Check out an exclusive excerpt from Karina Halle’s next novel Before I Ever Met You which is being released April 25!

About ‘Before I Ever Met You’ by Karina Halle:

I first met William McAlister when I was just a teenager.

He was handsome, had a beautiful wife and was on the verge of success, having just joined my father as his business partner. Mr. McAlister was full of smooth charm, but back then he was barely a blip on my radar. Just a family friend.

Fast forward ten years: I’m 25 years old and a single mom trying to make things right for her seven-year old son. I’ve made some mistakes, grappled with my demons and now I’m back in the city of Vancouver, getting a second chance at a better life.

I’ve started by working for my father’s production company as an executive assistant. My first day on the job and I already know I could have a promising career there.
That is until I see Will McAlister for the first time in a decade.

Now recently divorced and as sophisticated as always, Will has gone from being my father’s friend and business partner to something so much more.

We’re both older, for one thing, and he just oozes this worldly confidence and stark sexuality. Combined with his tall, muscular build and sharp suits, strong jaw and bedroom eyes, Will has turned into one hell of a distraction.

A distraction I’m having a hard time staying away from, considering his office is right across from my desk and I work with him in such close proximity.

But it’s just a harmless crush, right?

It’s just an innocent fantasy of screwing him on his desk, right?

It can’t ever be more because he’s my father’s best friend, business partner, and my boss.

Right?

Wrong.

Before I Ever Met You is a contemporary romance in an urban office setting. It does not contain any cheating.

‘Before I Ever Met You’ by Karina Halle exclusive excerpt:

We’re standing in the corner of the room after we were just in a long conversation with some film executives and we’re both a little tipsy.

“Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney starts to play, one of my favorite songs ever.

Will offers his hand to me. “You owe me a dance,” he says, his voice strangely quiet.

I nod, putting my hand in his as he leads me to the dance floor.

He takes complete control. One hand firm at the small of my back, another hand gripping mine. I’m pressed up against him, tight. His eyes are locked on mine, their grip just as strong as his hands around me.

It’s hard to breathe. Not because my boobs are squished up against his hard abs and chest. Because the warmth of him wraps around me, lowering my inhibitions. The champagne swirls inside my head and everything else heats up my heart. His smell, sweet and spicy and woodsy, like walking through a mossy forest under a full moon, fills me from head to toe.

I close my eyes, sinking into him. This feels right. So incredibly right. To sway back and forth in his arms. To do anything in his arms. I want his arms to become my home, the place I go to when I need everything I never knew I could have.

Then he seems to stiffen against me, his posture growing rigid, with space growing between us. I look up at him and see his attention is elsewhere, something going on behind his eyes.

“What are you thinking about?” I ask him.

A few beats pass while Paul McCartney sings on.

“Baseball,” Will says hoarsely, not looking down at me.

Baseball?

“Why are you thinking about baseball?”

Hockey would make more sense.

He clears his throat. “Because I don’t dare think about you.”

His glances down at me, his eyes holding mine and it takes me a long moment to realize what exactly he’s saying.

Oh god.

Oh my god.

Every single instinct inside wants me to push myself further into his hips, because fuck if I don’t want to feel what thinking about me does to him.

I manage to restrain myself, though I’m still staring up at him with wide eyes, my mouth gaping slightly, while his own gaze burns into mine.

His breathing becomes labored, his chest rising against me, his nose flaring, his mouth set in a hard line. He’s having a hard time controlling himself.

I want nothing more than to push him over the edge.

Here I go.

I swallow. “What if I want you to think about me?” I whisper. “What if it’s all I’ve ever wanted?”

He blinks at me. Stops dancing. He can’t believe what I’ve said.

And neither can I.

Before I Ever Met You by Karina Halle is available for pre-order on Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Kobo.