Winning mr charming, p.1
Winning Mr. Charming, page 1
“Together?” Valerie and Cole said in unison.
Valerie cleared her throat. “But we’re competing against each other.”
“Whoever wins, the plaque will go on the Salty Dog storefront,” Ava said.
“But the check...that will go in my account, right?” Valerie said.
“It’s goin’ in my account, darlin’.” Cole turned to her with a slow smile.
“Don’t bet on it, boss.” But she added a little smile of her own.
“That’s what I like to see,” Ava said. “A little friendly competition.”
Friendly? Cole was giving Valerie the side-eye. She well remembered that he was every bit as competitive as she was. More. This wouldn’t be pretty.
* * *
CHARMING, TEXAS
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Charming, Texas, and the reunion between two people who have been unlucky in love. Cole and Valerie were each other’s first loves, and fourteen years later, they will get their second chance at forever.
When Valerie discovers her grandmother is in financial trouble, she suggests that a woman should be allowed to enter the annual Mr. Charming contest, where residents compete for a sizable cash award. Valerie could use that money to help her grandmother. But Cole needs the money to make expensive repairs to his bar that are demanded by the Historical Society. These two competitive souls are far more alike than they are different, and it’s all-out war to win the Mr. Charming contest. In the process, they will lose their hearts to each other. You saw that coming, right?
While I enjoyed researching the Gulf Coast and Galveston Bay, the town of Charming is completely fictional. This small town has a converted lighthouse, a boardwalk, a Ferris wheel, a bar and grill named the Salty Dog, and a dog named Submarine. You’ll also meet the wonderful senior citizens who comprise the Almost Dead Poet Society and compose really bad poetry that might just make you smile.
Many thanks to my friend author Lisa Lewis Fenley, who read an early version of this book and gave comments and input on the area. I also want to thank all the wonderful readers who make it possible for me to do the best job in the world. I’m indebted to my private reader group, Heatherly’s Belles. Reader Mary Smith named our hero’s dog Submarine (Sub for short). And reader Phyllis Perryman named the seafood restaurant The Waterfront.
Thank you, Belles, I love you all! xoxo
Heatherly Bell
PS: I love to hear from you. You can reach me at heatherlybell@heatherlybell.com.
Winning Mr. Charming
Heatherly Bell
Heatherly Bell tackled her first book in 2004, and now the characters that occupy her mind refuse to leave until she writes them a book. She loves all music but confines singing to the shower these days. Heatherly lives in Northern California with her family, including two beagles—one who can say hello and the other a princess who can feel a pea through several pillows.
Books by Heatherly Bell
Harlequin Special Edition
Wildfire Ridge
More than One Night
Reluctant Hometown Hero
The Right Moment
Harlequin Superromance
Heroes of Fortune Valley
Breaking Emily’s Rules
Airman to the Rescue
This Baby Business
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
For Jean Buscher
Contents
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
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Epilogue
Excerpt from Wildflower Season by Michelle Major
Excerpt from In the Key of Family by Makenna Lee
Chapter One
Cole Kinsella sat at a booth in the Salty Dog Bar & Grill, holding the application of one Valerie Hill. He needed a new server, but as he perused the résumé, he didn’t see any recent experience listed. She’d last been employed as a third grade teacher in Missouri.
“She’s a long way from home,” Cole said to Sub, his yellow Lab, who lay sprawled on the floor.
With limited experience and all in the past, she was wasting her time, and he wondered why she wanted the job. The Salty Dog was busy on any given night as the only bar to serve both locals and tourists in Charming, Texas. Since he’d taken over, he’d kept most of the staff, but a couple of waitresses had recently quit. He didn’t want to believe it, but if the rumors were true, they’d left because they believed the Salty Dog wouldn’t be around much longer.
A few months ago, the Charming Historical Society had laid down the law. Make the required improvements to his establishment, or it would be shut down until such time as he complied. As the only bar in Charming, and a historical landmark, the Salty Dog was something that the society very much wanted to stay open. But those pesky repairs couldn’t wait much longer.
He tapped his wristwatch. His prospective employee was two minutes late. Still, he reminded himself, two minutes wasn’t a big deal to civilians. Just then the wooden double door opened, and a woman rushed inside, scanning the area. Beautiful and tall, with dark hair, she wore a short dress that revealed long legs that went on for a country mile. He rose to tell her they weren’t open for another couple of hours, and his chest seized when he met her gaze. Her shimmering brown eyes were incredibly familiar.
Valerie. His Valerie.
He hadn’t made the connection until now. Because he’d known Valerie Villanueva. Which meant she was married. Of course.
Did you really think she would still be single fourteen years later?
Predictably, Sub rose and began to whine, waiting for Cole to give him the hand command and permission to approach. But before Cole could, Valerie bent to pet Sub, making all the usual goo-goo phrases.
Hello, baby.
Aren’t you precious?
Who’s a good boy?
Then she stood to face him. “Hello, Cole.”
Her soft lilt of a voice was also familiar, and he fought to keep from gaping. She might be a decade older, but she was still breathtaking.
“Hey, darlin’. That’s Sub, short for Yellow Submarine, and he’s usually in my back office. You here for the interview?” He beckoned her toward the table where her application waited.
The one listing limited waitressing experience.
“Yes.”
“Been a long time.” He waited until she sat first, then sat across from her, putting a safe distance between them.
“How’ve you been?” She met his eyes, and he caught no hint of anger in them.
There should be.
How to summarize fourteen years in a nutshell? He went for brevity. “Busy.”
“So, uh...” She shifted in her seat. “You’re probably wondering why I’m applying.”
“Yup. No experience except in college? You’re a teacher. Why would you want to work here?”
“I need the job. You remember my grandmother.”
“Of course. Mrs. Villanueva.” How could he forget? If not for Valerie’s visits to see her grandmother in Charming every summer, they might have never met.
“She’s been sick, as you’ve probably heard. I came back to help take care of her. Cole, I need this job. And I waitressed in college at Mizzou, so it will all come back to me.”
“You sure, sweetheart? It can get pretty crazy. We get a rowdy crowd in here sometimes. You do remember Texas?”
She slid him a look that told him she remembered.
Everything.
“I can handle it. But I don’t want you to give me this job because you feel like you owe me. Because you don’t.”
He did. At the very least, an explanation. But he sure didn’t owe her a job. “Okay. Then I don’t—”
“Wait.” She held up a palm. “I changed my mind.”
“You don’t want the job?”
“I think you should give me the job, or at least give me a chance, because we were...we were friends once.” Her fingers drummed on the table. She seemed nervous, and she’d just rewritten history.
He fought a smile. By his definition, they were a bit more than friends. And he should not be thinking these randy thoughts about a married woman. But he got it. They’d both been eighteen that last summer. Kids. Stupid ones, at that. He was speaking for himself now.
Maybe he should give Valerie a chance. He remembered her as being enthusiastic and a quick learner. He’d taken her out on the water with him, and though she claimed she’d never been on a paddleboard before, she’d learned. Still, this said nothing about her waitressing skills. He would be taking a risk in hiring her. And for a new and struggling business owner, that might not be a great decision.
“How long are you going to be in Charming?” he asked, though this had nothing to do with the job. At the moment, he needed waitresses. In this business, he expected high turnover.
He was intrigued. Maybe she and Mr. Hill had a couple of children and he wondered how Valerie could stay away an entire summer.
“Just the summer. I’ll go back to Columbia and my teaching job in the fall.”
He thought about how many times he’d watched her leave at the end of the summer, figuring that nothing truly good in his life lasted. Two short months was all he ever got from her. Whether or not it made sense, he’d felt abandoned. Back then, he’d have given her a thousand jobs just to get her to stay. The least he could do was help her out for a short time, for old times’ sake.
“Well, all right then, let’s give this a try. Temporary trial basis to see how you work out. I’ll get you an apron and you can start tonight.” He stood, held out his hand and winked. “It’s good to see you again, Mrs. Valerie Hill.”
Her hand was small and warm in his and she squeezed back.
“Actually, I’m legally changing it back to Valerie Villanueva. I’m divorced.”
* * *
Valerie hadn’t meant to just blurt out the news. How do you do? I’m Valerie, and I’m divorced. What’s new with you? Her Missouri driver’s license, issued when she was married, had her ex-husband’s last name. She’d never imagined there would be so much paperwork and time involved in an uncontested divorce.
“You’re not going to be sorry about this. I promise.”
He nodded and handed her an apron. “Good deal. See ya tonight.”
She saluted. Not sure why. He blinked, so she quickly corrected and waved instead, then with one last pet to his beautiful dog she rushed outside into the hot and humid July afternoon before Cole could change his mind. That had gone well if she said so herself. She’d barely noticed that Cole had grown into his good looks. Now he wasn’t a pretty surfer boy with his honey brown hair always golden at the tips. His dimples used to make him look boyish, now they were just plain sexy. He was tall and rugged, with sinewy forearms. She’d noticed a small scar under his left eyebrow. And he still owned an irresistible smile.
But she wasn’t going to notice any of that.
She wasn’t in Charming for him, or any man.
Valerie was here this summer for Patsy Villanueva, her father’s mother, and the reason she’d enjoyed summers in Charming every year of her life growing up. When her parents had argued so contentiously before and after their divorce, Charming had been her escape. Her personal oasis.
The bucolic, small coastal town was everything she remembered. Picture-postcard perfect, with quaint lighthouses, bridges, jetties and piers jutting out to the sea along the wharf. Along the seawall-protected boardwalk were souvenir gift shops, a small amusement park with a roller coaster, and an old-fashioned Ferris wheel. Gram’s favorite taffy shop, fine seafood dining and the Salty Dog.
The crisp aroma of the gulf filled the air, along with the tempting smells of her personal weakness. Kettle corn.
Valerie stopped by the saltwater taffy store for a bag of Gram’s favorite peppermint-flavored candy and climbed in her Oldsmobile station wagon for the short drive to Woodland Estates, the seniors-only mobile home park. She’d been driving the beast because it was the only vehicle available to her. Since she’d dropped everything after her grandmother’s stroke, she’d left behind both her car and the apartment she’d moved into.
Valerie would have walked the scenic one-mile walk to the wharf or ridden her bicycle, but she hadn’t wanted to be late to her interview with Cole. She’d managed to avoid him since she’d arrived six weeks ago, but when she heard he was hiring, there was no more avoiding Cole Kinsella.
She maneuvered the throwback Oldsmobile, which had seen better years. As in the 1970s. It felt a bit like driving a boat. A yellow one with wood-panel stripping on the bottom and a sticker in the window that read I Ride with the Angels. God only knew how many miles were on this baby, because no doubt the speedometer had turned over a few times. It moved slowly, like an arthritic vehicle, if there were such a thing. Valerie wasn’t even certain it could go above forty miles an hour.
She made her way toward her grandmother’s home, dropping down to the five-mile-an-hour limit once she entered the park. The homes were tucked away in a lovely section of town, and from certain vista points one could see the nonoperational lighthouse. According to Gram, someone had converted it into a home and Cole currently lived there.
“Perfect timing,” Lois Thornton, her grandmother’s friend, said as she met Valerie at the front door. “I was just leaving. The therapist is inside, and Patsy already has her eyes closed. That faker. If you don’t get in there soon, I’m sure she’ll order another battery of tests Patsy doesn’t really need.”
Last week, her grandmother had pretended to be asleep and missed an entire physical therapy session.
“Thanks, Lois.”
Inside, Gram sat in her favorite reclining chair, eyes closed, the therapist next to her with puckered lips and a tight frown on her face.
“I’m concerned,” she said, catching Valerie’s gaze. “It’s like we’re regressing. She’s suddenly so lethargic.”
Yeah. Right.
“Hey, Gram. I’m home.” Valerie placed a hand on her shoulder. “Guess what? I’ve got a job on the boardwalk. And I bought you some peppermint taffy.”
Gram’s dark eyes fluttered open, wide and dancing with amusement. “Sugar, that’s so good to hear! A job!”
Valerie crossed her arms. “Lois said you were sleeping?”
Gram had the decency to look sheepish, rubbing her eyes. “Oh dear. I must have just drifted off there for a second.” Then, as if just noticing the therapist, she said, “Oh, hello there.”
“How are we today, Mrs. Villanueva?”
“I don’t know about you. I’m fair to middlin’. Been better, but also been worse. Can’t complain.”
“Good, good. Now let’s just see how those legs are doing today. We need to do our stretches, or we get weak, don’t we? We can’t have that. You want to be able to chase after those strong and handsome single men.”
Gram grimaced, giving Valerie the stink eye.
“No pain, no gain.” Valerie made her way into the kitchen where she started on the dishes from this morning’s breakfast.
Listening to Gram curse in the background as she never had before she’d become acquainted with PT, Valerie let her mind wander to her interview with Cole. She’d seen him in the distance a few times since she’d been in Charming, and once out on the water, where he practically lived. She had such sweet memories associated with him. Over the years, she’d thought of him now and then. Once, she’d looked him up online to check out his social media and find out if he’d ever been married.
As far as she could tell, he was still single. They’d been in love long ago, just kid stuff. She’d been foolish and was now a little embarrassed by that young, silly girl. It didn’t make sense to still be attracted to him after all this time. Because that much had been obvious, given the way her heart had slammed against her rib cage the moment she’d shook his hand. That should not be happening. She hadn’t planned for that at all. They’d both had very different opinions on their relationship status years ago, but she’d now been through a lot worse than the pain Cole Kinsella had put her through, and survived.
She’d get past this latest wrinkle, too.
Last week, while going through Gram’s mail, she’d found a notice. She’d ripped open the envelope and been shocked to find that Gram owed several thousand dollars to Woodland Estates. She was behind on her space rental payments, plus the late fees that had accumulated. The Villanueva family had struggled for years, but they’d always gotten by with hard work. Her father had been the first to go to college, Valerie the second, and pride surrounded that accomplishment. Pride in knowing they didn’t need to ask for assistance from anyone. Leave that for the far less fortunate, her grandfather used to say.
Valerie learned that her grandfather had always handled the bills. They were old school that way. In fact, the man had been so vigilant that he’d paid off the mortgage and some of the bills in advance for an entire year, knowing that he was ill, and might not survive the cancer diagnosis. Always taking care of his wife even in death. It would have been even better if he’d educated Gram instead.
