Kissing Kendall

by Jennifer Shirk

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BLURB:

Kendall Grisbaum has been trying to pick up of the pieces of her life since the death of her firefighter husband almost two years ago. The last thing she’s interested in is love and feels the best way to start moving on is to concentrate on opening up her new bakery business. Unfortunately, she’s finding it hard to remember those two points now that her old friend and policeman Brad Mayer is back in her life and giving her a helping hand.

After losing her husband in the line of duty, Kendalldoesn’t want to get involved with another man with a dangerous job, and refuses to give in to her attraction to the handsome police officer. But Brad has always loved Kendall from afar and now that he senses she might feel the same, he’s determined to show her the real danger would be to lose another chance at love.

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Excerpt:

Kendall turned all her frustration at herself onto Brad, who stood there with wide eyes and exaggerated innocence. The Boy Scout routine did not look good on him. She folded her arms, giving him a disapproving look. “So you forgot I had a date with Rick tonight?”

He shrugged. “What? It could happen. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”

“Wow, you’re right. I can’t imagine shoving another single thought in a head as cramped as yours.”

They stared each other down for almost a minute before Brad flung his hands up in the air. “All right, I didn’t forget. So sue me! I wanted to stop by and make sure you were okay. You may not know this, but Rick happens to date a lot of women. A lot of women. And you…I mean, no offense, but you’re a little out of practice in the dating department.”

“Out of practice?” Oh, if that wasn’t a proverbial slap in the face, she didn’t know what was. Brad thought she was clueless—which was ridiculous. She didn’t know what had gotten into him, but he was actually treating her like…like… Georgie! Well, that was just great. He was treating her like his sister.

“I don’t know what you were so worried about. What did you think was going to happen, Brad? Rick was a perfect gentleman all night. Something you should know, considering he’s one of your friends,” she said over her shoulder as she stormed up her walkway.

“Hey, hang on,” Brad called, jogging to catch up with her. “You can’t tell me you actually have a thing for Rick, can you?”

She stopped and whirled around. “Well, considering my date was interrupted before it was over, I never really got a chance to figure that out.”

“I didn’t ruin anything,” he huffed. “Your date was over before it’d even begun. You would have known five seconds into meeting him whether there was chemistry or not between you two. So go ahead and have a second date—have a hundred dates for all I care! It won’t matter. You’ll come to the same conclusion I did.”

Kendall tipped her chin in defiance. “And just what conclusion is that?”

He flung to the ground the papers he had in his hand and stepped forward, close enough that she could practically feel his temper radiating from his body. “That Rick is not the man for you.”

Her body tensed at the heat in his voice, but for some reason she continued to challenge him. “Ha, like you would know.”

“I would know.”

She glared at him. “What kind of man is for me then?”

Brad’s gaze darkened and something new and intense flickered between them. He took another step forward. “You deserve a man who’ll take you in his arms.” Then in one forward motion, he pulled her to him and that’s exactly where she was.

And it felt…heavenly.

In his embrace, her thoughts all clogged together and she had a tough time even remembering how they had ended up entwined on her front porch in the first place. She looked up and noticed he was watching her intently, maybe judging her reaction to being held so close to him or whether or not he’d proven his point.

His lips slowly traveled to her ear. “You deserve a man who makes your knees go weak.”

She swallowed. Weak knees? Check. In fact, her knees were more than weak; they were downright overcooked noodles.

Her heart pounded an erratic rhythm, but she cleared her throat, pretending not to be affected. “You seem to think you know a lot about what kind of man is right for me.”

“I do,” he murmured. His lips were so close; they grazed her earlobes and were brushing along her jawbone in light wispy movements. “And I definitely know the right man for you is not the kind of man who’s going to settle for a mere good-night peck on the cheek at the end of your first date.”

“He’s not?” she whispered, suddenly at a loss for breath.

Brad’s lips began drawing closer to her mouth. “No, he’s not. Because the man for you has been dreaming about your mouth ever since he first laid eyes on you. So he won’t be able to handle one more second without knowing the feel of your lips beneath his own.”

Kissing Kendall by Jennifer Shirk
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It is with a big smile that I put my stamp of approval on this wonderful romance.  I loved every minute of this fabulous romance.  Is it cheesy and sappy?  Possibly, but it was so well-written that I didn’t notice.  I loved Brad and Kendall, and their romance just sent chills through me.  There was some very minor profanity that honestly did not bother me, and there was no sex!  Yes!!  Jennifer Shirk has a delightful sense of humor–something I often say is lacking in books today.  The interactions were genuine, and although the book ended as it should, it was well worth the ride.

Even though this is a light read, I so glad there was a message in it that everyone needs to hear.  Don’t ever be afraid to love.  We are not guaranteed tomorrow, and if you live your life in fear, you are certainly going to miss some wonderful times.  Take advantage of the opportunities that are facing you now.  If you wait, they may pass you by!

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

View all my reviews

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Jennifer Shirk has a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy-which has in NO WAY at all helped her with her writing career. But she likes to point it out, since it shows romantic-at-hearts come in all shapes, sizes, and mind-numbing educations.

She is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of sweet (and sometimes even funny) romances for Montlake Romance and Entangled Publishing. Her novel, FIANCE BY FATE, a 2015 Readers’ Crown Finalist, became an Amazon #1 bestseller for Series Romance. And recently, WRONG BROTHER, RIGHT MATCH, WON the Sweet Traditional category of the 2017 Golden Quill Contest and became a #1 Amazon bestseller for Holiday Romance and USA Today bestseller.

She serves on many volunteer boards in her community, but is most proud of her work on the Ocean City Free Public Library Board of Trustees, where she has served as President for over 3 years. She resides in a beach resort in NJ, and when she’s not involved in all the above, she’s taking care of her most treasured possessions: her husband, daughter, and dog (Sox).

Website:  http://www.jennifershirk.com/

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/jennifershirk