway and sighed. Unlike Barrett, Alex, and Weston,
three of his four brothers, who all enjoyed a night out with the best
of Main Line society, Fitz wasn’t a huge fan of these sorts of
gatherings. All things equal, he’d just as soon be at home watching
college football in sweats and drinking a cold beer, but Barrett had
insisted he attend.
“Hello,
second-born.”
An arm was suddenly
laced through his, and he looked down to find his mother, Eleanora
Watters English, beaming at him.
“Evening, Mom.”
“It’s lovely you
showed up. I know these things aren’t your favorite.”
Fitz sighed.
“Barrett has a way…”
“Barrett had
always had a way. However, I will say that the last two months have
been void of his usual intensity over business, swapped for his
intensity over Emily Edwards. It’s been a refreshing change to see
him madly in love with something other than a deal.”
As Eleanora led them
through the crowd toward the table Barrett had purchased for them at
the Twenty-Third Annual Kindred Hospital Harvest Ball Fundraiser,
Fitz caught sight of his older brother. Barrett always looked like
James Bond in a tux, to the manor born, while Fitz always felt a bit
like an imposter. He knew all the rules of polite society, of course,
but it all felt a little stale after so many years of compliance. He
longed for something to shake him up as Emily Edwards had shaken up
Barrett. Looking ahead, he caught sight of his older brother who had
his arm wrapped around Emily’s waist, talking to another couple who
had their backs to Fitz. Occasionally Barrett would look down and
smile at Emily, and Fitz almost blushed at the intensity in his
brother’s gaze. Fitz could barely remember feeling that way about
someone. It had only been for such a short time, so long ago,
sometimes it felt more like a dream than a brief, caustically
significant, part of his life.
“Usual cast of
characters tonight?”
“Not exactly. The
English have been invaded… by the Edwards,” she said, forced
humor thick in her manicured voice. “Emily invited her parents to
join us.”
Fitz looked over the
heads of a few guests to see Susannah and Felix Edwards sitting at
the table. Emily’s father Felix, the head gardener of the family
estate, was in an animated conversation with Fitz’s father, Tom,
while Emily’s mother, Susannah, spoke tête-à-tête with Weston,
who was probably untangling some crisis of the heart with their
beloved housekeeper.
“I assume nine and
ten are Alex and whomever he brought with him tonight?”
“No, dearest.”
Eleanora stopped them a few feet from the table, and turned to look
at Fitz, her eyes careful, but searching. “I did say an invasion by
the Edwards. Felix and Susannah are practically family these days.
They wouldn’t exactly constitute an invasion.”
Fitz stared at his
mother’s face, not understanding her meaning. “But there are no
other Edwards… Felix, Susannah, and Emily, that’s all—”
Suddenly he jerked
his head around to look at the couple Barrett and Emily were talking
to. From behind, the woman had long, straight blond hair, just like
Emily’s, that ended in the center of her bare back. He narrowed his
eyes, squinting, as he made out the light brown birthmark that looked
like a heart, right in the center of her lower back, right over the
midnight blue silk that covered her perfect ass. He had a sudden,
blinding flashback to staring at that birthmark over tiny, bright
yellow bikini bottoms, and his heart kicked into a gallop.
“Daisy Edwards,”
he murmured, exhaling the contents of his lungs.
As though she heard
him or sensed him, Daisy turned her neck, catching sight of him as
her chin rested on her shoulder. His heart slammed behind his ribs as
she blinked in surprise, and her eyes widened. Their eyes stayed
locked on each other, spellbound and greedy, until Emily said
something to Daisy, and she turned back quickly to face her cousin.
The ten or twelve feet apart from her was suddenly unbearable and as
though Fitz was made of iron and she was a magnet, he felt pulled to
her in an uncompromising way, compelled to move closer to the force
of nature that was Daisy Edwards.
His mother’s arm,
still linked with his, stopped him.
“It was a million
years ago, Fitz.”
It didn’t feel
like a million years ago. Nine years slipped away and suddenly it
felt like yesterday.
“It was for the
best,” insisted Eleanora.
It didn’t feel
like it had been for the best. Not at the time and not now and not
every time he thought of her between then and now.
“I thought she was
in Oregon,” he said tightly.
“She was. She’s
moved back east. Her mother’s passed and her father’s all she has
left.”
“She’s moved to
Philly? Did you know?”
“No,” replied
his mother. “I didn’t even know she was coming tonight. Emily
invited her at the last minute when Stratton refused to come.”
His breath caught as
Daisy gathered her hair in her hands and twirled it once, then
settled it over one shoulder, baring her neck to him. The graceful
line made his mouth water, made his fingers twitch, made a hundred
buried memories fight for his attention.
“Listen to me,
Fitz,” said his mother, leaning closer to his ear. “There’s
something else you need to know.”
Fitz tore his eyes
from Daisy and looked at his mother, commanded by the seriousness of
her tone. “You may not have noticed, but she isn’t alone.”
He whipped his head
around and for the first time he noticed that the man standing beside
her was holding her hand, with his fingers laced possessively through
Daisy’s. His mother’s voice was close to his ear and delivered
the words he somehow knew were coming, though it didn’t lessen the
impact of the blow.
“She’s come home
for another reason, dearest. Daisy’s getting married.”
Anyone
but Alex
The
English Brothers
Book
3
Katy
Regnery
Genre:
Short contemporary romance
Date
of Publication: TBD
ISBN:
978-0-9912045-5-7
ASIN:
Number
of pages: 210
Word
Count: 55,000
Cover
Artist: Kim Killion, Hot Damn Designs
Book
Description:
Anyone
but Alex is the third of five books about the Philadelphia-based,
wildly-handsome English brothers who are all on the look-out for
love.
(Sort
of. Barrett and Fitz are officially off the market, Alex has sampled
every piece of available ass from Rittenhouse Square to the Liberty
Bell, Stratton can’t see to see what’s right in front of him, and
don't even get me started on the youngest English brother, Weston...)
Alex
English, the well-known man whore of the country club set, has always
preferred to play the field, eschewing a chance with Miss Right for a
satisfying quickie with Miss Right-Now. But after seeing his two
older brothers take the plunge, something has been aching inside of
Alex, and no amount of casual sex is filling the void in his heart.
Jessica
Winslow, whose older brothers are best friends with the English
brothers, has returned home from a fifteen-year stay in England, only
to find herself face-to-face with her childhood crush, Alex English,
on her first night home. She’s heard all the rumors, but Jessie
remembers the older boy who was so kind to her as a child, and can’t
help reaching out to Alex in friendship.
Between
disapproving brothers, scheming exes, and the biggest business deal
of English & Sons’ illustrious history, Alex and Jessie’s
budding romance is going to be put to the test. The question is…will
it be strong enough to be their happily-ever-after?
Excerpt
Anyone but Alex
Alex pressed the
elevator call button, then turned to look at the opulent lobby as he
waited.
Gold-gilded mirrors
made the space look even larger and grander as objects multiplied
into eternity. Objects like an ornate lamp sconce, a silk brocaded
loveseat, or the delectable curve of a woman’s bare back in a black
satin evening gown. Delighted by such an appealing distraction, Alex
turned around slowly, his eyes sweeping past the sconce and loveseat
to the woman on the far side of the room. She was tall and thin, and
the very simple, sleek lines of her dress showed every curve: of her
waist, her hips, her tight, round ass. The low V of the draped back
cut-out stopped at the base of her spine, and he followed the line
back up to her neck, which was swan-like: long and elegant. Her
jet-black hair, the same color as the dress, was long enough to be
worn over one shoulder, the thick, shiny strands waving uniformly,
void of any decoration.
From behind, she
was a goddess, and as the elevator rang to announce its arrival, Alex
ignored it, staring at the back of the stunning creature who held a
black coat over one arm, looking out the plate glass window onto the
rain-soaked sidewalk, as though waiting for someone to find her.
“Alex? Alex
English?”
Alex whipped his
head to the voice coming out of the elevator and was surprised to see
his good friend, Cameron Winslow, step toward him wearing a tux and a
cheerful smile.
“Hell, I thought
that was you!”
“Cam. Good to see
you.” Alex cleared his throat, darting a quick look at the woman by
the window, who hadn’t turned around, before looking back at his
old friend. “What are you doing here?”
Cam reached out his
hand and took Alex’s in a hearty shake. “Didn’t you know? I
moved here. I bought a condo upstairs.”
“I had no idea.”
Cam grinned,
nodding. “Closer to work. Closer to fun, eh, Professor?”
“It’s a great
neighborhood,” said Alex, holding back a cringe at his college
nickname. “I’m just around the corner.”
“The old make-out
pad, eh?”
“You know me,”
said Alex, by rote, knowing the words were expected.
“Yes, I do, and I
thank God I wasn’t born a woman.”
“Not that I’d
bang your ugly mug if you were.”
“I don’t know
how you do it.”
Lately, I don’t.
Not like I used to.
He forced a
well-known Alex English smirk. “I love the ladies, Cam. Have to
keep them happy.”
Cam chuckled. “Hey,
did you get my message about squash the Thursday after next?”
“After
Thanksgiving? No. Are we still on?”
“As long as you’re
up for an ass-whipping. Chris wants to play too, so I suggested
doubles. Can you get Fitz or Stratton on board?”
“I’ll work on
it.”
“Great.” Cam
looked around the lobby for a moment, then, after catching sight of
the girl in black by the window, returned his glance to Alex. The
change in his face was unmistakable, shifting from congenial to wary
on a dime. “Well, I guess I better be going.”
Alex raised an
eyebrow flicking his chin toward the goddess. “Is she with you?”
Cam’s eyes
narrowed just a touch. “In a manner of speaking.”
“What manner
might that be?”
“It’s not like
that,” said Cam sharply, and Alex heard the warning in his friend’s
voice. Cam’s lips tightened to a straight line as he looked at the
girl and then back at Alex. “You don’t recognize her?”
Alex shrugged.
“Should I?”
“No,” grunted
Cam, looking increasingly annoyed. “It doesn’t matter. Hands off.
She’s not for you.”
“Protective,
aren’t we, Winslow? Why not let the lady decide?”
“No, Alex. Not
this lady,” said Cam in warning, which surprised Alex, because if
she was Cam’s girlfriend, Cam should have just said that, but he
hadn’t.
“What makes this
one so special?” asked Alex.
Cam’s eyes were
icy as he stared at Alex, never dropping his friend’s eyes as he
called, “Jessica!” in the girl’s direction.
Alex looked away
from Cam to watch the goddess turn around slowly. If Alex had been
rendered almost speechless by the perfection of her back, the wind
was knocked out of him as he caught sight of her face.
Her black hair
curled down over her shoulder in soft waves, but she pushed it back
as she stepped toward Cameron. Her skin was so light and flawless
that her bowed, red-painted lips drew his eyes like a beacon, and
when she smiled, his heart stopped beating for just a second, as if
stunned or disbelieving. He raised his gaze to her eyes and found
himself captivated by a green so clear and impossible, it made her
eyes sparkle like emeralds behind long, dark lashes. She gazed with
warmth at Cameron Winslow, the lucky bastard, as she moved gracefully
across the marble floor. Out of respect for his friend’s claim on
her, Alex was careful not to drop his eyes hungrily to her body, but
peripherally, he could see her breasts, high and full, pushed against
the thick satin of her dress. The deep V-plunge in the neckline meant
the valley between her breasts was on full, luscious display, and his
fingers twitched with longing by his sides, the word touch, touch,
touch circling around his head like a magic spell.
His mouth watered
as she came closer, bringing with her the scent of tea rose. She
cocked her head to the side and her eyes widened in recognition as
she looked at Alex. Something pinged in his memory, but his mind was
at sixes and sevens, blown away by her beauty, unable to process that
yes, she did look a little familiar to him.
Stopping next to
Cameron, she grinned back at Alex merrily.
“Jessica,” said
Cam tightly, “I don’t know if you’ll remember--”
“Alex English,”
she said in a lightly accented voice. “Of course.”
No doubt noting the
blank expression on his face, she laughed softly. “But I am fairly
certain he doesn’t remember me.”
“I … I’m so
sorry I don’t--”
Alex’s brain had
ceased working the moment she’d turned around, but he was suddenly
struck again by the brilliance of her eyes, and flicking a quick
glance to Cameron, he realized the color was almost the same. Oh, my
God. She’s—You’re—
“By George, I
think he’s got it!”
“Jessica,”
murmured Alex. “Jessie? Jessie Winslow?”
“The very same,”
she answered, chuckling again.
“The last time I
saw you, you were seven-years-old…”
“Nine.”
Fourteen years ago.
Without thinking, he
dropped his eyes from her face to the creamy skin of her neck,
following the graceful line of her throat to her breasts, still
lower, down to her waist—
“Alex,” warned
Cam with genuine menace, making Alex’s neck snap back up. “If you
don’t stop checking out my little sister, God help me, it’ll be
the last thing you ever do.”
Tour
giveaway
10
copies of Breaking Up with Barrett.
About
the Author:
Katy
Regnery, Amazon bestselling author, has always loved telling a good
story and credits her mother with making funny, heartwarming tales
come alive throughout her childhood. A lifelong devotee of all
romance writing, from Edwardian to present-day, it was just a matter
of time before Katy tried her hand at writing a love story of her
own.
As
it turned out, one love story turned into a series of six Heart of
Montana romances, following the love lives of the Yellowstone-based
Lindstrom siblings. When Katy’s fans asked her to turn up the heat,
she wrote the New Adult/Adult Contemporary hybrid romance, Playing
for Love at Deep Haven, which offered steamier romance to her
readers. Katy is also proud to offer The Vixen and the Vet, a
standalone romance that benefitted Operation Mend, an organization
that helps heal the returning wounded of our armed services. The
English Brothers is Katy’s second series and first indie series.
Katy
lives in the relative wilds of northern Fairfield County,
Connecticut, where her writing room looks out at the woods, and her
husband, two young children, and two dogs create just enough cheerful
chaos to remind her that the very best love stories of all are the
messy and unexpected ones.
Twitter:
@KatyRegnery
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