Love, Lies and Dirty Deals — Debby Conrad

Can an ex-con actually be one of the good guys? Claire Holland returns to her hometown of Red Ridge, Kentucky to nurse her broken heart after finding her longtime boyfriend in the arms of another woman. Well, the scene wasn't quite that eloquent. But she no sooner arrives and she must deal with putting her grandfather in a nursing home, dealing with her derelict younger brother who has been hanging out with some pretty unsavory characters, and running the family diner. She doesn't have time for a manicure or a haircut let alone a relationship. And she certainly doesn't have time to deal with the hot guy who keeps staring at her butt. A hot guy who is also an ex-con. Not only does he want to work for her at the diner, he's also interested in renting the apartment above the diner. Jordan Quinn hates being labeled an ex-con, but that's what he is. It doesn't matter that he already served his time. People still look at him like he's a pariah, including his new landlord aka boss Claire Holland. Even though she makes it perfectly clear she wants nothing to do with him, Jordan can't fight his attraction to her. Not even when she uses him by having revenge sex so she can rub it in her ex's face. But when he realizes she doesn't trust him with her heart or as a business partner, he learns a very painful lesson. You can't erase your past no matter how badly you want it to disappear. He wonders if Claire can ever look beyond the man he used to be and see the man he is today. Claire learns an important lesson of her own. Don't assume and judge. Because she might just lose the best guy on the planet.