Cutting Loose. Susan Andersen

ection>

      

       Reviewers love New York Times bestselling author SUSAN ANDERSEN!

       Coming Undone

      “Snappy and sexy…. Upbeat and fun, with a touch of danger and passion, this is a great summer read.”

      - Romantic Times BOOKreviews

      “Sexy, wisecracking fun…. Passionate, romantic, emotional at times and always fun.”

      - Contemporary Romance Reviews

       Just for Kicks

      “Deft characters, smart dialogue, laugh-out-loud moments and sizzling sexual tension (you might want to read Chapter 15 twice) make this hard to put down…. Lovers of romance, passion and laughs should go all in for this one.”

      - Publishers Weekly

      “Andersen’s follow-up to Skintight retains the charm and wit of the previous story…. Hot, hot, hot!”

      - Romantic Times BOOKreviews

       Hot & Bothered

      “A classic plot line receives a fresh, fun treatment…well-developed secondary characters add depth to this zesty novel, placing it a level beyond most of its competition.”

      - Publishers Weekly

       Skintight

      “Andersen again injects magic into a story that would be clichéd in another’s hands, delivering warm, vulnerable characters in a touching yet suspenseful read.”

      - Publishers Weekly, starred review

      “Written with Andersen’s signature sass and sizzle, this book will appeal to fans of Sandra Hill and Rachel Gibson.”

      - Booklist

      Dear Reader,

      I don’t know what I’d do without my girlfriends. Women forge connections that make crummy days better, breakups a tad easier and bad hair days, well, still bad hair days, but so much less dismal with a pal to make you laugh or lend you her hip new hat to disguise it. So I’m really excited to introduce the first of my new Sisterhood Diaries trilogy, because this series features three women who have been friends since the fourth grade.

      Jane Kaplinski thanks heaven for her two best friends. It wasn’t easy being the only child of self-absorbed second-rate actors, and there were times growing up when only Poppy and Ava’s friendship made all the stormy exits and theatrical reunions in her household bearable.

      These days Jane has her life on track, and the only thing on her mind is fulfilling the final request of a dear old lady who bequeathed the Sisterhood her estate. Jane is certainly not looking for love-she’s way too familiar with the damage done in its name. Still, if she ever does fall in love, she intends it to be with someone stable. A nice cerebral professor, maybe.

      Then Devlin Kavanagh, a footloose international yachts sailor with steamy stamped all over him, comes home to help his family business during a crisis. And all Jane’s careful plans go up in flames. Who knew arguing with an irresponsible heartbreaker could be so exciting? Or that they’d generate such heat? He’s got issues of his own, of course, so this can’t possibly last.

      Or can it?

      It was fun making sparks fly, as well as creating Dev’s and Jane’s friends and families. As always, I hope you enjoy my efforts.

      Happy reading!

      Susan Andersen

      MILLS & BOON

       Before you start reading, why not sign up?

      Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

       SIGN ME UP!

      Or simply visit

      signup.millsandboon.co.uk

      Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

       Cutting Loose

       Susan Andersen

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      This is dedicated, with love, to a woman I’ve known

       since I was ten.

       To

       Marilyn Hansen

      Who took the time to sit on her porch steps

       to talk to me when I was a kid.

       And who has been a warmhearted

       friend since I became an adult.

      You rock.

      ~Susie

      CONTENTS

       PROLOGUE

       CHAPTER ONE

       CHAPTER TWO

       CHAPTER THREE

       CHAPTER FOUR

       CHAPTER FIVE

       CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       CHAPTER ELEVEN

       CHAPTER TWELVE

       CHAPTER THIRTEEN

       CHAPTER FOURTEEN

       CHAPTER FIFTEEN

       CHAPTER SIXTEEN

       CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

       CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

       CHAPTER NINETEEN

       CHAPTER TWENTY

       CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

       CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

       CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

       CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

       EPILOGUE

       PROLOGUE

       Dear Diary,

       Families suck. Why can’t I have a regular mom and dad?

       May 12, 1990

       “J ANE , J ANE, WE’RE HERE !”

      Twelve-year-old Jane Kaplinski leaned out her bedroom window. Below, her friend’s chauffeur-driven car was parked at the curb in front of her middle-class house, her friends Ava and Poppy spilling out the vehicle’s back door.

      “I’ll be right down,” she called, watching Poppy’s cloud of blond curls swaying in the breeze, her filmy skirts plastered against her slender legs. She’d probably bought her outfit at Kmart, but as usual she looked stylish and pulled together, while Ava, who had developed a full year and a half ahead of everyone else in their grade level, looked sort of packed into her pale green dress, its expensive workmanship tugged akilter at bust and hips. But her sleek red hair, brighter than a four-alarm fire, blazed beneath the spring sunshine’s sudden peekaboo appearance through the clouds and her dimples flashed as she grinned up at Jane.

      Smoothing a hand down her own navy skirt, Jane