
I work for a NYC magazine, so you’d think my life would be fascinating, right? Notsomuch… until my girlfriends dared me to have a one-night-stand to celebrate my birthday to um, use a naughty gift they gave me. Hunky outdoorsman Sam Somebody from the bar was happy to oblige, and girl, it was a night to remember. I thought I’d never see him again, so imagine my surprise when he was the guest of my next morning editorial meeting—as the cover story. Can you say awkward? (Here’s where things get weird.) When my boss became convinced our magazine had fallen under a “cover curse,” she sent me to Nowheresville, USA to man-sit Sam under the cover of a writing assignment. I’m trying to keep a professional distance, but he’s wearing me down. And since I’ve never been outside the city, my unmatched clumsiness might put Sam in more danger than anything else… meanwhile, I’m the one in real danger—of losing my heart. (Note: This story was originally released in 2004; Stephanie has updated and revamped the story for re-release.)
Author

USA TODAY bestselling author Stephanie Bond was seven years deep into a systems engineering career and pursuing an MBA at night when an instructor remarked that she had a flair for writing and suggested that she submit to academic journals. But Stephanie, a voracious reader, was only interested in writing fiction–more specifically, romantic fiction. Upon completing her master’s degree and with no formal training in writing (her undergraduate degree is in computer programming), she started writing a romance novel in her spare time. Two years later in 1995 she sold her first manuscript, a romantic comedy, to Harlequin Books. In 1997, with ten sales under her belt to two publishers, Stephanie left her corporate job to write women’s romantic fiction full-time. In 2011, Stephanie launched a self-publishing business. Since that time, she has sold more than 1 million copies of her own books. To-date, Stephanie has published over 70 novels and has over 6 million copies of her work in worldwide distribution in numerous languages and formats.