Up to the Challenge
by Terri Osburn

When the Dempsey patriarch suffers a heart attack, Lucas Dempsey steps up to keep the doors of the family restaurant open. The proverbial prodigal son returns home to Anchor Island—putting family first and his quest to make partner at his high-powered law firm on hold. Sporting a bruised ego after losing his fiancée to his older brother, Lucas would rather walk on glass than spend six weeks within spitting distance of the happy couple. But family duty calls. And that duty includes working side-by-side with a tantalizing spitfire intent on driving him mad.

Tough-as-nails boat mechanic Sid Navarro is happy to trade her tools for an apron to help the Dempseys in their time of need. That is, until she realizes she’ll be working alongside Lucas, the man she’s loved from afar since she first laid eyes on him in high school. Lucas could charm the paint off a schooner, but Sid knows she doesn’t fit his girl-next-door type. To show her true feelings would mean certain heartbreak, but the temptation of Lucas in her bed might be more than she can resist.

After a rocky start punctuated by verbal barbs and exasperating arguments, things heat up between them—big-time—but their steamy affair turns more than casual in a matter of weeks. Sid’s life has become the dream she’s always wanted, and Lucas has fallen hard for the last woman he ever expected to love.

But this affair has an end-date, as Lucas must return to his life and career in the big city, a place where Sid would never fit in. When the end comes earlier than expected, walking away turns out to be a challenge neither of them wants to win.

Up to the Challenge is a sexy, fast-paced, romantic story of family, island life, and finding love in unexpected places.

Other Books by Terri Osburn

Christmas On Anchor Island
Anchor Island Book 7

Love Me, Cowboy
Holly Hills Novella

Not Playing Fair
NOT Series Book 2

Not You Again
NOT Series Book 1

In Over Her Head
Anchor Island Book 6

In Love On Anchor Island
Anchor Island Book 5

Awakening Anna

Among the Stars
A Shooting Stars Novella

Ask Me to Stay

Wishing On a Star
Shooting Stars Book 3

Cowboys for Christmas
A Holly Hills Anthology

Falling Star
Shooting Stars Book 2

Wrecked

Rising Star
Shooting Stars Book 1

The Last in Love
An Ardent Springs Novel Book 5

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Terri Osburn's Bio

Terri fell in love with reading at a young age, starting with condensed versions of classics such as The Wizard of Oz, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and Little Women. She fell into Romance novels around Junior High and never looked back. Authors such as Judith McNaught, Kathleen Woodiwiss, and LaVyrle Spencer kept her going through high school, then she bounded into the 90s with authors like Julie Garwood, Dorothy Garlock, Johanna Lindsey and countless others. Her bookshelves are lined with beloved keepers (many sporting Fabio covers), some tattered and torn but all filled with passion, love, lust, and above all, Romance. From the Wild West to Romping Regency ballrooms to boardrooms and charming small towns, her library covers the spectrum. Terri resides in Middle Tennessee with her college-student daughter, two high-maintenance terriers, and four felines. In her nefarious past she worked in customer service, fund-raising, catering, and was even a train conductor. (In the mall. Not as impressive as it sounds.) She was also a Country radio disc jockey for eight years, which makes her one of those rarest of author creatures — an extrovert. Having sold more than one million books worldwide, Terri is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, and a member of Novelists, Inc., Romance Writers of America^®, and Music City Romance Writers. She's a 2012 Golden Heart^® finalist in the Contemporary Single Title category for unpublished manuscripts, while HIS FIRST AND LAST won the 2016 Book Buyers Best Award in the Contemporary Single Title category.