S.W.A.T. Officer Jake Stefani doesn’t count on his stubborn, intriguing neighbor distracting him from his job, or the passion that flares between them. He's ready to risk everything for Carrie, body and soul, but if their new love is to survive, Carrie will need to be strong enough to see the man's beating heart behind the badge, to look beyond the pain of her past, and decide that loving again is worth the risk.
In the six years since her husband was killed by S.W.A.T., Carrie Padilla has spent long hours at work, rebuilding a life for herself and her son. The little time she has at home is spent keeping her eight-year-old son out of trouble, but he is all too eager to try to be the man in the house. When a handsome cop shows up on her doorstep, her errant son in tow, Carrie's heart stutters. The sexy Italian cop sets off all kinds of bells in her system, and she knows there's only one thing she can do to save what is left of her family, her husband’s memory, and her heart...avoid her new neighbor at all costs.
S.W.A.T. officer Jake Stafani already lost one little boy to gang violence, the dead boy’s older brother is missing, and Jake's not about to let the same thing happen to a neighbor's son. He drags the youngster home only to discover much more than a passing interest in the boy's beautiful, but wary, mother. Forced to take a leave of absence after a bust goes awry, Jake can think of nothing better to occupy his time than to keep Carrie and her son safe, and locate the missing teen who holds the key to taking the gang off the streets, once and for all.
But Jake doesn’t count on his stubborn, intriguing neighbor distracting him from his job, or the passion that flares between them. He doesn’t expect her amazing son to steal a piece of his heart. Jake is ready to risk everything for Carrie, body and soul. But it’s not all up to him. If their new love is to survive, Carrie will need to be strong enough to see the man's beating heart behind the badge, to look beyond the pain of her past, and decide that loving again is worth the risk.
(Stand Alone Novel)
Excerpt
Carrie Padilla wished she could crawl back into bed. Maybe, under it. Any day that included a cop on her doorstep didn’t promise to be a good one. A policeman appearing at the crack of dawn spelled disaster. There must be some mistake.
The hope prompted her to peek through the peephole a second time to examine the identification she’d demanded. Her heart racing, she sucked in one short, shaky breath of air. Then another, longer one. Her head spun with the effort, so she had to settle her forehead against the door.
She couldn’t chance a one-on-one confrontation with a uniform again. Not this close. She may have beaten the impulse to fall apart every time a siren sounded in the distance or a police car appeared in her rearview mirror, but did she dare test herself with closer contact?
“If you’d like to call the station, Sergeant Grenich will vouch for me.” The voice was deep, authoritative, impossible to ignore.
Opening the door wouldn’t be her first choice. Then, neither would it be second or third. But Officer Jake Stefani wanted to speak with her and she didn’t have an excuse for turning him away. At least, no valid excuse.
Her fingers fumbled with the safety chain as she glanced down at her sweaty exercise gear. Sports bra, covered by the sleeveless Colorado Rockies T-shirt her husband bought her before he died. Her old running shorts, a tad less loose thanks to her recent make-up-for-the-loneliness, chocolate-peanut butter ice cream splurges. Running shoes with low-cut athletic socks.
She wore less to the local swimming pool, so why did she suddenly feel so naked? She was afraid it was due to more emotional reasons than physical ones. The problem was she didn’t have the nerve to ask the man outside to wait until she was better able to cope. He wasn’t likely to wait forever.
Unable to avoid the inevitable any longer, she threw open the door while one trembling hand tucked tendrils of damp, auburn hair back into her ponytail. Disconcerted to find herself nose to chest with the policeman, she stepped backward, her desire to bolt suddenly stronger. At only a few inches over five feet, she’d experienced her share of “tiny attacks” in the past, but never with this kind of intensity.
Amazingly enough, the uniform didn’t cause the problem. The man behind it did. Although he couldn’t quite lay claim to six feet, his crisp, dark blue shirt clung to a broad chest, his trousers molded to muscular legs. He didn't have the brawny physique of a body builder though, more the sleek, leashed power of a man trained in martial arts. Good heavens, but his biceps looked strong. Rock hard.
Something distinctly feminine within her quickened. Were arms like those capable of tenderness? A woman would feel safe there, secure, if she wasn’t crushed to death first.
Chasing the unruly notion away, she gazed elsewhere. The dark shading of the man’s square jaw suggested a beard needing two close shaves a day. His full lower lip was sensuous and bound to cause heartache, if a woman weren’t tripped up first by the mischievous bump of a slightly crooked nose. She blinked when she reached the kindest, warmest brown eyes she’d ever seen. They were the same rich shade as Swiss chocolate. Soft. Mouthwateringly tempting.
Wow. Too bad she was on a no-man diet.
Professional Reviews
Heartwarming!!!
I was provided with an ARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I am a big fan of Karen Docter. Her writing is always exciting and heartwarming. A Cop on her Doorstep continues in her tradition of great love stories. It marks her first book in her True Love in Uniform series.
After six years, Carrie Padilla is still haunted by her husband’s untimely death and the part the cops played in it. But life goes on—until one morning a Cop shows up on her doorstep with her seven year old son in tow.
After being royally reamed out by his squad commander and then sent home to take some mandatory time off, Jake Stefani is mad at the world and dead on his feet when he finds a neighbor kid preparing to vandalize his home. When he returns the young boy home, he is intrigued by the beautiful—and highly nervous—woman who opens the door.
With Carrie’s aversion to anything or anyone connected with law enforcement and Jake’s deep-seeded love for his career, the couple’s struggle to find common ground is riveting. This is a page-turner I couldn’t put down.
One of the things that I loved most about this book is its home and hearth feel. Jake is a hunk with a heart of gold. The chemistry between him and Carrie sizzles, but it’s the connection Jake has with her son that had me falling in love with him.
This is a wonderful, feel good read.
This book is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, as are all of Karen Docter’s books.
Read! You will love!
Very fun and steamy love story! Carrie has a very hot, Italian, next door neighbor, Jake, who is a cop. Too bad she hates cops since one killed her husband when her son was very young. Jake has a soft heart for his next door neighbor's son and his sexy mother. He has to convince Carrie to see him as a man and not a cop, and to make her see the truth in what happened many years ago.
Loved this story and how it was written! Can't wait to read the next one in this series.
I was given a copy of this book for an honest review.
I just found a new author and her writing to love!
First thing I want to say, thank you to all of you who put your lives on the line for someone else, whether you are in a uniform or not.
This book is about Carrie and her son Eric. Carrie lost her husband when killed by a SWAT officer several years ago. Carrie has had a mistrust of the police ever since. Jake is Carrie's new neighbor. He is a police officer, worse in Carrie's opinion, a SWAT officer. He just came home to discover Eric and his friend Davy trying to break into his home as an initiation. Eric reminds Jake of Mateo, another boy who died because he was involved in a gang. He feels responsible for not being able to save Mateo; he is NOT going to let the same thing happen to Eric. He takes Eric home. When Carrie answers her door for find a cop there, she is not happy. Then she sees that Eric is with him. She panics a bit. During their conversation, Jake finds out two important things about Carrie, she is a single mom, and a good one. A beautiful one as well…..
The author, Karen Docter does a phenomenal job writing this story. Her character development written in such a way that you really start to care what happens to all of the characters. I loved reading this book. I was gifted with a copy of this book for my honest opinion. Honestly, read this book you definitely will not be disappointed.
Thank you for reading my review. Now, I have to find some more books written by Karen Docter, I enjoyed this one that much.
The Matchmaker:
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