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Winning Her Love
Harmony Evans
Secrets and passions are about to ignite! Leaving LA was the best decision Vanessa Hamilton ever made. Becoming embroiled in a political scandal in her seaside hometown could be the worst. Bay Point mayor Gregory Langston wants the beautiful floral designer who is so committed to their community to help run his reelection campaign. It's bad enough he's planning to tear down the town's legendary carousel–now Vanessa's attraction to the charismatic homegrown politician is threatening to spiral out of control.Women rarely say no to Gregory, and he's intrigued by his spirited campaign manager. Falling for Vanessa is a potential powder keg, especially when he and the impassioned activist are on opposite sides of a controversial issue. But a vicious smear campaign and a long-hidden secret could destroy more than Gregory's shot at a second term. Will it cost him forever with Vanessa?
Secrets and passions are about to ignite!
Leaving LA was the best decision Vanessa Hamilton ever made. Becoming embroiled in a political scandal in her seaside hometown could be the worst. Bay Point mayor Gregory Langston wants the beautiful floral designer who is so committed to their community to help run his reelection campaign. It’s bad enough he’s planning to tear down the town’s legendary carousel—now Vanessa’s attraction to the charismatic homegrown politician is threatening to spiral out of control.
Women rarely say no to Gregory, and he’s intrigued by his spirited campaign manager. Falling for Vanessa is a potential powder keg, especially when he and the impassioned activist are on opposite sides of a controversial issue. But a vicious smear campaign and a long-hidden secret could destroy more than Gregory’s shot at a second term. Will it cost him forever with Vanessa?
“You must be joking.”
Her words came out clipped, but it felt like they were spoken through mud.
Gregory placed both palms on the counter. “I assure you, I’m not.”
Vanessa’s throat tightened almost painfully, and she could have drowned in the confident intensity of his hazel eyes.
“And I can assure you that I’m not interested.”
Gregory took a step back. “Really? I’m surprised. Your father told me that flowers aren’t your only talent. He said you also have a knack for public relations, and that you’ve been especially successful helping politicians in a crisis.”
Vanessa’s stomach burned with resentment. Her father had no business talking to the mayor about her, but she’d deal with him later.
In Gregory’s voice, she heard no trace of disdain, and that was good. There were only two people who knew the sordid details of her stint in political public relations, and that was the way it would remain. She was a pro at hiding the secrets of powerful and successful men, and even better at hiding her own.
Vanessa tilted her head. “Oh, so you’re admitting your reelection campaign is in trouble?”
“Not trouble,” he insisted, lifting one finger. “Just a bit of a rough spot.”
She broached a wry smile. “I’d say you’re at the top of a raging waterfall about to crash to the rocks below.”
Gregory leaned in closer. “I like to live dangerously,” he murmured in a low voice.
Dear Reader (#ulink_ea970f71-bd4c-5db1-bd10-f5dc1ba07f09),
Winning Her Love is the first book of my Bay Point Confessions series, set in a fictional small California town.
Meet Mayor Gregory Langston. He must win another term in order to see his redevelopment plan for the city come to life.
And Vanessa Hamilton. She’s got a passion for flowers and the century-old Bay Point carousel. She agrees to help Gregory gain support from the locals when he promises not to demolish the carousel—if she can find a way to save it.
There’s something about a carousel that is magical. Unexplainable. Puts a smile on your face. Sometimes it’s so hard to choose the perfect horse to ride. They’re all so beautiful and so tempting. The same can be said of falling in love, right?
I hope you enjoy reading this book and that you’ll stay tuned for others in the series.
Be blessed,
Harmony
Harmony Evans
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
HARMONY EVANS received the 2013 Romance Slam Jam Emma Award for Debut Author of the Year. Her first book, Lesson in Romance, garnered two RT Reviewers’ Choice Award nominations in 2012. Winning Her Love is her fifth book for Mills & Boon Kimani Romance. She currently resides in New York City. Connect with Harmony on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Harmony.Evans.Author), Twitter (https://twitter.com/harmonyannevans) or at harmonyevans.com (http://harmonyevans.com).
To my daughter, Angelina. Meow! I miss you.
Contents
Cover (#u687bf01f-ba9a-52cc-8039-d160c200b78b)
Back Cover Text (#ua902c4f3-cc72-596d-ab36-eb519dc69e35)
Introduction (#u8920c170-f1dc-56d8-8fe2-1d6fed1b481b)
Dear Reader (#u0f9e08dd-ac89-5f38-a5da-66b40335c85f)
Title Page (#u265f21f9-e9c3-5d90-8866-0b039ca5dd0f)
About the Author (#u8f55cd44-d4fa-5ce6-9db3-61b026f3a59d)
Dedication (#u380f33d3-8150-5157-9da2-06f3c569930d)
Chapter 1 (#u73845abf-0bf3-5d91-9b39-703aa824577d)
Chapter 2 (#ue1d4cf6c-cf5c-56a0-8604-0b9cdc06ebd4)
Chapter 3 (#u23cbb09b-b44e-5113-b2d1-16815ee69f28)
Chapter 4 (#u64a24c19-0495-5592-8148-c461fc652492)
Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 1 (#ulink_2a24a60f-f90d-51d2-a8a3-cc73e2f26865)
Gregory Langston jutted his fists knuckles-down against the windowsill and stared outside. The sun was at the halfway point in the sky, hanging around the corner of dusk. It would be dark soon. If he was going to see Vanessa, he’d better go quickly, before she closed the shop for the evening.
He squinted involuntarily at the orange-red orb blazing away in the distance. The California sun was gloriously dangerous yet absolutely necessary to his survival, just like the risk he was about to take.
“I have to win,” he muttered fiercely under his breath.
Although he was only thirty years old, Gregory had achieved more than many men had in a lifetime. At age twenty-six, he became the youngest and the first African-American mayor in Bay Point, California. He’d won the esteemed position in a landslide victory four years earlier, an accomplishment of which he was extremely proud.
Now he was up for reelection. But this time victory would not come easily. His only rival in the mayoral race was making his campaign a living hell.
Jacob Billingsly “the Third and only,” as the man liked to put it, had lived in Bay Point for only a few years, yet acted as if he’d resided there his entire life. When Jacob had announced his plan to run for mayor, no one had been more shocked than Gregory, who had taken the young upstart under his wing and given him a paid internship as a mayoral clerk for two summers. When Jacob had graduated with an MBA from Stanford University, Gregory had given him a glowing reference for a potential employer in New York City. He’d even driven Jacob to the airport on what was supposed to be his last day in Bay Point.
As it turned out, Jacob never left, and now it seemed he spent most of his time spreading rumors and lies about Gregory and his plans for Bay Point.
The knot in his stomach tightened and Gregory closed his eyes, bracing for the pain, which was happening all too often lately.
Although Gregory would never admit it to anyone, he was scared he was going to lose his reelection bid. The thought that he might have made a mistake by choosing a career in politics kept him up night after night. Maybe he should have continued working in his father’s law firm instead of trying to fix the town that he loved more than anything.
His eyes drifted from the horizon to the storefronts and streets beneath his fourth-floor office. The traditional grid-like pattern appealed to his strong sense of order.
In its heyday, Bay Point was a hideaway for California’s rich and famous, particularly actors and actresses from Los Angeles who sought a temporary escape from a lifestyle that often demanded too much. The whimsical shops and cheery restaurants amid the sultry ocean breeze were a balm to their weary souls. The stars still journeyed to the town from time to time, but not enough to stir headlines or the attention of entertainment bloggers.
But now Bay Point, whose population was about ten thousand individuals of all races and ethnicities, was in serious trouble. Located on the beautiful Pacific coast between San Francisco and the Oregon border, the once-vibrant beach town had fallen on hard times in recent years. Many longtime residents had moved due to the recession and high unemployment rate. Newcomers were few and far between.
Gregory knew he needed to bring additional revenue into the area to attract new residents or, at the very least, tourists. And he needed to give the people already there a reason to stay. Redeveloping Bay Point’s quaint but aging downtown was the only way to begin to breathe new life into a town that was in danger of dying.
Gregory grimaced and stuck two fingers of his left hand inside his blue oxford shirt, attempting to massage away the painful knot beneath his rock-hard abdomen. The residents of Bay Point trusted Gregory to bring the town back to the prosperity it had once known. They had elected him into office, believing that he could enact lasting change. He couldn’t let them down, but the truth was, he was afraid he already had.
This morning he’d unveiled his plans to redevelop downtown Bay Point in the Bay Point Courier. The three-year project, which took about that much time to actually scope and plan, would bring much-needed jobs, new retail and new housing to the area.
He’d tried to keep many of the details under wraps as the plan was being solidified so that residents wouldn’t be alarmed. But Bay Point was a small town, and some folks just couldn’t keep their mouths shut. Now that all the details were in print, many weren’t happy.
To make way for the construction of a brand-new municipal complex, the project also included the demolition of the Bay Point Carousel. To Gregory’s surprise, this seemed to elicit the most unfavorable responses among his constituents. The phone had rung off the hook all day, and his inbox was flooded with angry emails.
“Not good,” he muttered.
He peered at the hundred-year-old carousel, located in the center of downtown, and wondered why it held such an appeal to everyone. He understood the structure’s historical significance. But it was a drain on the city’s budget, and it was almost always broken-down. It had to go.
Gregory withdrew his fingers from his shirt and cranked open the casement window. He needed the favor of Bay Point residents, but more important, he needed their votes in order to be elected to a second term as mayor. Somehow he had to get them back on his side. He had to make them see the beauty of his vision for the city. Tearing down the carousel would be a good thing. A new beginning.
He ran his hand down his face. Two knocks and a tap on the door jolted him from his thoughts.
“Come in,” he grunted.
The door opened. “Mayor Langston, is it all right if I leave for the day? My son has his first soccer practice tonight and—”
Mariella Vency, his executive assistant, was a single mother whose teenage son had a tendency to get into trouble. He knew that she was trying to encourage better behavior through participation in organized sports. They’d recently moved to Bay Point from Los Angeles, and the boy had few friends.
She paused and moved nearer. “Mayor Langston, are you okay?”
Gregory reluctantly turned around. “I’m fine.”
Her brows knitted together in concern. “Are you sure?”
He forced a smile, nodding. “We’ve had a couple of late nights lately. You deserve the night off.”
Mariella grinned and looked relieved. She was a pretty woman and, as far as he knew, unattached. But she wasn’t his type, and besides, he valued her too much as an employee—and valued his own reputation too much—to get involved romantically.
“Thanks, Mayor. I’ll just leave these phone messages on your desk.”
“A parting gift, Mariella? Thanks a lot,” he replied in a mock hurt tone, even though he knew it wasn’t her fault that all of a sudden he was the most hated man in Bay Point.
She gave him an apologetic smile and cast a worried glance outside. “You’d better leave soon, too. It’s clouding up out there.”
Gregory glanced over his shoulder and saw fat gray clouds stretching and rolling like rumpled sheets across the late-afternoon sky, just above the horizon.
“You’re right,” he said, turning back. “A storm is brewing.”
“I just hope the rain holds off for practice.”
He nodded again. “Have fun, and see you tomorrow.”
As soon as Mariella closed the door, Gregory cranked the window shut.
Still, he couldn’t take his eyes away from the sky. It could have been his imagination, but it seemed as though the sun gleamed brighter now, ever valiant against the dark clouds. He pressed his palm against the warm glass. The low heat of April was just a kiss of what was to come in a few months, but the light ocean breezes always evened out the hot summer days.
The weather was one of the things he loved most about living in California; the other was being mayor of Bay Point.
He couldn’t let anything, or anyone, screw up his plans for the city or for the carousel. People were entitled to their opinions, but the bottom line was that everyone knew things had to change in Bay Point, and he was the only one with the power to do it.
Gregory turned away from the window, slid his trademark black fedora on his head and quickly checked his appearance in the full-length mirror behind his office door.
The entire town was counting on him. He had no choice but to push aside his fears and trust Vanessa...a woman he barely knew.
Chapter 2 (#ulink_9c93ae53-960f-5cc1-aa78-dd7d72989dc4)
