Never Say Never
Another Romantic Comedy With Attitude
Donna McDonald
THE PERFECT DATE, Book 1
Contents
Acknowledgments
The Perfect Date Series
Book Description
About This Book
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Note From The Author
Excerpt: Never A Dull Moment
Book Description
Other Books By This Author
About the Author
Copyright © 2017 by Donna McDonald
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is coincidental.
This book contains content that may not be suitable for young readers 17 and under.
Cover by MYST Partners
Edited by MYST Partners
ISBN: 978-1-939988-66-9
Created with Vellum
Acknowledgments
Thanks to my partners in writing crime, J.M. Madden and Robyn Peterman. You keep me honest and make me better at my craft. My writing journey would not be the same without you.
Thanks to AJ for the edit. This was supposed to be an easy one. LOL
Thanks to authors Morgan Malone and Karen Booth, who also write romances with older characters, for reminding about why I chose to do this. You inspired me.
Dedication
For Mina and her willingness to use her mad photography skills on sexy Silver Fox photos. You rock and I will be looking forward to seeing your vision in photos.
The Perfect Date Series
The essence of all romantic comedy is that falling in love and navigating an unexpected romance is never easy or simple. Instead, it’s messy and emotional, and if you’re lucky, it’s also sexy and fun.
Some relationship professionals, like my character of Dr. Mariah Bates in this series, sincerely want to help people find their perfect love match. For the feisty heroines I’ve created, many of whom are older, Mariah’s going to need all the help she can get. Or maybe she just needs to step out of the way. You can be the judge.
NOTE ABOUT THE HEAT LEVEL: Not being a fan of the word “clean” when applied to romance, I will instead say the heat level in this new series is in the 1-2 range, rather than 3-4 like some of my others. The focus is on sensuality and I’ve packed a lot into these stories.
Book Description
Dating's one thing, but what’s love got to do with it?
Nothing. At least not for Ann Lynx. She’s fifty-three for goodness sake. She’s had love. All she’s in the market for these days is some fun companionship—no strings attached.
Right? Wrong.
Thanks to her pain-in-the-rear-end best friend, Georgia, she’s now back on the dating scene. Add Georgia’s matchmaking daughter Mariah to the mix and Ann is officially in a world of trouble—or dates—to be more accurate.
All that would be kind of doable, but her handyman’s sexy too-young-for-her son is making her feel like a silly young girl. She should definitely stick to the handsome, successful, and older men that Mariah keeps throwing in her path, but she can’t seem to banish the sexy Cal from her thoughts anymore than from her broken pantry.
The retired military man is very good at fixing things, and at kissing her senseless. Who’s going to fix her though if Cal ends up breaking her heart?
What’s love got to do with it? Maybe everything.
About This Book
In holidays past, I wrote Saving Santa. It was a Christmas story about a wounded female vet. I wrote the story of Megan Lynx, medically retired Marine with a small case of PTSD, for all my female veteran readers and friends. You see many stories about the guys coming home, but not many are about the women who serve. Megan is rough, tough, and what is often called “tomboy”. She is also a pure-hearted girl who’s been saving her heart for that one guy from her youth that she simply couldn’t forget.
In the process of writing Megan’s story, I gave her a brother. David Lynx was a guy who stayed at home and went to college while his sister went away. While Megan was serving her country, David was keeping things going back home. David took care of their mother after their father died. David made sure things leveled out. I wrote a Valentine’s Day romance, Kissing Kendra. It was the story of David finally settling down with a love of his own.
Fast forward to this new series, of which this is Book 2, and I am writing the story of Ann Lynx. Ann is the 50+ year old mother of Megan and David. She’s lost a husband, been a single parent, and lived a decade without any consolation. Ann has nearly given up on love completely.
Thinking about that, I decided that Ann needed to be part of The Perfect Date series. After seeing her children settled down, the tired mother deserved to have her own story, as all mothers do. So in Never Say Never, Book 2 of The Perfect Date series, I have given Ann Lynx her own happily ever after.
I hope you enjoy Ann’s story and sexy Cal.
Happy reading!
~ Donna McDonald
Chapter One
Ann was pulling on her sweater when the doorbell rang. Stan was running late this morning and that meant she was now running late as well. Lateness only mattered because she was stopping by and dragging Georgia Bates along for her trip through makeover purgatory, which apparently was required before dating Mariah’s rich, picky clients.
Looking through the security portal in her front door, Ann saw a set of wide shoulders and a bowed head. It wasn’t Stan.
A little further down there was a tool belt settled around trim hips. Judging from the beginnings of silver streaks in his hair, she’d put the man’s age somewhere in his forties. The tool belt settled on his trim hips told her the most important thing. Though he wasn’t Stan, he had likely been sent by him. She’d lost so much time she had no more room to be unsettled.
“Good morning,” she said cheerfully, opening the door to find a blue-eyed gaze taking her appearance in with surprise as well.
“Good morning. Your son, David, asked me to come take a look at your broken pantry shelves.”
“Sure. Sorry if I seem confused. I was expecting Stan Rodgers.”
“Dad wasn’t feeling so great today. My name is Cal. I’m Stan’s son.”
“Cal?” Ann repeated, inviting inside with a sweep of her arm. There was something about the way he was built—the way he carried himself. “Oh, Calvin. Now I remember. You’re his oldest. Didn’t Stan tell me you were in the military?”
“Yes, ma’am. Command Sergeant Major in the Army until about two years ago when I retired. Mom got tired of me moping around. She suggested I come back home and help dad until I made up my mind about what to do with myself. I used to work with him every summer during high school. So here I am wearing a tool belt again. I guess it’s true what they say about life coming around full circle as you get older.”
“Thank you for your military servi
ce, Cal. Glad to see you’re still in one piece. A sniper with a bullet retired my Marine daughter early. Glad that didn’t happen to you,” Ann said, leading the way down the hall to the kitchen.
“Thank you. You should probably know that I’ve been working part-time for David and helped out during the Christmas parade. Your daughter’s a crack shot and that’s no lie. I was one of Santa’s elves. I helped chase the sniper down. All that running was a pretty hefty workout for an old geezer like me.”
Ann nodded, remembering that time. “Nicholas is like my own son. He and David were college roommates and are still the best of friends. My daughter, Megan, loved that boy for years before they ever married. Thank you for whatever part you played in helping save him.”
Then what he’d said about himself hit her. Ann fisted a hand on her hip and gave him a chastising look. For pity’s sake, anyone could still see his toned chest muscles pushing against the tight t-shirt he wore. Was the man fishing for a compliment or something?
“Geezer? What in the world are you talking about? You’re still in great shape for someone who’s been out of the military for a couple of years.”
Eyes crinkled at the corners and Cal laughed at her answer instead of really responding. Ann let her gaze roam the back of him—which looked equally as impressive in his snug jeans—while a grinning Cal stepped into her walk-in pantry. He eyed the broken shelf with disdain and passed that same judgment on the rest of the space.
“I’ll fix the one shelf if that’s all you want me to fix, but honestly? I’d replace all these old wooden shelves with wire racks. They’re made pretty sturdy these days. Debris falls through and you can just sweep it up from the floor. You can also vary the sizes to make the best use of your storage space.”
Ann stepped inside the tiny room with him to better look around. Her wandering gaze wanted to stay on his very nice body every time it landed on him, especially when she found him looking back at her. That kind of interest certainly hadn’t happened to her in a while.
However, lustfully ogling the son of her long time handyman seemed a bit sleazy for this early in the morning.
When Cal’s back was turned to her again, Ann firmed her mouth. “All that shelf replacing sounds expensive,” she said.
“It could be,” Cal agreed. “But including my labor, I’m thinking we can get by with a couple hundred dollar version. That’s all you need for boxes of cereal and bottles of olive oil. Looks like you only store food in here.”
“Because the shelves could never hold any more than that,” Ann explained, tipping her head up to look at him.
Now that she was standing so close, she realized Cal had to be at least six feet tall. She suddenly felt tiny and had some trouble breathing around all the male pheromones he was oozing. Needing some fresh air, Ann slipped out into the kitchen again.
“If I take your suggestion, how long will it take to replace all the shelves?”
“Not long.” Cal said, looking around again. “Especially not if you empty them for me while I’m out buying the new ones.”
Ann shook her head. “I’d normally do it in a heartbeat, but I have an appointment that’s going to last all day. I should have already left for it. Want to reschedule?”
“Not particularly. I’ve got other jobs to do that span the next couple of weeks. Dad was a bit backed up in his work when he got sick.” Cal shrugged as he came out of the pantry. “I could probably do everything in one day, even if I have to do the moving. Can I have access to the house while you’re gone for your appointment?”
“You’re not planning to rob me blind, are you?”
Cal’s deep throated laughter was rough and very masculine. His obvious enjoyment of her snarky reply made her smile back at him.
“Sorry. I really didn’t mean that. If you ever did anything bad to me, I’d send my children after you. They’re both proficient shots.”
One of Cal’s eyebrows lifted at the threat. His mouth quirked at one corner. “That sort of surprises me. You look like someone who knows how to take care of herself. Will you be home for dinner?”
“I’m not sure, honey. I suggest you don’t wait up,” Ann teased back, fighting a grin. She crossed her arms, trying to feel as tough as she hoped she sounded. “Are you flirting with me, Cal?”
“No. If I did that, your children wouldn’t get a chance to use their weapons. My dad would skin me alive first,” Cal said, grinning.
“Really?” Ann asked, surprised a bit because lots of women would be flirting right back with someone who looked like Cal. Wasn’t that what she’d been doing? She shook her head. “That’s too bad. You were about to make my day. Let me get you a key.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be right here waiting for you.”
Not sure what that meant, Ann wandered off to retrieve the spare she kept hidden in the hallway console table. Returning, she pressed it into the large masculine palm Cal held out to her.
“Just in case I change my mind about the flirting… is it Mrs. or Miss?” he asked.
“It’s just Ann,” she answered, unsure about why she’d said it quite that way.
“That’s a very nice name,” Cal said. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ve got this covered. And I’m sure I’ll see you again today.”
“And I’m sure I’ll be back before you finish my pantry. See you later, Cal.”
“Have a good day, Ann.”
Chapter Two
“My daughter has more money than brains. I should have known this was going to be one of those fancy places where they have to get you drunk before they work on you. The problem is that their booze is cheap and your buzz always wears off by the time you have to pay their too expensive bill.”
Chuckling over her friend’s complaining, Ann turned around on the sidewalk and grabbed the arm of the woman who’d gotten her into this craziness. “Don’t even think about trying to run, Georgia Bates. I’m a decade younger and in better shape at the moment because you keep skipping yoga class. You promised to do this stupid makeover with me if I agreed, and you are keeping your word.”
“But you know what an extremist my child is. She’s not like your two. If my daughter gets her way, I’ll have three more colors of hair when they get done. I already have three shades of silver. I don’t need total rainbow hair with an expensive dye job I have to upkeep.”
Anne grunted and held tight. “It’s called highlighting and lowlighting… and it will improve your complexion. And you really, really need that haircut of yours updated. Now don’t be such a big baby.”
Georgia, who considered herself strong, tried to pull her arm away, but Ann Lynx had a grip of steel. “I can’t believe you’re so strong. No wonder your daughter joined the Marines. She must be a hoss if she takes after you.”
“Lift weights and you can be like me too,” Ann ordered, tugging on the arm she held.
Georgia huffed before answering. “You’re just tormenting me because you don’t want to do this.”
Not letting go because she knew better, Ann fisted her free hand on a trim hip kept that way by exercise and not being afraid of hard work. She glared for good measure.
“Gee, you think? ‘Come over for a potluck. I’m throwing a food party.’ You tricked me into this, you big old fibber.”
Humor kicking in finally—mostly because of Ann’s sarcasm—Georgia scrubbed a hand over her face as she laughed. “I’m sorry. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I figured it would be a lark we’d have a good laugh over.”
“A lark, sure, but one I have no choice about now because my kids are ecstatic about me doing this. But don’t worry, I fully intend to have the last good laugh,” Ann said firmly, opening the door and shoving Georgia inside the posh interior. “I’m coming back to watch when Trudy Baxter has to deal with this makeover crap. She vowed never to put on makeup again.”
Sighing because they’d been spotted immediately, Georgia plastered a smile on her face for the attendant who took their names and marshaled
them into two stylist chairs. Within the hour, they were completely foiled and sitting under dryers. Both were getting manicures and pedicures when Mariah finally came through the door and clapped her hands.
“Yay, you’re here. And I see things are moving along fast. Excellent.”
“Yay, we’re both here…” both women said dryly, making each other laugh.
Mariah rolled her eyes. “Stop whining, you two. You’re going to love the results. Manicure. Pedicure. Facial. Makeup. A new hairstyle. You two are getting the works. The image consultant will pick you up here, then it’s back to the office for your interviews. I left Della practically vibrating at the thought of making your videos this afternoon.”
“Why do I have to make a video? I’m not a real client,” Georgia said in the flattest tone she could manage with Ann laughing from the chair beside her.
“You need to go through the whole process with Anne so Trudy won’t be able to make you do it. Ann’s going to give you a lot less grief. Right, Ann?”
Ann’s open snickering earned her the evil eye from Georgia and a grin from Georgia’s very clever daughter. She wasn’t sure why Mariah was using her to get Georgia to do this, but it was a lot of fun to see her friend squirming.
“Yes. I only wanted some company to lessen the misery. Trudy would put Georgia in stilettos and a miniskirt to get even.”
“Like hell,” Georgia declared, rolling her eyes when the other female patrons giggled about her loud swearing.
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