Synopsis
Things Paige Morrison will never understand about Mirabelle, Florida:
- Why wearing red shoes makes a girl a harlot
- Why a shop would ever sell something called "buck urine"
- Why everywhere she goes, she runs into sexy-and infuriating-Brendan King
After losing her job, her apartment, and her boyfriend, Paige has no choice but to leave Philadelphia and move in with her retired parents. For an artsy outsider like Paige, finding her place in the tightly knit town isn't easy-until she meets Brendan, the hot mechanic who's interested in much more than Paige's car. In no time at all, Brendan helps Paige find a new job, new friends, and a happiness she wasn't sure she'd ever feel again. With Brendan by her side, Paige finally feels like she can call Mirabelle home. But when a new bombshell drops, will the couple survive, or will their love come undone?
Excerpt
Paige was wrapped in just a towel as she searched for
something to wear. She had exactly twenty minutes before Brendan was supposed
to pick her up. There was a knock on her door as her hands closed over a pair
of jeans.
“Come
in,” she called over her shoulder.
The
door opened and Paige turned, throwing her jeans onto her bed.
“What
time is he picking you up?” Denise asked as she stuck her head inside the
doorway.
Paige
had a sudden flashback to high school when her mother would help her get ready
before a date. She immediately thought of Brendan and Grace and how their
mother had died when they were both so young. They’d missed out on so much,
especially Grace. Paige couldn’t imagine not having all of those years with her
mother and she felt intensely grateful for every single one of them.
“At
seven. You busy?”
“No,”
Denise said, shaking her head.
“Will
you sit and talk with me while I get ready?” Paige asked.
“Yeah,”
Denise said, her mouth breaking into a smile. She opened the door farther and
walked into the room, a glass of wine in hand. She shut the door behind her and
sat down on the edge of Paige’s bed, just like old times. “What are you going
to wear?” she asked, grabbing a pillow and playing with the frilly lace edging.
“Jeans,”
Paige said, pointing to the pair on her bed. “I haven’t decided on a shirt
though,” she said and turned back to her closet.
“Shoes?”
“My
black wedges.” She knew they drove Brendan crazy, and that’s exactly what she
planned to do tonight. She didn’t feel guilty about it at all either; he
obviously had no problem doing it to her. Turnabout was just fair.
“What
about your red peasant top. The one that hangs off your shoulders and hugs your
waist.”
Paige grabbed the shirt and turned around, holding it up
to show her mom.
“Red
on a first date?”
“You
look good in red,” Denise said.
“You
don’t think it’s too much?”
Her
mother gave the blouse a critical eye. “Just wear ugly underwear. If you wear
stuff that you don’t want him to see, you’ll be less likely to sleep with him.”
“Mom!”
Paige said shocked. “I’m not going to sleep with him on the first date.”
“I
know. Just wear something to keep you grounded, and then you won’t slip.”
“I
have some self-control.”
“Yes,
well, I’ve seen that boy. Slipping would be completely justifiable considering
the circumstances.”
“What
circumstances would those be?” Paige asked as she walked over to her dresser
and opened her underwear drawer.
“That
gleam in his eyes,” Denise said.
“What
gleam?” Paige asked, turning to her mom.
“The
one he gets when he’s looking at you. It’s something that goes way beyond sex.”
“Well,
he is a nice young man,” Paige said mockingly.
“Yes,
he is.” Denise nodded, taking a sip of her wine.
She
grabbed a fairly tame pair with yellow and white stripes. Stripes didn’t scream
“I’m going to have sex tonight,” at least not like black or red lace would
have. She could’ve sworn she’d read that stripes were unflattering on everyone.
Or was that faux fur?
She
dug around in the drawer and found her strapless bra. She grabbed her clothes
from the bed and went into the bathroom.
Shannon Richard grew up in the Florida Panhandle as the baby sister of two overly protective but loving brothers. She was raised by a more than somewhat eccentric mother, a self-proclaimed vocabularist who showed her how to get lost in a book and a father who passed on his love for coffee and really loud music. She graduated from Florida State University with a BA in English Literature and still lives in Tallahassee where she battles everyday life with writing, reading, and a rant every once in a while. Okay, so the rants might happen on a regular basis. She's still waiting for her Southern, scruffy, Mr. Darcy, and in the meantime writes love stories to indulge her overactive imagination. Oh, and she's a pretty big fan of the whimsy.
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