Featherbed by Annabeth Albert
Release Date: March 15, 2021
Purchase here: https://geni.us/AmazonFeatherbed
Add to Goodreads here: https://bit.ly/3mKWKXJ
Vino & Veritas Series Page: https://hearteyespress.com/wotn#/vino-and-veritas/
Cover Design: Christine Coffey
Blurb:
When a bookworm on borrowed time meets a younger, free-spirited chicken farmer, sparks and feathers flyâŠ
Harrison Phillip Fletcher, III isnât supposed to be here. Not in Burlington, Vermont, not running Vino & Veritas, a quaint inclusive bookstore and wine bar, and definitely not still alive, at forty-two. Also not supposed to be here? An unexpected delivery of chickens.
Finn Barnes knows chickens. The burly organic farmer knows all about rare breed poultry, but dealing with a hot, older bookseller is an entirely different matter. City slicker types like Harrison never end up staying in Vermont for the long-term.
They should steer clear of each other. But the flare of attraction is mutual. And somehow amid book discussions and farm tours, they discover plenty in common. Now theyâre stealing kisses in Finnâs barn, sneaking out like teens, and burning up the sheets.
What starts as a fling brings very real feelings for two lonely souls, but a future together seems as unlikely as chickens in a bookstore. Feathers may be flying, but learning to trust takes time neither may have. Can they take a leap of faith together before itâs too late?
Featherbed is a stand-alone novel in Sarina Bowenâs World of True North. This opposites-attract, age-gap romance features a low-angst, fluffyâand featheryâromp as a fish out of water discovers the home he never thought heâd find.
âWhatâs next?â Harrison was so serious that I wasnât sure whether he meant us or the shelf project, but I couldnât resist messing with him a little.
âScrewing,â I deadpanned.
Predictably, Harrison made a sputtering noise. âPardon?â
âWith a drill, Harry.â I held up the trusty cordless Iâd retrieved. âWith a drill.â
âNo one calls me Harry.â His mouth pursed. I wanted to kiss it. Perversely, the more uptight he got, the more I wanted to unravel him.
âNot even your mom?â I found the correct drill bit for the project and slotted it in.
âHa.â Harrison had locked his gaze on my hands in a way that made me both self-conscious and more than a little turned-on. âI call her Mom only because she dislikes the formality of Mother.â
âWhereas you love the formality. I get it. Harry.â I put deliberate emphasis on the nickname, so that I could categorize all the different shades of pink and purple he was turning. Besides, it was a good distraction from how his shrewd eyes made me feel.
âI saidââ
âYouâre fun to harass.â I grinned at him, which earned me an eye roll in return.
âI try. Now give me something to do.â
âOkay, okay. Back to work. You can help by measuring to mark each of the screw holes.â
âWhy do construction terms always sound so suggestive?â
âBecause you have a dirty mind, Harry.â I gave him an exaggerated leer.
âYou better stop that.â He didnât sound particularly convincing.
âStop teasing or stop looking at you?â Laughing, I waggled the drill in his direction. âIâll remind you that Iâm the one holding power tools.â
âSo you are.â Harrison kept holding my gaze, eyes soft and expectant behind his glasses, tongue darting out to lick at his lips. In that moment, he was infinitely appealing and nothing at all like Astin.
Maybe Iâd been mistaken in thinking he was a branch of the same tree of rich dudes who had no issues taking what they wanted. Like him, Astin had favored designer clothing, pricey-looking watches, and the same luxury brand car, and had also dropped clues about inheritances. But unlike Astin, there was a certain humility to Harrison, and he didnât try to tell me how to do my job.
Oh, Harrison was still a city slicker, and probably not sticking around, but he wasnât an entitled asshole either. He wanted to kiss me. That want was all over his face, but so was his restraint. As with the woodworking, heâd let me lead. Heâd wait for me to make my move and didnât have a ready arsenal of slick lines. His uncertainty was perhaps the most charming thing about him.
And so, still meeting his eyes, I set the drill back down on the workbench. âNo power tools now. You still want to shut me up?â
I stepped closer, in case he had any doubt as to my intent. He smelled good. Expensive, like someone had married delicate herbs and leather scents in an aftershave that probably cost more than a yearâs supply of my soap.
âYeah. I think I do.â His cultured voice had gone husky, but still contained that vulnerability I found so damn intoxicating.
âShow me.â Touching the sleeve of his waffle-knit sweater, I turned him toward me. There. Iâd made my move. The next was his.