Title: Man of My Dreams
Author: Faith Andrews
Release Date: September 19, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
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Love Between the Sheets
Synopsis
Mia Murphy may be married to the man of her dreams. But the man in her dreams is the one that got away—her high school crush. Mia’s stuck in a rut, just like every other stay-at-home mom, and the only thing saving her from her monotonous routine is her perfect husband, Declan. He’s gorgeous, he adores her, and the man stole her heart with his sexy singing voice. Mia feels like the luckiest girl in the world, until she discovers that Mr. Perfect is not Mr. Faithful. Mia is devastated. Everything she once believed about Declan and their marriage is now covered in a big cloud of doubt and regret. On impulse, she kicks the cheating bastard out, pushing them into a separation that could mean the end of the picture-perfect couple. But when Mia receives an invitation to her high school reunion, she finds herself abandoning the present for the oh-so alluring pull of the past. Although her heart still belongs to her husband, inescapable thoughts of her crush, Noah, resurface. And ten years later, Noah isn’t afraid to make his move. When the build-up of fantasies and ‘what ifs' comes to a head, sparks fly and it’s Mia’s turn to question if her marriage is everything she wants out of life. Searching for answers, Mia dives head first into dating Noah, falling further away from her husband and closer to her old flame. But Declan’s not giving up so easily. Mia is his one and only and he’s not about to let another man win her heart.
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REVIEW
"I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review"
Man of my Dreams was a really enjoyable read for me. I loved all the characters but especially
Mia, she was so easy to relate to with her outlook towards life. She has a way of making the ordinary humdrum
of life seem more entertaining with her girls.
The first few chapters really drew me in at how real the
story seemed.
NOTE: Holy hell those dreams that Mia have are hot and horribly unsatisfying
for me and the character. :)
I found myself hating Mia's husband Declan at first, but then a small piece
of me felt bad for him and his mistake (but he still cheated). When the horrible reality of what he did hits
Mia and destroys her it just reaped my heart out.
Faith did an excellent job at giving me a true inside look
into the mind of a woman in love with the man of her dreams and then to lose
everything in a blink of an eye. I felt
the love she had for her husband Declan, but also the betrayal and
confusion. When Mia begins to slip into the
past and question their relationship and really look at how they met, she begins to wonder had she made
the wrong choice.
"I miss you, Mia. Please
let me come home. I will never stop fighting for us. I love you!"
But this man fights hard for
his wife and children. In a way it did redeem
him in my eyes a little. (he still cheated)
And then there is Noah the
high school crush that got away. When he and Mia reunite at their High School reunion it creates the inevitable triangle we
all so love. I couldn’t make up my
mind. Noah comes back into the picture
and it is like Mia is getting a second chance at love but she is still very
much in love and devoted to Declan and is torn between her feelings and the
very erotic dreams she has of Noah.
My emotions were all over the
place with this book. It is exactly what
I was hoping for. Faith did NOT disappoint with the characters or the story and
is an absolute MUST READ if you can overlook the cheating it will be so worth
the read in the end.
I think she got the
man of her dreams.
EXCERPT
March
10, 2007
We sit down at our table, smiling at the others who’ve
joined us and then it’s like a scene from She’s
All That. Cue slow motion, forced wind, and cheesy music.
He walks in.
At this moment I wish I shared some kind of mental
telepathy with deejay Daniel. My choice of song for Noah is Sex and Candy by Marcy Playground. The
sexy, velvety melody matches everything about him. That should be playing in
the background as he saunters into this room, eyeing up the joint as if he
doesn’t have a care in the world.
My world stops, and the sight of him makes me momentarily
dizzy. He’s everything I’ve seen in all those crazy dreams. Oh my God! Those crazy dreams! My cheeks
are flushed, my knees bouncing up and down uncontrollably underneath the table.
I gaze down at my hands, fiddling with my damn rings again, hoping he’ll pass
me by and leave me to my irrational musings.
“Well, if it isn’t the beautiful Mia Page.”
I lift my eyes to see that all strapping six foot, three
inches of the sandy haired, impeccably dressed Noah Matheson have found their
way over to this of all tables. And he’s using that word again.
He makes eye contact with Lisa. These two were actual
friends ten years ago. They had a relationship that consisted of relevant
friendship-like things. Not like the non-existent, obsessive nature of our
one-sided relationship. They exchange a hug and a kiss on the cheek before he
starts to pull out the empty chair. Next to me.
“Please tell me this seat isn’t already taken?”
I shake my head, giving him permission to sit. Did I
mention his choice of seat is right next to me? As he does, the spicy, musky
smell of his cologne travels through the air and into my nostrils, doing
orgasmic things to my mind and body.
I’m back to spinning my rings, round and round. If I
don’t quit now, the skin beneath them will turn raw.
Noah takes notice of my hands, gawking. “So, who’s the
lucky guy? And why didn’t you call me after you broke up with that boyfriend of
yours?”
It takes a minute for me to put two and two together, but
then I realize he’s referring to the comment he made that night in The Room. “If you and that
boyfriend of yours don’t work out, you know where to find me.” When
he spoke those words all those years ago I never imagined he would hold me to
them.
“Sorry, Noah, but it ended up working out.” Well, at
least it was working out until a few months ago.
Noah looks stunned. “Wait. What? You married that
guy?”
I nod, sheepishly. Why am I suddenly embarrassed that I
married so young?
“Well, good for you and even better for him. Here I was
waiting on a phone call all these years when I should have known all the good
girls are always taken.”
Suddenly I feel the urge to flirt. “You know, Noah, there
was a time when I was yours for the taking. I do hope you didn’t string your
wife along before making her Mrs. Matheson.”
Thankfully, Lisa is too busy with the fashionably late
Kristen. I don’t need her to hear this and risk the chance of it spreading its
way through the grapevine.
Noah cocks his head back, laughing. The way his Adam’s
apple vibrates...it makes me wish my lips had the chance to travel there once.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“The ‘Mrs. Matheson’ comment. I don’t have a wife. Never
even came close. I guess you can call me the ultimate bachelor. Although, if
the right woman came along...things could always change.”
I want to tell him that the right woman passed him by
years ago, but that wouldn’t be fair. Not to him, not to me, not to Declan.
While I loved the fantasy of being with Noah, I wouldn’t exchange the idea for
what the last eight years of my life had given me.
“So what have you been up to, Mia Page?”
I smirk, loving how easy it is to talk to him. “It’s Mia
Murphy now. And I’ve been raising two crazy daughters for the last four years.”
His eyes go wide. “You have kids? Daughters? Oh my god,
your poor husband. If they look anything like you he’s screwed.”
His comment is sweet, but…shit, why hadn’t I ever thought about that? Cara and Charlie dating
is so far off it seems unthinkable. Then again, high school doesn’t seem like
it happened ten years ago.
Noah tells me about where life has taken him. He owns a
construction company two towns over. When he names some of the projects he’s
worked on I’m impressed. I’ve seen some of them, even been in a few of them.
The idea of walking through a building created by Noah’s masterful mind and
creative hands has me in disbelief. He went to college on a baseball
scholarship. I was sure that I’d turn on the TV one day and see him playing for
the major leagues. I guess dreams change over time.
A crowd has formed on the dance floor. Rowdy classmates
mouth the words to that annoying song by Chumbawamba. The one about drinking. I
hated this song back then and I still hate it now. When it ends, Daniel makes
an announcement about slowing things down for a while.
The beginning bars of Champagne
Supernova somehow transform the luxurious Country Club into a dimly lit
gymnasium. I danced with Chad Myers to this song during Homecoming. Noah waltzed
around with Lila Peters. That night I wished I was Lila. I wonder if Noah
wished he was Chad.
“Wanna dance?” His
hand grazes mine and for the first time all night I worry about where this
flirting might lead. I remind myself that there’s no harm in a dance. It’s not
like he’s asking me out on a date.
I skip the words and let my hand rest in his as he
escorts me to the dance floor.
If someone had told me ten years ago that I’d be swaying
to these words wrapped in the arms of Noah Matheson at our reunion I would have
laughed in their face. It’s all so effortless. His hands rest casually at my
hips. Mine hang relaxed around his neck. How many times had I longed for a
moment like this between us when we were in school? Oh, like a million. I hate
thinking it’s a little too late for my dreams to be coming true.
Together we sing along to the familiar words and I wonder
about their significance. Ten years ago they had none. It was just a cool bunch
of words strung together to an even cooler guitar riff.
Tonight I find weight in the lyrics. Am I a dreamer? Yes, in the literal sense, I dream—very vibrant,
colorful dreams. A lot of them involve the man dancing with me. But the word
‘dreamer’ also speaks of someone’s character. A romantic, a fantasist, an idealist.
Do I encompass those qualities?
I want to believe I do. My love and my marriage to Declan
is not a sham. Our love has always been the center of my universe, the power
that could conquer all. But after so much distance and doubt, dancing with Noah
feels pretty damn right too.
Noah interrupts my thoughts with a husky whisper, “I
should have done this a long time ago, Mia. I was so dumb back then. I can’t
believe I let you slip away.”
His admission makes me stagger. All of a sudden I have
two left feet. I can’t just let his remark slide. “Yeah, you were pretty dumb.
I practically followed you around like a puppy dog waiting on you to ask me
out. But you never did.”
Our song is over, but he continues to hold me in his
arms, surveying me and everything I just said. “Really? I swear I had no idea.
You mean to tell me if I had played my cards right and stuck my head out of my
baseball cap for a damn second I could be the one taking you home tonight?”
His words shock me. Does he mean it the way I’m thinking
or is he being sweet? Like take me home to screw me or take me home to our
house, where we could have lived as a happy, committed couple? I clench my eyes
shut, trying to figure it out.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” He nods his head
in the direction of the bar. “And the guys from the team have been eyeing me
since I walked in. Hopefully they’ll cut me some slack when I tell them I was catching
up with the one that got away.” He winks and escorts me back to our table.
Every one of my senses is on overload from his touch, his
scent, the sound of the things coming out of his perfect mouth. Ten year old
regrets flood my thoughts, drowning any bit of my remaining sanity. In this
moment I know what Declan felt when he let that girl from the hotel kiss him.
Face to face with temptation, my love for my husband isn’t strong enough to
make me turn my back on the what ifs.
“Let me toss back a drink with the team for old time’s
sake. Can I bring you back anything?”
“No, I think I’m good.” I say, even though I’m far from
it. There is not one ‘good’ image running through my head. In fact they are all
bad. Naughty. Mischievous. Wicked.
And they’re making me brave.
“Hey, Noah?” I call out to him, stopping him in his
tracks to the bar.
“What’s up?” he walks back to me and cocks his head,
smirking.
Can he read me that well? Is the act as a disloyal wife
giving me away? The flirting is one thing, but what I’m about to do crosses so
many lines it feels criminal. I scan my surroundings to make sure no one’s
watching. When I’m positive, I pull him by his collar. Closer to me.
His breath catches. His eyes widen. Our lips are inches
apart. If we weren’t in a room full of gossipy people I would get it over with
and kiss him right here. They could never understand what that kiss would mean.
An answer to so many questions about my past. A retaliation—an eye for an
eye—for what Declan did to us.
I forgo the kiss, but lick my lips for effect. “I hear
there’s an after party. Will you take me?”
Noah raises an eyebrow, channeling me to focus on those
smoldering green eyes. His lips curl into a satisfied smile and he speaks in a
growl of a whisper. “Mia, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. I don’t want
this night to end because tomorrow you go back to belonging to someone else.”
About the Author
Faith Andrews lives in New York where she is happily married to her high school sweetheart. They have two beautiful daughters and a furry Yorkie son, Rocco. If she isn’t listening to Mumford and Sons or busy being a Dance Mom, her nose is in a book or her laptop. She’s a sucker for a happily ever after and believes her characters are out there living one somewhere . . .
Connect with Faith
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