Backup Offer by Liz Crowe

Stop in to celebrate the release of ‘Backup Offer’ – the final installment from Liz Crowe’s Stewart Reality series! Plus, enter the giveaway!

Title: Backup Offer
Author: Liz Crowe
Book Series: Stewart Reality
Genre: Contemporary “Second-Chance” Romance
Release Date: July 13, 2021

About The Book:

An ex-boyfriend, his massive dog, her house, and no hotel room in sight. What could go wrong?

After Blair ended things with Brandis, she was determined to get away–and stay away from him for good. She put family, friends, and the life she knew in Michigan in her rear view mirror and started over. As owner and head chef of her own place in Louisville, she stays plenty busy, especially since “Blair’s Kitchen” is the darling of the restaurant scene. She’s managed to avoid Michigan for almost a decade, but when her best friend needs her help, she drops everything and heads home.

Brandis has spent the last ten years coming to terms with addiction, personal tragedy, and the loss of the woman he loved. He’s now the third generation to run his family’s construction business, and he’s managed to reconstruct tattered relationships with his family. He’s even adopted a dog, thanks to some donated renovation time spent at an animal shelter. He’s got everything he needs—except a for one thing. When the contractor she paid to build her restaurant’s expansion vanishes, leaving her with a giant mess, Blair only hesitates a moment before calling Brandis for help. But when he rushes to her side to evaluate the crisis, there isn’t an available room in a twenty mile radius.

So they settle in to a routine—her, her one-time boyfriend, and his giant, slobbering dog in her small house. It doesn’t take long for the temptation of close proximity to give way, and while Blair tries to keep it all physical, Brandis has other ideas.

The end of the Stewart Realty saga brings the second generation full-circle in ways many never expected, but no one regrets.

Content warnings:

References to past addiction. Pregnancy. Birth scene. Super cute bonding between man and his adopted pit bull. Feels. Lots and lots of feels.

Purchase: Amazon | Universal

Excerpt:

” She grabbed a pint of ice cream. “Dessert? Movie?”

“Yes, please.” Brandis whistled for the dog who came bounding down the hallway and skidded to a stop after slamming into the kitchen wall. He gave her a pill and a bone to chew. She trotted to the living room. “She’s gonna need a bath,” he said. “Sorry if she’s stinking up your place.”

“It’s okay.” She reached for some bowls but Brandis handed her a spoon.

“Let’s not dirty any more dishes,” he said. “And I hope you get Disney because I’m in a retro Star Wars mood.”

“Of course, I do. Give me some credit.”

They passed the carton back and forth, keeping air between them on the couch while the dog chewed her bone, stretched out on the rug and cut such a loud fart Blair burst out laughing. “Wow,” she said, waving a hand in front of her face.

“Oh, that’s nothing. It’s one reason I don’t give her processed dog food. Her digestion is delicate.”

“Delicate is not the word I’d use.”

He ate the last bite, then took their spoons and the empty container to the kitchen. When he returned, he pulled her feet onto his lap as a matter of course. She tensed, but when he began rubbing her arches she forgot pretty much anything else. She must have dozed because when she opened her eyes, the dog was on her eye level, looking at her with a curious head tilt. “You snore,” Brandis said. “Freaked her out a little.”

“Sorry,” she said, rolling onto her side. Brandis kept his hand resting it on her hip while the movie ended. Before she realized what was happening, she was being carried, and then tucked into bed. A finger traced her cheek and lips. Half asleep, she opened one eye. “This is weird, and I’m sorry I’m being so…”

“Horny? I’m not sorry one bit.” He brushed her hair off her face, his touch gentle.

“So needy,” she said. “But also, um… unavailable at the same time.”

He leaned over and whispered, “I get it. And I’m okay with it. For now.” He pressed his lips to her neck, right below her ear. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. When she let go and rolled away, exhausted, sore, happy, and sad all at once it only took seconds to drop back to sleep.

About The Author:

Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville living in Central Illinois. She’s spent her time as a three-continent expat trailing spouse, mom of three, real estate agent, brewery owner and bar manager, and is currently a social media consultant and humane society development director, in addition to being an award-winning author. With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, inside fictional television stations and successful real estate offices, and even in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are compelling and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, at times frustrate, and always linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.

Connect With Liz: LinkTree | Website | Goodreads | Facebook
You can also catch up with her on the Interesting Humans and Books On The Mic podcasts!