Title: The Perfect Match
Author: Jennifer Wilck
Genre: New adult, contemporary Jewish romance
Book Blurb:
Falling for a busy law student is the last thing Aviva wants. Will her refusal to settle force her to lose the man of her dreams?
Aviva Shulman has had enough of the dating scene. High-powered financiers with grueling hours are more interested in earning their bonuses than her love. She wants something more, someone who values her. But her roommates are determined to find her the perfect-on-paper match.
Jacob Black has no time for relationships. A third-year law student, he's focused on succeeding so he can get his dream job at a top-notch law firm. But his overbearing mother wants him to find someone and settle down.
After making their escape from a speed dating event neither one wanted to attend, Jacob and Aviva are thrown together, and suddenly, making time for a relationship seems possible. But is five minutes long enough to determine a future together?
The Perfect Match is the first book in this new-adult contemporary romance, with a meet-cute you won’t want to miss, chemistry that will leave you aching for more, and a Jewish mother who will have you laughing at her chutzpah.
Buy The Perfect Match and find out exactly how long it takes to fall in love.
Book 1: The Perfect Match
Book 2: The Perfect Secret
Book 3: The Perfect Deception
Excerpt:
If he were the kind of man who only judged women by their physical traits, bowling was a genius move because it gave him the perfect opportunity to observe her butt. He wasn’t. He liked Aviva for more than her looks. He liked her laugh, her forthrightness, her sense of humor. Indeed, those qualities were what stuck in his brain and lasted when he couldn’t be sure he remembered her name. They made him enjoy her company and opened him to the idea of spending more time with her.
He had to admit, though, as she paced toward the lane, held the ball, bent, and aimed, she had a terrific ass. Not too big, not too small and it filled out her leggings nicely. She swayed back and forth as she moved, tantalizing him. Once the ball knocked down six pins, she turned back toward him.
She had nice breasts too. The blue—or was it green—top hugged her chest enough to give it definition and hint at cleavage. He’d stared at that cleavage surreptitiously enough during dinner. He wasn’t a pervert, drooling over lady parts. He was a man who appreciated a sexy woman. And she was sexy in an understated, classy way.
Their funny texts during the week hinted at a cutesy girly-girl, yet the woman he’d dined with and whom he was trying to beat in a good-natured competition, was also intelligent and perceptive. He was relieved. He’d thought her texts and photos were funny. He’d given as good as he got, but it was one thing to joke about something and another thing to live it. High maintenance, ultra-girly females weren’t his type.
Aviva? Well, she might be. He could easily see himself falling for her, having a relationship with her. It was a problem because he didn’t have time for a relationship. Could he find the time for her in between all his studying? Would a relationship with her jeopardize his grades?
“You’re up.”
He jumped off the white plastic chair, unaware how lost he’d been in his thoughts. “Sorry.” He checked the scoreboard. “You’re beating me.”
She smiled.
Was it his imagination, or did she stand a little straighter, preen a tiny bit? Definitely not a girly-girl. In her heels, she’d only come up to his chin; now, in the ugly bowling shoes, she barely reached his shoulder. Her eyes twinkled. With her short hair, she resembled a fairy. He was tempted to search for wings.
“Yes. Yes, I am.”
“I’m not sure my manliness can handle this.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She lowered her gaze from his face, down his body to his feet, and up again. “I think your ‘manliness’ will survive. Flourish, even.”
Jacob’s neck heated. He shifted from one foot to the other at her unexpected perusal. He reached for the bowling ball.
When he turned to her again, she was smiling.
Two could play this game.
“Oh, yes, I’ll flourish.” Standing next to the ball return, he raked his gaze from the top of her short-cropped, haircut, down to her chest, where he lingered for a moment. He continued past her waist and hips, down her legs to the tips of her ugly bowling shoes. When he finally returned to meet her face, it was bright red, almost matching the neon sign pointing to the snack bar behind her head. He leaned toward her, his bowling ball between them.
Her breath brushed his chin, warm and unsteady. A lock of hair fell across her forehead. He pushed it in place with one finger, one finger that drew across her smooth skin and traced her fine-boned skull. She bit her lip. He pulled away, millimeter by millimeter, though he wanted to get closer.
“But first, I’ll win.” He winked, walked toward the foul line, adjusted his stance, took a few strides, swung his arm, and let the ball go. It spun down the lane. At the last moment, it veered into the gutter. Jacob’s jaw dropped. He shook his head, turned, and stopped short.
Aviva tapped her fingers on the table. “Interesting strategy you’ve got there.” Her eyes sparkled. Her tone told him she wasn’t being mean.
He’d liked her sense of humor before; he couldn’t decide to not like it when she was teasing him.
He nodded in acknowledgment, turned, and swung the second ball. It knocked down seven pins.
Aviva grabbed her ball, patted his arm, and aimed at the pins. Strike. She didn’t move. Jacob couldn’t figure out why she stood still, until her shoulders began to shake.
She was laughing. At him.
She turned around. Tears ran down her face. She inhaled. “I’m sorry. I swear I have no idea how it happened.”
“Sure, you don’t.” As his grin widened, he bit the insides of his cheeks, folded his arms, and did his best to look sad. “What a way to get a guy when he’s down.”
“You’re not down. You just challenged the bowling gods. They don’t like human challengers.”
“Bowling gods?”
“Of course. How else do you think we recreational bowlers manage it?” She stepped toward him. Her green eyes were wide with fake innocence.
“Bowling gods.”
“Exactly. You challenged them.” At this point, they were toe-to-toe. Her floral scent wafted around him. He refocused on her words.
“As you like to say, Aviva, technically, I challenged you.”
“Yes, but with bowling skill, so you actually challenged them too.”
She looked supremely satisfied with her circuitous bowling logic. Jacob had an urge to kiss her. Her lips were full and pink and tantalizingly close. He rested one hand on her waist and clasped the other hand behind her neck. She rose on tiptoe. This close, the brown flecks in her eyes shone. Her pupils widened. He tilted his head, leaned down and softly kissed her lips.
She sighed and ran her hands up and down his biceps. Her touch made his skin tingle.
With a groan, he pulled her tighter, kissed her deeper. She tasted sweet. He was hungry for more. But they were in a bowling alley. Distractions he’d blocked out, as he focused on her lips, returned—voices around them, the aroma of fried foods coming from the snack bar, blinking lights— and reminded him how public this place was, so he pulled away.
“Looks like we’re challenging each other,” he whispered.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Grab your ebook for only 99 cents!
Author Biography:
Jennifer Wilck is an award-winning contemporary romance author for readers who are passionate about love, laughter, and happily ever after. Known for writing both Jewish and non-Jewish romances, her books feature damaged heroes, sassy and independent heroines, witty banter and hot chemistry. Jennifer’s ability to transport the reader into the scene, create characters the reader will fall in love with, and evoke a roller coaster of emotions, will hook you from the first page. You can find her books at all major online retailers in a variety of formats.
Jennifer started telling herself stories as a little girl when she couldn’t fall asleep at night. Pretty soon, her head was filled with these stories and the characters that populated them. Even as an adult, she thinks about the characters and stories at night before she falls asleep or walking the dog. Eventually, she started writing them down. Her favorite stories to write are those with smart, sassy, independent heroines; handsome, strong and slightly vulnerable heroes; and her stories always end with happily ever after.
In the real world, she’s the mother of two amazing daughters and wife of one of the smartest men she knows. She believes humor is the only way to get through the day and does not believe in sharing her chocolate.
Social Media Links:
Website: http://www.jenniferwilck.com