Jennifer Snow - Fighting for Keeps

He’s kryptonite. And she needs all her strength...

Noah Parks is the ridiculously gorgeous, motorcycle-riding, cage-match-fighting equivalent of kryptonite for Lindsay Harper. And she’s going to need every last ounce of her strength now that she’s the legal guardian of her brother’s five orphaned children. For the sake of her new family, it’s time to give up her carefree single ways. Stop being the cool aunt and become a parent. And fight this crazy attraction to Noah. Sure, there’s a side of him she can’t help falling for...the one who volunteers as a firefighter and helps at-risk youth. The irresistibly kind and caring side. But she is a nurse, after all. She can’t love an MMA fighter, a man she regularly has to scan for physical trauma... Can she?

“I wanted to ask you something.”

Lindsey waited.

He was silent.

“Go ahead,” she prodded.

“I was wondering if you would have dinner with me tonight.”

Seriously? The guy was wearing a hospital gown and booties and had half his body inside an MRI machine, and he was asking her out? Clearly the relaxation meds she’d given him were working. She hesitated. She wasn’t sure of Noah’s exact age, but she suspected he was at least four or five years younger than she, and given his chosen career, he wasn’t even on her radar of potential men to date. A fighter who put constant stress on his body and mind was not someone she would consider as a life partner—and at thirty-five, she thought maybe it was time to start taking relationships seriously.

“I have to work.”

Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page About the Author Dedication Acknowledgments PROLOGUE CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN Copyright ,

Who doesn’t love a man whose beautiful, compassionate inside matches his gorgeous exterior? In book five of the Brookhollow series, Lindsey Harper is struggling with just that—feelings she has for a man she knows she shouldn’t fall in love with.

But Noah Parks makes resisting him so difficult, with his irresistible smile (and abs) and his kind heart. And it doesn’t help matters that he simply won’t take no for an answer.

Fighting for Keeps is a story I’ve wanted to write for a long time. A story about two people with two very different ideas about MMA fighting and how a compromise could ever be reached...if it actually could.

Being the fifth book in my Brookhollow series, it was a tough one to write. Having to say goodbye to two characters that I’ve grown to love as friends to the hero/heroines in these books was heartbreaking, but life is about loss, love, second chances and facing adversity. Through the tragic loss in this story, Lindsey gains her own redemption and happy-ever-after love story.

I hope this story makes you laugh, cry and root for Lindsey and Noah and their chance at love.

xo

Jennifer

Fighting for Keeps

Jennifer Snow

www.millsandboon.co.uk

JENNIFER SNOW lives in Edmonton, Alberta, with her husband and four-year-old son. She is a member of the Writers Guild of Alberta, the Romance Writers of America, the Canadian Author Association and shewrites.org. She is also a regular blogger on the Mills & Boon Heartwarming Authors site and is a contributing author to Mslexia, WestWord magazine and RWR. Her 2013 holiday romance, The Trouble with Mistletoe, was a finalist in the 2014 Golden Quill contest and the Heart of Denver Aspen Gold contest. More information can be found on her website, jennifersnowauthor.com.

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For all of the step-parents out there who love unconditionally, opening their hearts and their arms to children who need them. Dad (Robert) and Reagan—twice in my life I’ve been fortunate enough to reap the benefits of such compassion and selflessness, and I can’t thank you both enough!

Acknowledgments Acknowledgments Thank you to Stephany Evans, whose happy faces on my manuscripts sometimes look like little squares, but I know what you mean. Thank you to my amazing editor, Victoria Curran, whose insight always makes the book stronger. A big thank-you to Frontier College, which invited me to host their conference on Youth and the Criminal Justice System—the stories I heard that day inspired a big part of this book. And thanks to MMA athletes everywhere for the entertaining fights and the dedication you put into your careers.

Thank you to Stephany Evans, whose happy faces on my manuscripts sometimes look like little squares, but I know what you mean. Thank you to my amazing editor, Victoria Curran, whose insight always makes the book stronger. A big thank-you to Frontier College, which invited me to host their conference on Youth and the Criminal Justice System—the stories I heard that day inspired a big part of this book. And thanks to MMA athletes everywhere for the entertaining fights and the dedication you put into your careers.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text He’s kryptonite. And she needs all her strength... Noah Parks is the ridiculously gorgeous, motorcycle-riding, cage-match-fighting equivalent of kryptonite for Lindsay Harper. And she’s going to need every last ounce of her strength now that she’s the legal guardian of her brother’s five orphaned children. For the sake of her new family, it’s time to give up her carefree single ways. Stop being the cool aunt and become a parent. And fight this crazy attraction to Noah. Sure, there’s a side of him she can’t help falling for...the one who volunteers as a firefighter and helps at-risk youth. The irresistibly kind and caring side. But she is a nurse, after all. She can’t love an MMA fighter, a man she regularly has to scan for physical trauma... Can she?

Introduction “I wanted to ask you something.” Lindsey waited. He was silent. “Go ahead,” she prodded. “I was wondering if you would have dinner with me tonight.” Seriously? The guy was wearing a hospital gown and booties and had half his body inside an MRI machine, and he was asking her out? Clearly the relaxation meds she’d given him were working. She hesitated. She wasn’t sure of Noah’s exact age, but she suspected he was at least four or five years younger than she, and given his chosen career, he wasn’t even on her radar of potential men to date. A fighter who put constant stress on his body and mind was not someone she would consider as a life partner—and at thirty-five, she thought maybe it was time to start taking relationships seriously. “I have to work.”

Dear Reader Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page About the Author Dedication Acknowledgments PROLOGUE CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN Copyright , Who doesn’t love a man whose beautiful, compassionate inside matches his gorgeous exterior? In book five of the Brookhollow series, Lindsey Harper is struggling with just that—feelings she has for a man she knows she shouldn’t fall in love with. But Noah Parks makes resisting him so difficult, with his irresistible smile (and abs) and his kind heart. And it doesn’t help matters that he simply won’t take no for an answer. Fighting for Keeps is a story I’ve wanted to write for a long time. A story about two people with two very different ideas about MMA fighting and how a compromise could ever be reached...if it actually could. Being the fifth book in my Brookhollow series, it was a tough one to write. Having to say goodbye to two characters that I’ve grown to love as friends to the hero/heroines in these books was heartbreaking, but life is about loss, love, second chances and facing adversity. Through the tragic loss in this story, Lindsey gains her own redemption and happy-ever-after love story. I hope this story makes you laugh, cry and root for Lindsey and Noah and their chance at love. xo Jennifer