Well Played, стр. 1

Praise for Well Met

“Filled with originality, humor, charm, [and] emotional depth.”

—New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young

“What a delight! This is enemies to lovers at its absolute finest, folks. DeLuca proves to be a master of creating characters you believe in and a story line to keep you totally engrossed. Well Met is a hilarious, swoony, and captivating romance—hands down our new favorite feel-good novel of the year.”

—New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren

“A divinely entertaining romp. . . . The descriptions of him in his pirate gear, from the edges of his kohl-rimmed eyes to the deep V of his vests, down to his leather-clad legs . . . are likely to induce a thirst so wide and deep that you could sail a ship across it.”

—Entertainment Weekly

“Jen DeLuca had me laughing out loud from the opening line. Well Met is fresh, fun, and the story I never knew I needed. I so wish I could grab a corset and live the wench life with Emily!”

—Alexa Martin, author of Fumbled

“I dare you not to want to travel to your nearest Renaissance Faire after reading the sweet, sexy, and smart Well Met . . . the kind of book that you want to live inside. Jen DeLuca is poised to become one of the freshest voices writing contemporary romance today.”

—Kate Clayborn, author of Best of Luck

“DeLuca turns in an intelligent, sexy, and charming debut romance sure to resonate with Renaissance Faire enthusiasts and those looking for an upbeat, lighter read.”

—Library Journal

“Well Met will especially appeal to readers who like bookstores, Renaissance Faire shenanigans, and nerdy English teachers wearing vests. DeLuca will have readers laughing all the way to the turkey leg vendor.”

—Shelf Awareness

“Full of wit, hilarious banter, and swoon-worthy moments.”

—Woman’s World

Also by Jen DeLuca

WELL MET

A JOVE BOOK

Published by Berkley

An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

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Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.

A JOVE BOOK, BERKLEY, and the BERKLEY & B colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: DeLuca, Jen, author.

Title: Well played / Jen DeLuca.

Description: First edition. | New York: Jove, 2020.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020015901 (print) | LCCN 2020015902 (ebook) | ISBN 9781984805409 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781984805416 (ebook)

Subjects: GSAFD: Love stories. | Humorous fiction.

Classification: LCC PS3604.E44757 W47 2020 (print) | LCC PS3604.E44757 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020015901

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020015902

First Edition: September 2020

Cover art and design by Colleen Reinhart

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

Cover

Praise for Well Met

Also by Jen DeLuca

Title Page

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Excerpt from WELL MATCHED

Excerpt Chapter

About the Author

For Morgan

Who showed me that you don’t need to be in the same

room—or even the same state—with someone to fall

in love with them. I’m so glad you made that first phone call.

One

It all started with a necklace.

A beautiful pendant, made of gleaming silver in the shape of a dragonfly, strung on a green silk cord. Its eyes were tiny crystals that caught the light, and the wings were a delicate filigree. I spotted it on the last day of the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire, while Emily—or Emma, since we were still in character—and I strolled the grounds. We were in our usual tavern wench costumes, with our personalities to match: a little louder, a little more brash and flirtatious than we were in real life. We stopped to interact with patrons—especially tiny ones dressed as knights or pirates—and we did a little surreptitious shopping as the vendors took one last chance to sell stock before packing it all up and moving to the next Faire on the circuit. That was when I saw the dragonfly, winking up at me from a jeweler’s table.

“What d’you think, Emma, dear?” I held it up so we could both see it. I was wearing the pewter Celtic knot I’d gotten the summer before last, but my outfit needed a refresh. As the silver dragonfly rotated slowly at the end of its cord, its eyes flashed at me, whispering, Yes. You need me.

“Oh, Stacey, it’s so pretty!” Emily clapped a hand over her mouth and turned wide eyes to me as she realized her errors. First, she’d called me by the wrong name, and second, she hadn’t even made an attempt at her usual Faire accent. “Sorry,” she said around a grin.

The vendor snorted. “It’s all over but the shouting now. No one’s going to notice you breaking character.”

“I mean Beatrice, of course.” To her credit, Emily slid back into character in a heartbeat. “Because that’s your name. You truly deserve something new. I think it would do quite nicely.”

“What’s going on here?”

Now my wide eyes matched Emily’s as we looked at each other in reaction to the stern voice behind us. Then we turned in unison to face Simon Graham, the Faire’s organizer and Emily’s boyfriend. He was still in costume as Captain Blackthorne the pirate: all black leather and roguish smile. But his forbidding tone was pure Simon the English Teacher, as though he’d already shaved his beard and cut his hair short as he did at the