Rick Gullotti lives the good life. He fights fires, dates beautiful women—
though none long enough so they cast wistful glances at jewelry stores—and has
great friends. And thanks to helping out the elderly couple who own his
building, his rent is low. But when concerns about their health lead him to
contact their only son, his life starts getting away from him.
Jessica Broussard has no interest in leaving sunny San Diego or her cushy corner
office for Boston, but her father—who happens to be her boss—dispatches her to
deal with the grandparents she's never met. She's unprepared for the frigid
winter, loving relatives who aren't the monsters she's been led to believe, and
the hot, scruffy firefighter who lives upstairs.
At first, Jessica is determined to get back to her comfortable life as quickly
as possible. All she has to do is talk her grandparents into selling their
monstrosity of a house and moving to a retirement community. But she
underestimates Rick's dedication—and his considerable charm. Nobody's taking
advantage of his friends on his watch, even if that makes the tempting southern
California girl with the long legs his adversary. Unfortunately for them both,
the only thing more urgent than the matter at hand is their sizzling chemistry,
and it's quickly becoming too strong to resist.
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“You’d be surprised how many friends I have with grandsons that would be perfect
for you.”
Jess side-eyed Marie, who laughed at her. “I have enough on my plate right now.”
“Oh, but let me tell you about this one young man. Well, young meaning forty-
five or so.”
Two hours of blind date dodging and a lot of laughter later, Jessica found out
why Rick had been willing to forego doing his own chores to come back downstairs
for dinner. Even though the ones Jessica had stuffed looked a little messy, the
manicotti tasted amazing and she ate until she couldn’t bear to put another bite
in her mouth.
Then she leaned back in her chair with a groan. “I can’t keep eating like this.
I swear my jeans are already getting too tight and I have a closet full of
pencil skirts. Those are not forgiving.”
“What’s a pencil skirt?” Rick asked from across the table.
“They’re long, like midcalf length, and they hug your...let’s just say they’re
somewhat form-fitting.” When he raised an eyebrow, she tried not to blush.
“They’re flattering, but they won’t be for long if I keep having seconds of
everything Marie cooks.”
“You have a beautiful figure,” her grandmother said, and Jessica didn’t miss the
slight nod of Rick’s head before he quickly turned his attention back to his
plate.
“Not for much longer. Our office building has a fitness center in it, so I
usually work out at the end of the day. Only for half an hour or so, but I can
gather my thoughts and sweat out any frustrations before heading home. And it
keeps my jeans from getting too tight, I guess.”
“Rick, you belong to a gym, don’t you?” Marie asked. “Even though she doesn’t
need it as far as I can tell, you should take her to work out with you if it
makes her feel better.”
Jessica imagination coughed up an image of a shirtless, sweaty Rick and the
instant hot flash made her feel anything but better.
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Shannon
Stacey lives with her husband and two sons in New England, where her two
favorite activities are writing stories of happily ever after and riding her
four-wheeler. From May to November, the Stacey family spends their weekends on
their ATVs, making loads of muddy laundry to keep Shannon busy when she’s not at
her computer. She prefers writing to laundry, however, and considers herself
lucky she got to be an author when she grew up.
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I love it when elderly relatives decide to match make...it's always an interesting read!
(Kathleen Bylsma 12:34pm November 22, 2015)
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