Breaking Up with Barrett
The English Brothers
Book 1
Katy Regnery
Genre: Short contemporary romance
Date of Publication: 7/21/14
Number of pages: 171
Cover Artist: Kim Killion, Hot Damn Designs
Book Description:
Breaking Up with Barrett is the first of five books about the Philadelphia-based, wildly-handsome English brothers who are all on the look-out for love.
(Except Alex. He's a womanizing manwhore. And maybe Stratton, because he's wicked hot, but super awkward around girls.)
Barrett English, aka "the Shark," is the fair-haired, first-born of the English brothers, and the CEO of the oldest, most prestigious investment banking firm in Philadelphia. He rules the boardroom with an iron fist, refusing to take no for an answer and always getting his way.
Emily Edwards, a first-year doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania, grew up in the gatehouse on the outskirts of Barrett's childhood estate. The daughter of his family's gardener and housekeeper, she was always looking through the window of privilege, but forced to remember her place at the very periphery of the kingdom.
When business partners suggest that a fiancee might soften Barrett's image over business dinners, he approaches Emily for the "job" of fiancee. And while love wasn't necessarily on Barrett's radar, he begins to realize that Emily always has been. But will his take-no-prisoners boardroom tactics work on the heart of the woman he loves?
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Excerpt:
Barrett English.
Emily’s heart
kicked into a gallop as she looked down at the caller ID on her buzzing phone.
Trying to steady her suddenly shallow breathing, she closed her eyes for a
brief second before pushing back from the coffee shop table where the rest of
her study group continued to discuss early-American industrialization.
“Be right back,”
she whispered to her roommate, Valeria, and ducked out the backdoor of the café
into an empty alley.
“Hello?”
“Mr. English for
Miss Edwards?”
“Okay.”
A moment later
his smooth, polished baritone voice came on the line. “Good afternoon, Emily.
Thank you for picking up.”
“I was at study
group,” she said, leaning against a brick wall and cringing at the way she made
it sound like his call wasn’t welcome.
“I’m sorry to
interrupt you.”
“N-no. It’s fine,”
she answered quickly, wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans as she sandwiched
the phone between her shoulder and ear. Damn it, she wished she could be
cooler, but her mind always went blank the moment she heard the low rumble of
his voice.
“I’ll be brief,” he said. “Tomorrow night. The
Union League Club. Seven o’clock.”
Emily sighed.
She had plans tomorrow night with a sensitive, easy-going, doctoral psych
student named Chad who’d asked her out more than once. She’d repeatedly turned
him down, but Val had insisted that after four months spent at Barrett
English’s beck and call, Emily needed to go out with someone with whom she
actually had a chance.
“Emily?” he
prompted.
“How late?”
“Three hours
minimum. Possibly four.”
Pushing her hand
through her straight blonde hair, she knew it would be smart to decline
Barrett’s request and go out with psych cutie as planned. The arrangement she
had with Barrett—while beneficial to her bank account—wasn’t doing her social
life any favors. Nor her heart, which didn’t seem to comprehend that Barrett
only called her because she was his employee. Still, she couldn’t bring herself
to say no to him.
“Engagement
ring?” she asked.
“Per usual.”
“The Chanel or
the Givenchy?”
“As you wish.”
“Hair band or
chignon?”
“You always look
presentable, Emily. I leave the details to you. Smith will pick you up at six
forty-five. Are we done?”
“Yes,” she
answered and the line immediately went dead.
“Goodbye,” Emily
said wistfully in the quiet of the alley, disappointment making her grimace.
She fisted the phone in her hand until the case pinched her skin and shook her
from her trance. “See you tomorrow! You’re welcome! By the way, I love you, you
jerk!”
Her yell caused
a flurry of commotion overhead as a flock of pigeons departed in a hurry for
safer, quieter lodgings, one of them pausing just long enough to crap on
Emily’s shoulder with a big, fat plop.
Fantastic. The
perfect metaphor for my life.
She stared at
the goopy greyish-white spot in surrender before taking a deep, restorative breath,
tucking her phone into her jeans and heading back inside to clean her shirt and
rejoin her study group.
An hour later,
she trudged home beside Valeria, who started scolding her as soon as Emily
shared her last-minute plans for tomorrow night.
“So you’ll have
to reschedule with Chad? Geez, Em, I don’t understand why you keep saying yes
to Barrett!” said Valeria, turning up her collar. “Why not just say no?”
“He has a way
about him.” Emily sighed. “I always consider saying no, but I somehow end up
saying yes.”
Though they’d
never been close or intimate, Emily had known Barrett her entire life—well, not
really known him, because they were from very different parts of Haverford
Park, but he’d been a peripheral part of her life since birth. The economic nature
of the call she’d just shared with him was textbook Barrett: businesslike,
methodical and goal-oriented. Emily somehow knew he wasn’t trying to offend
her—he was merely taking care of their mutual business as efficiently as
possible. It just hurt that he employed efficiency over warmth since it
verified what she had suspected for months: Barrett had little to no personal
interest in Emily, despite her growing feelings for him.
Valeria
continued in the no-nonsense tone she used when student teaching. “Here’s a
solution: say no next time. ‘No, Barrett, I refuse to play the part of fake
fiancée for you. Take a hike.’ Three words, Em—TAKE. A. HIKE.” Valeria held up
three fingers one by one, then tucked them back into the pocket of her pea
coat. “Darn, it’s cold.”
“It’s October in
Philadelphia.” Emily pointed out.
“Don’t change
the subject.”
“Okay, Val. I’ll
say no next time. Here goes. ‘No thanks, Barrett. You don’t make me do anything
disgusting. You barely say a word to me. I get to dress up in gorgeous clothes
I could never afford, have an expensive glass of wine, and enjoy a scrumptious
dinner with people who go out of their way to be polite to me. And yes, I’m
flat broke and so is my roommate, but no thanks, I don’t want your one-hundred
an hour to play your fake fiancée. Keep it.’ How does that sound?”
“Not so smart.”
“I rest my
case,” said Emily, though the case was far from closed in her heart and mind,
which feuded in a tightly locked conundrum. Lately, her heart murmured that she
should walk away from Barrett before her feelings for him grew any stronger,
while her head insisted she couldn’t possibly turn her back on the income he
offered.
Falling for Fitz
The English Brothers
Book 2
Katy Regnery
Genre: Short contemporary romance
Date of Publication: 7/27/14
Number of pages: 165
Cover Artist: Kim Killion, Hot Damn Designs
Book Description:
Falling for Fitz is the second of five books about the Philadelphia-based, wildly-handsome English brothers who are absolutely not on the look-out for love.
(Except Barrett, who fell in love when he was eight-years-old. And Fitz, who met the girl of his dreams at nineteen. And maybe even Weston, who just doesn't know it yet.)
Fitz English and Daisy Edwards fell in love during one magical summer when they were teenagers. When something tragic happens at the end of the summer, Daisy tells Fitz she never wants to see him again. Despite his feelings for her, he respects her wishes and for almost a decade Fitz and Daisy go their separate ways.
Nine years later, when Daisy moves home to Philadelphia, they meet again, and both are shocked to discover that the feelings they had that summer are just as deep and real today. There's a little snag, however. It seems that Daisy is engaged to someone else, and she's come home to get married.
Can Fitz get Daisy to fall for him all over again before it's too late? Only if Daisy can learn to trust the man who shattered her heart once upon a time.
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Excerpt:
Fitzpatrick
English walked into the ballroom at the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware,
stood in the doorway and sighed. Unlike Barrett, Alex, and Weston, three of his
four brothers, who all enjoyed a night out with the best of Main Line society,
Fitz wasn’t a huge fan of these sorts of gatherings. All things equal, he’d
just as soon be at home watching college football in sweats and drinking a cold
beer, but Barrett had insisted he attend.
“Hello, second-born.”
An arm was
suddenly laced through his, and he looked down to find his mother, Eleanora
Watters English, beaming at him.
“Evening, Mom.”
“It’s lovely you
showed up. I know these things aren’t your favorite.”
Fitz sighed.
“Barrett has a way…”
“Barrett had
always had a way. However, I will say that the last two months have been void
of his usual intensity over business, swapped for his intensity over Emily
Edwards. It’s been a refreshing change to see him madly in love with something
other than a deal.”
As Eleanora led
them through the crowd toward the table Barrett had purchased for them at the
Twenty-Third Annual Kindred Hospital Harvest Ball Fundraiser, Fitz caught sight
of his older brother. Barrett always looked like James Bond in a tux, to the
manor born, while Fitz always felt a bit like an imposter. He knew all the
rules of polite society, of course, but it all felt a little stale after so
many years of compliance. He longed for something to shake him up as Emily
Edwards had shaken up Barrett. Looking ahead, he caught sight of his older
brother who had his arm wrapped around Emily’s waist, talking to another couple
who had their backs to Fitz. Occasionally Barrett would look down and smile at
Emily, and Fitz almost blushed at the intensity in his brother’s gaze. Fitz
could barely remember feeling that way about someone. It had only been for such
a short time, so long ago, sometimes it felt more like a dream than a brief,
caustically significant, part of his life.
“Usual cast of
characters tonight?”
“Not exactly.
The English have been invaded… by the Edwards,” she said, forced humor thick in
her manicured voice. “Emily invited her parents to join us.”
Fitz looked over
the heads of a few guests to see Susannah and Felix Edwards sitting at the
table. Emily’s father Felix, the head gardener of the family estate, was in an
animated conversation with Fitz’s father, Tom, while Emily’s mother, Susannah,
spoke tête-à -tête with Weston, who was probably untangling some crisis of the
heart with their beloved housekeeper.
“I assume nine
and ten are Alex and whomever he brought with him tonight?”
“No, dearest.”
Eleanora stopped them a few feet from the table, and turned to look at Fitz,
her eyes careful, but searching. “I did say an invasion by the Edwards. Felix
and Susannah are practically family these days. They wouldn’t exactly
constitute an invasion.”
Fitz stared at
his mother’s face, not understanding her meaning. “But there are no other
Edwards… Felix, Susannah, and Emily, that’s all—”
Suddenly he
jerked his head around to look at the couple Barrett and Emily were talking to.
From behind, the woman had long, straight blond hair, just like Emily’s, that
ended in the center of her bare back. He narrowed his eyes, squinting, as he
made out the light brown birthmark that looked like a heart, right in the
center of her lower back, right over the midnight blue silk that covered her
perfect ass. He had a sudden, blinding flashback to staring at that birthmark
over tiny, bright yellow bikini bottoms, and his heart kicked into a gallop.
“Daisy Edwards,”
he murmured, exhaling the contents of his lungs.
As though she
heard him or sensed him, Daisy turned her neck, catching sight of him as her
chin rested on her shoulder. His heart slammed behind his ribs as she blinked
in surprise, and her eyes widened. Their eyes stayed locked on each other,
spellbound and greedy, until Emily said something to Daisy, and she turned back
quickly to face her cousin. The ten or twelve feet apart from her was suddenly
unbearable and as though Fitz was made of iron and she was a magnet, he felt
pulled to her in an uncompromising way, compelled to move closer to the force
of nature that was Daisy Edwards.
His mother’s
arm, still linked with his, stopped him.
“It was a
million years ago, Fitz.”
It didn’t feel
like a million years ago. Nine years slipped away and suddenly it felt like
yesterday.
“It was for the
best,” insisted Eleanora.
It didn’t feel
like it had been for the best. Not at the time and not now and not every time
he thought of her between then and now.
“I thought she
was in Oregon,” he said tightly.
“She was. She’s
moved back east. Her mother’s passed and her father’s all she has left.”
“She’s moved to
Philly? Did you know?”
“No,” replied
his mother. “I didn’t even know she was coming tonight. Emily invited her at
the last minute when Stratton refused to come.”
His breath
caught as Daisy gathered her hair in her hands and twirled it once, then
settled it over one shoulder, baring her neck to him. The graceful line made
his mouth water, made his fingers twitch, made a hundred buried memories fight
for his attention.
“Listen to me,
Fitz,” said his mother, leaning closer to his ear. “There’s something else you
need to know.”
Fitz tore his
eyes from Daisy and looked at his mother, commanded by the seriousness of her
tone. “You may not have noticed, but she isn’t alone.”
He whipped his
head around and for the first time he noticed that the man standing beside her
was holding her hand, with his fingers laced possessively through Daisy’s. His
mother’s voice was close to his ear and delivered the words he somehow knew
were coming, though it didn’t lessen the impact of the blow.
“She’s come home
for another reason, dearest. Daisy’s getting married.”
Anyone but Alex
The English Brothers
Book 3
Katy Regnery
Genre: Short contemporary romance
Date of Publication: TBD
Number of pages: 210
Cover Artist: Kim Killion, Hot Damn Designs
Book Description:
Anyone but Alex is the third of five books about the Philadelphia-based, wildly-handsome English brothers who are all on the look-out for love.
(Sort of. Barrett and Fitz are officially off the market, Alex has sampled every piece of available ass from Rittenhouse Square to the Liberty Bell, Stratton can’t see to see what’s right in front of him, and don't even get me started on the youngest English brother, Weston...)
Alex English, the well-known man whore of the country club set, has always preferred to play the field, eschewing a chance with Miss Right for a satisfying quickie with Miss Right-Now. But after seeing his two older brothers take the plunge, something has been aching inside of Alex, and no amount of casual sex is filling the void in his heart.
Jessica Winslow, whose older brothers are best friends with the English brothers, has returned home from a fifteen-year stay in England, only to find herself face-to-face with her childhood crush, Alex English, on her first night home. She’s heard all the rumors, but Jessie remembers the older boy who was so kind to her as a child, and can’t help reaching out to Alex in friendship.
Between disapproving brothers, scheming exes, and the biggest business deal of English & Sons’ illustrious history, Alex and Jessie’s budding romance is going to be put to the test. The question is…will it be strong enough to be their happily-ever-after?
Excerpt:
Alex pressed the
elevator call button, then turned to look at the opulent lobby as he waited.
Gold-gilded
mirrors made the space look even larger and grander as objects multiplied into
eternity. Objects like an ornate lamp sconce, a silk brocaded loveseat, or the
delectable curve of a woman’s bare back in a black satin evening gown.
Delighted by such an appealing distraction, Alex turned around slowly, his eyes
sweeping past the sconce and loveseat to the woman on the far side of the room.
She was tall and thin, and the very simple, sleek lines of her dress showed
every curve: of her waist, her hips, her tight, round ass. The low V of the
draped back cut-out stopped at the base of her spine, and he followed the line
back up to her neck, which was swan-like: long and elegant. Her jet-black hair,
the same color as the dress, was long enough to be worn over one shoulder, the
thick, shiny strands waving uniformly, void of any decoration.
From behind, she was a goddess, and
as the elevator rang to announce its arrival, Alex ignored it, staring at the
back of the stunning creature who held a black coat over one arm, looking out
the plate glass window onto the rain-soaked sidewalk, as though waiting for
someone to find her.
“Alex? Alex English?”
Alex whipped his head to the voice
coming out of the elevator and was surprised to see his good friend, Cameron
Winslow, step toward him wearing a tux and a cheerful smile.
“Hell, I thought that was you!”
“Cam. Good to see you.” Alex cleared
his throat, darting a quick look at the woman by the window, who hadn’t turned
around, before looking back at his old friend. “What are you doing here?”
Cam reached out his hand and took
Alex’s in a hearty shake. “Didn’t you know? I moved here. I bought a condo
upstairs.”
“I had no idea.”
Cam grinned, nodding. “Closer to
work. Closer to fun, eh, Professor?”
“It’s a great neighborhood,” said
Alex, holding back a cringe at his college nickname. “I’m just around the
corner.”
“The old make-out pad, eh?”
“You know me,” said Alex, by rote,
knowing the words were expected.
“Yes, I do, and I thank God I wasn’t
born a woman.”
“Not that I’d bang your ugly mug if
you were.”
“I don’t know how you do it.”
Lately, I don’t. Not like I used to.
He forced a
well-known Alex English smirk. “I love the ladies, Cam. Have to keep them
happy.”
Cam chuckled. “Hey, did you get my
message about squash the Thursday after next?”
“After
Thanksgiving? No. Are we still on?”
“As long as
you’re up for an ass-whipping. Chris wants to play too, so I suggested doubles.
Can you get Fitz or Stratton on board?”
“I’ll work on
it.”
“Great.” Cam
looked around the lobby for a moment, then, after catching sight of the girl in
black by the window, returned his glance to Alex. The change in his face was
unmistakable, shifting from congenial to wary on a dime. “Well, I guess I
better be going.”
Alex raised an eyebrow flicking his
chin toward the goddess. “Is she with you?”
Cam’s eyes narrowed just a touch.
“In a manner of speaking.”
“What manner might that be?”
“It’s not like that,” said Cam
sharply, and Alex heard the warning in his friend’s voice. Cam’s lips tightened
to a straight line as he looked at the girl and then back at Alex. “You don’t
recognize her?”
Alex shrugged. “Should I?”
“No,” grunted Cam, looking
increasingly annoyed. “It doesn’t matter. Hands off. She’s not for you.”
“Protective, aren’t we, Winslow? Why
not let the lady decide?”
“No, Alex. Not this lady,” said Cam
in warning, which surprised Alex, because if she was Cam’s girlfriend, Cam should
have just said that, but he hadn’t.
“What makes this one so special?”
asked Alex.
Cam’s eyes were icy as he stared at
Alex, never dropping his friend’s eyes as he called, “Jessica!” in the girl’s
direction.
Alex looked away from Cam to watch
the goddess turn around slowly. If Alex had been rendered almost speechless by
the perfection of her back, the wind was knocked out of him as he caught sight
of her face.
Her black hair
curled down over her shoulder in soft waves, but she pushed it back as she
stepped toward Cameron. Her skin was so light and flawless that her bowed,
red-painted lips drew his eyes like a beacon, and when she smiled, his heart
stopped beating for just a second, as if stunned or disbelieving. He raised his
gaze to her eyes and found himself captivated by a green so clear and
impossible, it made her eyes sparkle like emeralds behind long, dark lashes.
She gazed with warmth at Cameron Winslow, the lucky bastard, as she moved
gracefully across the marble floor. Out of respect for his friend’s claim on
her, Alex was careful not to drop his eyes hungrily to her body, but
peripherally, he could see her breasts, high and full, pushed against the thick
satin of her dress. The deep V-plunge in the neckline meant the valley between
her breasts was on full, luscious display, and his fingers twitched with
longing by his sides, the word touch, touch, touch circling around his head
like a magic spell.
His mouth watered as she came
closer, bringing with her the scent of tea rose. She cocked her head to the
side and her eyes widened in recognition as she looked at Alex. Something
pinged in his memory, but his mind was at sixes and sevens, blown away by her
beauty, unable to process that yes, she did look a little familiar to him.
Stopping next to Cameron, she
grinned back at Alex merrily.
“Jessica,” said
Cam tightly, “I don’t know if you’ll remember--”
“Alex English,” she said in a
lightly accented voice. “Of course.”
No doubt noting the blank expression
on his face, she laughed softly. “But I am fairly certain he doesn’t remember
me.”
“I … I’m so sorry I don’t--”
Alex’s brain had ceased working the
moment she’d turned around, but he was suddenly struck again by the brilliance
of her eyes, and flicking a quick glance to Cameron, he realized the color was
almost the same. Oh, my God. She’s—You’re—
“By George, I think he’s got it!”
“Jessica,” murmured Alex. “Jessie?
Jessie Winslow?”
“The very same,” she answered,
chuckling again.
“The last time I saw you, you were
seven-years-old…”
“Nine.”
Fourteen years ago.
Without
thinking, he dropped his eyes from her face to the creamy skin of her neck,
following the graceful line of her throat to her breasts, still lower, down to
her waist—
“Alex,” warned Cam with genuine
menace, making Alex’s neck snap back up. “If you don’t stop checking out my
little sister, God help me, it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”
MRP would like to extend a very warm welcome to Katy Regnery, author of The English Brothers series. Katy, to begin, if you were to be left alone on an island,
what three books would you take with you?
I think it’s all about giving yourself as many stories as
possible, so…
Welcome to the Monkey House, Kurt Vonnegut
One Writing, Stephen King
The Bible
What are your most and least favorite movie
genres?
My favorite movie genre, hands down, is period pieces based
on 18th and 19th century chick-lit fiction…film
adaptations of books by Jane Austen, Emily Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth
Gaskell, Edith Wharton, etc. A runner-up would be dystopian movies with strong
love stories like “Warm Bodies,” “Divergent,” or “The Hunger Games.” I loved
all of those movies, too.
If you could choose any man for your next
book cover, who would he be?
My last English Brothers novel is entitled Wild about
Weston, and physically, I describe Weston as an Alex Pettyfer look alike, so…
When you are on a deadline, what aspect of
your ‘regular’ life suffers most?
Housework. My house gets cluttered, laundry is piled high
to the ceiling, and the fridge is empty. It all gets fixed tout suite once the deadline is met, though!
When
reading for pleasure, do you prefer a physical or electronic book?
I LOVE my Kindle. I
have only read one paper book since 2013, and that’s because my Kindle was
charging and I found a paperback in the vacation house we were renting.
From
the first stroke of a pen (or laptop), how long did it take you get published?
I started writing
my debut novel, By Proxy, in September 2012. It was contracted in March 2013
and released in September 2013…so, exactly a year. But since then, I have
published an additional eleven novels and novellas.
Did
you ever feel like calling it quits?
Hmm. I don’t think so. I know I got frustrated many times
during my debut year, but I never considered quitting. Once I commit, I really,
really commit. J
Thank you so much for joining us today, Katy. We really enjoyed the visit. Good luck and great sales with your series.
About the Author:
Katy Regnery, Amazon bestselling author, has always loved telling a good story and credits her mother with making funny, heartwarming tales come alive throughout her childhood. A lifelong devotee of all romance writing, from Edwardian to present-day, it was just a matter of time before Katy tried her hand at writing a love story of her own.
As it turned out, one love story turned into a series of six Heart of Montana romances, following the love lives of the Yellowstone-based Lindstrom siblings. When Katy’s fans asked her to turn up the heat, she wrote the New Adult/Adult Contemporary hybrid romance, Playing for Love at Deep Haven, which offered steamier romance to her readers. Katy is also proud to offer The Vixen and the Vet, a standalone romance that benefitted Operation Mend, an organization that helps heal the returning wounded of our armed services. The English Brothers is Katy’s second series and first indie series.
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 of all are the messy and unexpected ones.
Author Links:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | AmazonAuthor
Tour giveaway:
10 copies of Breaking Up with Barrett.
