BAD INFLUENCE

BOOK #3 IN THE BAD BACHELOR SERIES

Annie Maxwell created the Bad Bachelors app to warn women away from guys like Joe Preston. Too bad she won't take her own advice...

Annie had her whole life figured out...until her fiancé left her when his career took off. If that wasn't bad enough, every society blog posted pictures of him escorting a woman wearing her wedding ring. To help the women of New York avoid men like her ex, she created the Bad Bachelors app.

Outside his stellar career, CEO Joe Preston has made a lot of mistakes. None was worse than leaving the love of his life when she needed him most. Now, he's ready for a second chance. He may still be one heck of a bad influence, but when Annie's safety is threatened by a hacker, Joe is the only one who can save her - and he'll do whatever it takes to win her back.

CAN THIS BE READ AS A STANDALONE?

This series has a separate couple in each book, therefore they can be read as standalone stories. However, this series is best enjoyed in order due to continuing subplots.

Is this book available in languages other than english?

Yes! Bad Influence is available in German.

IS THIS BOOK AVAILABLE IN AUDIO?

Yes! You can find it at audiobooks.com.

Excerpt from BAD INFLUENCE

Annie padded over to her door and pressed her ear to it. Silence. Maybe he’d left already? But she hadn’t heard the front door latch, and it was right next to her room. Ignoring the screeching Do not proceed in her head, she pushed the door open. As quietly as gravity would allow, she tiptoed out into the entryway, which opened directly into the living room.

In the far corner of the room, Joseph sat at her computer desk. All the overhead lights were off, and an eerie bluish glow created a fuzzy halo, silhouetting his broad shoulders. It must have been after 2:00 a.m. Possibly later.

But it wasn’t the time or the darkness that made the breath stick in the back of Annie’s throat. It was the image on the laptop screen in front of Joseph. A photo was the source of the bluish light, her once favorite photo. They’d gone to the Greek islands for a vacation, and a friend had captured them frolicking in the ocean. Joseph had Annie on his shoulders, with her almost toppling off from laughter and his face radiating a pure, uninhibited joyfulness that he rarely showed the outside world. It was the week before she’d found out that her mother had breast cancer.

Before everything crumbled.

Annie stepped back. She wasn’t ready to face Joseph like this, and she should have stayed in her room until he left. But she backed up too quickly and bumped into the side table, the corner of it jabbing into her lower back so that she had to stifle a yelp. In the silent apartment, the sound might as well have been a gunshot.

Joseph quickly closed the laptop and whirled around. “What are you doing up?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” She could barely force the words out. Suddenly, everything tumbled down on her like an avalanche. Joseph’s return, the creepy photo, the spyware on her computer, the weight of so many angry emails and threats. The dissolution of her friendship with Remi. Tears filled her eyes to the brim, but she blinked furiously, chasing them away with gritted teeth and balled fists, praying he couldn’t see her weakness.

He strode toward her. They were enveloped by shadows, with only the twinkle of city lights keeping the room from being pitch-black. Annie curled her hands around the edge of the table behind her, needing something to keep her upright. Each step he took was like a knife twisting in her gut, because at her base level she still craved him like he’d never been away. Her body hadn’t gotten the memo that Joseph Preston was not on the menu, because her hands tingled and that sweet spot between her legs pulsed like she was about to get some.

You’re not about to get some.

“Were you able to fix it?” she asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper, because anything louder would feel like too much and she wanted to dwell in this limbo between dreaming and the real world.

“It’s good as new. All your files are back on there, and there’s a backup on the USB hard drive.” He was close, but not too close. Not as close as her body wanted. “You shouldn’t be staying here alone.”

“I’m crashing at Mom and Dad’s over the weekend.”

His pale eyes were ethereal in the shadows. “Do they know what’s going on?”

She shook her head. “They would freak.”

“Rightly so,” he said. “I want you to call me if you see anything at all suspicious. If you hear a bump in the night, if you get something weird in your mailbox, just…call me.”

“No questions asked?”

“I’m always going to ask questions.”

She let out a sharp laugh. Of course he would. Joseph never held back on poking and prodding, even if she asked him to back off. That was always the bone of contention between them, because it was the one area where he was happy to dish it out but reluctant to take it in return.

“You haven’t changed,” she whispered.

“Haven’t I?” He took a step closer. “I certainly feel changed. But I’m not about to stay quiet when I think your safety is at stake.”

“I’m not your concern. This issue isn’t your concern.” That was a steaming pile of bullshit, and she knew it. She’d brought him here; she’d involved him.

“Will you promise to call me if something seems off?” His tone was hard now, jagged. “I don’t care if I’m the last resort after you’ve called everyone else you know. I’m telling you, if you need me, I will be here.”

“This time.” She couldn’t stop the bitter little words from popping out, her nerves frayed and brittle. “I shouldn’t have—”

“Yeah, you should have.”

They stood in the dark, the air so thick between them that Annie wondered if he might need to swim the last few steps toward her. Beneath the oversize flannel shirt she’d worn to bed, her body was wound tighter than a spring.

“I don’t want to get into this now.” She bunched the ends of her nightshirt in her hands, trying so hard to remember why she hated him.

He left you when you needed him most. He has no regard for your family or your feelings. He was going to marry someone else with the ring meant for you.

But those thoughts had cycled in her head so many times that they’d lost color and meaning. Instead of growing like a bonfire, they’d become dull and soft.

“Annie.” He came closer, the sound of her name like a plea and a prayer.

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