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Their Forever Home
Syndi Powell
A house isn’t a home …without someone to love Construction expert Cassie Lowman has been paired with the last designer she wanted for Detroit’s new home-reno contest. John Robison finds Cassie intriguing, yet intimidating. When tough family issues arise, John and Cassie are forced to see each other’s strengths and work together on all fronts, and yes, maybe fall for each other along the way…
A house isn’t a home
...without someone to love
Construction expert Cassie Lowman has been paired with the last designer she wanted for Detroit’s new home reno contest. John Robison finds Cassie intriguing yet intimidating. When tough family issues arise, John and Cassie are forced to see each other’s strengths and work together on all fronts, and yes, maybe fall for each other along the way...
SYNDI POWELL started writing stories when she was young and has made it a lifelong pursuit. She’s been reading Mills & Boon romance novels since she was in her teens and is thrilled to be on the Harlequin team. She loves to connect with readers on Twitter, @syndipowell (https://twitter.com/syndipowell), or on her Facebook author page, Facebook.com/syndipowellauthor (http://Facebook.com/syndipowellauthor).
Also By Syndi Powell (#u33adde75-63a0-5381-a3a5-d5eec39f393a)
Finding Her Family
Healing Hearts
Afraid to Lose Her
The Sweetheart Deal
Two-Part Harmony
Risk of Falling
The Reluctant Bachelor
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
Their Forever Home
Syndi Powell
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-09749-9
THEIR FOREVER HOME
© 2019 Cynthia Powell
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Note to Readers (#u33adde75-63a0-5381-a3a5-d5eec39f393a)
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Text to speech
Cassie turned to him, worried. “What if we don’t win? This contest means everything to me.”
John nodded. “I get that. It means a lot to me, too. But I can’t think that way about losing and neither should you. I have to focus on being the best at what I do and proving to them all that I’m just as good as they are.”
She rested her hand on his. “You are good. Better than good. You blow me away with some of your ideas. It’s been my privilege to work with you.”
He reached out and touched her cheek. “The privilege is all mine, Cass.”
She dropped her gaze from his, aware of how vulnerable she’d made herself to him. Wondering if he would accept her words, accept her. And why did it matter so much if he did?
Dear Reader (#u33adde75-63a0-5381-a3a5-d5eec39f393a),
Did something ever happen to you that changed the path you’d been following? Maybe it was a job loss or the death of a parent. Maybe it was the breakup of a relationship that you thought would never end. Whatever it was, it changed your life from one you expected to something you didn’t recognize.
If you’ve read my books before, you know that divorce and cancer were two things that changed the path I’d been traveling. They made me stop in my tracks and start asking the big questions. What followed were times of amazing personal growth and change, but it wasn’t easy to start imagining a different future.
I don’t know about you, but I love reading stories about people getting a second chance. About those who take their losses and turn their lives into something beautiful. In this story, Cassie had planned to take over her father’s construction company, and John thought he’d keep designing award-winning cars. But they are about to find out that sometimes the best plan is to embrace the unknown.
If you’re going through one of those times of losses and searching for a new path, don’t give up. Just hold on because a better day is coming.
Syndi
This book is dedicated to all the dogs I’ve loved before: Midnight, Kohlby, Furio, Phoebe, Gracie Lou, Shiloh, Cody, Rocky, Ladybird, Reno, Evie, Pinot, Bella, Katie and Ceasar. And in memory of my beloved kitty, Diva. You’ve all made my life better.
And thank you to my parents, Russ and Pattie D’Hondt, who helped inspire this new book series by helping me brainstorm ideas for the plot. Thank you also for watching home renovation shows with me for research. I love you both.
Contents
Cover (#u7efacc89-5962-52a1-b775-5ce54d47b571)
Back Cover Text (#u887d50c4-565f-52bd-b82c-5316c89acbe7)
About the Author (#u2af80d2e-31c2-5935-a6ae-6074ef9ec01e)
Booklist (#ufd86eecf-2ff2-510a-83d2-9da6b00864af)
Title Page (#u574426fd-d1e3-55eb-9c0e-f67cfda789ed)
Copyright (#ufe7d9c10-119f-5169-9b79-4be359f01083)
Note to Readers
Introduction (#ubab11b5a-abce-5fc9-bccb-d555d9b7ddec)
Dear Reader (#u3e5dbeaa-ab9e-5bad-8ec9-1eb82aa259fd)
Dedication (#u20392267-688b-5dd9-ae18-7e18f708e640)
CHAPTER ONE (#u91f177ca-e7f8-5ec2-9e5b-d0edf17b7e4f)
CHAPTER TWO (#u301537ae-0bba-5e19-8cd6-292ff098681f)
CHAPTER THREE (#uca4bc5de-7ae5-50f6-8427-0c65108c2119)
CHAPTER FOUR (#u1dcea9b1-b9c1-5dd5-9c7c-bc9a80449263)
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)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
A Sneak Peek At Syndi Powell’s Next Novel (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#u33adde75-63a0-5381-a3a5-d5eec39f393a)
THE BALLROOM AT the Whittier Hotel in downtown Detroit glittered under the dozen chandeliers that hung from the high ceiling. Cassie Lowman felt a crick in her neck start to form as she stared at the opulent murals decorating the ceiling above her head. While it wasn’t her favorite aesthetic, she could appreciate the artistry. Too ornate and fussy for her—she would rather have something be beautiful in its simplicity.
A tuxedoed waiter passed by with a tray of half-filled champagne flutes. She snagged one before returning her gaze to the ceiling. She lifted her glass for a brief salute and then started to scan the room for familiar faces.
In truth, most of the faces were known to her as well as their names. These were her father’s former competitors—building contractors who had rejoiced when he’d failed and patted themselves on their backs while they swooped in and stole his clientele. She tasted the bitterness and anger at the back of her throat, so she tipped the champagne flute and drank the bubbly liquid before leaving the empty glass on a nearby table. Maybe it was better for her to look for new friends.
Speaking of friends, the Buttucci brothers, Tiny and Biggie, waved at her from the other side of the ballroom. She started to wobble in her shoes as she walked toward them. Blast her mother for insisting she wear high heels to this kickoff event. She wasn’t a heels kind of woman. Nor a fancy dress type, either, she thought, as she tugged at the neckline. It wouldn’t be so bad if she had something to flaunt, but she knew her limitations.
Biggie held a beer in his hands, and Cassie eyed it with envy. She approached the brothers, who were like family to her, especially now that she hoped to be helming the business, rather than her dad. “I’m glad you two could come. I don’t know if I could face this alone, chosen or not.”
Tiny looked behind her. “Your mother’s not here?”
“Mother decided that if she came with me that it would mean she approved of this venture.” Cassie shook her head. “And we all know where she stands on that.”
Tiny put his hand on her shoulder. “She’ll get over it in time.”
“Yesterday, her last words on the phone to me were, and I quote, ‘Forget the company already. It’s an anchor dragging you down.’ End quote.” Not that the company had many assets left after her father had taken most of them when he disappeared, and the rest had been sold to pay off debts. She’d had to tell employees who had been with her father for decades that they should seek employment elsewhere. Even her sister who had been the construction office’s receptionist had found a new job within weeks of his disappearance. The only two who had refused to leave her stood with her now. Cassie tugged again at the dress she’d borrowed from her older sister. “She doesn’t get it. I want to win the quarter of a million prize money so that I can start the business over and hire everyone back.”
Biggie grunted and sipped his beer while Tiny patted her shoulder again. “It will all work out. It always does.”
She wished she had his confidence. Her father’s building company seemed to be just another thing that stood between her and her mother. Growing up, Cassie had heard about how ladies didn’t come home covered in sawdust or with calloused hands. Ladies wore dresses, not plaid shirts and jeans. Her older sister, Andromeda, had filled the bill according to her mother’s requirements. Couldn’t her mother be happy that she had one perfect daughter?
But Lowman Construction meant something to Cassie, even if her mother had turned her back on it. Not only had it been her means of income, it was her lifeblood. She’d put years of her life into it at her father’s side, and she hoped to continue without him. She wanted to bring it back to what it had once been. She had to.
Cassie glanced again at Biggie’s beer. “Where can I get one of those?”
He pointed to a long wood-and-brass bar where several people milled, and she walked toward it. People murmured as she passed them, but she chose to hold her head high and ignore the comments. She paused a moment when she tottered again and the heel on one shoe threatened to bend and snap, but she slowed her gait and joined the line of those waiting for a drink.
She heard a scratchy voice talking ahead of her and recognized the gravelly tones of Bill Swenson, one of her father’s chief rivals. “I don’t understand why some people can’t let go of failure and get on with their lives. Did you see her name on the list? Does she have to waste her time and ours by entering this contest?”
A man next to him sneered. “Bill, you know why she entered. To redeem her father’s name.”
Cassie swallowed again at the bitter taste in her mouth. They could only be talking about her. She thought about leaving the line without getting her beer, but the temptation to eavesdrop was too great.
Bill laughed. “Redeem? She’d have to do a lot more than win some contest to do that. How about paying back the people he stole from? You ask me, she’s cut from the same cloth as her old man.” He spotted her. Giving her a sardonic grin, he winked. “I’ll be keeping my eye on you.”
Tears threatened to choke her, but she wasn’t going to let anyone, especially Bill, see how the words affected her. They didn’t know anything about her. Didn’t know that she had been just as shocked by the allegations of embezzlement against her father. As heads turned to look at her, she stood straighter, refusing to ignore their stares. “You can watch me all you want as I win this thing, Bill. The Belvedere Foundation won’t accept substandard materials and shoddy work. Isn’t that why you lost the Stamper contract?”
Bill bristled and took a step toward her, but someone pulled him back and ordered him a drink. Most of the others who had listened to the conversation turned away from her and joined him. Cassie put a hand on her chest and felt her heart beating with speed. She wouldn’t run now. She had to prove to them all that she was as good as them, if not better. She could rebuild beautiful houses as well as her own life.
WITH A GLASS of whiskey in his hand, John Robison leaned on the bar and looked at the woman whose cheeks had colored at the blustering contractor’s words. He could admire someone who wouldn’t back down from a confrontation with a bully. Took a lot of guts to keep your head high when others were trying to tear you down. The woman made her way up to the front of the bar and ordered a beer. Her dark brown eyes reminded him of the color of bourbon. “You have something to say, too?”
He shook his head and looked her over. She was petite, but he sensed that there was a lot of power in that compact frame. “No, ma’am.”
“Ma’am.” She rolled her eyes. “So polite.”
