New Release – Lessons of the Heart by Jodie Larson

Title: Lessons of the Heart
Author: Jodie Larson
Release Date: March 14, 2016
Find on Goodreads

The first time we met, James Dumont knocked me off my feet.

He’s sexy and smart, the classic good guy…. Exactly what I want, and everything I’ve ever dreamed of. The most perfect guy at Somerset High School.

He even makes sixth-period Geography interesting.

Everyone says high school is tough. Fighting my attraction to James? That’s the hardest part, because this guy, my perfect match, the one who makes my heart overrule my head…

He’s my teacher.

What if the greatest lesson you could learn in school couldn’t be found in a book?

Excerpt

Gathering up the assignment book, I start walking back toward Mrs. Davis’s desk when I run into something. I sprawl on the floor, my ass pounding in discomfort as the papers and book skitter away from me.

 “Damn,” I mutter to myself.

That’s when I start to look up and see it wasn’t a something I ran into but a someone. A really tall someone. A really handsome someone with green eyes and a head full of disheveled brown hair. My throat tightens and my heart beats just a smidge faster as I look up from my squatted position.

“Are you okay? I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there,” he says as he reaches down to grab my hand.

I place my shaking hand in his and am amazed how tightly he grips me. Not painful but strong, sure, almost as if he was meant to always hold my hand. The fit of our hands is perfect with just the right amount of symmetry.

“Yeah I’m fine,” I grunt as he pulls me off the floor. I brush the dust off my jeans and sweater.

“It’s my fault. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and then I got turned around back here. It’s kind of a maze.”

“I hear you there. It took me a while to figure it out my first time back here. Are you new?”

He gives me a smile that has my heart skipping a beat. Whoa. That’s a strange reaction.

“I will be. I start on Monday, so I was just kind of wandering around trying to find stuff. I guess I got lost.”

I laugh, and his smile widens. “I guess you did. Well, what are you looking for? Maybe I can help point you in the right direction.”

He pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket and studies it for a second. While he’s looking over the paper, I take the moment to examine him further. He’s tall but not overly tall, and lean but not skinny. The long-sleeved shirt he’s wearing shows off enough to let me know he takes care of himself. Not buff but definitely muscular, judging from the way his body narrows at the waist. And he looks good in jeans. Really good. Damn good. Like the boy-next-door good.

I shake my head, shameful of where my thoughts were going. I have no idea who this guy is or how he ended up back in the teacher’s lounge. But if he’s a new student starting Monday I need to find out what classes he has. Maybe this school year can be salvaged after all.

“I’m looking for Mr. Herman’s office. Someone told me it was back this way.

I shake my head. “No, not back here. He’s in the main office, next to Mr. Leonard’s office. Mr. Herman is the vice principal.”

He rolls his eyes and it makes me smile. It’s nice to know I’m not the only person who does that anymore.

“Of course. I should have known that.” He looks around for an exit and returns my gaze with wide eyes. “So how do I get out of here?”

“This way,” I say trying to suppress my giggle. I place the grade book and papers on Mrs. Davis’s desk and show the good-looking stranger the way out of the lounge.

“Why do they make this so confusing?” he asks.

“It’s difficult to say. My guess is so students don’t go wandering back here without permission. Unless you’re back there all the time, you never know whose office is whose or the way to get out without losing your mind.”

“I’ve seen labyrinths that were easier to navigate than this.”

I laugh and he smiles again at me. “Supposedly when the school got remodeled they forgot to add the teacher’s offices. So it was a last minute thing, throwing together walls behind this study room, hiding it from the students prying eyes.”

“So the teachers have an office and a classroom?”

I nod. “Yep. It’s better that way really. This way the students can’t break into the desks in the classrooms and change their grades and stuff like that.”

“Good idea.”

He’s wearing some sort of cologne and it smells like heaven. And it’s not overpowering like some of the other guys around the school. Walking near them is like walking by the Abercrombie store, just makes your head instantly hurt. But his is subtle, blending perfectly into him and whatever pheromones he’s giving off, making him that much more appealing.

“So this is the main office. They’ll be able to help you out with anything else.”

I look down at my boots and scuff them against the floor. For some reason, I don’t want to leave. I’m not sure why, though. Maybe because I don’t know his name yet.

“Thanks for your help, um. I’m sorry, I guess I never got your name.”

I laugh and hold my hand out to him. “Britta.”

“James.”

He takes my hand again and another round of tingles travels between our fingers. The sudden jolt of electricity surprises me, and I pull my hand back abruptly. James looks down at me with a slight concern on his face, but I force a smile, trying to play off my strange reaction.

The bell rings again and I start backing away. “I better get going to class. Guess I’ll see you around.”

He nods and flashes one last smile in my direction as I back away. “Guess I will. Nice meeting you.”

About the Author

Jodie Larson is a wife and mother to four beautiful girls, making their home in northern Minnesota along the shore of Lake Superior. When she isn’t running around to various activities or working her regular job, you can find her sitting in her favorite spot reading her new favorite book or camped out somewhere quiet trying to write her next manuscript. She’s addicted to reading (just ask her kids or husband) and loves talking books even more so with her friends. She’s also a lover of all things romance and happily ever afters, whether in movies or in books, as shown in her extensive collection of both.
Other books written by Jodie Larson:
Fated to be Yours
Fated to be Mine

 

 

 

 

Cover Reveal – Lessons of the Heart by Jodie Larson

 

Title: Lessons of the Heart
Author: Jodie Larson
Release Date: March 14, 2016
Find on Goodreads
The first time we met, James Dumont knocked me off my feet.
He’s sexy and smart, the classic good guy…. Exactly what I want, and everything I’ve ever dreamed of. The most perfect guy at Somerset High School.
He even makes sixth-period Geography interesting.
Everyone says high school is tough. Fighting my attraction to James? That’s the hardest part, because this guy, my perfect match, the one who makes my heart overrule my head…
He’s my teacher.
What if the greatest lesson you could learn in school couldn’t be found in a book?

Excerpt

I fumble with the keycard, finally putting it into the slot on the third attempt. His voice stops me before I close my door.

“Britta?”

“Yeah?”

He runs another hand through his hair and looks up at me. “This sounds extremely cheesy but can I get your phone number? I’d like to see you tomorrow if it’s possible.”

A smile crawls across my face. Jutting the latch for the door out so I don’t get locked out, I walk over to him as he holds out his phone to me. Quickly entering my information into it for him, I smile and hand it back.

“Give me a call sometime,” I say, walking backward to my propped open door.

James looks down at his phone and smirks. “I like the smiley face after your name.”

“Goodnight, James.”

“Goodnight, Britta.”

I close the door behind me and secure it, just in case he’s used his charm and somehow got a key to my room as well. It wouldn’t shock me if he did. My fingers trace my lips; his kiss still lingering there makes me smile wider.

As I’m unpacking my suitcase, my phone beeps in my purse. Knowing who it is, I quickly swipe at the screen.

HI.

Hi? I give him my phone number and all he types is hi? What the hell?

Another message comes through, this time making me laugh.

SORRY, THAT WAS LAME.

I settle against the headboard of my bed, barely noticing how comfortable I am in having this conversation with my former teacher. Can I call him a former teacher? Don’t think, just feel I tell myself.

YOU’RE REALLY BAD AT THIS YOU KNOW.

His response is almost immediate.

I’M NERVOUS.

SERIOUSLY? YOU’RE 22. YOU SHOULD BE OVER THAT.

IT’S NOT MY AGE. IT’S YOU THAT MAKES ME NERVOUS.

ME?

I LIKE YOU.

Whoa. That’s probably the first time he’s ever directly said anything like that to me. Yes, we’ve been dancing around it, saying we feel something toward each other but nothing this direct, at least not that I can remember saying out loud. My heart pounds wildly in my chest as I type my reply.

I LIKE YOU TOO.

HOW MUCH?

A LOT.

CAN I KISS YOU AGAIN?

YOU DON’T HAVE TO ASK. YOU CAN JUST KISS ME.

There’s a knock on my door and I smirk, knowing who’s going to be on the other side. I open the door wide and am greeted by his hands cradling my face. His warm breath beats on my lips followed by the gentle brush of his mouth against mine. He steals my breath on a gasp and I succumb to the kiss, grabbing his biceps to keep him close. His fingers thread through my hair as his tongue explores my mouth, gently probing inside with slow, deep licks.

This kiss consumes me, igniting a fire within that cannot be extinguished. It’s everything I want from a kiss and more because it’s from him. I can feel his heartbeat against my chest and I fight the urge to drag him into my room.

We slowly pull away, keeping each other in our sight. With a gentle brush of his lips against my nose, he smiles and backs away.

“That is a proper goodnight,” he says, swiping his key in the lock.

“Uh huh,” is all I can say. He’s kissed me speechless, which is quite the feat I must say. I’m always the girl who knows what to say and when to say it. But as this beautiful man stands across the hall, looking at me as if I’m the only person in the world, all my words are gone. Nothing is left. The only thing that remains is him.

“Goodnight, Britta. Get some sleep.”

“Uh huh.”

I’m left with his quiet laugh as his door shuts and latches, leaving me standing in the doorway in a stupor. He just kissed me to within an inch of my life and then left me to dwell on it. Turning back into my room, my head fuzzy and dazed, I lie on my bed and stare at the white ceiling above me.

He likes me.

I like him.

He kissed me.

He’s the best kisser I’ve ever kissed.

This is bad.

I’m so fucked.

 

About the Author

Jodie Larson is a wife and mother to four beautiful girls, making their home in northern Minnesota along the shore of Lake Superior. When she isn’t running around to various activities or working her regular job, you can find her sitting in her favorite spot reading her new favorite book or camped out somewhere quiet trying to write her next manuscript. She’s addicted to reading (just ask her kids or husband) and loves talking books even more so with her friends. She’s also a lover of all things romance and happily ever afters, whether in movies or in books, as shown in her extensive collection of both.
Other books written by Jodie Larson:
Fated to be Yours
Fated to be Mine