Love Hazard
by Rachel Van Dyken
A spin off…
From
THE BET
The amount of joy I have for this, like you don’t even know. I’m actually freaking out, so here you go! <3, RVD
When hate leads to love next door…
My dad is protective. Scratch that. He’s like the person who would grab a chair, place it on the lawn, and watch me walk across the street just to deliver an apple. So, when a bet between the rude, good-looking guy across the way becomes a full-on battle, it turns into absolute chaos.
He says my degree is useless and that I’m a rich, spoiled princess.
I say he’s an idiot who only knows how to fix motorcycles and is incapable of having a clean-shaven face.
He gives me a tiara. Thanks.
I buy him a razor. Perfect.
He follows that up with a book… Like. I. Can’t. Read.
I then give him soap—explanation easy there.
The following day, I receive a pink princess blanket that I may or may not have burned and tossed on his front doorstep, not realizing his dad is a cop. Now, both dads want the war to stop between us, forcing us to go on a camping trip to bury the hatchet—which I’m convinced he actually brought.
He’s a hazard to my health.
But it’s only a weekend. I honestly don’t know if we’ll make it out alive, but the dads are tired of it all. Regardless, I’ll come out, and prove I’m not the princess he thinks I am. Maybe he’ll end up lost in the woods—one can only hope.
One thing’s for sure. I will never, ever fall for him.
Ever.
A bet with the boy next door? Challenge accepted. I’ll be waiting for my trophy at the finish line.
Buy The Book:
An Exclusive Interview with Rachel Van Dyken
Can you tell us why or how you chose to write about this couple for your novella?
I love returning to older books and writing about the original couples kids. Travis, who was in The Bet over ten years ago now has a college graduate that he wants to keep safe, unfortunately she has her mom’s sass and a genuine hate for the guy across the street, it seemed like the perfect set up for this couple!
Do you do anything to treat yourself when you finish writing a book?
I think this time, my treat was to go sit and start writing another book, I promise it was actually a treat because I switched over to fantasy and that’s always fun.
Can you give us a few lines from your work in progress?
She’s not at dinner.
I’m instantly annoyed and I know for a fact she hasn’t left the house yet or I’d easily know and feel it. Her room was dark and some of her bags were still out front.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Mr. Verdani.”
He walks into the room holding a garden shovel and holding a sack of potatoes in one hand. “Yes, sir?”
“It’s the present.”
“Very good sir, you aren’t senile, is that all?”
I glare. “Where is she?”
“Present.” He flashes a grin and lifts his potatoes. “Care for any with your supper?”
The answer in my head is that he can shove the potatoes up his ass, instead I just calmly shake my head. “Damn, Nords.”
“Why helllooooooooo,” Lux waltzes in. “Am I the only one who came tonight? Is the family having a feud again? Gotta love that show, think we would lose? Maybe we should try it, then again might get awkward knowing you’d be playing against all of us, but I could probably jump in on your side along with Dag, yeah?”
“It’s like you want me to strangle you to death.”
“The thought does have merit. If you killed me you’d at least be able to suppress all my powers too and keep that stupid rune from cracking. Where is it by the way? Asking for a friend, they’re Canadian, hates anything to do with mythology, likes bears.”
“Bears?”
“We did an online date, I’m her penpal. She’s eighty, she needed a friend.”
I groan into my hands. “You sent her a care package.”
“I sent her a care package, she misses her husband, and she’s terminal, some might call it a kindness, Ymir.”
“Dog!” I yell his name. “Where are you?”
A faint barking sounds in the distance.
Lux pauses. “When has he ever not ran towards you?”
“Now. Apparently.” We both get up and walk in the direction of the basement and hear Dog from inside. –Fallen Gods, Red Tower, December 3, 2024
___
What’s your cure for hiccups?
Drinking water upside down or holding my breath.
What scene in this book was the toughest to write and why?
I think the toughest scene was at the end when she reads a note from her Grandma.
What’s the worst thing you’ve eaten out of politeness?
Pig ear. It was horrible, it was just…thin.
Biography:
Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!
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