“The Meet Cute”
Ellie Milhone
The Meet Cute
Copyright © 2019 Ellie Milhone
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes only.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DEDICATION
To Neil and Hunter. The two loves of my life. You inspire me to want to be the best that I can be, every day. Love you lots!
CONTENTS
ABOUT THIS BOOK
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ABOUT THIS BOOK
The McKenzie Brothers
Quinn & Logan
Quinn had worked so hard building her business over the last couple of years, that romance had been placed firmly on the back burner for her. Struggling to keep the doors of her beloved shop open, she had nowhere left to turn until a chance encounter with the hunky new bad boy billionaire in town changes everything. He makes her an offer she can't refuse, but sensing that his intentions may be less than entirely honorable, Quinn lays down the law with some conditions of her own.
Intent only on seducing Quinn into his bed, Logan forgot his number one rule when it came to business - never underestimate the opposition. Sweeping him off his feet with her heavenly curves and a pair of beautiful amber eyes, she undermines every ruthless instinct he ever possessed. Now, in order to win her heart, he must do everything in his power to earn her trust and convince her that he is serious about taking a chance on love.
NOTE BY THE AUTHOR
This is a light hearted novella of about 25000 words, meant to be read in one or two sittings. Not be taken too seriously and hopefully not judged too harshly.
This is my very first attempt at writing a novel and I hope you enjoy it, as I certainly had a great time writing it. But even if you did not, please kindly leave a review so I can do better next time!
xxx
Ellie
P.S. If you don't enjoy reading about possessive and overbearing alpha males, then this probably is not the book for you. Also, fair warning, though they are by no means explicit and what I like to think of as tastefully written, this book does contain some love scenes.
CHAPTER ONE
Quinn looked longingly at the delicious, cream-filled chocolate éclairs through the bakery window. She could almost taste them, even salivating a little as the sweet and fragrant aromas wafted out of the front door towards her.
Not today though! She would not give in to the chocolaty goodness beckoning her closer with each gust of wind. As tempting as it was, especially today, she refused to be seduced by the call of the pastry siren.
She had already fallen off the diet wagon in a massive way - no pun intended - last weekend. She had virtually zero clothes that actually fit around her now even curvier bottom and even less cash to spend replacing said wardrobe.
After opening her high end lingerie shop, her finances were a bit strained. Starting her own business had always been a dream for Quinn but it came at quite a price, literally.
Most of her savings had been sunk into her new start up, with not so much as a sniff of a return on her investment on the horizon.
It really was true what the experts said, a lot of small businesses fail within the first year due to a lack of operating funds. She had unfortunately overestimated her sales revenue for the first six months and was spending cash much faster than it was coming in.
Getting a new business established takes time and advertising was anything but cheap. Her innovative efforts at old school, in person marketing, promotions and networking had given her a much needed boost in sales last month, but unfortunately not enough to ward disaster off for very long.
She needed a capital injection and fast, before it was too late and all her blood, sweat and plenty of tears, to get the business up and running, goes down the drain.
This was her reason for getting up in the morning! Failure was not an option. Quinn loved her job. Being creative with the added pleasure of making people happy with her creations was the most fulfilling thing she had ever done.
Hence the reason for her early morning presence in the heart of the small town she called home. The population had dwindled in recent years to a mere ten thousand permanent residents as more and more young people had chosen to leave the smaller confines of Faircliff and succumbed to the lure of bigger cities and towns with better career prospects.
The Faircliff town council had responded to this exodus by offering grants to small businesses who decided to settle permanently in the area, and she’ll be damned if she was not going to nab one of those for herself!
Turning with one last lingering look at the éclairs, Quinn failed to notice a tall dark man rounding the corner of the bakery building, and walked straight into his very wide, solid chest.
A little winded, she looked up as firm hands grasped her upper arms to steady them both. Two beautiful, surprisingly friendly blue eyes blinked down at her.
“Oh my God, I am so sorry!” Beyond embarrassed at getting caught being so clumsy because she was mooning over a chocolate éclair, Quinn swore softly under her breath, “Damn you pastry siren.”
There was a moment of amused silence during which Quinn wished the earth would open up and swallow her as fast as it could before a chuckle escaped the handsome stranger.
“Pastry siren?”
He eyed her with interest as his gorgeous blue gaze made a leisurely inspection from her unruly auburn waves, down to her sensible low heeled pumps.
Holding out his hand for her to shake, he introduced himself.
“Logan McKenzie. Who do I have the pleasure of rescuing this morning?”
Hesitating, Quinn reluctantly placed her small hand in his much larger one as she replied, “Quinn Cunningham.”
Pulling her hand away as though she had been burned, Quinn quickly moved to step past him.
His warm, firm grip was just too disturbing this time of the morning and by the looks of him he needed absolutely no encouragement to jump to the wrong conclusions.
“Nice to meet you Mr Mckenzie, if you will excuse me I am going to be late for a very important meeting.”
Already turning to walk away, she came to an abrupt halt as his hand shot out to grasp her elbow firmly, but gently.
Looking up at him questioningly before pointedly staring at his hand on her arm, Quinn felt an involuntary shiver run down her spine at the proprietorial expression in his eyes.
“I am sure we will be running into each other again very soon Ms. Cunningham.”
With an audacious wink, he released her and walked off in the opposite direction, whistling a lively tune as if he did not have a care in the world.
Thirty seconds later, Quinn was still frozen to the same spot, a mildly surprised look on her face, feeling a little unsettled by the whole incident, and wishing that her sweet tooth had not chosen such an important morning to lead her astray.
And what a cheek to assume she was a Ms. just because she was not wearing a wedding ring! He was right of course but she could be married for all he kne
w and her ring could just be at the jewelers to be cleaned.
Pulling herself together, she squared her shoulders and more or less marched in the direction of the town hall, giving herself a little pep talk about not taking no for an answer and sticking to her guns.
CHAPTER TWO
Logan was still whistling as he stopped to cross the street before getting into his sleek, low slung sports car. Not one for ostentatious displays of wealth, it was his only self-indulgence when it came to personal comfort as he usually preferred keeping a low profile.
Navigating his car through the stream of oncoming traffic, he thought about the expression of outrage on Quinn’s face when he called her Ms. Cunningham and smiled to himself. He could be wrong of course, but he was pretty sure she was unmarried.
Anyway, it would be easy enough to get all the information he wanted from his local agent. Mere details in any case as he was determined to track the gorgeous redhead down, and even more determined on getting to know her a whole lot better.
Short and curvy, she immediately caught his attention even before delighting him by plowing straight into his arms. She had the most enticingly luscious lips, complete with a tantalizing pout, and her eyes were a beautiful rich shade of amber.
Her face, a combination of delicate features, made her appear more vulnerable than the tough as nails, business-like image she was obviously trying to project.
Even wearing a formal gray suit with knee length skirt and stockings, she gave Logan the impression of a little girl playing dress up. It made him feel strangely protective towards her and he wondered where she had been heading before their chance encounter.
His curiosity piqued, he decided to make some calls when he got back to the office. He was in town representing his family’s business interests but there was nothing wrong with having a little fun at the same time.
In any event, if everything went according to plan, he would be out of here in a couple of months, so there really was no time to get seriously involved with anyone.
In fact, there was hardly ever time to get serious about women. He was the problem solver in the family and he spent a good portion of his time travelling. The network of companies they owned was vast, and scattered all over the world.
Dealing with delicate negotiations or complex project management dilemmas was a specialty of his and he enjoyed the exhilarating cut and thrust of the business world.
Never one to back down from a challenge, Logan placed a call to his local right hand man as soon as he walked in, and an hour later he had all the info he needed on Quinn Cunningham, along with a well-planned strategy to win her over and convince her to go out with him.
With a satisfied smile he picked up the phone again and dialed the number of a certain bakery that Mike had been good enough to supply as well, and placed a large order for an assortment of their best pastries.
CHAPTER THREE
Well, Quinn thought as she despondently exited the council building over an hour later, that was an unmitigated disaster if ever I saw one.
They had turned down her application almost immediately, after making her wait forty minutes and without even listening to all of her well-rehearsed presentation about her plans for attracting more clientele to their little town.
Scoffing at her idea of a specialized consultation service where women could come and have themselves professionally measured and fitted with the correct underwear and support wear to suit their body type.
A service that was sorely lacking in her opinion. You had to travel for miles to the nearest big city to even just get yourself measured properly for a bra, never mind any of the other services she was planning to offer.
Quinn firmly believed that there was a good market locally for custom made underwear, especially for weddings and special events.
The correct support underneath could make all the difference to the fit of a gown. More women were beginning to realize this as magazines, TV shows and bloggers had all begun running articles and doing interviews with famous stylists on the topic in recent months.
She had done her research well and was perfectly willing to back it up with the beautifully printed proposals she had spent so much time and money on.
Unfortunately they had dismissed her ideas out of hand, without even so much as opening the first page, and she was wavering between being furiously angry about their bullish small mindedness, and being sorely disappointed about her failure to get the cash she so badly needed.
Grimacing at the wasted time and effort she headed for her car while texting her best friend Sarah, who was manning the shop by herself this morning so Quinn could present her proposal.
“Be there in fifteen, need caffeine in an IV!!!”
At least she would have a sympathetic ear to vent into after this train wreck of a morning. Quinn and Sarah had been friends since they were children and she understood exactly how Quinn felt about the business and how hard she had worked to get it off the ground.
“I was afraid this might happen!” Sarah said as she finally walked through the door of her little shop fifteen minutes later, handing Quinn a fresh cup of coffee as she collapsed into the nearest chair.
“Half of those council members are so old they still refer to bra’s as brassieres and the other half wouldn’t recognize a good business idea if it smacked them right in the face!”
“Honestly, the thought of that lot being in charge of “rejuvenating” the town economy is laughable.”
Feeling a rush of affection for the unconditional loyalty of her friend, Quinn got up to give her a quick hug, blinking back tears furiously as she tried to get her emotions under control.
“Oh Sarah, it was horrible! And on top of it all, there was this one dreadful man who made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. His name is Trevor Connors and apparently he has not been on the council for very long. In any case, I haven’t met him before because I'm sure I would have remembered him. I felt like he was undressing me with his eyes the whole time!”
Sarah looked horrified. “Oh Quinn, no! How awful! I have a good mind to march over there and give those idiots a piece of my mind.”
The thought of Sarah, who was even shorter than Quinn, marching up to anyone, made Quinn giggle as she pictured the tiny, dark haired women with hands on hips berating the town council as if they were a bunch of school boys.
They say dynamite comes in small packages and that was certainly the case with Sarah. Quinn was lucky to have her as a friend.
“I know you would and I appreciate it.” Quinn smiled at Sarah as they both looked around when the front door chimed and a delivery man from her favorite bakery, the one she was drooling in front of this morning, walked in.
“Delivery for Ms. Quinn Cunningham?” The man looked from Sarah to Quinn as she said, “That’s me, but I definitely did not order anything from Charlie’s today.”
He looked down at the clipboard in his hand and said, “Well, the order says to deliver to Ms. Quinn Cunningham at Sexy Inc. Lingerie in Main Street. Please sign here and enjoy.”
Sarah looked curiously at Quinn while she signed the clipboard and took the box from the delivery man, who did a quick salute before disappearing smartly back through the front door.
Quinn placed the box on the counter and popped open the lid, only to let out a moan of pure pleasure as the familiar aroma of chocolate and fresh cream hit her square in the nose.
“I don’t care if this is a mistake,” Sarah said as she reached for one of the delicious looking confections, “I am having one and so are you. One should never look a gift horse in the mouth, even a mistaken one. Diets be damned.”
Not waiting for another invitation Quinn picked up a decadent éclair from the box and took a bite, before closing the lid again to look for any clues as to who might have sent it.
“No card or envelope,” she said to Sarah. “And it’s definitely not my birthday, so I know it wasn’t mom or dad that sent it.”
“Oeeee! A secret admirer
!” Sarah chuckled. “I always wanted one of those.”
Quinn gave her a withering look before replying. “Please, you do realize that secret admirers only seem romantic in books and movies right? In real life they are actually quite creepy.”
She looked up at Sarah in alarm. “You dont think it was that guy from the council who sent these? Trevor Connors?”
They both jumped as Quinn’s cell started ringing.
She answered with a slightly shaky voice. “Quinn Cunningham.”
“Ms. Cunningham! Did you get my peace offering?”
That voice. Quinn immediately recognized it, the low pitched sexy rumble forever etched into her mind. A tiny butterfly started flapping in the pit of her stomach and her knees felt a little wobbly as she fought to control her reaction. So it was HIM! He had sent the box full of delectable goodies. But why?
“Logan McKenzie. How did you get this number and for that matter how did you get my address?” Quinn replied on a shaky breath.
“What can I say? Information is a commodity that is easy to get at the right price. Have dinner with me tonight?”
Sarah looked at her with a frown as she stood with the phone to her ear and her mouth hanging slightly open. What the hell? He tracked her down, to ask her out? This was crazy! She had only met the man very briefly this morning.
Breathing slowly in through her nose she replied, “No offense Logan, but I barely know you. What makes you think that I am going to have dinner with you?”
“Ah, I thought you might feel that way. I assure you it is all very above board and legit. I heard about your little run in with the council this earlier and I have a business proposition for you. And besides, it would be in public, at a restaurant. What could possibly happen?”
By now Sarah was almost jumping up and down with excitement, furiously giving Quinn a thumbs up with both hands. She felt like she was losing her mind. Had the world gone crazy?
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