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After the Kiss: A Sex, Love & Stiletto Novel (Sex, Love, & Stiletto Series Book 1) Kindle Edition
Julie Greene loves flings. Loves steamy first dates, sizzling first kisses, and every now and then, that first sexy romp between the sheets. Comfy pants, sleepy Sundays, movie nights on the couch? Shudder. But when Julie gets assigned the hardest story of her career—a first-person account of that magical shift between dating and “I do”—she’ll need a man brave enough to give a total commitment-phobe a chance at more.
Normally, Mitchell Forbes would be exactly that man. A devastatingly hot workaholic who tends to stay in relationships for far too long, he should be the perfect subject for Julie’s “research.” But what Julie doesn’t know is that Mitchell is looking to cut loose for once in his life. And the leggy journalist notorious for avoiding love is exactly the type of no-strings fling he’s looking for. In other words, Mitchell is the polar opposite of what Julie needs right now. And, at the same time, he’s exactly what she wants.
Praise for After the Kiss
“Packed with loads of sizzle and Snickerlicious fun, Lauren Layne’s After the Kiss is a knock-your-stilettos-off, total page-turning treat that had me fan-girling up within the first chapter. I absolutely loved this read!”—USA Today bestselling author Mira Lyn Kelly
“Funny, intelligent, and touching, Lauren Layne’s After the Kiss is a delightful debut.”—Ruthie Knox, USA Today bestselling author of Flirting with Disaster
Lauren Layne’s New York Times bestselling Oxford Novel series can be read in any order:
IRRESISTIBLY YOURS
I WISH YOU WERE MINE
SOMEONE LIKE YOU
I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE
I THINK I LOVE YOU
Don’t miss any of Lauren Layne’s hot reads:
The Love Unexpectedly series: BLURRED LINES | GOOD GIRL | LOVE STORY | WALK OF SHAME | AN EX FOR CHRISTMAS
The Sex, Love & Stiletto series: AFTER THE KISS | LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE WITH | JUST ONE NIGHT | THE TROUBLE WITH LOVE
The Redemption series: ISN’T SHE LOVELY | BROKEN | CRUSHED
The I Do, I Don’t series: READY TO RUN | RUNAWAY GROOM
Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherLoveswept
- Publication dateAugust 26, 2013
- File size3278 KB
- After the Kiss: A Sex, Love & Stiletto Novel (Sex, Love, & Stiletto Series Book 1)1Kindle Edition$9.99$9.99
- Just One Night: A Sex, Love & Stiletto Novel (Sex, Love, & Stiletto Series Book 3)3Kindle Edition$7.99$7.99
- The Trouble with Love: A Sex, Love & Stiletto Novel (Sex, Love, & Stiletto Series Book 4)4Kindle Edition$6.99$6.99
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Funny, intelligent, and touching, Lauren Layne’s After the Kiss is a delightful debut.”—Ruthie Knox, USA Today bestselling author of Flirting with Disaster
“I loved After the Kiss! It was funny and exciting all the way through.”—Fresh Fiction
“If you’re looking for a light, fun, sexy contemporary romance I’d definitely recommend this one. It’s the most fun book I’ve read in quite a while.”—Smexy Books
“This delightfully funny little gem . . . kept me reading with its entertaining antics, light drama and sweet conclusion.”—Craves the Angst
“It’s a delightful story that will have the reader rooting for the happily ever after, and one I highly recommend.”—Janna Shay
“I thought this book was great! It was an interesting story line and had great and believable characters.”—Libby’s Fun Books
“I love this story so much that every reader should read it! It’s a must read!”—Abigail Books Addiction
“A great read.”—The Season for Romance
“I loved After the Kiss. It was an adorable, sexy sweet story.”—Love to Read for Fun
About the Author
Lauren Layne is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen romantic comedies. Her books have sold over a million copies in nine languages. Laurens work has been featured in Publishers Weekly, Glamour, the Wall Street Journal, and Inside Edition. She is based in New York City.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Julie Greene had built a career out of falling in love. Staying in love? Not so much.
Julie’s boss apparently hadn’t gotten the memo.
“I’m confused,” Julie said slowly, leaning forward with a placating smile. “You want me to write what?”
Translation: You’re confused. I don’t write that shit.
Camille Bishop leaned back in her chair and studied Julie with puzzled eyes. “I’d have thought you’d be jumping at the chance to have such a simple assignment after last month.”
Julie pursed her lips together and considered. Last month’s assignment had been exhausting. Documenting the seven kinds of first kisses had required a lot of research.
Pleasant research.
But this? A two-page spread, to be called “How to Take Relationships to the Next Level”?
What was Camille thinking? This was Stiletto magazine, not Dr. Phil. Stiletto was sex and high heels, not companionship and freaking clogs.
The rocky post-honeymoon period just wasn’t Julie’s scene. Which is not to say she didn’t have plenty of other skills.
The first date? She had men begging for it.
The first kiss? An art form she’d long since mastered.
The first time you lost your panties in his sheets? Soooo not a problem.
This wasn’t to say that Julie had perfected only the major, most obvious dating milestones, however. She also knew how to finesse the subtler moments—those key moments where the breath caught and you thought, Yes, this. Julie could explain every single nuance, from the toe-curling euphoria when his hand brushed yours to the tingle when eyes held for just a beat too long. And then there was her personal favorite moment: the bone-deep satisfaction when you made him laugh for the first time—a real laugh.
Most women thought these moments just happened. Julie Greene knew better. These moments were created.
As for what happened after all that good stuff?
Julie couldn’t care less. She had no need for the first fight, no desire to meet the parents. No interest in finding dirty boxers in her hamper or making room in her bathroom for a man’s razor. That was all a one-way trip to Julie’s personal vision of hell: couples movie night.
Julie had found that the women of New York City erroneously used movie night as a yardstick of how close to the altar he was. After all, if he was satisfied to spend a Friday night at home instead of at a strip club, he must be whipped, right?
Wrong. So wrong.
Movie night was just another way of saying that you didn’t want to bother dressing up for him and that he didn’t care. Julie lived in fear of the moment when fancy dinners and cocktail parties would be a thing of the past, and the highlight of the weekend would be lounging in yoga pants and watching car chases or beautiful people making out on-screen.
The sexiest part of that scenario was the butter on the popcorn.
She shuddered. Julie Greene didn’t do movie night.
“Camille, look,” she tried again. “It’s not that I don’t respect your suggestions . . .”
“Oh?” Camille tilted her head, making her chemically straightened bob sway ever so slightly, and Julie froze. Over the years, Julie had come to think of Camille’s usually immobile hair as her “tell”—when it moved, someone’s life was about to get really messy.
Up until now, it had never been Julie’s life.
In the six years that she’d been working for Camille as a full-time columnist, this was the first time Julie had received a direct order on a story topic. Even when Julie had been fresh out of college with nothing but a handful of internships under her belt, Camille had given her wide latitude on what to write about.
Julie knew that Camille trusted her judgment. So what was with the sudden power trip?
It didn’t make sense. Julie was one of Stiletto’s best columnists, and they both knew it. And Camille had always encouraged her writers to play to their strengths. Julie’s niche was the single readers with the dream of falling in love. After that, they were on their own.
Julie sat up straighter. Wait, no. That wasn’t entirely true. Readers did have someplace to go once they got past the fun part of dating.
Grace Brighton.
“Why not have Grace do it?” Julie asked excitedly. “She’s your relationship guru.”
“And here I thought you and Grace were both my relationship gurus.”
“We are,” Julie agreed quickly. “It’s just that we each have our own expertise. Anything having to do with long-term relationships is Grace’s.”
Camille pursed her lips, painted today in a rather shocking coral. “And how would you describe yourself?”
Julie’s heel jittered beneath the desk in frustration. Camille knew full well what Julie’s expertise was. Everyone at the Stiletto office did. Heck, half the women in Manhattan knew Julie by name. Knew what she stood for. Stiletto was the magazine to work at. The Dating, Love, and Sex department was the department to work in. And Julie, Grace Brighton, and Riley McKenna were Dating, Love, and Sex, respectively.
Julie answered slowly. “I’m all about butterflies, first kiss, getting him to call. You know, dating.”
“Mm-hmm, and how is it that a woman goes from those giddy first few dates to the comfortable, committed stuff that Grace writes about?”
Julie’s mind went blank. There was really no good way to tell the editor in chief of the country’s largest women’s magazine that you’d never bothered to think about what happened after. And sure, maybe some people might think Julie a little insubstantial. But she was willing to bet those same people were perpetually dateless. Or entrenched in yoga pants and movie nights.
“Um, well . . . I guess it sort of evolves?” Julie replied finally.
“How?”
“With the right person, it just happens. That’s the mystery of what makes true love so special.” Gawd, I almost made myself vomit.
Camille shook her head. “Not good enough. You’ve seen the letters from our readers. They want to know the specifics. These are women who’ve already had the third date. They’ve even been on the seventh. But then what? How do they move forward?”
Julie’s sleeveless Kate Spade turtleneck dress suddenly felt a little tight around her throat.
“If not Grace, Riley could write it,” Julie said, grasping at straws. “You know, I actually think she’s been looking for a way to broaden her focus and take a break from the sex stuff for a while. Can’t you just see it? ‘Outside the Bedroom’ or something like that.”
“Julie,” Camille said with a sigh, “Grace and Riley have their stories figured out for the next few issues. I’ve already okayed them.”
“If you want a schedule of my future story ideas, I’d be happy to—”
“My mind’s made up.”
Okay, so Camille wasn’t going to be persuaded with reason. Time to go for the editor’s soft spot: Stiletto itself.
“I’m not sure this is what’s best for the magazine,” Julie said demurely. “I just don’t have any experience with the . . . you know . . . long-term stuff.”
But Camille wasn’t biting. “So? You think every writer in this office has personal experience with everything they write about?”
I do, Julie thought. Or at least I did.
“Julie, look around. What does this look like to you?”
“Um, an office?” More accurately, a high-tech, state-of-the-art, killer corner office with a view of Central Park South.
“Exactly. It’s an office of a magazine company. This is journalism, not your pink fuzzy diary,” Camille snapped. “If you haven’t been there yourself, talk to women who are going through that stage. Do what you always do—dive into our readers’ heads and answer the hard stuff for them.”
Julie bit back a sigh, knowing the battle was lost. Temporarily. Camille was one of those scary women who had made her way to the top of the food chain by having steel ovaries and a penchant for making people cry. Julie had always figured that if they’d made a movie about Camille’s life she’d be played by either a stern Katharine Hepburn type or an intensely scary Robert De Niro on crack. She was about as soft as a hammerhead shark and half as friendly.
Still, Camille was right about one thing: this article could be done with a little bit of strategic networking. A major in journalism from the University of Southern California had taught Julie that media was more about whom you knew than what you knew. But Julie had developed her own type of journalism over the years, one that involved a distinctly personal voice. And she hated the idea that she couldn’t speak personally to a topic.
“So we’re good?” Camille asked, standing to indicate that the conversation was over.
Not even close. “Definitely,” Julie replied with a confident smile.
Product details
- ASIN : B00BRUQ7JK
- Publisher : Loveswept (August 26, 2013)
- Publication date : August 26, 2013
- Language : English
- File size : 3278 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 225 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #469,643 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,210 in Workplace Romance eBooks
- #1,826 in Workplace Romance
- #11,745 in Romantic Comedy (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
“Escapist and aspirational, [with] sparkling dialog and deeply emotional moments.” —Publishers Weekly
“[A] powerhouse romance Author.” —PopSugar
Featured in Oprah Magazine and PopSugar, Lauren Layne books have sold millions of copies worldwide. Snappy banter, sexual tension, and a fairy-tale happy ending are a hallmark of the Lauren Layne brand. Library Journal has described Lauren's work as "exceptional," and the books have been described by USA TODAY as "romantic comedy at its finest."
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Julie is a writer for Stiletto magazine and specializes in writing about falling in love: the first date, first kiss, and all the highs you get from a new romance. She's had plenty of practice at this, and brings her personal experience to her readers. But taking it to the next step? Not so much. The thought of being comfortable enough with someone that you'd stay in, *gasp* wear the typical comfy clothes, and have a movie night, spells horror and boredom to Julie. She's content with having a few dates filled with fun and kisses, and then moving on.
This is where the trouble begins. Julie's editor wants a piece about taking the next step, with her hallmark personal touch bringing life into the article. How is Julie going to tackle this? Well at the urging of her friends, and fellow Stiletto writers, Grace and Riley, she plans on snagging a typical "relationship" type of guy, and going through the motions for the purpose of the article. Julie thinks Mitchell is the perfect test subject, a boring relationship type guy through and through. Little does she know that Mitchell has his own agenda, and things do not go as she's planned.
Mitchell is the relationship type of guy. He doesn't want to waste time on someone just for a fling. When a co-worker eggs him on into a bet, saying that he can't casually date a girl without having an eventual plan to marry in mind, Mitchell gives in to the taunts and agrees to the challenge. Have a fling, move on after he's had his fun, and then gain prime season tickets to the Yankees.
Julie and Mitchell thought they knew what they were getting into, but when each of them plans to do exactly the opposite of their usual MO, both of them are surprised and unsettled. Mitchell isn't the type of guy Julie can woo and win over with her usual routine of flighty, fun, and flirty. He only responds when the real Julie comes out and exposes her heart. Julie, in turn surprises Mitchell when she doesn't act as the girl he's heard about, and he finds himself strangely drawn to her no nonsense behavior.
I loved that Julie and Mitchell's plans are thrown out the window because they're both so taken by each other! The intensity of some of these scenes is toe-curling HOT!! I love that Mitchell turns out to be anything BUT the boring, safe "relationship" guy Julie assumes him to be, and she winds up craving the heck out of him! Same thing with Mitchell, he's surprised and overwhelmed with how strong his feelings are for Julie.
"Julie. What the hell are we doing?" he whispered in her ear. She felt a stab of relief. So this wasn't normal for him either. She liked that she made him lose control. Liked even more that he made her lose control.
I lapped this story up! Julie and Mitchell's romance utterly consumed me! I'm in love with Lauren Layne's writing! Her brand of humor, classy but oh-so-hot sex scenes, and gift for writing romance puts her in "authors-I-stalk status" *ahem* I mean follow. I can't wait for poor Grace's story next: Love the One You're With. December is too far away *sobs*!!
You know those days that you just need a little dose of flirtation, love and cheese and that is the day that you watch romantic comedies that you have seen a million times that still just make you smile. Well THIS was that book for me. It had the feel of How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days but the story is different enough that while it reminds me of that movie the book is its own entity.
Julie needs to write a story about taking relationships to the next level…but she has NEVER taken a relationship to the next level. How is she supposed to pull this off with her signature spin of personal touch when she has no idea how to do it? Easy, fabricate a relationship with someone and convince them to take it to the next level. How could it possibly go wrong?
A few of the things it did have that I absolutely loved were:
✘ - The BEST FIRST KISS in a single novel. It was slightly unexpected and so hot that I melted right there. My favorite kiss in any chic lit novel.
✘ - Fun, Feisty and Flirty characters. Mitchell (not Mitch, never Mitch) and Julie are easy to immediately like. Julie is great at the meet cute, butterflies and first dates but she never gets serious with anyone. Mitchell has no clue how to have a fling. Every girl he dates is a specific type that could be the Mrs. Mitchell in the near future.
. “You act like I get engaged to every woman I kiss.”
“No, I’m just saying that you plan to get engaged to every woman you kiss. You need to have a relationship that won’t end with you guys picking out wallpaper.”
“So should I just hire a robot? All women want to pick out wallpaper. It’s what they do.
✘ - Great Sexual tension and banter. This isn’t exactly instant love but there was a surprising chemistry that Julie and Mitchell felt for each other. A raw hunger that surprised them both and I ate it up in large spoonfuls loving every minute of it.
✘ - Hot Sex….Yep I said it! It isn’t overpowering or anything. Julie and Mitchell actually do things together and have hobbies, talk and stuff but when they have SEX it is hot.
✘ - Seven types of bad kisses including the The Heavy breather, the Labrador and the Poke and Swirl.
- "The Labrador. Also referred to as Bad Dog! Another tongue offender. Hint: if either party’s face is wet after the kiss, you’re doing it wrong."
This story flew by so fast and then I was finished it was over and I immediately bought the next three of the series because I’M IN. I had so much fun with the writing and the story progression that I know I’ll love the entire series after finishing just this one book.
Top reviews from other countries
Just like the last two one, she caught me off-guard falling for the two main characters. I only cried once this time but felt very emotional for Mitchell. She has a way of building up her story, and even though you know there will be most likely a Happily Ever After, you just forget about it while reading and fear for their heart.
I love that she doesn’t focus too much on how perfectly beautiful her characters are, even though they are. This time, Mitchell, the main character wasn’t also the typical alpha male we used to have in Romance novel. I even felt a little weird that at least twice he didn’t completely take out his pants to make love.
It’s a romantic comedy in the city, and maybe because I’m a pure city girl, it’s the kind I prefer. I’m overly excited that she’s starting a new series in NY city. Can’t wait to read it.