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Roman put the truck in reverse.

“You’re not serious,” she said.

He didn’t know why he did it. Some perversion, some deep-seated need not to be stuck in this spot, vulnerable to these commune people in their pajamas. Several of them were smiling, and one of them waved, and Roman couldn’t take it. His brain knew it was stupid, but his will
insisted
that other suckers couldn’t back their way off a wet patch of grass with a jackknifed trailer, but he possessed a Cadillac with four-wheel drive, and
he
could.

The tires spun in the mud with a whining noise. He floored the accelerator and felt the rear end drop another few inches, burying the wheels in muck.

When he shifted from reverse into drive, obeying the rogue, insane notion that he might be able to rock the truck out of this predicament, Ashley opened her door and hopped out of the truck to greet an older woman wearing a sweatshirt with a picture of a cat licking between its own legs.

She had so little faith in him, she didn’t even bother closing the door.

All four tires spun, blocking out their conversation, but Roman could see Ashley smiling and laughing as the truck sank lower and she moved farther away to avoid getting splattered. Only when he noticed the heat gauge edging into the red did he lift his foot off the accelerator, and he heard her say, “Oh, that’s Roman.” Then, after a question he couldn’t make out, “Of course we’re staying the night.”

Roman banged his head against the steering wheel several times, accidentally honked the horn, and gave up. He was stuck with her. Literally stuck in the mud, for the night, with Ashley Bowman.

And 362 hippies.

There are no circles of hell lower than this
, he thought.

But then the cat-sweatshirt woman said, “Fantastic. You can join our drum circle!” and he realized that, yes, there was at least one.

B
Y
R
UTHIE
K
NOX

Ride with Me

About Last Night

Along Came Trouble

Flirting with Disaster

Truly (Coming Spring 2014)

Novellas

Room at the Inn

How to Misbehave

Making It Last

Roman Holiday (Serialization)

P
HOTO
: M
ARK
A
NDERSON
, STUN P
HOTOGRAPHY

USA Today
bestselling author R
UTHIE
K
NOX
writes contemporary romance that’s sexy, witty, and angsty—sometimes all three at once. After studying British history, she became an academic editor instead. Then she got really deep into knitting, as one does, followed by motherhood and romance novel writing.

Her debut novel,
Ride with Me
, is probably the only existing cross-country bicycling love story. She followed it up with
About Last Night
, a London-based romance whose hero has the unlikely name of Neville, and then
Room at the Inn
, a Christmas novella—both of which were finalists for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award. Her four-book series about the Clark family of Camelot, Ohio, has won accolades for its fresh, funny portrayal of small-town Midwestern life.

Ruthie moonlights as a mother, tweets incessantly, and bakes a mean focaccia. She’d love to hear from you, so visit her website and drop her a line.

http://www.ruthieknox.com

Be sure to continue your Roman Holiday with Episode 3:
Blindsided

* * *

The alligator staring at him from a spot just beyond the porch steps—eyes alert, jaw hanging slightly open, poised to attack—had to weigh upwards of three hundred pounds. Roman didn’t know a lot about alligators, but he knew they came out of eggs.

It had been a long time since that gnarly creature fit in an egg.

“She could rip off my leg in about eight seconds,” he said.

“Yeah, but Flossie wouldn’t,” Don said. “We practically raised her.”

“What, from birth?”

“She washed up, what, ten years ago, Kirk?”

“Yeah, ten or so,” Kirk said. “She was just little then.”

“You fed her scraps and all that?” Roman started to relax.

“Well, no,” Kirk hedged. “We’re not allowed to do that. This is all part of the wildlife preserve, see, so we have to be strictly hands-off with the animals.”

“So in what sense did you raise Flossie?”

“She’s always hanging around, watching us,” Don said. “She likes us.”

Roman met the alligator’s beady black eye again. If Flossie liked him, she had a strange way of showing it.

His phone chirped three times fast, signaling the death of the battery.

Flossie moved onto the porch with terrifying speed.

Throwing himself backward, Roman tripped over one of Don’s horny feet and fell down, landing hard on his ass.

* * *

Coming November 25th. Preorder now!

Curious about something? Want to ask the author a question or chat with other readers?

Visit the Roman Holiday forum at
http://forum.ruthieknox.com
and join the conversation!

Or subscribe to the Roman Holiday mailing list at
http://www.ruthieknox.com/roman-holiday-mailing-list/
to be notified when new episodes are available.

And don’t miss the
Camelot
series which begins with a deliciously sexy original novella, in which a good girl, Amber Clark, learns,
How to Misbehave.
Her brother Caleb meets headstrong Ellen and the two bump
noggins—
and bodies—in
Along Came Trouble.
Sister Katie Clark enters a no-strings fling that looks an awful lot like falling in love—or,
Flirting with Disaster.
Lastly, revisit Amber and a story that will take you to new heights with a desire reinvented,
Making It Last.