The Bad Boy's Guarantee: The Bad Boys of Regret Hollow, #3

By Sara Daniel

If she trusts him, she can have it all…or lose everything.

Between working her day job in the city and tending her father’s small town bar every weekend, Haley Miller can’t remember the last time she had a date. When she trips over a stack of her dad’s unpaid bills and into the man of her dreams, she knows the night is guaranteed to be the best of her life…or the worst.

Seth Gardner returns to Regret Hollow to save his family’s business from their landlord’s financial mismanagement. The chance to finally act on his crush on Haley is a bonus he’s not about to turn down. But if he waits too long to confess his secrets, he’ll lose her trust and his chance.

Just when Haley thinks she can have the love and the life she always dreamed of, she discovers everything was built on a lie. Seth will lose her unless he can guarantee a lasting love built from nothing more than their fantasies.

WARNING: Contains naughty words Grandma wouldn’t approve of, smoking hot love scenes Grandma can’t get enough of, all the quirks of small-town life, and a swoon-worthy, no-cliffhangers-no-regrets romance.

Books in The Bad Boys of Regret Hollow series:

1.  The Bad Boy’s Gift

2.  The Bad Boy’s Guilt

3.  The Bad Boy’s Guarantee

4.  The Bad Boy’s Goodness

5.  The Bad Boy's Commitment

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sara Daniel
• Release date: Apr 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524253448

Book preview

The Bad Boy’s Guarantee

Copyright © 2016 by Sara Daniel

Cover art by Kim Killion

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All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by fines and federal imprisonment.

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

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

The Bad Boys of Regret Hollow Series

About the Author

Chapter 1

Seth Gardner told everyone who set foot in his law office that handshake agreements were a lawsuit waiting to happen. Problem was, nobody, including his own family, believed him until they were furious, terrified, and determined to take legal action to save what they’d assumed would forever be theirs.

After years of faithfully paying their rent to occupy the pizzeria building in Regret Hollow, Wisconsin, his aunt and uncle stood on the precipice of losing everything because the landowner and operator of the adjoining bar hadn’t been nearly as faithful to his financial obligations. Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Mike had been Seth’s saviors when he was an orphaned teen. Now they needed him to save their business.

Instead of heading home after a long day at his Milwaukee office, he drove an hour west to the sleepy little town. He parked in front of The Hollow Leg Pizzeria then entered the adjoining bar. He had all weekend to observe through a professional lens. Tonight, he intended to order a beer from the owner’s daughter, Haley Miller, and give her the chance to assess how he’d shed his nerdy features and turned his studiousness into success.

As gorgeous and exuberant as ever, Haley stood behind the bar, laughing at someone’s joke, while she arranged orange slices on the sides of four long-stemmed, bowl-shaped glasses. Martini glasses? No. Margarita, maybe. He could ask her. Better yet, he’d google the answer and approach her with a witty comment. While she smiled and laughed, he’d ask her out and discover if reality measured up to the sixteen years of fantasies he’d built around her.

Damn. He couldn’t ask her out, not until he ensured her father’s business problems didn’t interfere with his aunt and uncle’s livelihood. Taking advantage of the single pillar in the center of the room, he slipped into the chair backed against it, facing away from the bar.

What can I bring you, sweetheart? A bottle-blonde waitress with lines creasing her heavily made up face stood in front of him.

Beer on tap.

You got it. My name’s Martha. If you need anything else, give me a holler. She bustled away.

Leaning his head against the pillar, he closed his eyes. He could have pretended practical and ethical reasons had kept him from flirting with Haley, but in truth, he’d once again chickened out. He could go head-to-head with the biggest hardball lawyers in Milwaukee without flinching, but he’d never been able to work up the nerve to approach the vivacious, fun-loving girl behind the bar.

Wa-hoo! The amazing Haaaley is back. Let the weekend begin, a man drawled in a booming voice. He paraded through the entrance and straight to the counter.

Hey, Rick. The genuine pleasure in her voice punched Seth in the gut. She’d never used that tone to say his name before. Heck, she hadn’t even noticed his arrival. To be fair, he hadn’t announced his grand entrance either.

With a toast to the entire bar, he could have used humor and compliments to make Haley’s eyes sparkle and give her a reason to reach out to him. Unfortunately, the speeches he excelled at were full of legal language and accusation. Demanding to know why her dad had neglected his responsibilities and was ruining his aunt and uncle’s business would make her eyes glitter with mistrust, instead of admiration.

So, she’d either hate him if he spoke up or continue to have no idea he existed if he stayed silent. He sighed.

Martha returned, setting his beer on a coaster in front of him. Anything else I can get for you?

He paid her then closed his wallet. I’m good. Does Haley work the bar often?

Every weekend.

According to rumors and hearsay, through the years she’d worked in various cities throughout the country and even done a stint overseas before settling into a corporate job in Chicago. Hustling an hour and a half to work at a bar in Regret Hollow every weekend when the city had plenty of bars to fulfill the need for a second job didn’t make sense to him. Does her dad still come in at all?

Of course.

People say they haven’t seen him around much.

Martha pursed her lips. He’s been running this bar for a long time. If he wants to take time off to relax, I reckon he’s earned the right.

Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Mike had gotten the same answer months ago. But no matter how hard he’d worked in the past, Dave Miller had not earned the right to ruin other people’s livelihoods. Seems odd a guy who’s comfortable enough to kick back and relax would bring in his daughter to cover his shifts.

Her choice. The waitress’s smile tightened at the corners. Can I bring you something else to drink?

I’m going to nurse this for a while, and I’ll stop bothering you. He handed her another greenback then took a sip of his beer as she tucked the money in her apron and turned away.

Emma asked me if I could fix her sink this weekend, Rick’s voice, no longer booming but subdued and confidential, whispered in his ear, cutting through the indistinguishable din from the other patrons.

Seth bumped his beer glass, sloshing liquid on the table, and whipped around. Rick sat at the bar, facing Haley, nowhere near whispering distance. Seth rubbed his ear.

Are you going to do it? Haley replied, her voice in Seth’s ear but her head bent toward Rick.

Somehow Seth sat in the perfect acoustical spot to eavesdrop on their private conversation. He cringed.

Of course. The implication Rick was hung up on some other woman cheered him.

You’re inviting her to the March drinking madness and maybe a little basketball party at your house tomorrow night, right? Haley asked him.

I kind of mentioned it, he hedged. But it’s better that she doesn’t come.

Interesting. As perfect as Seth had assumed Haley and Rick were for each other, they appeared to be nothing more than friends and perhaps confidants.

Seems to me there’s a lot less chance of something happening at a party with twenty other people than with the two of you alone in her house, Haley murmured.

Nothing will happen anywhere, Rick said resolutely. "Now, I’ve spilled my guts to you, so tell