Czytaj książkę: «Small-Town Cinderella»

Chapter One

“To the newlywed and the two brides-to-be,” Debbie Mattson said as she raised her margarita to her friends. “May you always be as lucky in life as you have been in love.”

Darcy Dawson, the bachelorette of their party, lifted her green-apple martini. “To luck and life and love,” she echoed.

The four women—Debbie, Darcy, Sophia Pirelli Cameron and the newest member of the group, Kara Starling—had gathered at The Clearville Bar and Grille for Darcy’s final send-off as a single woman. The rustic bar was a favorite locale for tourists and townies alike with its flat-screen televisions for the sports lovers and small dance floor for music lovers. Had Debbie been in charge of the bachelorette party, she might have tried for something a little more exciting than dinner and drinks, but Darcy was clearly having a good time, and that was all that mattered.

Six months pregnant, dark-haired Sophia sipped at her own cranberry juice. If Debbie had ever seen a woman with a pregnancy glow, it was her friend, who looked adorable in a floral skirt and long-sleeved pink peasant blouse draped over her round belly. Of course, it just as easily could have been a newlywed glow, as Sophia had married Jake Cameron the previous summer.

Love clearly agreed with Sophia and seemed to be first and foremost on her mind as she exchanged a glance with Darcy and Kara before looking over at Debbie. “With the three of us already finding our guys, you know what that means, right? It’s your turn now.”

Debbie held on to her smile even though she groaned inside. How many times had she heard that over the past few months? Ever since her friends had met their soul mates, they’d set their sights on the only single member left in their circle. At times, she felt very much the lone sheep about to be set upon by wolves. Cunning, devious, matchmaking wolves.

Show no fear, she thought to herself, knowing if she wavered even slightly she was dead meat.

“I’m happy for all of you, I really am. But I’m nowhere near ready to settle down. I’m finally at a place in my life where I have time to look for a little adventure and excitement.”

“And romance?” Darcy chimed in slyly.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to having, oh, say...a red-hot fling.” Debbie took another sip of her margarita, the salty, tart combination making her taste buds tingle while the alcohol warmed her to her subject. “With a guy who’s dark and mysterious and exciting, who’ll ride into town and sweep me off my feet. Someone who’ll take me completely by surprise and keep me on my toes.”

“Now you’re talking,” the gorgeous redhead said with a grin.

“Excuse me?” Kara protested, using a look her friends had dubbed her “professor glare.” “Need I remind you that you’re getting married this weekend?”

Lifting up her hands in an innocent gesture she couldn’t quite pull off while still holding her martini glass, the bride-to-be retorted, “All the more reason to live vicariously through Debbie’s escapades. So tell us more about this mystery man.”

Feeling heat rush to her face, Debbie set aside her margarita. “Well, I can tell you one thing. I’m certainly not going to find him here,” she said wryly.

“At the bar?” Kara asked.

“Not here at the bar. Not here in Clearville.” A quick glance around their section of the restaurant confirmed what Debbie already expected.

She knew every single guy in the place. More than that, even; she’d known them all for years. If she thought back, she could picture any number of their embarrassing, awkward moments that were part and parcel of growing up in a small town.

Billy Cummings, the sheriff’s son, had gone on a football kick after seeing his first professional game and had worn a miniature helmet 24/7 for weeks on end. Mark Thompson had had the biggest crush on their freshman English teacher, and his brother, Bruce, swore the garage band he was in would make it big even though none of the members could actually play an instrument. Then there was Darrell Nelson and the cruel pranks he used to play, bullying anyone who was smaller and weaker than he was.

She remembered it all, and if that wasn’t bad enough, she was well aware they remembered all the awkward growing pains she’d gone through, too.

Mystery? Romance? Excitement?

Not a chance, she thought with a sigh.

“Look, just forget everything I said. This is what happens when a milk-and-cookies girl starts hitting the tequila and lime,” she joked, hoping her friends would be as willing to laugh off her comments.

She should have known she wouldn’t be so lucky.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting some romance in your life,” Kara told her.

At first, Debbie had wondered about the quietly serious college professor marrying Sophia’s fun-loving, outgoing brother Sam. But over the past few weeks, Debbie had gotten to know Kara and to see the warm heart behind the classy blonde’s cool exterior.

“And I highly recommend having a gorgeous guy sweep you off your feet.” Darcy grinned. “But why are you totally discounting the whole Clearville male population? I speak from personal experience when I say my guy is anything but boring.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Kara said as she lifted her glass of chardonnay to tap against Darcy’s appletini.

Their smiles shone with newfound love, though Debbie had a hard time picturing Nick and Sam Pirelli as romantic, sweep-a-girl-off-her-feet types. They’d always been more like big brothers to her—sometimes sweet, sometimes annoying, always overprotective big brothers.

That was something Sophia as the youngest Pirelli and only girl could certainly understand. After exchanging a look with her friend, Debbie argued, “It’s different for the two of you. Neither of you grew up here, so to you, Clearville guys are mysterious and exciting. But for me, these are the guys I’ve known forever. The boys next door. No mystery, no excitement, no sparks.”

All that was bad enough. Worse was knowing the male population of the town viewed her the same way. The girl next door. The buddy, the pal, the friend whose shoulder they cried on when the popular, pretty girls turned them down.

She winced at the memory when she thought of the name that had followed her since her days at Redwood Elementary School, thanks in part to the bakery her mother owned and the sweets that had filled her lunches and helped fill out her waistline. She’d never been “little” anything, and while she’d known the nickname was mostly a lighthearted tease, it had hurt all the same.

Now she was the owner of Bonnie’s Bakery, and the years of taking care of her mother after she’d fallen ill and spending all her free time at the bakery had toughened her like overkneaded dough. Her feelings weren’t so easily injured anymore, though she’d suffered a setback thanks to her last boyfriend.

She and Robert Watkins had dated casually for several months earlier in the year, and things had finally started to get serious over the summer. Serious enough for them to sleep together.

Debbie still wasn’t sure which was worse, the pain of heartbreak or the pain of humiliation as she remembered that fateful weekend, and how he’d picked the very next day to tell her he thought they’d be better off just being friends.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if the breakup hadn’t dragged her back to her high school insecurities. To being every guy’s friend, the buddy they could talk to about the prettier, more popular girls they liked. She thought she’d gotten over that. She was over it. But Debbie couldn’t pretend the split with Robert hadn’t brought back a lot of bad memories.

Memories she was determined to overcome. She was woman enough to have confidence in herself, to know what she wanted and to go after it.

“I’m not sure you’re giving these guys enough credit,” Darcy argued. “There are some nice men around here who’d be thrilled to know you’re looking for a boyfriend.” Her eyes lit suddenly. “What about Jarrett Deeks? He and Nick have gotten to be friends working together at Jarrett’s horse rescue. We could set up a double date if you want.”

Debbie cringed slightly at the thought. “No, thank you, Darcy. I’m sure Jarrett’s great and all, but a double date isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

Her friend’s brow furrowed. “But if you’re looking for a relationship—”

“I’m not,” she interrupted. “Not really.”

“A not-really relationship?” Kara echoed.

“I’m not looking for anything that serious.” Debbie stabbed her straw at the ice cubes lingering at the bottom of her glass. “I just want to have some fun.” Leaning back against the padded booth, she said, “I feel like I missed out on so much growing up, you know?”

“Actually, we don’t.” Kara leaned forward, her expression open and interested. “You talk a lot without saying much about yourself.”

Debbie blinked, startled by her friend’s comment. “I don’t do that...do I?” She knew she liked to talk, and the more nervous she became, the more she said—often without saying much at all. But she didn’t like to think she fell into that pattern even with her friends. It sounded...selfish. Like she expected them to open their hearts and spill their guts while she kept all her emotions inside. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”

“Sweetie, it’s not a criticism. Just a comment.”

“And I do know what you mean, Deb,” Sophia interjected as she shifted forward in the booth as far as her pregnant belly would allow. “So many of us grew up together that we don’t go around talking about past history because everyone knows everything.”

“But we’re new.” Darcy’s nod included Kara as she added, “So you can tell us all your old stories without worrying that we’ve heard them before.”

“Well, okay, but just because you haven’t heard it all before doesn’t mean it isn’t still boring. My dad was in the military and was killed overseas when I was really young, so growing up, it was just me and my mom. I was still in high school when she was diagnosed with cancer.”

Debbie could still remember walking into the bakery after school that day, the scent of vanilla and chocolate strong in the air. She’d been so excited. Posters had decorated the hall for the homecoming dance, and she’d been so sure that that year someone would ask her to go. She even had the perfect dress picked out, her teenage head filled with plans for the future.

“I could tell right away something was wrong, and when she told me— It was like a nightmare. Something that couldn’t be true. But it was.”

Clearing her throat, she said, “Anyway, my mom always was a fighter, so she went through all the tests and surgeries and treatments, all while still trying to run the bakery. For a while, I thought about dropping out of school, but she wouldn’t hear of it. I took as few classes as I could to get by, quit all extracurricular activities, and I worked in the bakery every spare second I had. A few hours before school and then from the minute I got out until close.”

She’d never bought that dress. Had never attended that homecoming dance or any other dance in high school. The bakery became Debbie’s life the way it had always been her mother’s before that.

“It was all I could do.... I couldn’t make her better, but I could make the cupcakes,” she concluded with a watery laugh.

Shaking off the sorrows of the past, she protested, “This is not the conversation for a bachelorette party! Here I’m talking about wanting to have fun, and yet I’m the one bringing everyone down.”

“You aren’t. I think what you did was amazing, and I know a little of what you went through,” Darcy confided.

Debbie knew her friend had lost her mother a few years ago. It was that loss that had prompted Darcy to move to her mother’s hometown and open the beauty shop the two of them had always dreamed of owning. Darcy had shared that with Debbie not long after they met, and yet she hadn’t thought to confide in her friend about her own past, despite what the two of them had in common. Was it like Sophia said, and Debbie simply expected everyone to already know her life story, or was there more to it?

Saving that thought for another time, Debbie said, “Thank you, but it didn’t feel like much. Still, I knew how much the bakery meant to my mom, and I did all I could to keep the doors open so she could concentrate on getting better. And for a while, she did. The cancer went into remission for a few years before it came back, but the second time there was no fighting it.”

And after her mother had passed away, it was just Debbie and the bakery. Working long hours to numb the sense of loss and to slowly accept the bakery now was her future. The dreams she’d had in high school of attending culinary school and becoming a chef had slipped way as she’d kneaded dough and rolled out cookies and decorated cupcakes. But somehow, as those hours turned into days and weeks and years, a minor miracle had taken place.

The reputation of the small-town shop had grown.

Business had increased thanks to Debbie establishing an online presence. Now her loyal customers didn’t have to wait for their yearly trip to the tourist town to order her desserts. They could cater to their craving for something sweet with a few clicks of a mouse, and Debbie could ship her cookies and cheesecakes straight to their door.

She’d even gained the attention of Just Desserts magazine. The article had praised her double-chocolate cake and strawberry-filled vanilla cupcakes. As pleased as she was with the recognition, Debbie couldn’t help feeling like, well, a fraud. Those were her mother’s recipes, and Bonnie should have been the one to bask in the glow of the reporter’s praise.

But the article, along with the increase in business, had inspired Debbie to hire on more help. Over the years, she’d frequently paid local teens to run the front register. But Kayla Walker, a young mother who’d moved to Clearville with her boyfriend after she’d inherited a house from her late grandfather, was the first employee Debbie had trained to do the actual baking.

Thanks to Kayla, Debbie now had the chance to expand the menu a bit. To offer her mother’s tried-and-true recipes as well as some not-so-vanilla recipes of her own. And with the rush of engagements lately, she was also getting the opportunity to shift her attention from everyday cupcakes and muffins to once-in-a-lifetime wedding cakes.

Working with the bride and groom to find the perfect flavor and filling combinations was a challenge she enjoyed. And then there was the decorating—the literal icing on the cake. The creativity and artistry of building the multiple layers, of designing the perfect flowers and ribbons and scrollwork... She loved every step of the detailed work.

And while she might be a complete flop when it came to love and romance, that didn’t mean she wasn’t a believer in other couples’ happily ever afters. Her friends were all proof that loves of a lifetime did exist, and while Debbie couldn’t be more pleased, she wasn’t looking to join them.

For the first time in nearly a decade, she had time. Time to think, to breathe, to hang up her apron and have some fun. And if her mother’s death had taught her anything, it was that life was short, and Debbie was determined to make the most of it.

“So maybe that’s why I’m not looking to settle down,” she concluded. “I’ve been too settled already, too serious and dedicated throughout what should have been the best years of my life. I know the three of you have found the guys of your dreams, and I’m happy for you all, but that’s just not what I’m looking for.”

“Debbie wants Mr. Excitement,” Sophia said with a wink.

“Mr. Mysterious,” Darcy seconded.

“Here’s to finding Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome,” Kara added.

Still feeling a little ridiculous for spelling out her dream man to her friends, Debbie lifted her glass. “I will definitely drink to that.”

Draining the last of her margarita, she admitted finding an exciting and mysterious man was only half the wish. Finding a man who thought she was exciting and mysterious...now, that would be a fantasy come true.

* * *

Drew Pirelli was not a man given to eavesdropping. Living in Clearville his whole life, he was very familiar with its grapevine and the wildfire spread of small-town gossip. He preferred to mind his own business with the somewhat vain hope others would do the same. Neither was he the type to spy on his sister and future sisters-in-law.

If he’d known drinks at the bar and grill were part of the plan for Darcy’s bachelorette party, he would have stayed away. Far away. But he’d been somewhat out of the Pirelli family loop recently, something his parents had commented on more than once. He’d used work as a handy excuse, and he was busy running his construction company, but that was only part of the reason why he’d avoided family gatherings recently.

How was it, he wondered, that he was the last unattached Pirelli sibling?

Ever since the custom-home side of his business had taken off, Drew had started each project with his own future family in mind. He pictured his wife and family gathered together in the kitchen. His kids watching television or playing games in the den. The woman he loved welcoming him to bed in the spacious master suite.

And yet at the end of each project, he turned the keys over to some other man who would live with his wife and children in the house Drew had painstakingly built.

The nagging dissatisfaction of giving away a piece of himself in each of his houses had convinced him to start building his own place. But that had created another frustration. His attention to detail, the dream of making a house into his home, had helped Drew cement his reputation as one of the most sought-after contractors in Northern California. Because of that, he was having trouble finding time to work on his own project while managing the custom-home business as well as the rental cabins he was currently building for Jarrett Deeks.

Not that it was all bad. Professionally, he was as rock solid as the houses he built. On a personal level, though, he couldn’t seem to find his footing.

And that was the real reason he’d been keeping his distance from his family. He was tired of being the third, fifth, heck, even the ninth wheel, depending on how many of his relatives showed up.

Which was how he’d ended up completely out of the loop when it came to Darcy’s bachelorette party.

When he’d first recognized the female voices coming from the other side of the half wall separating the two rows of booths, he’d slid across the padded seat, ready to slip away unnoticed. Though no expert at bachelorette parties, he knew enough to realize guys weren’t allowed.

But before he could push to his feet, the words drifting over from the other side of the booth nailed him to the spot.

I wouldn’t be opposed to having a red-hot fling with a guy who’s dark and mysterious and exciting, who’ll ride into town and sweep me off my feet. Someone who’ll take completely by surprise and keep me on my toes.

It wasn’t the words that had knocked his feet out from under him. It was shock at the swift, unexpected kick of desire he felt when he heard them.

Drew had known Debbie Mattson her entire life. His earliest memories of her were of her standing on tiptoe to peek up over the counter at her mother’s bakery, her big blue eyes sparkling as she flashed her dimples at every customer to walk through the door. She was the typical girl next door. Sweet, friendly, cute. She was his kid sister’s friend, but her words pointed out a truth he’d been denying for the past several months.

Debbie wasn’t a kid anymore.

His knuckles whitened around the cool glass bottle, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had to fight so hard not to follow his first instinct. An instinct logic told him was completely irrational. If he did what he longed to do, opened his mouth and spouted off like some kind of idiot about nice girls staying home and waiting for the right kind of guy to come along, Debbie would likely knock his block off, and he’d deserve it.

Debbie was a grown woman now. A beautiful woman, he was reminded as he thought back to Sophia’s wedding a few months earlier.

The wedding had been a small affair, with the reception held in their parents’ backyard. Already a few months pregnant at the time, his sister had wanted to keep things quiet and low-key. She’d still felt a little insecure about returning home after leaving town five years before following a break-in at The Hope Chest, the local antiques shop she now managed. Though Sophia hadn’t been involved in the burglary and vandalism, she’d taken the blame. Feelings of guilt had kept her away until their parents’ anniversary party brought her back—with her former boyfriend, Jake Cameron, hot on her heels.

Like the rest of the family, Drew had been happy his sister had fallen in love with a good man who was clearly in love with her. The day of the wedding, Sophia had looked beautiful in her off-white gown with pale pink roses woven into her dark hair, and her new husband hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her.

But it was Debbie, Sophia’s maid of honor, who kept drawing Drew’s attention. Something she’d evidently noticed as their gazes met before she made her way across lush green lawn. The pale pink gown hugged her curves and left the fair skin of her shoulders and arms bare. Her blond hair was caught up in a cascade of ringlets, and her blue eyes glittered in the white lights strung between the trees. “You should know, Drew, my money’s on you.”

“Excuse me?”

“The bet on whether you or Sam will be the next to fall,” Debbie said, referring to his younger, footloose brother.

“Seriously? People are placing bets?”

“You better believe it,” she retorted. “And my money’s on you all the way. Sam’s not the type to settle down while you, well, you’re about as settled as any guy I’ve ever met.”

“Sorry, Debbie, I couldn’t tell. Was that an insult or a compliment?”

Tipping her head back, she gave a boisterous laugh guaranteed to turn every male head her way. “Oh, that was a compliment. If I decide to insult you, trust me when I say you’ll feel it.”

“So you think I’m settled?” he asked, falling back on the teasing, brotherly attitude that had long marked their relationship, even as he felt that balance start to shift in a way he couldn’t explain.

“You’re as grounded as a man can be and still manage to move both feet.”

At the time, her teasing comments hadn’t bothered him. Much. But now Debbie’s voice reached inside him and threatened to shake something loose. The excitement, the anticipation, the “what if” underscoring her words struck a chord inside him that had been still and silent far too long.

But Debbie wasn’t the woman who should be striking those notes. She was a friend, a good friend, and thinking of her in any other way just seemed...wrong. For Drew, dating had always been something of a game, a battle of the sexes he only engaged in on a level playing field. He liked women who were sophisticated and experienced and not the type to have their hearts easily broken. Women very unlike Debbie, who, despite the girl talk going on one booth over, had a tender and innocent heart she hid behind a smart mouth and sassy smile.

The hell of it was that he liked her. A lot. Too much, maybe, for him to ask her out and risk Debbie getting hurt. And getting hurt was exactly what might happen if she was serious about going after her mysterious stranger.

Judging from the sounds coming from the other booth, the women were getting ready to leave. Drew set his beer aside and half rose, ready to circle around to the other side of the restaurant and tell Debbie—what, exactly? That she shouldn’t—couldn’t—go after the adventure and excitement she was looking for?

She was young, beautiful, single. After the years of caring for her mother and running the bakery, she had every right to go after what she wanted. Any man would jump at the chance to fulfill the longing he’d heard in Debbie’s voice.

Or more like any other man because Drew just didn’t think of Debbie that way.

Did he?

* * *

“Are you sure you don’t want us to give you a ride?” Sophia asked as the four women stepped out of the bar onto the quiet street. For obvious reasons, she was the designated driver and was in charge of seeing Darcy and Kara safely home.

“I only live five minutes away.” She’d lived her entire life in a small apartment above the bakery. As a teenager, she’d longed for more space and room of her own, but after her mother passed away, the two-bedroom unit had been more than large enough, at times seeming far too empty. “The night air will help clear my head.”

Debbie knew her limit and had stopped after her second margarita. The first had loosened her tongue more than she wanted to admit. She could only hope the drinks the other women had enjoyed would help them forget some of the foolish things she’d said.

“All right. But if you meet up with any dark handsome strangers on the way home, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

No such luck with her perfectly sober best friend. “Can you please forget I said anything?”

Sophia grinned impishly, reminding Debbie of when they’d been kids, always looking for some kind of trouble. “Not a chance.”

With a put-upon sigh, Debbie looked over at the bride-to-be. “Have a good night, Darcy, and just think, the next time we’re all together, you’ll be a few hours away from becoming Mrs. Nick Pirelli.”

The redhead’s beaming smile could have lit the sky. “I can’t wait!”

Leaving her friends with a wave goodbye, Debbie walked the quiet street toward the bakery. The night was cold with a definite hint of fall in the air, along with woodsmoke drifting from a nearby chimney. Halloween decorations lurked in the shadows behind the darkened windows, reminding Debbie the holiday was less than a month away.

She wasn’t sure when she first noticed the sound of footsteps behind her. With the bar only a few doors back, it wasn’t that unusual to think someone else had decided to walk off a beer or two. But the late hour and emptiness of the stores around her was enough to quicken her pace. Most nights she would have circled around to the alleyway behind the bakery and the outside staircase that led directly to her apartment. But tonight, the security lights inside the shop beckoned with the promise of safety.

Reaching inside her oversize bag, she fumbled for her keys. Why couldn’t she be one of those women who carried a purse the size of a cell phone case? Instead she’d fallen in love with a tapestry-style tote and stuffed it to the zipper with every item she might ever need. Her finger brushed a metal ring, but her relief was short-lived as she identified the extra set of measuring spoons she’d somehow misplaced. Swearing beneath her breath, she looked inside her bag and spotted the pink enamel cupcake-shaped key ring Sophia had given for her last birthday.

Her heart skipped a beat as she heard a sound behind her—

“Debbie! Wait up!”

Stumbling, she glanced back over her shoulder toward the familiar voice. “Drew? What do you think you’re doing!” she demanded as he jogged toward her. Her heart still pounding, she reached out and socked him on the arm. The muscled bicep felt rock solid against her knuckles, and he didn’t even flinch. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”