Mean Girls Luv Books: Blog Tour: The Pairing by Katie Ashley

A Companion Novel to The Proposition and The Proposal

After her former boyfriend left her pregnant and alone, Megan McKenzie swore off men. She spent the last eighteen months focused solely on her son, Mason, along with finishing nursing school at the top of her class. Although she’s not ready to complicate her life with a long-term relationship, a nice no-strings attached hook-up is just what she needs. At her godson, Noah’s, baptism, she finds the perfect candidate in the soft-spoken godfather, Pesh Nadeen. After all, the widower could use a good time too. But after drinking too much, the night doesn’t end the way she thought it would. Forced to leave Pesh’s house through a walk of shame, Megan hopes to never, ever see him again.

For Pesh Nadeen, the very sight of Megan sends him into an emotional tailspin. Since she reminds him too much of what he has lost, he wants to be out of her sight…at first. But the more he gets to know her, there's something about the diminutive blonde that causes his protective side to go into overdrive, and he finds himself wanting more. When Megan is assigned to work in his ER to complete her nursing clinicals, he sees it as fate, but she’s having no part of it. She only wants a physical relationship while he wants far more.

What happens next is a sexy game of cat and mouse to see who will break first or if both of them will eventually get more than they ever bargained for.

Move over Emma and Aidan, Pesh and Megan have arrived.

I am a huge fan of this series and was wicked excited that Pesh was getting his own book. He was so kind and loving to Emma in The Proposal that I knew I needed more of him. And boy was he just dreamy. I think Pesh and Megan are my favorite Katie Ashley couple out of them all and that is saying a lot since Katie knows how to write a loving, powerful and chemistry filled couple.

Megan, the niece to Aidan, is a single mom who has never felt what it is liked to be loved. The past men in her life just used her and discarded her. Pesh is a window whose wife had past away 2 years ago. His family wanted him to move on but after his time with Emma, he was hesitant. The two are baby Noah’s godparents and after the disastrous night after the baptism, Megan and Pesh realize they want different things.

Katie Ashley took us on a journey with this one. I loved the pace of this book, it was a slow build of their relationship but the book was never boring or dragged. Pesh gave Megan time to figure herself out and he was so romantic that I was falling in love. They had so amazingly hot sex. Can you say Tantric!!!!! Pesh and Megan had an amazing chemistry together through out the whole book. This was one couple I was routing for from page one. Megan is a hot ticket and Pesh is sinfully romantic.

I highly recommend picking up this book if you have read the series so far and if you haven’t read the series, WHAT AREYOU WAITING FOR????

Katie Ashley has delivered another knock out read with The Pairing, the third novel in her Proposition Series. Get swept away in a read full of romance, a pinch of drama, and all of the familiar characters you’ve fallen in love with in The Proposition and The Proposal.

Hellooooooooooo Pesh Nadeen! He knows how to treat a lady right and with respect. Megan McKenzie has caught his eye and he is determined to claim her. She, however, doesn’t fall so easily for his undeniable charm and good looks. She challenges him at every turn and makes him work for her. When being a good guy isn’t getting the girl, Pesh unleashes a dark, sexy streak in him that comes out to play as he fights for what he wants. As tempting as bad boys can be, it was nice to step away from that book boyfriend persona and get a heaping dose of a gentleman you can take home to meet your parents. He is romantic and deliciously swoon-worthy. Oh and the way he is with Mason, Megan’s son? Totally melt your heart.

I was invested in the story from the first page. Katie gives us glimpses into the lives of all our favorites and makes us fall in love with Megan and Pesh. This is a quick and incredibly satisfying read. Laced with the perfect balance of angst and heartwarming moments, this is the perfect novel for anyone looking for a happily ever after. I highly recommend if you haven’t devoured Katie Ashley’s Proposition Series yet, treat yourself to these literary delights.

I wont lie I was nervous to start The Pairing as I wasn’t a huge Pesh fan. I am very loyal to Aidan and Emma being together. Its not that Pesh did anything wrong.... he just tried to swoop in on Emma and that was not okay with me. I love Katie Ashley so I put aside my dislike and started his story.

Once I got going the first thing that became clear is even after two years Pesh is still grieving for his late wife. She was taken from him very unexpectedly and I honestly don’t know if anyone ever gets over something like that. Pesh puts all his time into being an ER doctor. He takes shifts from his co-workers when they have something family related come up. He doesn’t mind, he really doesn’t have much else to do. One night in the ER Emma comes to Pesh to ask him to be the Godfather of her and Aidan’s son Noah. Pesh was hesitant at first knowing Aidan probably wasn’t 100% on board with the idea but agreed after Emma assured him Aidan was okay.

Megan is Aidan’s cousin and has always been very close with him. She has a son, Mason, with her ex boyfriend who is a NFL player and who wants nothing to do with his little boy. Megan is in school to become a nurse, after her dream of being a doctor got put on the back burner. Megan hasn’t dated since her and her ex split; she’s put all her efforts into being a Mom and getting her career on the ground. Aidan and Emma ask Megan to be Noah’s Godmother, knowing she would be the best fit AND Aidan has a not so secret agenda on the side. Aidan believes Pesh and Megan would be perfect for each other, but Emma has her doubts.

This story had me happy, sad, irritated, and giddy. It moved quickly and I loved the little dance around Pesh and Megan did with each other. Pesh wants a relationship; Megan wants to have fun, nothing more. While you read you just want someone to finally cave…. Come on its so obvious, they would be perfect for each other! I loved the interaction between Pesh and Mason, ahhh those scenes stole my heart! Pesh did bug me a bit with how proper he always was but he had other sides that will make you forget it.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzLqldP80Vg&feature=youtu.be

“So, will you have dinner with me?”

Pesh leaned forward expectantly as Megan opened her mouth. They were interrupted by the sound of Emma’s voice. “Oh thank God. I’m so glad you two are on.”

Her anxious tone was the only thing that could have torn Pesh’s attention away from Megan. He glanced from Emma to Aidan, who was grimacing and rubbing his head. “What happened?”

Emma replied, “He fell and hit his head,” at the same time Aidan grunted, “Nothing.”

Megan stepped forward and went over to Aidan. She gasped as she surveyed him. “Ankle, your pupils are huge!”

Pesh took his penlight out of his coat pocket and went to Aidan. As he flashed the light into Aidan’s eyes, he grimaced. “Yeah, they are. What exactly happened?” He made sure to direct his question to Emma since she appeared to be the only one being honest.

“We were at my OB’s for our first ultrasound.”

Pesh’s eyes widened. “Ultrasound…you’re pregnant?”

“Again?” Megan questioned by his side.

The concern for Aidan on Emma’s face washed away and was replaced with a beaming smile. “Yes, I’m eight weeks.”

“Why didn’t you say something at dinner Sunday?” Megan asked.

“Well, I only found out two weeks ago, and we wanted to wait to tell everyone until we had the first ultrasound.”

Megan’s blonde brows creased. “So what does the ultrasound have to do with Ankle hitting his head?”

Emma pursed her lips and cut her gaze over to Aidan. “Would you like to tell them?” When he shook his head and then winced, Emma sighed. “When they hooked me up to the fetal monitor, they thought they heard two heartbeats. At the word ‘twins’, Aidan passed out and hit his head on the counter and the floor.”

While Pesh quickly turned a laugh into a cough, Megan wasn’t so tactful. She burst out laughing. “You seriously passed out during the ultrasound?”

Aidan scowled at her. “In my defense, it wasn’t quite the ultrasound yet.” At Megan’s continued laughter, he shrugged. “It was pretty mind-blowing news.”

“Oh Ankle, honestly.”

Aidan turned to Pesh. “So am I going to stand around all day getting shit, or are you going to examine me?”

Pesh nodded. “Of course. Your pupils are definitely a matter of concern.”

Glancing at Emma, Aidan said, “Just wait for me here.”

“Okay.”

Pesh motioned for Aidan to go into the first examining room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Aidan lunged for him, grabbing the lapels of his white coat. “I need a vasectomy. Today.”

Pesh fought the urge to laugh at the absurdity of the situation as well as Aidan’s desperation. “Okay, let’s get you to sit down. You’ve obviously been through a lot of trauma in the last hour.”

Aidan plopped onto the examining table. He buried his head in his hands and groaned. “What a fucking nightmare of a day.”

“Does your head hurt?” Pesh asked.

“A little.”

“Any nausea?”

“Maybe.”

Pesh furrowed his brows. “What do you mean, maybe?”

Aidan raised his head. “If you’re asking if I’m nauseated now, the answer would be no. I’m not. But on the other hand, if you’re asking if I get nauseous thinking about the fact that Emma could have been pregnant with twins, and I would have had three kids under two and in diapers…” Aidan shuddered. “Then yeah, I get really fucking nauseous, and the room starts to spin a little.”

Katie Ashley is the New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best-Selling author of The Proposition. She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her two very spoiled dogs and one outnumbered cat. She has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls, Harry Potter, Shakespeare, Supernatural, Designing Women, and Scooby-Doo.

She spent 11 1/2 years educating the Youth of America aka teaching MS and HS English until she left to write full time in December 2012.

She also writes Young Adult fiction under the name Krista Ashe.

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