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    Boy Toy: Confessions of a Chick Magnet, #2
    Boy Toy: Confessions of a Chick Magnet, #2
    Boy Toy: Confessions of a Chick Magnet, #2
    Ebook154 pages2 hours

    Boy Toy: Confessions of a Chick Magnet, #2

    By Jenny Gardiner

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    About this ebook

    Does this ring make my ass look big?

    Izzy Strong has grown weary of the loser guys of L.A., having ditched the latest, a guy who couldn't seem to look up from his ESPN app to conduct a meaningful conversation. He'd followed on the heels of a lifeguard obsessed with sharks, a waiter who bragged far too often about serving the Kardashians, and a foot fetishist who demanded she wear sandals while vacationing at a ski resort in the dead of winter. So when she hears about a charming man from the remote Montana town where her best friend Zoey lives who's holding a contest to give away the very expensive ring from his failed engagement, she hightails it to Bristol, Montana to see if he's as bighearted as her friend claims he is. Too bad she finds out immediately that he's a thoughtless jerk who hasn't the common decency to even curb his dog.

    Sully Forester is ready to let go of the last remaining ties to his long-term relationship with a fiancé who ditched him weeks before their wedding: the engagement ring. When he decides to hold a contest to flat-out give the pricy bauble to the person who persuades him he's most deserving of it, he has no idea of the craziness he'll be unleashing in his adopted town of Bristol, Montana. Beginning with being wrongfully accosted by a cranky shrew of a woman who flips out on him for his dog's transgressions, even when his dog isn't the culprit. Thank goodness he'll never see her again. 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJenny Gardiner Books
    Release dateNov 6, 2018
    ISBN9781944763244
    Boy Toy: Confessions of a Chick Magnet, #2
    Author

    Jenny Gardiner

    Thank you so much for reading my books! I hope you'll find some that keep you from doing the dishes, or vacuuming, or maybe even cause you to stay up later than you'd planned to (although I covet my sleep, so I'd feel guilty if I was to blame for that too often!). I'm the author of SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER, winner of Romantic Times/Dorchester Publishing's American Title III contest, bestseller SLIM TO NONE, the IT'S REIGNING MEN contemporary romance series, including SOMETHING IN THE HEIR, HEIR TODAY GONE TOMORROW, BAD TO THE THRONE, LOVE IS IN THE HEIR and SHAME OF THRONES (book 6, THRONE FOR A LOOP, comes out in March); ANYWHERE BUT HERE; WHERE THE HEART IS; the memoir BITE ME: A PARROT, A FAMILY AND A WHOLE LOT OF FLESH WOUNDS; the essay collection NAKED MAN ON MAIN STREET;  two contemporary romances as Erin Delany: ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE, & COMPROMISING POSITIONS. I have a funny dog story in I'M NOT THE BIGGEST BITCH IN THIS RELATIONSHIP. And I've got many more novels in the works! I've had pieces appear in Ladies Home Journal, the Washington Post, Marie-Claire.com, and on NPR's Day to Day. I honed my fiction writing skills while working as a publicist for a US Senator. Other jobs I've held have included: an orthodontic assistant (learning quite readily that I wasn't cut out for a career in polyester), a waitress (probably my highest-paying job), a TV reporter, a pre-obituary writer, and a photographer (once being Prince Charles' photographer in Washington!). Oh I'm also the volunteer coordinator for the Virginia Film Festival, which is a great one!  I live in Virginia with my husband and a small menagerie; we have three grown children, one of whom lives in Australia and I dream of visiting her there. I love all things Italian, regularly fantasize about traveling to exotic locales, and feel a little bit guilty for rarely attempting to clean the house.  I hope you'll sign up for my newsletter so you can hear about upcoming releases and get special offers here: http://eepurl.com/baaewn Visit me at my website below and my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/jennygardinerbooks , or twitter http://twitter.com/jennygardiner Thanks again for your support! Jenny

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      Book preview

      Boy Toy - Jenny Gardiner

      Boy Toy

      (Book Two of the Confessions of a Chick Magnet series)

      by Jenny Gardiner

      Copyright © 2018 by Jenny Gardiner

      Cover art by Kim Killion, The Killion Group, Inc.

      All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

      All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

      http://jennygardiner.net/

      Chapter One

      Sullivan Forester stood before his open underwear drawer, and for what seemed like the thousandth time over the past year, he stared at the black velvet box nestled beneath a stack of boxers, topped by the pair with Saint Bernards embroidered on them. He shook his head, smacked his lips, then ran his fingers through his wavy caramel hair, which was a little longer than he liked it of late. At last, he took a deep breath and blew it out, deciding once and for all to make it official. Today was the day he was going to start getting his shit together, which included trimming this shaggy head of hair.

      But first, he had more important business to attend to: the ring.

      He pulled the box out of the drawer where it had lurked, taunting him for what seemed like ages now, and flipped open the lid to stare at the Tiffany & Co. two-carat brilliant-cut diamond engagement ring, flanked on either side by fat indigo sapphires. The gems caught the early morning sunlight streaming through the window and winked at him. He took it as yet one more sign that it was time to find a new home for this thing that felt like bad juju now that it had taken up unproductive space in his life for far too long.

      At first, when Gretchen Penobscott dumped him, three whoppingly inconsiderate weeks before their wedding, it seemed like he would never get over it. Why would she do something like that to him? Worse still, how could he have been so clueless and not seen it coming?

      A year ago, her words lacerated his heart, causing an achy tug that didn’t let up for months.

      Look, Sully, she’d said. I’ve realized marriage isn’t for me.

      He remembered staring into her brown eyes, the ones that once seemed so warm and loving, finally seeing them for the cold dark they had been all along. Her shiny black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, her makeup fresh. She wore one of her never-ending supply of bright pastel sundresses—what were they called? Lilly something or other. He knew dick about fashion, but he always noticed she was about the only woman in town who dressed every day as if she was going to a cocktail party at a beach resort. He knew that style of dress only because it was emblematic of what he’d left behind after moving to Bristol, Montana a handful of years ago. That’s when he’d sold his start-up for more money than he could ever envision in his bank account.

      He’d spent a couple of years dabbling in the lavish me-me-me lifestyle of the wealthy in New York: the obligatory summers in the Hamptons, the mandatory charity events every night of the week at somebody-or-other’s exclusive penthouse apartment during the rest of the year. The insincere air-kiss greetings by women who wanted your donations but not a decent conversation, the severe handshakes by the Wall Street assholes who were dipping into the cash reserves of the country to line their own pockets all while sticking their dicks into women young enough to be their daughters, as their air-kissing wives went under the knife for yet more unnecessary plastic surgery to try desperately to compete.

      Sully was over that bullshit, which was why he’d come to Bristol. He wanted to start new where no one knew him, where he could be his authentic self and not play the superficial games to which he’d become accustomed.

      His mistake, however, was bringing Gretchen Penobscott with him. He and Gretchen had been together even during the leaner years, so at least he could take comfort knowing it wasn’t as if she’d been after his wealth. And to her credit, for a while, she went along with his plan, upending the lifestyle she’d become quite accustomed to. She came with him to Montana, Lilly whatever-the-name-was dresses and all, but it seemed from the minute they’d moved here, things were never quite the same between them.

      He’d hoped it was only a matter of getting used to things—it was admittedly weird going from endless black pavement and skyscrapers to fields of wildflowers and mountains that touched the skies instead—and that once married she’d settle in more. But then he never got the chance to see if he was right because on that brutal early summer day a year ago, she slid the ring off her left ring finger, tucked it into the palm of his hand, closing his fingers around it, gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek, and walked away.

      Well. He eventually learned that time does heal old wounds, and though he’d once loved Gretchen, she’d done him a solid by not going through with what she knew in her heart would be a mistake. He’d never fully understand it, but hey, much better than finding that out after the wedding. Sure, it sucked, worse still having to take the financial hit for canceling everything wedding-related at the last minute. But it hadn’t even put a dent in his bank account, so calling it off may have cost him emotionally, but the lesson learned was not financially devastating.

      And today, he was going to take the first step toward making some other person who couldn’t afford it that much happier.

      He whistled for his husky pup Blizzard, threw on a pair of shorts, a T-shirt, and a plaid flannel shirt to fend off the morning chill, grabbed his laptop, and went out on the deck off his bedroom. The sun was shining and the fog had begun to lift off the still snowcapped mountain peaks as he fixed a quick cappuccino at the coffee bar on his deck. He sat down at the long farmhouse table and opened his laptop, then snapped a quick picture of the ring on his phone, clicked on Facebook, and entered this:

      Looking for a good home for this briefly used treasure, valued at $85,000. Tell me why you want to share this with the one you love. Please email me at sully@sullyforester.com. Deadline is one week from today. Please share.

      He uploaded the image, clicked Post, and sent it off into the ether, then did the same on Twitter and Instagram. He rubbed his hands together, took a sip of his cappuccino, and made a mental note to remember to stop in at Jackson’s Barber Shop for a haircut when he went to town later in the day.

      SULLY, WHO’D BEEN WORKING on writing a song, reveled in the beautiful weather. It had started out chilly, but by lunchtime, it was the quintessential Montana summer day: songbirds in full throat, the hum of bees vibrating through the air, all against the backdrop of a bluebird sky. Wildflowers bloomed like crazy in the fields surrounding his custom-built farmhouse that overlooked the Rocky Mountains. The place was truly a slice of heaven.

      Life could not be any better. Sure, Sully didn’t have a bride at his side as he’d originally expected, but it was all good. He’d landed some regular gigs playing guitar at local bars, and making others happy with his music made him supremely happy. He had a great dog whose antics made him laugh. He got to spend time each morning doing what he wanted: reading, meditating, working out at the gym. He volunteered with an animal rescue clinic, thanks to his friend Tanner Eliasson, a local veterinarian. He even spent an inordinate amount of time cooking elaborate meals for himself each night, which was admittedly a little lonely, and occasionally hosted dinners with a handful of folks who’d become true friends unlike the superficial acquaintances he’d encountered regularly back on the East Coast.

      Not to take dig at the East Coast—there was nothing wrong with that lifestyle for someone else, but it wasn’t for him. He was happy on his horse or feeding his chickens or taking a hike on his hundred acres of property. And more than happy to not have to deal with rush hour traffic and type A personalities ever again.

      His phone buzzed and he pulled up a text message from his friend Tanner:

      Dude. What the fuck? Have you looked at your Facebook in the past hour?

      Sully squinted, not knowing what exactly he was talking about. Until he remembered.

      Oh, that. You saw it?

      He waited for the buzz of his phone.

      Saw it? Me and a few thousand other complete strangers.

      Sully’s eyes opened wide. Huh?

      You’re joking, right?

      Tanner didn’t comment but instead sent a screenshot of his post.

      Sully expanded the image to see details up close. Well, crap. He grabbed his phone and pressed Tanner’s number.

      Jesus, Sully, Tanner said. "Next time give me heads-up on these things. I’ve had every female I know within two hundred miles message me about this including my girlfriend, and I didn’t even know about it. You’re giving away that ring?"

      I figured it was time. The thing was taking up space, reminding me of what was. No need in going there anymore. I’m finally past Gretchen, over that whole breakup, and I want to make something that left a bad taste in my mouth become something better. Lemons to lemonade.

      That’s a hell of a glass of lemonade, Tanner said.

      Yeah well, I thought it could be a fun project. And it would feel good helping someone else out who maybe couldn’t afford to get engaged.

      "Your fun project might turn into a full-time job if my suspicions are

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