The Love in Duet Collection, page 1
CONTENTS
About The Book
Birthday Suit
Birthday Suit
About The Book
Prologue
1. Leo
2. Lulu
3. Leo
4. Lulu
5. Leo
6. Leo
7. Lulu
8. Leo
9. Lulu
10. Leo
11. Leo
12. Lulu
13. Lulu
14. Lulu
15. Leo
16. Lulu
17. Leo
18. Lulu
19. Lulu
20. Leo
21. Leo
22. Leo
23. Lulu
24. Lulu
25. Lulu
26. Lulu
27. Leo
28. Lulu
29. Leo
30. Lulu
31. Leo
32. Lulu
33. Leo
34. Lulu
35. Leo
36. Lulu
37. Leo
38. Tripp
39. Lulu
40. Lulu
Epilogue
Be A Lovely
Acknowledgments
Instant Gratification
About
Be A VIP reader
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Epilogue
Another Epilogue
And One More Epilogue
Be A Lovely
Acknowledgments
Part-Time Lover
About
Part-Time Lover
1. Elise
2. Christian
3. Elise
4. Christian
5. Elise
6. Christian
7. Christian
8. Elise
9. Christian
10. Elise
11. Elise
12. Elise
13. Christian
14. Christian
15. Christian
16. Elise
17. Elise
18. Christian
19. Elise
20. Elise
21. Christian
22. Elise
23. Elise
24. Elise
25. Christian
26. Elise
27. Christian
28. Christian
29. Elise
30. Elise
31. Elise
32. Christian
33. Elise
34. Elise
35. Elise
36. Christian
37. Elise
38. Christian
39. Elise
40. Christian
Epilogue
Another Epilogue
And One More Epilogue
Be A Lovely
Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend
About
Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend
Prologue
1. Summer
2. Summer
3. Oliver
4. Summer
5. Summer
6. Oliver
7. Summer
8. Summer
9. Oliver
10. Summer
11. Summer
12. Summer
13. Oliver
14. Summer
15. Summer
16. Summer
17. Oliver
18. Oliver
19. Oliver
20. Summer
21. Oliver
22. Summer
23. Oliver
24. Oliver
25. Summer
26. Oliver
27. Summer
28. Summer
29. Summer
30. Oliver
31. Summer
32. Oliver
33. Summer
34. Oliver
35. Oliver
36. Summer
37. Oliver
38. Summer
39. Oliver
40. Summer
41. Oliver
42. Oliver
43. Oliver
Epilogue
Be A Lovely
The What If Guy
About
The What If Guy
Prologue
1. Bryn
2. Logan
3. Bryn
4. Logan
5. Bryn
6. Logan
7. Logan
8. Logan
9. Queen Of Tofu
10. Bryn
11. Bryn
12. Logan
13. Logan
14. Bruce
15. Bryn
16. Bryn
17. Logan
18. Bryn
19. Bruce
20. Bryn
21. Logan
22. Bryn
23. Queen Of Tofu
24. Logan
25. Bryn
26. Bryn
27. Logan
28. Logan
29. Bryn
30. Logan
31. Bruce
32. Bryn
33. Bryn
34. Logan
35. Bryn
36. Logan
Epilogue
Epilogue
Epilogue
Be A Lovely
Contact
More Books by Lauren
THE LOVE IN DUET COLLECTION
LAUREN BLAKELY
Copyright © 2018 by Lauren Blakely
Cover Design by Qamber Designs & Media
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without express written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Without in any way limiting the author’s exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
ABOUT THE BOOK
A brand new collection of five bestselling standalone spicy romances featuring your favorite tropes!
Five full-length spicy rom coms packaged together for the first time! In Love in Duet you’ll get a falling for my best friend’s ex workplace romance in Birthday Suit, a friends-to-lovers/I-need-a-date-for-a-wedding romance in Instant Gratification, a marriage of convenience in Part-Time Lover, a fake fiancé romance in Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend, and an oops-he’s-my-boss romance in The What If Guy!
These five standalones are specially curated for your binge-reading pleasure!
Tropes: Friends to lovers, workplace romance, forbidden romance, best friend's sister, marriage of convenience, best friend’s ex, office romance, and fake fiancé
BIRTHDAY SUIT
BIRTHDAY SUIT
By Lauren Blakely
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Did you know this book is also available in audio and paperback on all major retailers? Go to my website for links!
Content Warnings For This Title on my web site.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The one unbreakable rule in the Man Code is this: no matter how beautiful, smart, and clever she is, do not fall in love with your best friend’s woman.
Yeah, so I screwed up big time when I fell for her.
I might have let my s
And the cards are stacked against me once again. We’re working together, and the last thing I want to do is mess up her life with a forbidden office romance now that she’s finally got the fresh start she deserves.
Trouble is, she’s even more irresistible than ever, and this time around I’m not sure any code can hold me back.
Even if I stand to lose everything...
This story is dedicated to Jeanne Blum and Elizabeth Mantia
PROLOGUE
Leo
Let’s get one thing out of the way real fast. Regret is a waste of time. I don’t believe in it—never have, never will. I try to live my life without that useless emotion.
You know those articles where the journalist asks old people what they would have done differently, and they list all sorts of stuff—be a better friend, call your mom, tell the woman you love her? You don’t want to be that person.
There’s a simple way to avoid it.
Do the good shit now.
Say yes to that crazy job offer, ask out the girl who’s out of your league, climb the mountain and kiss the sky.
You’ll thank yourself later.
But the flip side of that kind of life is this: you need some rules. A few basic guidelines to follow to navigate the potholes.
Over the years I’ve assembled my top picks. Some from experience, some from listening to others.
Allow me to share my hard-won wisdom.
1. If you have to sniff the food in your fridge to decide if you can eat it, just toss it. You’ll be glad you did tomorrow.
2. You can tell everything you need to know about a person by how he or she treats the waiter.
3. Turn down that last tequila shot. Trust me on this one.
4. If your woman sends you to the store to pick up something, get that something, not another version you think is better. Her version is always the right one.
5. You can’t put your foot in your mouth if it’s closed.
6. No dude ever gets in trouble while cleaning the kitchen.
7. Don’t live to work; work to live.
8. If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.
9. Don’t get a tattoo that’s longer than your dick.
10. Men should never wear black jeans.
That’s my list and I’m sticking to it. Those mantras have served me well. They’ve made me the man I am today—successful, wise, and satisfied.
There’s one more though. An addendum, if you will. The postscript you need to achieve a life well-lived. This ought to be so damn easy that no one makes this mistake.
Gather close.
Write it down.
Follow this one to the motherfucking letter.
No matter what, don’t fall in love with your best friend’s girl.
Too bad that ship sailed long ago for me.
1
LEO
Real men like chocolate. And they aren’t afraid to show it.
I have no shame over my love for this substance. I love it when it’s dark, when it’s bitter, when it’s semisweet. I love it slathered on ice cream; crafted into truffles, bars, and squares; or filled with nuts, fruit, or liqueur.
But there’s one form I can’t stand.
Chocolate fountains.
We’re talking the hardest of hard limits, especially here at The Big Chocolate Show in the heart of Manhattan.
As I head down the aisle in hot pursuit of the next rising star, I’m transfixed by a guy in the booth a few feet ahead. He has a bushy beard and gnarly hands, and he swipes his index finger through the chocolate stream in front of him.
Then licks said finger.
He wipes the chocolate drops from his beard.
And proceeds to lick that off his fingers too.
Shuddering, I jerk my gaze away from the Finger-Licking Good booth. This is worse than going to see the latest Ed Helms F-bomb laden comedy and getting hit with a preview for a “snowman came to life and eviscerated me with an icicle” flick. I don’t want horror trailers before my adult comedies, nor do I want to see cesspools of chocolate when I’m hunting for the next great chocolatier.
I adjust my cranberry-colored tie and turn into the Heavenly booth, admiring the classy layout, from the simple oak tables to the stone bowls the chocolates lounge in invitingly with silver tongs beside them.
Yes, tongs. Because chocolates should be distributed in public by tongs, not fingers.
With her usual cheery grin, our freckle-faced marketing director waves me over from her spot manning the table. Or womanning the table, as Ginny likes to say. She scans left, then right. Coast is clear. There’s a lull in the booth action. She drops her voice to a clandestine whisper. “Leo, I pilfered some goodies for you.”
“Ginny, you are brilliant and also quite nefarious.”
“I take that as the highest compliment, especially since when I was a little girl growing up in Sydney, I had secret dreams to become a chocolate thief.”
“Glad to see we’re making all your dreams come true.”
She slides a green ceramic plate at me then presses her finger to her lips, her heart-shaped necklace dangling perilously close to the table. “But I don’t want anyone to see you tasting someone else’s chocolate. It would make us look bad.”
