\n Breaking the Ice<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n (Love on Thin Ice, #1)<\/b><\/p>\n Author: <\/strong>Whitney Dineen<\/p>\n Publication Date: <\/b>August 22nd, 2024<\/p>\n Genre: <\/b>Adult Comedy \/ Contemporary Romance \/ Sports<\/p>\n Book Description:<\/b><\/p>\n What do an entitled billionaire and small-town ice-skating coach have in common?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Ellie<\/strong><\/p>\n My life is not turning out like I thought it would.<\/p>\n My mom\u2019s arthritis has gotten so bad that I had to move in with her. I\u2019m making ends meet by giving ice skating lessons at the arena in Maple Falls. I\u2019d be in serious trouble had the Harts not given me that job.<\/p>\n Which makes it impossible to say no when they ask me to let Troy\u2019s obnoxious billionaire brother stay in the cabin on my mom\u2019s property during the charity hockey event they\u2019re running.<\/p>\n Zach<\/strong><\/p>\n First the tabloids call me out for being a cheapskate and then Yolanda Simms takes to national television to tell everyone what a vicious heartbreaker I am?<\/p>\n Yeah, my life has been better.<\/p>\n My brother thinks I can fix my bad press by coming to Maple Falls and donating big to his new charity endeavor. Too bad he didn\u2019t mention the woman who owns the cottage I\u2019ll be staying at hates me with a passion.<\/p>\n He also didn\u2019t mention she\u2019s everything I\u2019ve ever looked for in a woman\u2026<\/p>\n Buy Links:<\/b><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n EXCERPT<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Zach<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve learned a lot of things from being a billionaire in my thirties, but so far, the most essential is that you can\u2019t have thin skin.\u00a0Everyone<\/em>\u00a0wants a piece of you and when you\u2019re not giving them the time or attention they think they deserve, they set out to tear you down. Case in point, Yolanda Simms, the entertainment reporter for KBIZ and the most annoyingly fame-seeking woman it has ever been my displeasure to know.<\/span><\/p>\n Yolanda and I went out three times, which is a record for me as I barely have a minute for myself. Given my busy schedule, you might be wondering why I would\u00a0<\/em>spend my precious free time with such a person. When I first asked her out, I didn\u2019t see her for who she truly was. I may have also had a hidden agenda.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019d recently been called out by a national tabloid for not putting my money where my mouth was. As in, they didn\u2019t think I donated enough to charity. And while supposedly no press is bad press, I really don\u2019t like people thinking of me the way I was being portrayed.<\/span><\/p>\n I figured if I wined and dined Yolanda\u2014who had previously flirted with me outrageously every time she saw me\u2014she might spread the word that I was a decent guy. Self-serving? Yes. But I\u2019m not the villain the press would have you think I am, and I wanted a chance to prove it.<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, Yolanda got ahead of herself regarding our friendship and decided to announce on air that she and I were in an exclusive and committed relationship. As we had never so much as kissed, I took exception to her declaration.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cZachary!\u201d my assistant Anabelle yells out. Before I can ask her what she wants, she says, \u201cYour brother is on line three.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I have five brothers, so I ask, \u201cWhich one?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Instead of answering, I overhear her tell someone else, \u201cMr. Hart has no comment on Ms. Simms\u2019 allegations.\u201d Great, another day fending off the aftermath of Yolanda\u2019s interview on\u00a0The View<\/em>. She told Whoopi Goldberg I was an egomaniacal alpha-male.<\/span><\/p>\n I hesitantly reach over to the landline on my desk. \u201cThis is Zach.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHey, big bro,\u201d my younger twin says. In my mind\u2019s eye, I see his lopsided grin, which, even though we\u2019re fraternal twins, is remarkably like my own. MacElroy, aka Mac, is four minutes younger than me and has four times the personality. \u201cIt\u2019s starting to look like you\u2019re wading through a herd of cows in a rainy field.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat does that even mean, Mac?\u201d My brother recently bought a sustainable farm in Oregon and his metaphors have taken on a rural sort of charm.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhere there are cows there are cow pies. Need I explain that a rainy field full of heifers is full of wet \u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cManure. Got it.\u201d\u00a0Gross.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t you set the world straight and tell them the majority of your charitable donations are given anonymously?\u201d he wants to know. The man definitely cuts to the chase.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou do know the definition of anonymous, don\u2019t you?\u201d I condescendingly inquire.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYes, Zach. What I don\u2019t know is why you don\u2019t just come clean about what a good guy you are.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBecause if I bragged about doing good deeds, they wouldn\u2019t feel like good deeds,\u201d I tell him for the hundredth time.<\/span><\/p>\n Shifting in my chair, I stare out of my home office window onto Wilshire Boulevard below. You\u2019d think all the short skirts and tanned legs would be one of the benefits of living in Southern California. Yet no matter how good the view is, wealthy Beverly Hills women are not my type. They\u2019re simply too high maintenance, not to mention too self-involved.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just saying\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLet it go, Mac.\u201d Removing my feet from the edge of my giant mahogany desk, I ask, \u201cDid you call for any other reason than to bust my butt about Yolanda? Because if not, I have work to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you buying today?\u201d he wants to know. \u201cAnother office building? A high-rise?\u00a0Malibu<\/em>?\u201d While I like to have a diversified financial portfolio, as a real estate developer, I am obviously partial to buying property.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m giving a speech at Pepperdine,\u201d I tell him. Tongue in cheek, I add, \u201cI call it \u2018One House, New House, Big House, You House.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAh yes, a nod to your childhood love of Dr. Seuss.\u201d Releasing an exaggerated yawn, he asks, \u201cHas anyone ever told you that you\u2019re becoming kind of boring?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou<\/em>\u00a0tell me that at least twice a week,\u201d I remind him. \u201cNow, why are you calling?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Instead of putting me out of my misery, he wants to know, \u201cWhen was the last time you strapped on a pair of skates and played a game?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Whitney loves to laugh, play with her kids, bake, and eat french fries — not always in that order.<\/span><\/p>\n Whitney is a multi-award-winning author of romcoms, non-fiction humor, and middle reader fiction. Basically, she writes whatever the voices in her head tell her to.<\/span><\/p>\n She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, Jimmy, where they raise children, chickens, and organic vegetables.<\/span><\/p>\n Gold Medal winner at the International Readers’ Favorite Awards, 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n Silver medal winner at the International Readers’ Favorite Awards, 2015, 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n Finalist RONE Awards, 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n Finalist at the IRFA 2016, 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n Finalist at the Book Excellence Awards, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n Finalist Top Shelf Indie Book Awards, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n Author Links:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n ***GIVEAWAY***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n a Rafflecopter giveaway<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014
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