Tipsy
Authors: Cambria Hebert
Tags: #romance, #suspense, #contemporary, #love and romance, #steamy romance, #contemporary adult, #new adult
TIPSY
(a
Take It Off
novel)
***This is a new adult contemporary
novel and contains sexual content and graphic language. It is not
intended for young adult readers.***
Julie Preston is an artist. But her
canvas isn’t paper or clay. It’s hair. She spends her days
coloring, blow drying and styling her clients hair at the Razor’s
Edge salon. Julie is also annoyed. She went out on a date and had a
great time, gave the guy her number and the jerk never
called.
So when he waltzes into the salon and
sits down in her chair she briefly considers strangling him with
the pink cape she fastens around his neck.
Too bad she can’t.
Blue Markson, the guy who never called,
is a police officer so causing him bodily harm would be a first
class ticket into the slammer. Just looking at him again makes
Julie forget why she was mad in the first place, but she’s already
learned that Blue is nothing but heartache. So when he starts
coming around, acting like he hadn’t made her stare at the phone
for days, she tries to brush him off.
Only…
Her life is about to blow up in her
face, she’s about to get caught up in a sticky web of crime and the
one guy who can help her is the one guy she vowed never to trust
again.
Praise for the
Take It Off
series
"I love all of Cambria's
books, but
Torch
is one if my favorites by her so far. Holt and Katie have
chemistry like no other. There was a perfect mixture of steam,
passion, and romance."
—
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling
author Shanora Williams for
TORCH
"Cam was so swoon-worthy.
He was everything I look for in a book boyfriend. He was hot, sexy,
had a little bad boy edge, but he was also protective and
loving. The mystery was also a great element. It kept me
flipping the pages quickly to figure it out. And when it was
revealed, it was shocking."
—
Bestselling author Amber Garza for
TEASE
"All hail the new queen of
HOT romance! My new favorite romance of the last year. I adore this
book. Nash & Ava… such a great story. I think I may have a new
book boyfriend. This is a true romance story, but it mixes in
danger, deception, & desire."
—
Author
Kieran Thorne for
TEMPT
“TEXT kept me up late
turning pages. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it.
With lovable characters and a tight suspense plot, this is a great
weekend read!”
—Bestselling author Ella James for
TEXT
“A new storyline that grabs
you from page one and twists you into an action-packed ride full of
danger and romance!”
—USA
Today
bestselling author Tabatha Vargo
for
TEXT
"Let me be clear—of the
1001 ways to die, burning would NOT be my first choice. However, a
house consumed with flames and no chance of saving yourself equals
RESCUE FANTASY FULFILLED."
—
Scandalicious Book Reviews for
TORCH
TIPSY
Take It Off
Series
CAMBRIA HEBERT
TIPSY Copyright © 2013 CAMBRIA
HEBERT
All rights reserved, including the
right to reproduce this book, or portions
thereof, in any form without written
permission except for the use of brief
quotations embodied in critical
articles and reviews.
Published by: Cambria Hebert
http://www.cambriahebert.com
Interior design and typesetting by
Sharon Kay
Cover design by MAE I DESIGN
Edited by Cassie McCown
Copyright 2013 by Cambria
Hebert
This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places, and incidents
either are the product of the author’s
imagination or are used
fictitiously, and any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead,
business establishments, events, or
locales, is entirely coincidental.
eBook ISBN:
978-1-938857-37-9
Other books by Cambria
Hebert
Heven and Hell
Series
Before
Masquerade
Between
Charade
Bewitched
Tirade
Beneath
Renegade
Heven & Hell
Anthology
Death Escorts
Recalled
Charmed
Take It Off
Torch
Tease
Tempt
Text
Table of
Contents
Contents:
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to those I
consider part of my team. These are the people who make my books
readable, pretty, and better than I could ever make them alone.
They make time out of their busy lives to edit, format, and design
for me. This business can be a tough one, and I consider myself
beyond fortunate that I have these reliable core people behind me
to make sure my books are the best they can be.
Regina Wamba – Photography and Cover
Design.
Cassie McCown – Editing
Sharon Kay – Formatting
I’d also like to dedicate this to my
two consistent beta readers who always make time to catch any last
minute errors and read through my drafts—sometimes at quick
speeds.
Melissa Stickney
Stephanie Nicole Garza
TIPSY
PROLOGUE
Julie
How they met…
Morning from hell. I was not a morning
person. I never was and I never would be. Getting up in the morning
is pretty much the worst part of my day. Trying to drag myself out
of a way comfortable bed where I’m surrounded by fluffy pillows and
soft bedding is pretty much the epitome of torture.
Add an alarm that never shuts up, cold
tile in the bathroom that feels like tiny needles being jammed into
my skin, and you have the makings for a very bitchy
Julie.
Thank goodness I lived alone. There was
no way in hell any man could go up against the morning sunshine I
projected.
To make matters worse, I was running
late. I hated being late. If I was late to work, it would throw off
every appointment I had that day, and I would spend every single
hour trying to play catch-up.
I rushed around trying to get ready,
pulling on a cotton dress because it was a hell of a lot harder to
try and match clothes together when I was stumbling around like a
living zombie. (Wait. Zombies didn’t live. They were dead.) Then I
cinched a red patent leather belt around my waist on my way down
the stairs. I would have to do my eye makeup at work and I would
also have to touch up my hair.
Glancing at the clock, I sighed and
gave a longing glance at my kitchen, where the coffee was
kept.
I didn’t have time for caffeine. I felt
sorry for everyone who had to deal with me.
I grabbed my purse and rushed out the
door and climbed into my little silver car. The air was already
thick and I knew soon the summer heat was going to bore down on
this town like a hungry woman at Waffle House.
I turned out of my neighborhood and
tore down the street, letting out an unladylike curse word when I
got caught by a red light.
When it turned green, I sped around the
corner and glanced at the clock. Five minutes.
Flashing blue lights had me glancing in
the rearview mirror. More unladylike curses exploded from my mouth
as I pulled to the side of the road and prayed the cop would speed
by.
Of course he didn’t.
He pulled to a stop behind
me.
I so did not have time for
this.
Why is it that police officers always
picked on the innocent people who rarely ever speed, yet they never
pull over the people who are complete assholes on the road all the
time?
Maybe I would ask him.
He knocked on the window and I sighed.
I wasn’t even going try to talk my way out of this one. It would be
safer if I kept my mouth shut. It certainly would be
cheaper.
I pressed the button and my window
rolled down.
“
License and registration,
please,” said a voice from above.
I let out another huffing sigh and
leaned over, digging around in my bag and glove compartment for the
items, and thrust them out the window while staring straight ahead.
I could practically feel all the other drivers laughing at me as
they drove past.
It really didn’t improve my
caffeine-deprived mood.
A few minutes later, the police officer
leaned down in the window. “Did you know you were violating the
speed laws, ma’am?”