Chasing Vivi, an all-new romantic standalone from A.M. Hargrove is available NOW!

Vivi Renard—a blast from the past—wasn’t supposed to affect me like this.

When I knew her ten years ago she was nothing more to me than a highly functioning brain.

Hell, I paid her to do my homework.

Only now … she’s drop dead gorgeous but had the nerve to turn me down for a date … several times.

No one turns me—Prescott Beckham—down for anything.

I’m on a mission and won’t stop until I’m firmly planted between her thighs, hearing her moan my name.

Her plump red lips have me dreaming filthy things and acting like a kid with his first crush.

If I can’t have her, I don’t want anyone else to either.

What’s worse is I want to own every single bit of her.

Except there’s a slight problem.

Vivi can’t stand me.

Even the old let’s be friends again thing failed.

She tossed it back saying we were never friends to begin with.

But I’m the king at playing ruthless games.

So she’d better be ready to drop her thong, because Vivi is going to end up in my bed sooner … or later.

And I’m pretty damn sure it’s going to be sooner.

4.5 Stars
Review by Lisa Kane

Vivienne Renard is barely surviving in New York. Her dreams of taking the IT world by storm, armed with her MIT degree, have faded to black. She endured years of brutal bullying in high school when she attended Crestview, a private high school. Her mother skimped and saved for her to go but Vivi hated it. She was a brainiac but that isn’t what made her the target of every mean girls jokes. Vivi was overweight and frumpy. Her life was a living hell, money was scarce and there were few places to hide. She was able to make some money by doing the bad boy of Crestview’s homework- Prescott Beckham. He was the object of very girl’s fantasies and Vivi was no exception. But he never saw her as anything but the person bailing him out of his work.

I often dreamt about how one day he’d announce to the world that he didn’t mind that I was fat and unpopular, that he’d fallen for me anyway-me, in my too tight skirt wrapped around my pudgy thighs, which certainly rubbed together. Why? Why did I torture myself like this? Why did I let myself belive a guy like him could fall for a girl like me?

Now Vivi is twenty-seven and works in a coffee shop. She sacrificed her career for her family but she has no regrets for doing so. In walks the object of her teen-age dreams-Prescott Beckham and it’s all she can do not to lose it in front of him. He immediately recognizes her and he can’t get over the changes. This new Vivi is thin and gorgeous. But those old scars cut deep and Vivi looks at him and sees all that she suffered in high school. Prescott on the other hand, sees a girl he is determined to have.

The years since high school have been a mixed bag for Prescott. Fabulously wealthy, he controls one of the most powerful companies in Manhattan. On the surface, his life seems like a Hollywood movie-he’s gorgeous, rich as all hell and can have any woman he wants-and he does! But few know about his past and he copes with his demons by drinking too much and getting high. Vivi Renard is not the same girl he remembers from all those years ago. He wants her and he never loses.

“So, Vivi, why didn’t you ever call me? Pivoting in the booth so I can look at him better, I say, “Why would I? You and I never were friends at Crestview. We never hung out. You used me to do our homework.” And I caved every fucking time.

Chasing Vivi has many layers. It’s written in both Vivi and Prescott’s POV’s and there are some real heart breaking moments in this story. But it’s hotter than Texas in the dead of summer and Prescott will grow on you. He is an ass, but a good-hearted one.

“And just so you know, I never saw those girls bully you. I wasn’t just ignoring it: I was unaware of it. If I had seen it, I wouldn’t done something about it.”

Never having known the love of a good woman, he is going to screw up (and screw up frequently) but he tries. Vivi has depended on herself for so long that she cannot allow herself to accept help and she creates many of her own problems.

I’ve also successfully burned all my bridges with her. It’s probably for the best. No use in keeping any hopes open. I’ve thought about it since last night and realized Vivienne Renard will never give me a chance no matter what I do. So I may as well let her see the man she thinks I am.

Prescott has two best friends-Harrison and Weston. Weston’s story was the first one in this series and I have to go back and read it. The little tidbits about him made me curious enough to read his story. I am a huge animal lover-there’s a part in this story with some drooling and envy over a sable fur coat. Big turn off for me. Not enough to affect my rating, but enough to make me wonder who the hell wears real fur these days? I moved on, shook it off and kept reading. So glad I did!

“I don’t know if I can do it.”

“Then it will be the gravest mistake of your life and the greatest loss you ever sustained.”

Excerpt:

Vivi rubs her hands on her thighs. She’s nervous and has been ever since I stood over the table. She seems to have more confidence in herself now than she had when I knew her but that doesn’t account for her skittishness. Back at Crestview, she had been overweight—I knew that—only I didn’t know, or maybe I didn’t pay attention, to the other girls giving her a hard time. And why should I have? I had so much going on in my head I could barely keep my own shit together.

“So?” I prod. “Homework binder?”

“You did a pretty good job with me. I only figured you put the other girls in the same boat. You know, with the homework stuff and all.”

“I had you wrapped around my homework binder at Crestview. That’s your metaphor for finger.”

It’s not a question. I’m baffled because I had no idea. Yeah, I was a flirt, but I flirted with everyone to get what was necessary. It was the only way I knew how to accomplish my goals. She needed the money and always acted like she had no interest in me whatsoever.

“Of course. You had everyone wrapped around your finger. Well, maybe more of them were wrapped around your, um.” She points in the direction of my dick.

Sexy little Vivi can’t say dick out loud. Isn’t that the cutest thing in the world?

“Say it, Vivi.”

“Say what?”

“You know what.” I lean into her and get close to her lips. “Say it.”

Her chest puffs out as she says, “Dick.” Her lovely neck flushes pink and two bright spots of fuchsia dot her cheeks. This is sweet innocence at its utmost.

“Excellent. Now say cock.” I put a great deal of emphasis on the “c” and “k” at the end of the word. Silver gray irises turn stormy and deep creases form on her forehead.

“Why would you want me to say that word?”

“Because it makes you uncomfortable as hell and I’m an asshole. I like to see you squirm, Vivi.”

“I won’t say that. It has nothing to do with truth or dare. And besides, it’s my turn.”

I take a couple of good slugs of my drink, sit back, and cross my arms. “Do your worst.”

She puts an elbow on the table and rests her cheek on her hand. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare.” It’s impossible not to laugh at her comical expression. I curtailed her plans.

“You can’t do that!”

“Do what?”

“Pick dare.”

“I most certainly can.”

Her head tilts back, and I can only imagine what she’s thinking. A chuckle escapes.

“You’re a jerk,” she says.

“So I’ve been told.”

“Okay, then. I dare you to tell me why you loathe the man you’ve become.” She gloats at the clever way she’s twisted the game. And stupid me should’ve figured out she’d come up with something like this. Vivi was always brilliant.

“Loathe is extreme. Let’s say I’m not particularly fond of who I am right now.”

“Fine. Go on.”

Now I’m the one who’s squirming. Where do I even begin? Vivi is almost a stranger to me. There’s no way I can bare my pathetic soul to her.

“I have daddy issues.”

“Really?” Her question is one of disbelief and she appears to be holding back a laugh.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

“Um, yeah. Prescott Beckham, the guy with the world at his fingertips, has daddy issues? I think not. I Googled you after I ran into you that day. From all accounts I read there were no daddy issues to be found. Nada. Try again.”

“I have a team that keeps my secrets out of the media. You wouldn’t find anything on me. But it’s true. I grew up without a mom and my father was not much of one. So, there you have it.” I give her one of my best smirks. It usually does the trick on most women.

She leans back and tucks her chin closer to her body. “That’s it? And I’m supposed to buy that?”

“That’s all I have for sale, Little Wolf. Sorry.”

“You’re not a very fair player.”

“My turn.”

“Nope. I’m done.” She drinks another swig of her beer.

“No, you aren’t. I’m picking for you. Truth. How many men have you fucked, Vivi? And what exactly have they done to you?”

She shoves her arms into her coat and pushes at me to get out of the booth. But I have zero intentions of going anywhere. “Let me out, Prescott.”

“Not until you answer me.”

“That’s none of your business. How many women have you been with?”

“Too many to count.”

Her jaw flops open and I close her mouth with a finger under her chin.

“You asked, Little Wolf.”

ChasingVivi-AN

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Meet A.M. Hargrove:

One day on her way home from work as a sales manager, USA Today bestselling author, A. M. Hargrove, realized her life was on fast-forward. If she didn't do something soon, it would be too late to write that novel she had dreamt of her whole life. She slammed on the brakes, made a crazy decision, and quit her job. Then she reinvented herself as a Naughty and Nice Romance Author.

She fancies herself all of the following: Reader, Writer, Dark Chocolate Lover, Ice Cream Worshipper, Coffee Drinker, Grey Goose Aficionado, and #WalterThePuppy Lover. If you’re around her for more than five minutes, you’ll soon notice she has a tendency to talk you ear off.

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