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Small-Town Cinderella
Stacy Connelly
CHECKLIST FOR THE PERFECT PRINCE CHARMING:• Tall, dark and handsome• Passionate• Thoroughly devoted• Capable of spontaneity• Someone who is not Drew Pirelli!After years of putting other people first, Debbie Mattson is ready to look for her own happily-ever-after. Clearville’s favourite baker is determined to leave her small home town and find her perfect man – someplace far away. The last person she would ever consider dating is her childhood friend Drew Pirelli. He’s a homebody, loves small-town life and is ready to settle down. She’s convinced he is Mr Wrong. And then one magical kiss changes everything…
“I thought you might be cold out here.” He held up the shawl.
“Well, thank you,” she said as she reached for the pink material, “but I can take care of myself.”
Drew didn’t doubt it. Debbie had been on her own since her mother died. “I know you can. But once in a while, it’s nice to have someone take care of you.”
Sliding the shawl from her hands, he draped the material over her shoulders, keeping hold of both ends. “Maybe,” she conceded. “But I don’t need—”
“This isn’t about need,” he interrupted. “It’s about want.”
Debbie swallowed. “Want?”
“It’s like … dessert. Not something you need but certainly something you crave.”
“And let me guess. You’re craving something sweet.” The sardonic twist on the word told Drew what Debbie thought of that description—one he’d been guilty of using in the past.
“I was thinking more along the lines of something rich, decadent, a little sinful even.”
Debbie’s eyes widened, huge and sparkling in the faint light streaming through the French doors. He’d gone too far, he thought.
* * *
The Pirelli Brothers: These California boys know what love is all about!
Small-Town
Cinderella
Stacy Connelly
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
STACY CONNELLY has dreamed of publishing books since she was a kid, writing stories about a girl and her horse. Eventually, boys made it onto the page as she discovered a love of romance and the promise of happily ever after.
When she is not lost in the land of make-believe, Stacy lives in Arizona with her two spoiled dogs. She loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at stacyconnelly@cox.net (mailto:stacyconnelly@cox.net) or www.stacyconnelly.com (http://www.stacyconnelly.com).
To the staff at The Red Garter Bed & Breakfast in Williams, Arizona. Thanks for answering my questions about running a small-town bakery.
Contents
Cover (#u5414fcae-669c-5e68-bdf5-1c1159dc0c0a)
Introduction (#u55c30b53-55ad-544b-82b1-c4994666d47d)
Title Page (#u01fb1dde-cfa9-592b-a1e3-1f8c0d718659)
About the Author (#uddd94c1e-b363-5312-91b4-256a88e116e0)
Dedication (#ua3995e9a-3551-5644-8b2a-e76e8058cf1e)
Chapter One (#uc4b17971-07ee-50fb-8dda-ddc645faf864)
Chapter Two (#u4ad3f2f6-a96c-5a46-9345-d34b945fd03b)
Chapter Three (#u0d335d72-ad89-5da9-90e6-7370d311171a)
Chapter Four (#u3d3c17a0-b188-5bf9-8c03-156cca82a7aa)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#ulink_91735ff3-4f99-5d77-b7fe-84fb979eacb1)
“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.”
