Accidentally in Love - Softcover

Jackson, Danielle

 
9780593437353: Accidentally in Love
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0593437357 ISBN 13: 9780593437353
Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group, 2023

Inhaltsangabe

When Sam is stuck sharing the streets for Chicago’s summer festivals with a man she can’t stand, she’ll find it’s often a bumpy road that leads to love….
 
As office manager of the city’s leading luxury boudoir and pinup photography studio, lovable grump Samantha Sawyer has everything under control. With an eventful summer season on the horizon, Sam is balancing a hectic workload while preparing the Buxom Boudoir “Photobus,” a vintage coach bus converted into a mobile photobooth and meeting space, to make the rounds at Chicago’s bustling summer street festival roster. Sam’s busy schedule makes avoiding the difficult parts of her life much easier, but there’s one person who can see right through her to-do lists and icy façade, really see her.
 
A lot has changed in the last year for Russell Montgomery. Years of odd jobs and couch surfing around the country had left him scrambling, but after reconnecting with his brother, Reid (and coming as close to settling down as he’s ever been), Russ now works at a hot local restaurant. Russ has been welcomed into his newly engaged brother’s circle of friends—all except a close friend and coworker of Reid’s fiancée, an intriguingly stormy woman named Sam.
 
Luckily, Sam is certain that the chaos of her calendar will ensure their distance, and she won’t have to deal with Russ or his irritating, handsome smile. But when Russ is charged with the launch of a restaurant food truck for the festival circuit, the sizzling Chicago heat is no match for the fire between them….

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Danielle Jackson is a contemporary romance author, avid reader, lackluster-yet-mighty crafter, and accomplished TV binge-watcher. Danielle has had the unique experience of working on almost every side of the book business—as a publicist at a publisher, an editorial manager of a book review website, an events coordinator at an independent bookstore, and now, an author. When she’s not writing, Danielle co-hosts a pop culture podcast, moderates and participates on industry panels, and hosts a romance book club. Danielle lives in Chicagoland with her very own romance hero husband, darling daughter, and two tempestuous cats. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, @DJacksonBooks.

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One

TO DO

Turn on lights

Turn on coffee

Check props

Reply to Angelina about whips

Order "nude" thongs in different skin tones-where?

Staff meeting-print agendas

Pick up lunch

Check schedule for weekend shoots

Send out engagement party e-vites?

Try not to murder anyone

People who fall in love are super annoying. Especially when one of them is a friend, and you have no choice but to be happy about it.

Or so thought Sam Sawyer as she looked over her to-do list. She'd been marginally productive that Monday morning, considering she usually got into the Buxom Boudoir studio a full hour before anyone else (sometimes two, but who was counting?). She liked getting there early, turning on the lights, starting the coffee maker, and filling the electric tea kettle, then looking over River North from the large floor-to-ceiling windows that made up an entire wall of the studio, letting in as much natural light as possible. With the start of April, spring was trying its hardest to start in Chicago, and watching the sun rise over the city buildings was a wonderfully serene way to spend the early hours of the day.

Sam finally forced herself from the windows to start her day. After firing off a terse email about an entire order of whips gone missing-necessary props for an ad campaign for Dana's latest Luscious Lingerie collection-confirming that the other props were clean and ready to use, tidying the studio for an early staff meeting and photo shoot, printing the meeting agendas, and confirming everyone's lunch order from Simone's, Sam returned to her desk from her windowpane of solace and began hunting for the best place to order thongs for an avant-garde jewelry campaign Cassie was photographing in a month. Why anyone thought "nude" meant one shade of light beige was beyond Sam. And why was it so difficult to find affordable and size-inclusive options?

But as for the whole falling-in-love-is-annoying thing . . . well, in a fit of passion (or insanity), Sam had volunteered to throw Cassie and her fiancé, Reid, an engagement party at the studio. Not only had it been months since they got engaged, Sam wasn't sure that Cassie even wanted an official engagement party. But apparently they had been asked by friends and clients alike; the small dinner they'd had with family and close friends in the weeks after their engagement last fall had not sufficed.

For whatever reason, Sam decided the engagement party needed a theme. And she landed on Alice in Wonderland. And the spark that had faded from Cassie's eyes when it came to actually planning her impending nuptials returned.

And because they were in the business of making people feel bold and empowered, it was going to be a sexy Alice in Wonderland-themed engagement party. Costumes-lingerie-inspired, natch-were required.

When Sam eventually stood to stretch, she flipped the switch to turn on the rest of the overhead lights in the studio, and a proverbial light bulb went off in her head.

Luscious Lingerie.

Not only had Dana and Cassie both designed lingerie lines for the Chicago-based company, Sam had also modeled in a campaign alongside her friends, and she'd become friendly with several employees there. Perhaps it was time to come up with some kind of regular lingerie replenishment deal, exclusively through Luscious Lingerie . . . It wouldn't be the first business partnership between BB and LL-two companies aligned in their devotion to body inclusivity. Sam's mind started racing-skin-toned undergarments, in a variety of colors and sizes, would also be great for boudoir clients who wanted more coverage for their session than some of the outfits they ended up in, and if Sam could pull some strings and get Cassie to send the email, her marketing contact at Luscious Lingerie might take it seriously as a business deal and a way to keep one of their most popular influencer partners happy . . .

As Sam opened a blank email to start drafting her message and added another bullet point to her never-ending to-do list to discuss this during the staff meeting, she heard the muffled steps of someone coming up the stairs. Sam's desk was the check-in point for clients and right by the main entrance to the studio. Judging by the light, quick pace, Sam correctly guessed it was Kit.

"Darling, you're in early this morning," Kit said as she waltzed through the sliding warehouse-style door.

"I had a lot to get done before the morning meeting," Sam replied, still looking at her laptop screen.

Kit cleared her throat loudly, finally getting Sam's full attention. She was holding a full drink carrier, her extra-oversize purse, and a tote bag full of something that smelled wonderful.

"Oh, sorry," Sam said, realizing Kit needed assistance getting everything into the office. When Sam took the tote bag, Kit let out a breath of relief that ruffled her white-blond bangs. She had expertly styled her blunt "lob" in soft waves that just grazed her shoulders, and her pale cheeks were flushed pink from both the trek up to their fourth-floor studio and Kit's affinity for blush. Sam smiled at how opposite the two of them were that day-Kit in pastel purple and Sam herself in all black, down to her favorite patent leather Dr. Martens. But beneath their opposite exteriors was a fierce friendship Sam knew she'd always be able to rely on.

Sam followed Kit through the Buxom Boudoir studio, heading for the Glam Zone-Kit's domain. The three beauty stations were outfitted with vanities and director-style chairs where Kit transformed their clients and models into living works of art. Kit carefully dropped her purse on an overstuffed chair where people often waited for their turn in the beauty department or while they were on deck to be photographed on the set nearby. The wide, white backdrop took up an entire corner of the studio, with windows along both sides and shelves full of Cassie's photography equipment and small set pieces like crates, pillows, and blankets, kept on hand for the bed on rolling risers that was always at the ready for a boudoir shoot.

Passing through the Glam Zone, Sam and Kit walked to their small break room and kitchen, complete with a vintage fridge, a tiny oven and stove, a narrow kitchen island with wheels so it could move around, and a long table that served as their main meeting space as well as a place to eat throughout the day. Sam liked the open floor plan of the BB studio-there was always something happening, it was easy to start brainstorming sessions, and whenever someone made tea or coffee for a caffeine pick-me-up, everyone joined in.

After Sam set down the tote bag full of some kind of delectable confection her roommate had conjured up that morning, she went to the cabinets next to the fridge and collected plates, napkins, and cups. Kit took four small juice carafes out of the carrier and set them on the table. She must have stopped by Mariano's on her way in to work. "The market had guava and strawberry today, and I also got an orange and a mango."

"Good choices," Sam said, placing things down on the long table. Everyone at BB made an extra effort to make their weekly staff meetings special with treats. That week, Cassie and Kit were in charge, and the following week Sam and Dana would take on the task. It had been one of Sam's ideas to encourage productivity and team bonding after she had been hired at BB three years earlier.

"And you're in luck, my lovey, because I made fresh lemon scones," Kit said, finally taking a large white box out of her tote bag. "I may or may not have doubled the recipe so everyone can take some home." She then took out four smaller boxes, each tied with a yellow ribbon.

"Kit, you really are a fairy, aren't you? Only magic could have possibly made this happen before work hours," Sam...

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Verlag
Penguin Publishing Group
Erscheinungsdatum
2023
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0593437357
ISBN 13 
9780593437353
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
384
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Verantwortliche Person
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