{"product_id":"2940149685011","title":"Autumn Bliss (Romancing Wisconsin Series #6)","description":"Romancing Wisconsin, a USA Today Bestselling Series\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAUTUMN BLISS, book 5\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter a string of bad luck, Mallory Parker is convinced her future lies way beyond the streets of the small home town that stole her mother’s hopes and dreams. As soon as she saves enough money at her new job, she’s going to get out and get a life, and no one can tempt her to stay—until she meets the man who does.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eArmy veteran Levi Jenkins is still dealing with the aftermath of his last tour of duty. Working in the background as a maintenance man at Whispering Pines Lodge gives him the peace his soul craves. The last thing he wants is the distraction of a woman who charms his heart while teaching him to smile again. Or maybe, that’s exactly what he needs.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLevi fears loving her and losing her would be too much to endure—and yet, asking Mallory to stay could destroy the very essence that makes her so special. If either of them are to be happy, he must find the courage to set her free.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEXCERPT:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   A moment later, Levi was beside her, his large hand reaching for the handle when she would’ve raised it again.\u003cbr\u003e   “Stop.”\u003cbr\u003e   She shook her head. “I said leave me alone.”\u003cbr\u003e   “No.” His tone brooked no argument. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”\u003cbr\u003e   Despite the fact her ankle still throbbed where the steel had hit, she ground out, “I’m fine.”\u003cbr\u003e   He pulled on the handle, but she grabbed and hung on with both hands. Right now, it was about the only thing keeping her grounded. His hands snugged up against hers as they faced off with the ax held horizontally between them. The warmth of his skin registered through the seething emotions whirling inside her.\u003cbr\u003e   “I talked to Mark,” he said quietly, concern and understanding clear in his eyes.\u003cbr\u003e   “Good for you,” she snapped.\u003cbr\u003e   His gaze narrowed. A small part of her felt bad for taking her anger out on him. The rest of her was humiliated to know that he knew she was the reason for Holden’s withdrawal of support for the veterans.\u003cbr\u003e   She needed to hit something. Hard.\u003cbr\u003e   Holding his gaze without backing down, she silently dared him to take the ax away by force. He could do it easily, and she actually wanted him to force the physical confrontation.\u003cbr\u003e   Instead, he gave a brief nod. “Okay. You want to work off some steam, I get it. I don’t want to have to rush you to the emergency room, so let me show you the right way to do it and it’s all yours.”\u003cbr\u003e   “Fine.” She shoved the handle toward him and let go at the same time. \u003cbr\u003e   Arms crossed over her chest, all her weight on one leg, she waited. He transferred the ax to one hand and let it swing down alongside his leg. Then he walked over for a hunk of wood and returned to set it on the stump, cut side up. Once he moved into position, he glanced back to where she stood. \u003cbr\u003e   “Hands like this, then swing back, and around, and bring it down so the sharp edge hits the wood in the center.”\u003cbr\u003e   In one fluid motion, he did exactly as he described and split the piece of wood clean in half. Facing her, he asked, “Got it?”\u003cbr\u003e   “Yeah. I got it.”\u003cbr\u003e   His eyebrow arched at her sarcasm, but she didn’t care. It felt good to not care for once. To not pretend like she was okay with the raw deal life had handed her lately. Felt great actually.\u003cbr\u003e   He extended the ax and she wrenched it from his grasp. Only he let go at the same time and she stumbled at the unexpected lack of resistance. His lightning fast steadying grip only annoyed her more.\u003cbr\u003e   She stepped into position as he placed a log on the stump for her, then stood back slightly, off to her left.\u003cbr\u003e   “No. Put your hands like I showed you.”\u003cbr\u003e   She’d seen his swing, and the subsequent play of muscles beneath his T-shirt, but prior to that, she’d been focused on him, not the instructions. She moved her hands closer together.\u003cbr\u003e   “This isn’t baseball.”\u003cbr\u003e   She moved them farther apart.\u003cbr\u003e   “I thought you said you got it?” he huffed as he stepped up behind her.\u003cbr\u003e   His arms closed around her, his hands sliding down to adjust her grip on the handle as the front of his body came into full contact with her back. She sucked in a surprised breath and smelled nothing but Levi.\u003cbr\u003e   From one heartbeat to the next, all her anger and frustration morphed into intense awareness that literally had her trembling in her boots.\u003cbr\u003e   He’d gone completely still. His heat seeped through her clothes. After a moment, he cleared his throat and moved her left hand up one inch. “There, try that.”\u003cbr\u003e   His rough voice in her ear sent all kinds of delicious tingles tripping along her nerve endings. Yet he didn’t let go or step away.\u003cbr\u003e   Heart pounding, she turned her head far enough to see his face. His gaze locked on hers, a gorgeous green full of the desire she’d desperately been trying to ignore.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Stacey Joy Netzel","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47109148672240,"sku":"2940149685011","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940149685011_p0.jpg?v=1763728855","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940149685011","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}