This tag is hosted by Reading Is My Superpower. See the full list of books featured in First Line Friday.
Today’s book: Flame by Adriana Locke.
“Are you having fun?” Banks slides next to me, a glass of lemonade in his hand. “That apple pie Honey made was the best pie I’ve ever had. Did you try it?”
I cock my head to the side and stare at him.
“Want me to get you a piece?” Banks asks, a wide smile plastered across his face.
I shift my weight from one foot to the other.
The air is filled with spices from the chili cook-off that took place an hour ago to benefit the local school’s arts program. Conversations flow into a giant stream of noise as people catch up, recounting old high school sports games and current gossip.
So much wasted energy.
And in the midst of it all, my youngest brother is up to something. This isn’t a revelation, nor is it a surprise. He’s always up to something.
In the past few weeks, I’ve picked Banks up from jail in the middle of the night. I watched him walk across the street covered in glitter—retribution for attaching stickers of his face to every surface of our brother Jess’s house. One morning, I looked out the window to witness a giant metal rooster staring at me from across the road, thanks to Banks’s handiwork and toddler-esque humor.
The guy is a menace but a predictable one. His tells are as clear as day, and right now, they’re screaming.
About: Foxx is the most mysterious of the Carmichaels so I wasn’t sure what to expect from his story. Bianca is his opposite in every way but they’re perfect together so their marriage of convenience is pure gold.
Blurb:
RSVP to my Marriage of Convenience
I swore I would only get married if my life depended on it. Oh, the irony.
Many things have happened over the past few weeks that I didn’t see coming. My family imploded. Our business was turned upside down. And someone threatened to harm me if I didn’t make good on my father’s promises.
But the biggest thing I didn’t see coming?
Foxx Carmichael demanding marriage.
He’s doing it out of loyalty to my brother. I know that. But I can’t help but think if, through that deliciously hot, grumpy exterior, my bodyguard doesn’t have ulterior motives.
There’s no denying the fire in his touch or the heat in his blue eyes. He protects me with a ferocity that leaves me breathless. He makes me rethink many things I thought I knew for sure—like my position on marriage.
But how we dance around our fake relationship makes me wonder what part of this is pretend. None of it matters if he doesn’t admit he feels the same way.
Our sham wedding will fall apart as soon as the threat is contained. But what happens if the flames between us burn everything to the ground first?
Yep, I liked this one a lot.