No Strings Attached

By Nicolette Day

No Strings Attached by Nicolette Day
She wants one night. He wants her forever.
Hayden Summers just landed the job of a lifetime taking pictures for Time magazine, but she's determined to leave with no regrets. The first thing on her list? Erase the memory of her cheating ex with a wild night of anonymous sex. The second? Figure out why her best friend, sexy bar owner Jace Jennings, stopped speaking to her the night she told him about the job.
Jace has a problem. Hayden isn't just leaving the country, she's risking her life—just when he's realized he's in love with her. When fate traps them in the storage room of his bar together, barely contained desire simmers to surface. In one last attempt to keep her, Jace offers Hayden the one thing she wants: a night of hot sex, no strings attached. But when the night is over, will Jace be able to let her go? And will Hayden leave with her heart intact?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Jun 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9781622661794

Book preview

NSA_500.jpg

Table of Contents

Other books by Nicolette Day

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Acknowledgments

About the Author

The Falling for You series continues...

Tempted by the Soldier

Explore more Brazen titles, where romance begins in the bedroom...

Asking for Trouble

Wilde for Her

Tempting the Best Man

Down for the Count

Wrong Bed, Right Guy

Seducing Cinderella

Other books by Nicolette Day

Tempted by the Soldier

YA books writing as Tara Fuller

Inbetween (Kissed by Death)

Blurred (Kissed by Death)

No Strings

Attached

a Falling for You novella

Nicolette Day

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by Tara Fuller. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

Entangled Publishing, LLC

2614 South Timberline Road

Suite 109

Fort Collins, CO 80525

Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.

Brazen is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC. For more information on our titles, visit www.brazenbooks.com.

Edited by Heather Howland

Cover design by Heather Howland

ISBN 978-1-62266-179-4

Manufactured in the United States of America

First Edition June 2013

For all of my readers

Thank you

Chapter One

It’s a sign.

Hayden Summers tugged at her heel stuck in the drainage grate outside of the Orchid Lounge. The music vibrated the walls and pulsed out into the parking lot, making her heart thump in time with the song. Apparently the universe wasn’t on board with this whole one-wild-night plan. First, her car refused to start, and then she dropped her phone in a puddle in the parking lot. Okay, so she threw it into a puddle in the parking lot. To be fair, she hadn’t meant for it to land in the puddle. And her ex had just texted her that he was getting married. To her cousin. As if breaking her heart into a thousand pieces hadn’t been enough. He felt the need to move on to her family members now. Freaking parasite. Now her shoe was being held captive by this bitch of a drainage grate. She was starting to think the universe wanted her to be celibate forever. Overhead, a clap of thunder rumbled across the pitch-dark sky, as if to drive home the point. Oh yeah, definitely a sign.

Her assistant grunted and helped her pull on the sleek black pump. It’s not a sign. It’s a shoe. A. Very. Stuck— It jerked free, and they both fell back onto the pavement with an umph. Lilly blew a twist of blond hair out of her eyes. Shoe.

Hayden grabbed the shoe and frowned. The heel to her Jimmy Choo was…missing. She looked around and spotted it still stuck in the grate. Well, that was fan-freaking-tastic. They might have killed her feet, but they had also cost half of what she’d made on her last freelance job, and this was going to be her only chance to wear them for the next year. She wasn’t exactly up with the fashion scene in Sudan, but she was guessing shoes like these wouldn’t suffice when she was trekking across the war-torn country to get shots that would land her a coveted spot in Time magazine.

Hayden stood up, brushing her dress off, and helped Lilly to her feet. It’s okay. I have a pair of flats in your car.

Lilly laughed. You are such a Girl Scout. I’ll bet if I stepped on a rusty nail, you’d have a round of antibiotics in your purse for me. I wouldn’t even have to go to the ER.

Hayden headed for Lilly’s Honda and popped the trunk. So she might be a tad obsessive-compulsive. She stared into her emergency bag. Perfectly folded T-shirt and jeans. Flats. Toiletries. Aspirin and a bottle of water. A box of condoms. Okay, maybe more than a tad.

Lilly held up the box and grinned.

What? You told me to be open-minded.

I said be open-minded. I did not say to pack for a weekend trip to the Poconos. You’ve got enough rubber here to last you a month.

Hayden grabbed the box and threw it back in the bag, then slammed the trunk shut. What if I end up going home with someone? Or staying the night?

You’re kind of missing the point of a one-night stand. Lilly checked her hair in the side mirror while Hayden slipped on her sparkly black flats.

I don’t like to be unprepared.

I don’t think you have to worry about that. A zombie apocalypse couldn’t catch you off guard.

Hayden stared up at the buzzing blue orchid hanging above the black double doors. A strange mixture of excitement and determination overwhelmed her. She’d never done anything like this. But saying the past year had

Reviews for No Strings Attached

[msromanticreads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What is not to love about a couple that is so right for each other but too afraid to show it? And now that one half is on the verge of leaving, will either one of them have the courage to voice what has been lingering in the air, or will the fear of losing their friendship triumph?

No Strings Attached was an extremely romantic, sexy and heart-warming story. I even read it twice before settling down to review it. I fell in love with the characters within the first few pages; the first chapter reminding me a little of Sex & The City meets Cocktail. This story flowed from the first page, beginning with Hayden and learning what had her shaking her fist at the universe at large to Jace, the inked, hunkalicious bartender and Hayden’s best friend since childhood. Their history was touched upon briefly, but it was to the point and explained so much about who they were, who they’d become and their relationship, or lack of one.

I really loved was that Jace and Hayden were as honest as they could be before crossing the line from friends to lovers. Jace’s selfless nature, his vulnerability, his protective streak and his courage made me fall hard for him. The supporting characters, Lilly (Hayden’s loyal assistant) and Nate (Jace’s brother) didn’t distract from the story. In fact, there seemed to be a spark of something there, so I hope they will get to tell their story as well. This novella had everything my romantic heart could ever desire: a mature voice, believable characters, humor, and some really sexy scenes. I absolutely adored the ending, and couldn’t have thought of a more perfect way to end the story.

If you want to know what the perfect novella looks like, it doesn’t get better than this. No Strings Attached made for the best forty five minutes of my day.

Favorite lines:

The universe was a cruel bitch for making the hottest man in the room the one who found her as sexually appealing as a goldfish.
~*~
“Don’t get me wrong. It took me off guard when you kissed me.” He smiled. “But the way you smell, the way you felt under my hands…I knew it was you.”

“And you kissed me back…”

“Yeah,” he said gently. “I kissed you back.”
~*~

Favorite moments:

#1) Outside the bar, in the rain.

#2) Jace taking her cell phone ;)

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[bette_hansen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fun sexy read that I highly recommend. The characters are intriguing and the friends to lovers storyline is perfectly paced. The only problem - I wanted more Jace and Hayden!!

[christih-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a short story but it was very good! The story started out quick and got straight to the plot, but somehow the author was able to build up the relationship between the two characters. I liked that! Great short story...=)

[gloria.herrera · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Best friends to best lovers? Delightful story of two friends who finally discover and act on the deep feelings they have for each other. It only took being locked in the stockroom of a bar to make them realize their feelings run deep.

[creativejunkie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Now this is how you do a protective, possessive, alpha male without turning him to a domineering, controlling asshole. Jace was UNF straight from the first glimpse of him we got. I also really loved Hayden. My one and only complaint was this was just too short. I wanted more from them, more of their history.

This trope--best friends to lovers--is a favorite of mine, especially when done well. Ms. Day certainly did it well.

[readyourwrites · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reviewed by Kimfor Read Your Writes Book ReviewsNo Strings Attached is a friends to lovers romance that I didn’t want to end. Hayden Summers and Jace Jennings have known each other since childhood, in fact, they’re best friends. Hayden means a lot more to Jace than he lets on. For the past year or so, Jace has been fighting his feelings for Hayden. Even though Hayden thinks Jace is the most attractive man she’s ever met, she doesn’t want to risk what they have as friends. Things however change the night before Hayden is scheduled to leave for a job of a lifetime. A job that will take her away from her friends and family for a year. A job that may or may not allow Hayden to return home safely.Hayden is talked into a one night stand with a stranger by her assistant. She reluctantly agrees and chooses Jace’s bar as the bar to go looking for someone. While things don’t exactly go according to plan, it’s the best thing that could have ever happened for Hayden and Jace. I loved how these two are together. While this book was really short, it does give you a glimpse into what these two can possibly be like. Source: Personal Purchase

[cool_mia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was an amazing short novel !!!
humorous and soo veryy passionate!!..oh my..from the storage at the bar to Hayden's bed...oh oh ...
I loved it!!Short but delicious!!