title: Kissing Bree
author: DeGioia, JoMarie
description: The guy who hides behind a cool mask The girl who feels she can’t live up to expectations An appearance of perfection…a very real passion And a love that can see through to the inside Corporate lawyer Derek Stone is respected and valued at Chapman Financial. Raised in a privileged world as the son of a highly-successful Boston attorney, he’s hidden the ugly truth of his father’s drunken abuse for years now. When he’s offered a new job at Cypress Corners as in-house counsel, he sees it as a chance to keep his mother safe from his father. And maybe start a new life for himself. Bree James ran from her own country club life a year ago when her grandmother passed away and left her financially independent. She’s been living and working in Cypress Corners since, but has yet to begin her own life. She longs for something real to hold onto but doubts she’ll ever find it. Derek and Bree see a lot of themselves in each other, and neither wants to acknowledge their attraction. Bree maintains her cool façade while Derek fosters the stick-up-his-butt reputation that preceded him to Cypress. But that all changes in a second when he kisses Bree. Can the two of them let down their guard long enough to see what’s right in front of them? Or will their insecurities about the past keep them from their possible future?