Misters of Love: A Small Town Romance Boxset

by Piper Sullivan

  I stood there, feeling like they’d walked away with everything they wanted and left me holding the bag.

  Scott

  There was only one reason to get up early. Revenge. Sick, twisted revenge that harmed no one except the idiot crazy enough to get up an hour early just to beat his assistant to the office. Me, I’m that idiot. But it didn’t matter—I woke up early, skipped my morning run and breakfast, and I made it in before Stevie arrived.

  It was damned annoying to see her scowling face lit by the light of the computer screen every single morning. She never smiled at me, just hopped up and retrieved my coffee and messages. Every single morning. Like clockwork. But that morning, I’d beat her in, and I damn sure wasn’t going to waste the time.

  First, I logged onto the system to check out the new filing system, which was a lot. Too much, in fact. It was overly complicated and I didn’t know where anything was, which meant she would have to redo it. I smiled, just thinking of how mad she would be when I gave her that news. Sometime just before nine, I heard Stevie enter the office. She paused, briefly, before falling easily into her morning routine.

  Unflappable as ever. I was determined to see the woman get annoyed. Or angry.

  Ten minutes later, she breezed in with a big steaming mug of coffee and a familiar white bag, soaked with grease at the bottom. She set both items on the corner of my desk, then stepped back and waited before she turned and left without a word.

  Strange.

  Stevie’s confidence in her abilities as an assistant was warranted, which is why her sudden silence was so bothersome. Was she planning on leaving before I made a decision? Had she already checked out?

  I didn’t know—not yet—but she was efficient as heck, making my life far easier than thought it could be. I had already accepted that this life as a small-town vet would be harder than that of my counterparts who treated the sick pets of the rich and famous, since I had to pull triple duty as doctor, nurse, and administrator. But Stevie had, somehow, made things much simpler in the few days she’d been around. Hot, refreshed coffee regularly appeared on my desk, and so far, there had been no double-booked appointments, forgotten meetings, or any other trouble.

  It was all smooth sailing. It almost felt too smooth.

  Another knock sounded, pulling me from my thoughts and from the mountain of paperwork I needed to approve now that the filing system was officially up to date and online. The stack in front of me was filled with invoices, old and new, along with equipment orders, lab fees to be paid, and plenty of other admin stuff I’d been neglecting under the guise of doing it all myself. “Come in,” I barked, annoyed at the interruption even though I knew exactly who it was.

  Stevie appeared on the other side of my desk in another pair of painted on blue jeans and a short-sleeved T-shirt that was not workplace appropriate. It wasn’t revealing, it’d need a few more inches to come close, but it was still low-key sexy. She dropped another bag on my desk and took a step back. “Your first appointment after lunch is at one-fifteen. A Doberman with a bowel problem, belongs to Martha Clark.”

  I groaned. Martha was the kind of pet owner who fed her dog human food, non-stop, ignoring all dietary orders she was given. “Thanks.” She gave a short nod and turned on her heels. “Wait.”

  Stevie turned, slowly, pushing a mass of curls out of her face. “Yes?”

  “What’s this?” A dumb question, I knew, but we were both aware of what I was really asking.

  “Lunch. People generally eat it between breakfast and dinner. You don’t want it?”

  “I do,” I insisted, even though I wasn’t sure if I really did. “What is it?”

  Stevie shrugged and leaned against the doorframe with a casual ease I envied most days. “Burger and fries. Figured it was a safe bet.”

  I frowned, wondering what her angle was but aware that asking about it might just piss her off. “What did you get?”

  “Nachos. Loaded with extra jalapeño and guac.” She flashed a proud smile and I groaned.

  “That sounds heavenly.”

  “It does, and it’s mine. You have a burger and fries,” she reminded me, chin tilted up, defiant.

  My lips twitched at her attempt at putting her foot down, which I allowed. “Thank you for lunch, Stevie.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said softly and left my office.

  She also left me confused, but that wasn’t on her. It was on me and my unbelievable reaction to this woman who wasn’t my type. Not even a little bit.

  My phone lit up with Derek’s face as it began to ring and I smiled, reaching for it. I needed to talk to someone about these strange, protective feelings she was stirring in me, but if I talked to Derek, newly in love, he would undoubtedly see things that weren’t there.

  “Derek, how goes the business of overcharging clients?”

  “I don’t know, you tell me. How much is a doggy massage going for these days?” The amusement in his voice soothed his words, even though neither of us meant them.

  “You couldn’t afford one,” I shot back with a laugh.

  “So, how is the assistant going? I heard she has a ring in her nose, is it true?”

  I nodded, turning to look out at the view of the fields of tulips on the other side of the window. “It is true, a light purple stone that almost matches her eyes.” Shit, why did I say that? “She also has a row of earrings all the way up one ear.” That was better, a perfect distraction.

  “Are you freaking out? I bet you’re freaking out right now, and counting down the days until you can fire her, aren’t you?” Derek laughed again, so confident he knew me and I had to admit, as my best friend, he really did.

  “I’m not freaking out.” There was no need to, not when the end of the week was just around the corner and I was, unfortunately, no closer to a decision than I’d been the day she called me on already having my mind made up. “She’s efficient,” I added weakly.

  “That’s a good thing. So, what is it about this woman that has you so unsure?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted, even though I had some idea. “She brought me lunch. Double bacon cheeseburger with fries.” What in the hell did that mean, anyway? Was she sucking up to the boss, or did she get it because I always work through lunch?

  Derek was quiet for a long minute and I strained to see if there were any sounds of an impending emergency. “She doesn’t sound like your type, even though Betty swears she’s as pretty as a picture.”

  “Your point?”

  “My point is, what would be the harm in keeping her on for awhile?”

  The harm was that Stevie was absolutely not my type, but that didn’t mean she lacked a certain appeal. She was attractive and mouthy, and that wild black hair made my fingers itch to run through it. Dammit.

  “I don’t know.” That was the honest-to-god truth.

  Silence descended on the other end of the line, for so long I was about to hang up, when Derek spoke. “You like her.”

  “She’s my assistant. Very capable, what’s not to like?” Why was he reading more into this than there actually was?

  “And you like her. As a human, maybe even as a person.” He laughed, so damn amused by himself. “Then I guess you’d better get used to having her around, because it sounds like you couldn’t get rid of her even if you really wanted to—and you don’t sound like a man who’s ready to see the back of this woman.” He laughed again. “Or maybe you want to see much more than the back of her.”

  “I didn’t say I was keeping her,” I barked angrily, but Derek didn’t find me the least bit intimidating.

  “Good,” he snorted, “because she isn’t a pet. She’s a woman. An employee.”

  Which meant she was off-limits no matter what feelings she stirred up inside me. “Did you call just to give me shit?” It was exactly the kind of thing we did, but not so much since he’d started spending every free moment with Max and Callie.

  “No, I actually called for a reason. Giving you shit was
just a bonus.” He rifled through some papers and when he spoke again, I heard the smile in his voice. “The Hometown Heroes potluck mixer is tomorrow night. Bring a homemade dish and your best smile.”

  “Shit. Will this ever end?”

  “Probably not, but those old ladies helped me land Maxine, so I can’t complain too much.”

  “You complained plenty while it was happening, believe me.” And as amusing as it had been to watch, it had also been kind of painful. Some things, a man needed to do himself.

  “Maybe so, but I’ve got my woman now, which means more women to focus on your pathetic love life.” This time, I heard the muffled sounds of the speaker and I reached for my lunch.

  “Gotta go. Talk to you later, and good luck with the assistant.”

  “Stevie. Her name is Stevie.”

  Derek sighed. “There is something sexy about a woman with a man’s name.” With that, the call was over and I groaned—instead of relaxing at home tonight, I had to cook something.

  For charity.

  And I was pretty sure it would be inappropriate to pass it off onto my assistant.

  Right?

  Stevie

  Standing outside a small-town community center on a Friday night with a chilly bowl of Bloody Mary dip in my arms was not how I’d imagined spending my night. But here I was, staring nervously at the imposing white stone structure that seemed out of place in this small town, scrambling for the courage to go inside.

  I hadn’t ever been much of a “joiner” throughout my life. Not when it came to the clothing drive in high school—I’d just slipped two bags of old clothes into the truck at the end of the school day—and not when it came to any other group activity. I much preferred binge-watching TV shows from the comfort of my own home, wherever that was at any given moment. But, somehow, I’d let two old ladies convince me to not only make a dish, but to show up in person.

  “She didn’t dress up like Eddy told her to, but she’s a pretty little thing.” The voices came from behind me, and even though I didn’t want to turn, I had to. Two very different older women were staring at me. One with dark exotic features, and the other with fair skin and graying hair. Opposites attract seemed to be the theme of these friendships.

  “She doesn’t speak very much, does she?” The question came from the fair-skinned woman.

  “I speak enough,” I told them. “But it’s not every day that two random strangers start talking about me like they know me.”

  The dark-haired woman arched a brow. “She’s got spunk, I like her.”

  “Yeah, I like her attitude, too. The name is Helen Landon, and this here is Elizabeth Vargas. Some of Tulip’s finest, if you don’t mind my saying.”

  “Nice to meet you both. I assume you round out the Sex & the City foursome with Eddy and Betty?”

  “Oh, I like that,” Helen said. “I’ll be the blond one, she’s sassy.”

  “Slutty, you mean,” Elizabeth amended. “You’d have to get out a little more just to be slutty.”

  “I get out just fine,” she retorted, feigning hurt. “We’re not here to talk about me, anyway. Let’s get Stevie inside and introduce her around.”

  “Oh, that won’t be necessary,” I told them, even as both women stood on either side of me and basically herded me into the building, like cattle. “I can find my way, myself.”

  “Just go with it, honey,” Elizabeth whispered. “This is how we do things and it’ll go easier if you just go along.” That really wasn’t my strong suit.

  “Stevie here has brought a dish,” Helen announced, speaking like I was a special charity project. “Isn’t she just lovely?”

  A few older women who had gathered around the table half-filled with homemade dishes nodded and smiled. One even leaned in and pinched my cheek. “Beautiful. Even if she doesn’t do a damn thing to help herself,” Betty said from behind me.

  “Eddy said dressing up was an option, and it’s an option I didn’t want to consider.” Why I was explaining myself, I didn’t know. Maybe it was being surrounded by half a dozen women who were professional moms. “What’s the big deal? This is for charity, right?”

  “Of course,” Elizabeth said and took the bowl from my hands. “But it never hurts to put in a little effort.”

  “I’m not looking to hook up right now.” There was no point in letting these women think they could get their little miss matchmaker on with me when I wasn’t looking.

  “That’s the best time to find exactly what you need,” Betty assured me with a sympathetic smile that said she knew they were all a bit much.

  “Thanks for the kind words and everything, but really, I just came to offer some help and see what this small-town thing was all about.” I’d be gone soon enough, so there was no point in letting them get close or starting to like them—even though they were the pushiest, funkiest, most bad-ass old ladies I’d ever come across in my travels through this great state.

  “At least smile. You have such great teeth.” Helen grinned at me as if the problem was that I didn’t know how to smile, not that I didn’t want to. “Better. A little bigger would be better, though.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Do you serve alcohol at these things?”

  Eddy laughed and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me into her bony frame. “I think I’ve found my new best friend. Let me show you where the cold beer is kept.”

  “Bless you, Eddy.” I let her tear me away from the rest of the women, sucking in a deep breath when we arrived at the drinks table, which held far fewer people in general and a lot fewer matchmaking matrons.

  “Even dressed like a teenage boy, you’re a knockout. That should help. Have fun tonight—and use condoms.” Then, like she hadn’t just said what she’d just said, Eddy sauntered back to her circle of friends, all of whom turned to stare at me.

  I turned away, taking Eddy’s advice for the ice cold beer and finding a table that looked like it hadn’t been claimed yet. It was close to the exit and slightly shielded by the overbearing decorations. I didn’t know what the Hometown Heroes were—or rather, who—but they had one hell of a marketing campaign. The tribute, even in its current state, was a beautiful monument to another bad-ass woman, another reason I was happy to attend tonight.

  “You’re new.” A woman with dark hair and a slightly rounded pregnant belly stood in front of me, sizing me up and looking amused about it.

  “I am. Temporary, too.”

  She grinned. “I’m Nina. I was the new girl earlier this year.”

  “Not so new anymore,” I pointed out, nodding towards her belly.

  “Not at all.” She laughed and rubbed her belly the way pregnant women tended to do. “Why are you over here all alone?”

  “Because those old ladies were a little too interested in my appearance.” I sounded grumpy, and I kind of was. And, yeah, it was kind of nice to have people fuss over me, but it was still weird.

  She laughed. “That’s the matchmaking crew. Who are they trying to match you with?”

  “No one.” It was a rookie mistake to answer so quickly. I knew that, and apparently, Nina did, too.

  “What did you say you were doing in town?”

  “I didn’t.”

  Another woman, a redhead, laughed. “Okay. What brings you to town?”

  I sighed. “I came here for a job, but it ends soon. Then, I’ll be gone.” That much was true. I’d finished up at the office, and Scott hadn’t said one word to me. The. Whole. Day. It didn’t take a genius to figure out, so I’d left the office and threw the key through the mail slot before heading back to my room.

  “Eddy mentioned something about finding an assistant for Scott. Her name was cutesy, like a boy’s name.”

  “Stevie,” I grunted. “That’s me. Stevie.”

  “I’m Penny, this is Max, and that’s Nina. Welcome to Tulip.”

  “Thanks. Nice to meet you all.”

  They all sat, dashing my hopes that they were just passing by. “Why are you le
aving so quickly?”

  “A girl’s gotta work, and the work here suddenly dried up.” Each time I said it, the words went down a little easier.

  “So, you’re going home, then?” That came from Max.

  “No. There is no home, but I’ll go somewhere and that will be home.” Each of the women looked at me like I said I killed kittens for fun. “It’s no big deal. My mom’s dead and my dad lives in New Zealand with his new family. I might head west. Or east. I haven’t decided yet.”

  Another round of silence bounced around the table, and I sighed. This was why I didn’t get attached to people—the weight of their expectations was too much to carry along with my own.

  “Then you can stay here.” That was Penny, and I didn’t get why it mattered to her. Or any of them.

  “Except I don’t have a job, and there’s not even a job board in this town.” Which meant that either there were no jobs, or they were all given out based on who you knew—and I knew no one.

  Three sets of eyes stared at me for about a minute and then, one by one, they stood with a smile and a sad shake of their heads before leaving. It was weird as hell, and suddenly I was a little less sad about packing up and moving on this weekend.

  But the people of Tulip were very interesting to watch. The older ladies I’d met earlier still gathered around the food table, only now their attention was on a group of men I assumed were the Hometown Heroes. They were all good looking, almost too good looking, and casting wary glances right back at the women. A few of the guys wore big, amused smiles and the rest looked miserable. And worried.

  I soaked up as much of the small-town atmosphere as I could, watching who flirted with whom, who casted longing glances and who snuck off seconds after someone else. It was amusing and it made me just the teensiest bit sad I wouldn’t be around to observe more.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I froze at the sound of Scott’s voice beside me. It was a reminder of why I didn’t let myself get too carried away. Anyone could sneak up on you. “Last I checked, this was still a free country and I can go wherever I like.”