The Trouble With Love
Stiletto & Oxford • Book Four
🔥 Steamy
Relationships columnist Emma is assigned a story about interviewing her ex-boyfriends, and finds entwined once again with Alex Cassidy, the man who broke her heart, and the one she’s never quite gotten over.
The Trouble With Love
Emma & Cassidy
🔥 Steamy
Trope: Second-Chance Romance, Neighbors Romance
Stiletto & Oxford | Book Four
“Sharp, sexy contemporary romance at its best, The Trouble with Love satisfies in the best kind of way.”—Elisabeth Barrett, author of the Star Harbor series
A jaded columnist discovers a steamy way to get over an old flame: falling for him all over again.
As Stiletto magazine’s authority on all things breakup-and-heartache, Emma Sinclair writes from personal experience. Five years ago, Emma was Charlotte, North Carolina’s darling debutante and a blushing bride-to-be. Now she’s the ice queen of the Manhattan dating scene. Emma left her sultry Southern drawl behind, but not even her closest friends know that with it she left her heart.
Now Emma’s latest article forces her to face her demons—namely, the devilishly sexy guy who ditched her at the altar. After giving up everything for a pro-soccer career, Alex Cassidy watches his dreams crumble as a knee injury sidelines him for good. Now he’s hanging up his cleats and giving journalism a shot. It’s just a coincidence that he happens to pick a job in the same field, and the same city, as his former fiancée . . . right? But when Emma moves in next door, it’s no accident. It’s research. And Alex can’t help wondering what might have been. Unlike the innocent girl he remembers, this Emma is chic, sophisticated, and assertive—and she wants absolutely nothing to do with him. The trouble is, Alex has never wanted her more.
about the story
if you're wondering...
Is this book for me?
This is a light-hearted contemporary romance that still delivers plenty of feels.
This book is written in third-person, with alternating POV. Some people only like first-person. You've been warned!
This series is great for fans of "found family" where friendships build over the series in FRIENDS-esque style.
This is for all the fans of second-chance romance novels where two exes have to come to grips with their past and unresolved feelings.
🔥 This book is steamy with explicit sex scenes.
Has a touch of "forced proximity" romances—not only are these two exes, but now they have to work together and they're neighbors!
I TRY TO BE AS UPFRONT AS POSSIBLE ABOUT EACH OF MY BOOKS. EVERYONE HAS UNIQUE PREFERENCES!
reviews & praise
“The Trouble with Love is a heartwarming read I devoured in one sitting and haven’t been able to stop smiling over since.”—New York Times bestselling author Violet Duke
“Sharp, sexy contemporary romance at its best, The Trouble with Love satisfies in the best kind of way.”—Elisabeth Barrett, author of the Star Harbor series
“[Lauren] Layne produces winner after winner and The Trouble with Love is no different.”—Fiction Vixen
“One of Layne’s best works . . . I found myself laughing and crying simultaneously in a matter of seconds.”—Star-Crossed Book Blog
“I honestly can’t say enough about how much I love and adored this book. It takes a rare breed of author to make me go out and purchase all of their backlist without even reading blurbs or reviews.”—Ramblings from This Chick (five stars)
“These books are reminiscent of Nora Roberts’ and her trilogies, with the complex situations, three-dimensional characters, grand sense of humor and hot sex scenes.”—Urban Girl Reader
“It was very difficult not to instantly like this book, because it had all the things I loved all rolled up into one: sass, humor, underlying sexual tension, as well as suits and office romance.”—Fifty Shades of Books
“Sultry, funny and heartwarming . . . This book is the fourth in the Sex, Love & Stiletto series, but can be read as a standalone and is perfect for anyone who loves second-chance romance.”—TJ Loves to ReadPraise for the Sex, Love & Stiletto series
A favorite of LL readers and Lauren Layne!
Excerpt
She’d quit caring about anything having to do with Alex Cassidy long ago.
Say . . . right about the time he left her at the altar.
And then, because Emma apparently didn’t have any sense whatsoever, she listened to an urge she hadn’t felt in a long, long time.
She walked forward and knocked on the door of her ex-fiancé.
He watched her over his glass. “Trust me, Em, you’ve made it perfectly clear that I’m all but dead to you.”
She tilted her head. “Mutual though, isn’t it?”
“Of course,” he replied. Because he had to.
Emma had been his place of calm. The one who’d centered him.
Right up until the point she’d left him.
Then she turned back. “Cassidy?”
“Yeah.” His voice was gruff, and he was shocked by how much he didn’t want her to go.
Signature Series
Stiletto & Oxford
Sexy, witty, and addictive. If you love glamorous office romance set in New York City, women in high heels, men in suits, and found-family, this 9-book series makes for the perfect binge-read!
" the ultimate escapism."
❗️This series is not available as a paperback or print version. Penguin Random House controls the print rights, and has declined to make a paperback available for my readers.
🔥 steamy
