Bidding on Brooks
The Winslow Brothers, Book 1
Katy Regnery
Genre: Contemporary romance
Date of Publication: 5.11.15
Cover Artist: Kim Killion, Hot Damn Designs
One bachelor auction.
Two good friends.
When Skye agrees to bid on her friend, Brooks, the last thing she expects to lose is her heart.
Bidding on Brooks is the first of four books about the Philadelphia-based, wildly-handsome Winslow brothers who are all on the look-out for love.
(Except Preston. He's been down that road before and still has the scars to prove it. And maybe Cameron, because he's super-hot, but too hot-headed to be decent boyfriend material...)
Railroaded into a bachelor auction by his sister, Jessica, Brooks Winslow asks his friend, Skye Sorenson, to bid on him to avoid the possibility of any romantic entanglements. Fiercely competitive and protective of those he cares for, Brooks was profoundly affected by the loss of his father at an early age. A witness to his mother's terrible loneliness and his siblings' grief, the ex-Olympian has never allowed himself to fall in love.
Skye Sorenson, the plucky mechanic at Sorenson Marina, where Brooks moors his three sailboats, is a credible sailor in her own right...and has quietly lusted after Brooks for years. But her longstanding friendship with Brooks has always made romance seem impossible.
When Skye agrees to bid on Brooks, the two cast off for a weeklong ocean adventure on Brooks' sailboat, The Zephyr, where the last thing Skye expects to lose is her heart.
Return to the world created in the English Brothers books with this fresh foursome of scorching hot Winslow Brothers!
(Except Preston. He's been down that road before and still has the scars to prove it. And maybe Cameron, because he's super-hot, but too hot-headed to be decent boyfriend material...)
Railroaded into a bachelor auction by his sister, Jessica, Brooks Winslow asks his friend, Skye Sorenson, to bid on him to avoid the possibility of any romantic entanglements. Fiercely competitive and protective of those he cares for, Brooks was profoundly affected by the loss of his father at an early age. A witness to his mother's terrible loneliness and his siblings' grief, the ex-Olympian has never allowed himself to fall in love.
Skye Sorenson, the plucky mechanic at Sorenson Marina, where Brooks moors his three sailboats, is a credible sailor in her own right...and has quietly lusted after Brooks for years. But her longstanding friendship with Brooks has always made romance seem impossible.
When Skye agrees to bid on Brooks, the two cast off for a weeklong ocean adventure on Brooks' sailboat, The Zephyr, where the last thing Skye expects to lose is her heart.
Return to the world created in the English Brothers books with this fresh foursome of scorching hot Winslow Brothers!
Buy now on Amazon!
Excerpt from Chapter 1 Bidding on Brooks
(All rights reserved. Used with permission from Katy Regnery)
“Please, Skye. Just listen. You’re the perfect person for this. You’ve got to help me out.”
Skye Sorenson rolled her eyes at Brooks Winslow, adjusting the brim of her baseball cap as she swept past him and headed down the dock for her next job.
“I mean it, Skye. I’m up a tree…and we’re friends. Can’t you give me a hand?”
Dreamy Delight needed a new float switch and bilge pump, which would be difficult to manage with Brooks Winslow standing on the dock, looking casually gorgeous as he yammered at her about some charity event he wanted her to attend.
Gazing at her hands, she noted they were still covered with engine grease from the oil change she’d just handled on the outboard motor of a J-24 sailboat. Not wanting to get black fingerprints on the white fiberglass of the motorboat she was about to service, she took a bandana out of the back pocket of her overalls then turned to face Brooks as she wiped her fingers.
“Are you going to follow me around all afternoon if I don’t listen?”
“Umm…pretty much.”
She sighed with feigned annoyance. “Fine. You have my attention. Tell it to me again.”
Brooks looked relieved and gave her a small grin that—damn it—made Skye’s stomach flutter.
“Knew you wouldn’t let me down.”
“Haven’t said yes to anything yet,” she said, shoving the bandana back into her pocket and crossing her arms over her chest.
“My sister, Jessica, is back in Philly this summer to get married. To keep busy, she’s organized some big benefit for the Institute of Contemporary Art. She and her girlfriends thought it would be fun to volunteer their single brothers to be auctioned off.”
“Auctioned off?”
“Yeah…a bachelor auction.”
“Some sister,” said Skye, unable to keep the teasing from her voice.
“It’s for charity,” he said defensively, running a hand through his waves of jet black hair.
“Okay. So you got roped into it.” She thought back to an old movie she’d seen once where women were auctioned off as dates. At each of their feet had been a pretty lunch basket, and the man that was the highest bidder won a homemade lunch with the girl of his choice. “What do you have to do? Have lunch with someone?”
“Oh, no,” he said with irritation, pursing his lips. “Nothing that painless. Jess wants to make money. Big money. She had to think bigger than lunch.”
Skye stared up at him. “Dinner?”
“Nope.”
“Two dinners?”
“Nuh-uh.”
She gestured to the sleek Sportscruiser moored at the end of the dock that she was supposed to be working on. “I’m out of guesses, Brooks…and that pump isn’t going to fix itself, so—”
“A sail. She’s auctioning off a sail. With me.”
“Well, I don’t know why you’re complaining. You love sailing. You love women. What’s the problem?”
Skye tilted her head to the side, looking at Brooks’ way-too-handsome face with a cheeky grin.
Long ago Skye had accepted the fact that Brooks would never see her as anything but a great mechanic, a proficient sailor, and a long-time friend. She was—honestly and truly—satisfied with that status quo between them. He was rich and powerful, an ex-Olympian and world-renowned sailor from Philadelphia, while Skye lived a much quieter life, working as a “handyman” at her dad’s marina in Maryland. What they had in common was a deep love of boats and mutual respect for one another’s nautical skills, and that was just enough to keep their friendship intact.
The first time Skye had ever seen Brooks Winslow was the day he came down to her father’s marina to claim the fifteen foot Primrose wood-hulled sailboat gifted to him from his parents for his fifteenth birthday. He swaggered into Sorenson Marina, flashing his perfect smile at her, and her ten-year-old heart had grown wings as she’d discreetly followed him down the dock. She was instantly infatuated with Brooks, of course, but much more, Skye harbored a deep devotion to his Primrose, the most beautiful little double-ended Daycruiser she’d ever seen. Her stomach had been in knots as she walked behind him from a discreet distance, hopeful that he would handle the little sailboat with the grace and care she deserved. But Skye’s worries turned out to be unfounded. He’d treated that pretty boat with respect and skill, and Skye had breathed deeply with relief, whispering, “I’m gonna marry you someday,” as he sailed away.
Twenty years later, Skye knew two things for certain:
One, that Brooks was one of the most talented, natural, organic sailors she’d ever met in her life. Heck, he’d made it all the way to the Olympics and come home with a medal to prove what Skye had always known—that any boat was safe in his hands. She respected him more than most of the sailors she knew.
And two, the chances of her ever marrying him were next to none in the approximate area of zero. He was gorgeous and rich and talented and fascinating…and completely out of her league.
“Not a one-day sail,” Brooks continued in a terse voice, jettisoning her memories as he prompted her back to their conversation. “Not even two. Jessica signed me up for a cruise. From Baltimore to Charleston.”
Skye felt her eyes widen as she stared at him. “That’s a week. Minimum.”
“Yeah.”
“Crew?”
Brooks grabbed the back of his neck with his hand, rubbing. “Nope. It’s supposed to be… romantic.”
A romantic cruise. For a week. Alone. With Brooks.
Lucky girl, she thought, ignoring the ridiculous spike of jealousy that jabbed a little at her heart and made her feel instantly guilty.
She couldn’t help her attraction to him, but the fact that it was totally unreturned made it manageable in a way that didn’t hurt. For heaven’s sake, it wasn’t like she had feelings for Brooks beyond friendship. She just liked looking at him. Her eighty-year-old granny’s heart would flutter at the sight of Brooks’ thick, dark hair, flashing sea-green eyes, square jaw, muscular body, and perennially-tan hands that handled a boat with the same finesse that he probably handled his women. Noticing Brooks’ good looks didn’t make Skye unique or special, and it didn’t mean she wanted more from him than friendship either (she tried to convince herself). It just made her human.
“Romantic,” she murmured. Turning away, she looked out at the harbor where sailboats bobbed up and down in afternoon sun.
“Yeah.”
“But you won’t know who she is,” said Skye, “until she wins you.”
“Bingo,” he said.
“And then you’ll be trapped at sea for a week.”
“Precisely.”
“She could be anyone.”
“Yep.”
“Does your sister really hate you?”
Brooks scoffed. “No. But she really loves modern art.”
“Okay. Yeah. It’s a pretty sucky situation. But how can I help?”
He grinned. “You can bid on me.”
My Review
I can pretty much guarantee that any time I pick up one of Katy Regnery's books to read that I'm going to enjoy the story, and Bidding on Brooks is no exception. The characters, the plot, the writing...everything melds together perfectly to create a story that captured my attention from the start, and didn't let go the entire way through. The fact that this is one of my favorite types of romance story-friends to more-was just icing on the cake.
First-the characters. I really liked Skye, the female lead. She was very easy for me to identify with, and it was great to see her grow and come into her own in this story-both as a sailor and in her relationship with Brooks. And Brooks-well, what can I say? He is the epitome of a lead alpha male--gorgeous and sexy, and of course with the requisite set of secrets and fears that he needs to overcome. We also get to see some favorites from the author's English Brothers series...along with some interesting new characters like Clay (now he's a fun one!) and Skye's father, both very likable--as well as Skye's current boyfriend, Patrick and an annoying photographer, Guy (yeah, both of these guys are not going to be on any favorites list).
Next-the plot. The setup for the story is fun and a great way to hook the reader in, then throw in the little secrets we learn about as we go, and you find yourself firmly ensconced within the story, not wanting to put the book down. Add a twist involving those not-so-nice guys I mentioned, and you suddenly wonder if Skye and Brooks will ever be able to find their happy ending.
Then-the writing. Katy Regnery has always done a great job of reeling the reader in and will keep you totally absorbed in the story. You really feel the emotions of the characters, and can easily empathize with their individual situations thanks to her smooth, clear writing that brings you into their world.
Another wonderful addition to Katy's already impressive booklist, Bidding on Brooks was a 5-star read for me and just one more reason she's on my auto-buy author list. Highly recommended for all romance fans, and for the 18+ audience due to some language and adult content. Oh, and while reading the English Brothers series is not needed before starting Bidding on Brooks, I would definitely recommend it just so you can get some background for the overall world the story takes place in (don't worry, you'll love those stories too!).
About the Author:
Katy Regnery, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author, started her writing career by enrolling in a short story class in January 2012. One year later, she signed her first contract for a winter romance entitled By Proxy.
Now a hybrid author who publishes both independently and traditionally, Katy claims authorship of the six-book Heart of Montana series, the six-book English Brothers series, and a Kindle Worlds novella entitled “Four Weddings and a Fiasco: The Wedding Date.” Katy’s short story, “The Long Way Home” appears in the first RWA anthology, Premiere, and she has published two standalone novels, Playing for Love at Deep Haven and the Amazon bestseller, The Vixen and the Vet, which is book one in Katy’s a m o d e r n f a i r y t a l e collection. The Vixen and the Vet was nominated for a RITA® in 2015.
Katy lives in the relative wilds of northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, where her writing room looks out at the woods, and her husband, two young children, and two dogs create just enough cheerful chaos to remind her that the very best love stories begin at home.
Upcoming (2015) Projects:
The Winslow Brothers (Books #1-4)
Never Let You go, a modern fairytale
Ginger’s Heart, a modern fairytale
Connect with Katy:
Katy LOVES connecting with her readers and answers every e-mail, message, tweet and post personally! Click below to connect with Katy!
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