The Last Resort by R.S. Kovach is out now! Don’t miss this contemporary romance that has landed high on our TBR list! Check out an excerpt here!
Board of Directors’ meetings, corporate takeovers, and jet setting around the globe don’t allow for much of a personal life for uber-focused Alejandra Barros—and even her limited free time is dedicated to her beloved horses, show jumping at a championship level. But when a freak riding accident shatters her wrist and messes with her confidence at work, her boss mandates a month-long hiatus. She has to either go or risk her career.
From the moment she arrives at the high-end Pebble Creek Lodge outside of Denver, Ali feels so out of place she immediately wants to board the next plane back to Manhattan. The only thing stopping her is the ranch hand Hank Mathis and his perfectly chiseled abs, which are intriguing and delicious enough to make her linger.
By the time Ali admits she’s in a bit of a funk, not even the moral and physical support of a gorgeous cowboy is enough to bring her back to her old self—especially when the object of her desires is secretly battling his own demons. To get her life back on track, Ali will have to decide what it is she’s really fighting to regain and what it will take to find it—or she’ll risk losing the one thing that could truly make her happy.
“Good morning, Mom.” Ali forced a smile.
“Morning, sweetheart.” She kissed Ali on the cheek. Pulling away, she fingered the sleeve of her daughter’s shirt. “This boat- neck isn’t doing you any favors.”
Ali took a deep breath before responding. “It’s nice to see you, too.”
Ignoring the sarcasm, Grace stepped to the coffeemaker and poured herself a cupful. “How have you been, darling? You don’t call as often as you used to.”
With her mother’s back turned, Ali safely rolled her eyes. “You know how busy I am.”
“Not just with work, I hope.” Grace spun around. “Are you making time for a social life, Alejandra?”
“Sure.” She shrugged. “I go out all the time. And I’ve really racked up the frequent-flyer miles—”
Grace shook her head. “I suppose I should be happy to have raised two such successful children, but I’m afraid you’re both going to drive yourselves mad with your ambitions.”
“Don’t tell me it didn’t make you proud to see my cover on last month’s Vogue, Mom.” Marco grinned, taking his empty bowl to the sink.
Grace smiled. “It was lovely, darling. You have such a great eye for composition.” She patted her youngest child on the cheek. Marco winked slyly at his sister.
“Good grief.” Ali pouted, feeling all her childhood insecurities return. As she watched her brother exit through the French doors leading to the back patio, she struggled to come up with a reason to follow him. When nothing came to mind, she relented and grabbed a cup from an overhead cabinet. While her mother scanned the Travel and Leisure section of the New York Times, Ali poured some coffee, hoping to be able to drink it and disappear.
“Are you seeing anyone these days?” Grace looked up from the paper just as Ali took her first sip. She coughed as the bitter liquid slipped into her windpipe. No chance of a quick exit now.
“Not really.” She put the cup down and opened the refrigerator. Finding the soy milk, she poured it into the coffee as she continued. “Manhattan’s not ideal for the dating scene, if you know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t know what you mean.” Grace frowned. “But what about looking closer to home?”
Ali raised a skeptical brow. “Like?”
Grace slowly folded the paper before continuing. “How about Robert Rochet? He’s handsome, successful, and newly single.”
Ali put up her hand. “Been there, done that.”
“Alejandra!” Her mother furrowed her forehead in an oft-practiced sign of displeasure.
“Oh, you know what I mean.” Ali grimaced. “That semester during college with him is one I’ll never get back. Pretty-boy trust-fund babies were never my style, but you can’t say I didn’t give it a try.” She lifted the cup to her lips and sipped the coffee, signaling an end to the topic.
Grace stood and walked to her daughter’s side. “Very well.” She sighed, patting Ali’s arm. “We missed you at dinner last night. Did you get in late?”
“Not really.” Ali was about to describe the previous night’s predicament when the realization hit her. “That’s it! It was you!” She pointed an accusatory finger at her mother. “You set me up last night to get stranded so Robert could conveniently just hap- pen to drive by and give me a ride!”
Grace narrowed her eyes in confusion. “No . . .”
“I don’t believe you.” Ali crossed her arms.
“She’s telling the truth.” A man with salt-and-pepper hair entered the kitchen. “Your mother had nothing to do with it. It was my idea.”
“Daddy!” Ali put down her mug and ran up to hug him. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I want you to be happy.” He kissed her on the cheek.
She drew away. “And you think Robert would make me happy?”
“Of course not. You’re much too good for that boy.” He laughed. “But you needed to be reminded to keep looking.”
R.S. Kovach is slightly obsessed with Pachelbel’s Canon, but not so much with splitting infinitives. An art historian by training (see research on 19th Century Venetian mosaics) and a senior financial administrator by trade, she has worked at universities across three continents. Her native language of Hungarian has been only slightly more useful than her other obscure skill of quoting THE PRINCESS BRIDE, but being a Wattpad Featured author with over 3 million combined reads across various genres has given her the opportunity to write commissioned shorts for both THE GALLOWS and CRIMSON PEAK movie promotional campaigns.
A Simon & Schuster author, she’ll be featured in the ONCE UPON NOW collection of modern fairytale retellings out October 11, 2016 from Gallery Books. As the winner of the first XOXO After Dark flash fiction contest, her debut, full-length contemporary romance will be published on March 20, 2017 by Pocket Star Books. She lives with her husband and three boys in the greater Washington, D.C. area, and is currently seeking representation.
