Gin and Lava

GIN AND LAVA FLAMBÉ SERIES: BOOK FIVE ELLE BERLIN Gin and Lava Flambé Series Book 5 By Elle Berlin Copyright © Elle Berlin, 2023 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. This book is licensed for your personal use only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with, especially if you enjoy sexy romance novels. Cover Design by Elle Berlin Editing by BT Linblade Formatting by Elle Berlin Rev. 2023.03 ABOUT THE BOOK NAOMI: When two single people meet at a wedding, they should hook up, right? Even if those people happen to be me (sweet, demure, slay-the-day people-pleaser) and Mason Haas (foul-mouthed, phallic-shirt-wearing owner of the local tiki bar)? And flings are forgettable, right? That is, unless it was the best one-night-stand of your life. But I swear I can forget about it, because I’m a good girl. However, it looks like a second wedding is on the horizon, and guess who’ll be there? My ex, who was the trifecta: smart, rich, and unspeakably good-looking. But he dumped me and left me licking my wounds, and I’m not about to show up to another wedding single and pathetic. But wait: if Mason and I were so compatible in the bedroom, we’re bound to make fake-dating look like paradise. Nothing says I’m happy without you like a fake boyfriend on my arm. Or even better, a fake fiancé. * * * Gin and Lava is a spicy, standalone, fake-dating romantic comedy and the fifth book in the Flambé series. LIKE FREE BOOKS? Join Elle Berlin’s VIP Reader Group and get freebies and deals sent directly to you! Sign up here: elleberlin.com/reader-group/ GET THE FLAMBÉ SERIES PREQUEL FOR FREE Download your free copy of Dirty Martini and read about the hot night that started it all … Something—or someone—had to inspire hot-headed chef Arie Noel to open the sexiest restaurant in Waikiki. That someone is Xander Carlisle. Romantic, gorgeous, and the trendiest new chef in London, Xander is American girl catnip. But to Arie, he’s just an old friend from culinary school; he’s definitely not “the one who got away.” Even though she’s spent hours fantasizing about how he might crème her brûlée. When Xander invites Arie to cook for him, she doesn’t want to admit that she just got fired. She can’t seem to work in anyone’s kitchen—especially a man’s kitchen—without turning it into a flaming temple of mayhem. Arie desperately wants to impress her friend, but his flirty glances hint that more is on the line than her cooking reputation. Tonight might inspire something they’ve both been avoiding since college … and it starts with the perfect dessert. You won’t find Dirty Martini on any platform or from any online retailer. Sign up for Elle Berlin’s VIP Reader Group to get your exclusive copy! Get your free book: https://elleberlin.com/dirty-martini/ CONTENTS 1. NAOMI 2. MASON 3. MASON 4. NAOMI 5. MASON 6. NAOMI 7. MASON 8. NAOMI 9. MASON 10. NAOMI 11. MASON 12. NAOMI 13. MASON 14. NAOMI 15. MASON 16. MASON 17. NAOMI 18. MASON 19. NAOMI 20. MASON 21. NAOMI 22. NAOMI 23. MASON 24. NAOMI 25. MASON 26. NAOMI 27. NAOMI 28. MASON 29. NAOMI 30. MASON 31. NAOMI 32. NAOMI 33. MASON 34. NAOMI 35. MASON 36. NAOMI 37. MASON 38. NAOMI 39. NAOMI 40. MASON 41. NAOMI 42. NAOMI 43. MASON 44. MASON 45. NAOMI 46. NAOMI 47. MASON 48. NAOMI 49. MASON 50. NAOMI 51. NAOMI 52. NAOMI 53. MASON 54. NAOMI 55. MASON 56. NAOMI About the Author Connect with Elle Berlin Also by Elle Berlin 1 NAOMI Sunset streams in through the picture windows of Flambé’s dining room and bathes the wedding reception in golden light. It ricochets off each guest’s champagne goblet as we stand in a circle on the dance floor in the middle of the restaurant. Our drinks are alight with flames—Flambé style—and at the center of the circle are Ned and Olivia, deep into their first dance as a married couple. The wedding photographer must be having an orgasm right now, because the light is freaking epic. Sunset on top of the Atlantis Resort. A ring of fire. And one hot-as-sin lawyer-husband staring into Olivia’s eyes like the rest of the world doesn’t exist. This is why I love weddings: the heavenly light, the professions of love, the straight-out-of-a-romance-novel level of perfection. Yes, yes, I know fifty percent of marriages are doomed to crash and burn in the volcano of divorce. Heck, in some cases, you don’t even need the big rock on your hand for love to kick you in the lady-nads and leave you abandoned. But, look at the two of them! How can I not be swooning right now? All of that gold and sparkle and music holds so much promise and hope. After all, a wedding is pretty much every little girl’s fairytale come true: the bride twirls in a ballgown, the groom acts like a prince, and for at least one night we can believe that happily ever after is a real thing. Let a girl dream! Plus, weddings one-hundred-percent turn me into a sentimental ball of sob-pudding. I dab my eyes. Yes, I’m