Be Mine: Valentine Novellas to Warm The Heart

by Nicole Flockton

  Anton was right behind her, “I need to speak to you.”

  His face was etched in pain. Arrow-swift remorse plunged her heart. God how she ached for him.

  No sooner had they walked into the office than Anton retrieved a set of papers from his satchel, “I think you should have these.”

  Donna and Paolo had followed them closely behind, their faces filled with concern.

  “What are th –” As she read the first few lines the meaning became clear.

  Divorce papers. He was setting her free.

  It was everything she’d wanted, so why did she feel so empty?

  “I need to prove to you that I really do love you,” Anton started, “So please hear me out. If after this you still don’t trust me, then sign away and we’ll call it a night. Keep the bistro, I won’t be back. This place has too many memories.”

  A keen ache spread through her heart and belly as Cassidy read the second set of papers with trembling hands. Tears filled her eyes as she tried to read them. She wiped the salty drops away with the back of her hand and tried to make sense of the notes on the page. Dates and times, bank account details. Money transfers.

  A name that kept cropping up. One that had caused her nothing but trouble.

  Toby. He’d come into money the day before the news of her father’s affair broke. The funds traced back to a newspaper account. Toby had been the one to sell out her family secrets! It wasn’t Anton after all. She’d been wrong about Anton. So wrong.

  And she’d never felt happier about being so wrong in her life.

  “How did you…?”

  “I hired your old friend the agent. He worked all night and called in some favours. We may have to give his team free meals for life, they worked so fast.”

  “We should go, this is private,” Paolo said, inching towards the office door.

  “No, Mamma, Papà, please stay,”Anton said. “I want you to trust me again too. I haven’t been honest with you. Let me make up for it.’

  The rest of what Anton said to his parents buzzed in Cassidy’s ears, behind the pounding of her heartbeat and the thumping against her ribs. She could hardly breathe as she tried to make sense of the information Anton had found for her.

  Everything led back to Toby, the man who’d profited from spreading his particular form of cancer. Thank God, the pest was now in the hands of the fraud squad. Anton had seen to that as well.

  Fresh tears splashed over the page and she tried to sniff them back. Anton was still talking to his parents, explaining all he’d done. All she heard were the last few words as she looked up to find her husband kneeling before her.

  “…still love me?”

  Behind Anton, Donna dabbed at her eyes with a floral handkerchief and Paolo cleared his throat, looking mighty uncomfortable.

  Anton said, “You were right, my love. I did set out to marry you to get back at you, and your father. It was a stupid plan, but in my anger it made perfect sense. I didn’t count on falling in love with you. On seeing how strong you are, how smart you are, and how wonderful you are.”

  “I think we’ve both had our share of stupid plans,” Cassidy blurted, fresh tears splashing her face. “I should have believed you. You were telling me the truth and I couldn’t see past my own anger.”

  “I promise you, I’ll never do anything to make you angry again. If I have to spend the rest of my life proving that, I will. I love you, with all my heart.”

  Cassidy held his face and kissed him.

  When they broke apart, Anton rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “You’re still crying?”

  Sunshine filled Cassidy’s veins, “These are happy tears. Completely different.”

  “I hope we won’t be needing these?” Anton said as he picked up the divorce papers.

  “Damn straight. We’ll never need them.” Happiness bubbled inside her as she took the document from him and ripped it in half. “Wow, that feels good.”

  Anton pressed his forehead to hers, then kissed her on the lips, filling her with fresh hope. “This feels great.”

  She kissed him with everything she had in her.

  “You love me again, then?”

  “I never stopped,” Cassidy confessed. “I love you so much it hurts.”

  Warmth and love flooded her system as she kissed him again, his warm lips claiming her, his tongue darting in and teasing her. Heat and an aching need grew low in her belly. In the nick of time, she remembered they had an audience. “Anton, darling, your parents are still here.”

  “About that.” He noisily clearing his throat as he turned to them.

  Donna and Paolo were hugging each other and grinning, their faces flushed pink with excitement and pride.

  They didn’t get the hint.

  Leaning close to Anton’s ear, Cassidy whispered, “Make-up sex will have to wait.”

  He looked back to Cassidy, eyes brimming with barely suppressed lust. “No it won’t. Mamma, Papa, your dinner’s going cold. Well meet you back at the table in half an hour.”

  They got the hint that time. As soon as they left the room, Anton locked the door and switched the blinds shut.

  “Only half an hour?” Cassidy teased, embracing him, feeling his strong arms enclose her.

  “For now, we have half an hour,” he kissed her again. His love spread all the way down to her toes. “Later, we’ll have a whole lifetime.”

  About Ebony Jean

  Ebony Jean is a Melbourne romance author with a secret:

  She has published non-fiction editing guides and young adult rom-coms as Ebony McKenna. The editing guides are really useful. The rom-coms are sweet in tone, utterly charming and delightful.

  This is her first contemporary romance writing as Ebony Jean, and it’s completely not her fault the characters started tearing each other’s clothes off!

  Both Ebonys love Trivia nights, train sets and The Eurovision Song Contest.

  An active member of the Romance Writers of Australia, Ebony has taken on the Marketing role and is loving it.

  Website

  http://www.ebonymckenna.com

  Ode to Banh Mi

  Renée Dahlia

  Setting:

  Australia - uses Australian English spelling.

  Heat rating - four chillies

  About Ode To Banh Mi

  By Renée Dahlia

  BIANCA PHAM took a tree change, moving out of the inner Perth suburb she grew up in, to work as a gardener for a new restaurant business in the fabled Margaret River region. Surrounded by great wines, the world’s best cheese, and one prize dickhead. Her boss, Etienne, thinks he’s the greatest French chef the world has ever seen. Yes, he uses her produce to create mouth-watering dishes that draw global celebrities to his stunning restaurant. But those celebrities don’t have to work with his special brand of pretentious genius. Only one thing could make his cooking even better—a decent dose of chilli from her favourite corner of her garden.

  ETIENNE BOURGEOIS is a chef with a mission. To bring the true flavours of French cooking to Australia’s food culture—liberal amounts of butter with the right blends of herbs. He has his paddock to plate restaurant Homage, but he wants more. He wants a TV show, he wants a brand name, a book deal, everything. One thing he doesn’t want to be is that boss—the icky one who bangs his staff—he’s seen many restaurants ruined because chefs couldn’t keep their dick in their pants. Fortunately, his gorgeous gardener Bianca’s sharp tongue helps remind him that she’s his employee. Off limits.

  When the TV director proposes a new angle to the show, their working relationship gets put in the spotlight.

  1

  Chapter 1

  February

  ‘If your boss is such an asshole, why do you stay?’ Bianca’s sister, Eve, asked the one question that circled constantly in Bianca’s head. Because he’s a gorgeous asshole, and confidence was her kryptonite… Bianca looked around at the bountiful permaculture vegetable garden and orchard she was lucky enough to run. This was
the other reason she stayed. Long ago, she’d realised she wasn’t cut out for city life, and had worked a series of farming jobs building up experience until she’d landed this, her dream job last year.

  ‘Because this job is amazing. I have twelve hectares of farmland and gardens. I’m basically my own boss, apart from Etienne, and I get to play in dirt all day. And I get to have pigs and chickens.’ Bianca wished she didn’t sound like she was trying too hard to make her life sound wonderful. She truly loved working here, outside with no one to bother her. A couple of part-timers helped with the bigger tasks, but basically the whole property was hers to play with. Hers to plan, hers in all aspects, except actual ownership. Most days it was hard to remember that she was just an employee, and Etienne had the final say over everything. Other days, like today, her whole existence would be dictated by his authority.

  ‘Yeah, but…’

  Bianca rolled her eyes. ‘Just because I bitch to you about all the crap parts of working here, doesn’t mean it’s like that all the time.’

  ‘Right?’ Eve’s sarcasm was strong.

  ‘Come on, you know it’s always been my dream to have my own permaculture farm. This is my dream, right here.’ Bianca heard her phone beep with an incoming text. She glanced at the screen.

  The Prize Dickhead: Come

  He’d probably use the same commands during sex. A tingle of heat prickled her cheeks—she shouldn’t be thinking about sex and her incredibly handsome boss in the same sentence. She wouldn’t dare admit it to Eve, or herself, but there was an appeal in the way the air crackled between them whenever they were in the same space. A chef shouldn’t look like a retired football player, lean limbs, strong arms, with dark brown eyes, olive skin, sharp cheekbones, and black hair that he kept ultra-short. Only his slightly rounded gut spoke to his job, with love handles hidden under his apron. She certainly shouldn't think about how his paunch made him seem more human, because he was her boss. Her argumentative boss. Her interest in him was completely one-sided—he always acted like he never saw her—always sticking precisely to discussions about work. That confusing blend of handsome and arrogant shouldn’t be so bloody attractive. She giggled. She probably ought to change her nickname for her boss in her phone before he saw it, but then… She shrugged. It served him right for being—well—so French and full of himself.

  ‘Eve, I have to go. Chat later.’

  ‘Okay. Just, please, don’t let him run ragged all over you.’

  Bianca grinned. ‘Since when have I ever let anyone push me around?’ She hung up, slipped her phone into the back pocket of her jeans, and marched back towards the kitchen. She kicked off her gumboots and went direct to the sink to wash her hands before walking into Etienne’s space. She scrubbed the dirt out from under her clipped short fingernails. His slick stainless-steel kitchen was run to his exacting standards, but today it was full of noise and lights. Fuck. She’d forgotten that he had a television crew here today. How could she have forgotten? It wasn’t like he hadn’t reminded her twice a day for the last week that she needed to be available and presentable all day.

  ‘Etienne.’ She waggled her clean fingers at him out of habit. Mostly to annoy him. He’d mentioned it once when she first started—don’t bring dirt into the kitchen—leaving her only option to wash them and taunt him with clean fingers on a daily basis. Yes, it was petty, but she did enjoy the way he growled under his breath that he trusted her hygiene levels. He spun around and nodded once.

  ‘This is Bianca Pham, she’s in charge of the produce gardens.’

  Bianca had thought Etienne was an intense personality, but boy oh boy, the tall woman standing beside a camera had eyes that shot out fire. When she smiled, it wasn’t to show happiness, rather, she gave the impression that she knew she’d get exactly what she wanted. Bianca swallowed as a familiar rush of lust swept over her throat. The red business suit she wore looked amazing against her lush brown skin, and phew, her dark brown eyes were accentuated by flawless makeup. Wow, that was an amazing aesthetic, especially when combined with such natural determination. In her wildest secret dreams, she would leap the kitchen counter to kiss this woman, while Etienne stroked his broad hands over her ass and between her legs. She blinked. Focus. There’d be time for fantasy later when she was alone. Eve was right, it’d been way too long since she’d last gotten laid.

  ‘Ms Pham. Pleased to meet you. I’m Anvita Khatri.’

  ‘Hi Ms Khatri. Please call me Bianca. Did you need me for something?’ Her voice croaked. Luckily no one could hear the euphemism in her thoughts, but the tips of her ears and nose heated and she wanted to bolt back outside.

  ‘Etienne’s pitch for this show was all about how his restaurant is an homage to the paddock to plate restaurant.’ Anvita waved her left hand towards Bianca’s farm and kitchen garden. The huge ring on her wedding finger glinted in the sun—screaming off limits—and that initial rush of lust disappeared. She’d never put herself in a situation where she messed with someone else’s relationship.

  ‘Yes. That’d be why he’d named the place Homage.’ Bianca raised one eyebrow and glanced sideways at Etienne to gauge his reaction. Also, she really wanted him to say Homage with that French accent of his—the way he dropped the H and pursed his lips was so hot! Damn, focus on work, not on the beautiful people in this room. Anyone reading her mind would get the impression that she focused on sex all the bloody time. She didn’t, well, no more than anyone else surrounded by a swoon-worthy boss. Mostly she thought about plants, and work, and how to annoy Etienne so she could keep him at arm’s length. Lusting after her boss wasn’t the most sensible idea.

  ‘I think our audience will be interested in the whole process, not just Etienne’s final product,’ Anvita said.

  ‘Sure. Would you like a tour around the farm? Meet our pigs and all that.’ Bianca felt Etienne’s glare at her flippancy, and she flashed a grin at him.

  ‘Not at this stage. Our camera crew can go outside later to get some shots. I want to see how the two of you work together.’

  ‘We don’t work together.’ Etienne pronounced.

  ‘Yeah, together is over stating it a bit.’ Bianca scoffed. ‘Mostly Etienne announces a concept and I do the work to grow all the ingredients he wants. He tends to make decisions in the season prior to give the garden time to produce, but the weather and growing conditions can have an impact on the kitchen too.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Anvita narrowed her eyes, her gaze flicking between the two of them. A cold breeze tickled the back of Bianca’s neck. What was she planning?

  ‘This summer we had way too many zucchinis. Some we sold at the local farmer’s market, some fed the pigs, and Etienne made some sort of preserve from the rest.’ Bianca hated the way Etienne peered at her as if she were a mite under a microscope.

  ‘I told you not to plant that many. Our customers only ate ratatouille for the entirety of January.’

  She threw her hands up. ‘Hey, I was doing an experiment with a heritage variety. How was anyone to know that it would take off so well? Besides, you need more vegetables in your recipes. Cut through all that butter.’

  ‘Butter makes everything better. It’s the French way.’ A little muscle twitched at the corner of his jaw.

  ‘French isn’t the only way to cook. Some of us like a bit of spice in our food.’ Someone coughed in the background and Bianca blew air out of the side of her mouth onto her flaming cheeks.

  ‘I’ll be the chef. Thank you.’ He raised one eyebrow and Bianca’s lungs caught at the gesture. How could he look so dismissive, commanding, and so fucking hot all at once? It wasn’t fair.

  ‘And I’ll grow as many zucchinis as pleases me.’ She fell back on her sarcasm. ‘You are the creative one. If ratatouille bores you, figure out something else to do with them. Better too many than a shortage.’

  Anvita clapped her hands. ‘Perfect. Etienne, you can have your show on one condition.’

  ‘Anything.’ The hunger in his ga
ze softened his usually focused expression. If only he would look at her like that, rather than his usual disdain. But then, if he did, she’d jump him and that’d be bad for everyone. Well, mostly her. She could deal with his dismissive words, but she would have to quit if she embarrassed herself by asking for sex and he sneered down his French nose at her. And she really didn’t want to quit this job.

  ‘Ms Pham must be on screen with you. The chemistry you have is…’ Anvita kissed her fingers and splayed her hand out, ‘…magic.’

  ‘Non, non, non.’ Etienne’s French accent thickened.

  Anvita shook her head and shrugged. ‘Your choice. She is part of the show, or… no show.’

  ‘Fine.’ Etienne agreed very quickly in a defeated tone. Bianca sighed, making sure it was loud enough to echo off the pristine splashback.

  ‘You don’t have to sound so enthusiastic about my inclusion. Besides, was anyone going to ask my opinion?’ She pressed her lips together. How dare they decide for her? She didn’t want to be on TV. She hated people looking at her—that was the best part of being a farmer—no one staring at her all the time, no one wanting to talk to her.

  ‘You know what this show means to me.’ Etienne’s breath warmed her cheek as he whispered. She forced herself not to jump back. How had he moved so close to her without her noticing? She swallowed.

  ‘Yes. I would hate to ruin it for you.’ If she turned slightly, her mouth would be almost touching his.

  ‘See. Chemistry. It practically melts the camera.’

  Bianca wanted to wipe the smirk of Anvita’s face. How had she thought her attractive?

  ‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’ She stepped away from Etienne and wiped her clammy palms on her jeans as reality set in. He was her boss and if he said she needed to be on TV with him, she would have to do it to keep her dream job.