Fallin' in Love

by Donna Cummings

  Fallin' in Love

  Summer lovin' was just the start.

  Now there's a new season, and it's perfect for falling in love.

  Copyright 2014 by Donna Cummings

  All rights reserved.

  Cover by Carrie Spencer, http://www.cheekycovers.com

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away.

  Table of Contents

  Fallin' in Love

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  'Tis the Season

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  About the Author

  Connect with Me Online

  Other Available Books

  Note

  I hadn't planned for this to be a series. Actually, it wasn't even meant to be a story.

  It began as a writing prompt on my blog. I wanted to see what my writer friends would come up with from this simple line: "The puppy chased the ball." It was awesome to see what the mystery writers devised (eeek! scary stuff!) compared to the romance writers (awww! mooshy stuff!)

  At first I couldn't come up with anything, but then I managed to scribble a few sentences where a woman was trying to distract the puppy from chewing her shoe. One sentence led to another. . . and the result was Summer Lovin', a story about a summer fling and a puppy with a shoe fetish.

  It's been such a treat hearing from readers who enjoyed that novella. I've also heard that the story was too short, and that you wanted more of Mia and Luke and Hellboy. I discovered I felt the same way!

  So now there are a couple more stories. The first, Fallin' in Love, is set during autumn, one of my favorite seasons. The background of this book cover is a picture I took at a local New England apple orchard, and I'm tickled to use it here.

  I've also included a little holiday surprise for you at the end of this story. After all, 'tis the season!

  Chapter 1

  September

  Mia stretched out in the lawn chair, admiring Luke while he washed his sporty BMW. He bent down and examined the driver's side headlight before giving it an extra little scrub.

  Nobody would ever guess she'd smashed that very same headlight while trying to rescue her sandal from Hellboy, the shoe-devouring puppy. She still felt a twinge of guilt at the damage they'd caused.

  But boy had it been worth it.

  She lifted her sunglasses to get a better view of her sexy boyfriend. How could she not appreciate the muscles on display—thanks to his weekend attire of snug t-shirt and cargo shorts.

  She almost hated for the summery weather to end.

  "What's your favorite season?"

  "That's a good question." Luke stood up and dropped the soapy sponge into the nearby bucket. "I'll have to go with pepper. There's just so much you can do with it. It can add a little fire to a dish, or a lot, and—"

  She laughed and started to correct his misunderstanding. . . until she saw his wink. "You! You just love to tease me, don't you?"

  "I think we both know the answer to that."

  She couldn't stop the blush. Or the insta-lust consuming her. Not with that slow sexy grin aimed her direction. She could try to pretend she was immune to his charms, but there was way too much evidence to disprove it.

  "So," she prompted. "Your favorite season?"

  "I want to say summer, since that's when we met."

  "I'm rather partial to that one, too," she admitted.

  "But how can I not like fall?" Luke spread his arms wide, giving her a great view of his pecs straining against the faded t-shirt. "The sun is shining. It's still warm enough to wash the car while you sit there half-naked ogling me. I can watch you ogling me while pretending I can't see you ogling me."

  She tugged at the hem of her shorts. "I'm not half-naked." At least not yet. The wicked gleam in his eyes had a tendency to make her clothes disappear, almost instantaneously. "And I'm not ogling. I'm merely admiring your technique."

  "You like some of my other techniques, too."

  "I do! I've learned so many cooking ones from you—" His gasp made her laugh before adding, "Enough to keep me from starving when we're not together."

  A frown quickly replaced his grin. "That's the only reason I'm not as big a fan of this season. We're both way too busy now. It's hard to get any time with each other."

  "I know. But we definitely make excellent use of the time we do have, don't we?"

  Mia waggled her eyebrows, hoping it would make him laugh.

  Luckily it did, and the sexy rumbling sound made her melt on the spot. Luke ambled over and then placed his hands on the arm rests, enclosing her in a deliciously intimate fashion.

  "What would you like to do when I'm finished with the car?"

  Before she could answer, he touched his lips against hers. It was an intoxicating, leisurely kiss, Luke's trademark actually—the kind that usually ended with them racing to the bedroom, forgetting everything else on the agenda. Her libido was urging her to choose what was waiting for them behind Bedroom Door #1.

  But she wanted Luke to know she enjoyed time with him for other reasons. This wasn't a temporary thing, not anymore. They had tried that last summer and discovered neither of them were suited for flings.

  When he finally ended the kiss, Mia answered his question of what to do next.

  "Let's go pick apples!"

  ***

  Somehow Luke managed to keep from groaning against her mouth. "That was not what I was expecting you to say."

  "I know." Mia nibbled on his bottom lip, nearly causing his knees to give way. "But just imagine how good an apple pie will taste later, when we're snuggled on the couch."

  "Naked?"

  "Of course. I've been sorting through your recipes for this book, and I'm positive your pie requires the apples to be naked."

  He gave her one of his mock growls, one that Hellboy had taught him a long time ago. "You are so going to pay for that."

  She linked her arms around his neck, pulling him back toward her. "I hope you take apple pie as payment."

  He leaned in for another kiss, stroking her honey-gold hair from her face, wishing the aluminum chair could hold both of them. If it could, he'd try to convince her to abandon the excursion entirely.

  He sneaked a glance at her long bare legs, and the top she wore tied in a knot under her breasts. Mia was way more tempting than Eve had been with the first apple in existence. Was it any wonder he didn't want to go anywhere but the bedroom?

  Still, as much as he wanted to spend a naked afternoon with her, he didn't want her to think they were only about sex. It was always great sex. Better every time actually.

  But he'd convinced Mia they could make this long-distance thing work, and he was determined not to be wrong.

  "Come on, slacker." Luke extended his hand to help her out of the chair. "We can't spend all day making out. There are apples waiting for us."

  "Well, let's go rescue them then."

  When she stood up in front of him, the joy on her face made Luke's heart jump and skip and do all kinds of crazy things. Things it only did when she was near. Or when he thought about her, wishing she was near.

  Before he could puzzle it all out, there was a barrage of barking noises from the neighbor's yard.

  "Hellboy," they both said at the same time.

  "He doesn't like being on that side of the fence," Luke commented. "He seems to think he belongs over here, with us."

  Mia gnawed at her lip. "I feel terrible. Sondra says he's always whining and scratching at the door whenever we're over here. And the rest of the week he mopes around."

  Luke wrapped his arms around Mia's waist, unable to resist any chance o
f having her close. "Let's go see if we can arrange a visitation with him later on today."

  "Yes!" She planted a kiss on him that nearly made Luke forget what they were talking about. "In fact, why don't we take Hellboy with us? To show him what the rest of the world is like."

  "That's a great idea." Luke chuckled. "He'll be so happy, I bet he tries to get permanent custody of us."

  ***

  Hellboy was not at all happy with them.

  After some searching on the internet, Mia had found an apple orchard that allowed dogs, so long as they were on a leash. Luke thought it sounded like a great idea, and he'd run out to buy one so Hellboy could join their outing.

  Unfortunately it was Hellboy's first attempt at being on a leash, and it was clear from his growls and whines he meant for it to be the last.

  Luke wasn't sure what to do. There was no way he could leave the hellhound in the car. And he didn't want to head home before Mia got to enjoy the day.

  He knelt down and scratched behind the dog's ears. "Maybe he'd like this better if he knew it was made from the same stuff as his 'shoe toys'."

  Mia chuckled. "I'd let him chew on it, but then he might make an escape."

  "Oh, he definitely would. Wouldn't ya, buddy?"

  Hellboy shook his head, hard, as if it would dislodge the restraint. He also shot a look of betrayal in Luke's direction.

  "I'm sure not his favorite person right now." Luke stood up. "If he still hates it in a little while, I'll carry him. He's just the tiniest ball of fur, no matter how fierce he thinks he is."

  Mia gave Luke a brief kiss. "You're the best."

  "Second only to you," he replied with a smile.

  Hellboy gave a little ruff of protest.

  Mia grinned at the cranky pup and then studied the map they'd been given. She turned to get her bearings and pointed at a distant stand of trees marked with a red flag. "I think the Honeycrisps are over there. Those are always my favorite."

  Luke shaded his eyes with one hand while he glanced around the orchard. "We'll still need something for the pie. Macintosh is a good choice. Or Macoun."

  "You mean pies," Mia added, her eyes twinkling as she drew out the "s". "If we make one, we might as well make several."

  "You're going to work me to death this weekend, aren't you?"

  "You have no idea. And then I'll have you in the kitchen making tons of pies."

  Luke's entire body responded to her teasing words. He slid his arm around her waist, pulling her closer, while making sure Hellboy didn't get tangled up in their feet.

  "I should have recognized your evil plan when I saw you grabbing so many of these baskets."

  She gave a cackle that would have made the Wicked Witch of the West envious. Hellboy added an ominous bark, but it didn't seem to be in appreciation of Mia's cackling abilities.

  They headed off down the dirt road, chatting and laughing, with Hellboy trotting along. All of a sudden the pup let out a sharp yap and plopped down in the middle of the path. The other apple pickers grinned as they walked around his immovable form.

  "C'mon, buddy." Luke tugged the leash, gently. "You were doing so good there."

  The dog merely stretched his neck until it would have popped off if Luke had continued.

  "He's even more stubborn than I realized," Mia said. She knelt down to see if she could do anything to persuade Hellboy to soldier on. He put a paw on her hand and whimpered, as if he'd been horribly deceived by both of them. "Oh, you poor thing!"

  Mia looked up at Luke, and he could see how the pup's distress was breaking her heart. He couldn't bear for either of them to be sad.

  "Okay, hellhound, you win." Luke started to unhook the leash from Hellboy's collar. The puppy wriggled with excitement, giving Luke's hand several grateful licks. "Hang on so I can get this undone."

  Before Luke could liberate him, an excited bark from behind them made Hellboy's head snap around. Another boisterous puppy, a black-and-white mix similar in size, ran up as if Hellboy was a long-lost cousin. It woofed several times before jumping toward Hellboy, its paws outstretched playfully.

  "I'm so sorry," the owner, a harried older woman, said, trying to grab the end of the leash. "She's not used to being outdoors yet. Pixie, come back here."

  "Don't worry!" Mia said. "This is Hellboy's first time on the leash, and he's not very happy about it. He's used to running free in a big back yard—"

  "A couple of them actually," Luke added with a grin.

  "Yes. Which is why he seems so offended that this one requires confinement of any kind."

  Hellboy began playing with his new friend, nipping at its ears, sniffing everywhere, completely forgetting that he had been pouting just moments before. If Luke had had any treats in his pockets, he would have given all of them to Pixie as thanks for erasing Hellboy's grievances.

  "They like each other," the other owner said with a warm smile.

  Hellboy barked, only this time it looked like he was grinning, the way he usually did. His back end started wagging like crazy too. Yes, the dog was definitely in a much better mood now, thanks to his canine girlfriend.

  "Oh dear," Mia said. "Now he won't want to leave."

  Luke grinned. "We should have brought a shoe to distract him."

  The woman laughed. "He loves shoes too? I thought Pixie was the only one who devoured them on a daily basis."

  Hellboy and Pixie stopped their rough-housing to gaze at each other as if they had found their soulmate.

  Until Hellboy saw a stray apple laying on the ground, and took off after it, with Luke gripping the leash, trying to keep up with the little monster.

  ***

  Mia leaned back against the apple tree, sitting next to Luke on the blanket he'd thought to bring from the car. There were a lot of perks to having a chef for a boyfriend, most notably his ability to whip simple everyday ingredients into a scrumptious picnic.

  "You are amazing," she said. "And so is this cider."

  "Wait til you taste it with this."

  Mia opened her mouth for the morsel of cheese he offered. She had barely started chewing when the tart cider blended with the nutty cheddar. "Oh my God."

  "People are going to think we're doing something else if you keep that up."

  "If you keep giving me things like this to eat, we will be doing something else."

  "You put such ideas into my head." He clucked his tongue. "And almost all of them would get us arrested."

  He finished slicing an apple, one they'd picked earlier, and handed it to her. Mia took it from his outstretched fingers with her teeth.

  "Wow," he said, "I'm lucky you didn't bite me."

  "I'm saving that for later."

  His eyes sparked with appreciation, and Mia could feel her heart swelling with happiness. What a wonderful day it had turned out to be. The air had just a hint of the crispness which signaled summer wouldn't be able to hang on forever. The occasional breeze shook the leaves on the trees, exposing the apples nestled in the branches above, and ruffling Hellboy's fur while he snored at the edge of the blanket.

  "Thank goodness Hellboy managed to wear himself out," Luke said.

  He put his arm around Mia, drawing her in to his side. She was pretty sure she heard a sigh of contentment when she snuggled closer. She looked up at him, just to make sure, and in the next instant, he yawned.

  The shocked look on his face made Mia burst out laughing.

  "I'll have to chastise Hellboy for wearing you out," she teased. "That was supposed to be my job today."

  "Don't you worry. I have plenty of stamina in reserve."

  "Good to know." She nuzzled his shirt, warmed from being in the sunshine. "Because we've got a bushel of apples to turn into pies."

  He gave her a playful squeeze. She nearly squealed but Luke silenced her with a kiss, one that made her forget teasing, or pies, or anything but falling under his spell, under an apple tree, on the most perfect day ever created.

  ***

  Luke ba
rely had a chance to open the car door before Hellboy darted into the backyard as if actual hellhounds were on his tail. The pup must have made at least four laps around the yard before he finally stopped, panting heavily, but with his trademark grin finally back in place.

  "Good to see you happy again, buddy."

  Luke grabbed the picnic basket from the trunk. He managed to tuck the leash into his back pocket, although not quickly enough, because Hellboy gave him a suspicious look before racing to the farthest corner of the yard.

  Mia slapped her hands against her thighs, trying to woo Hellboy out of his lair, but he just stared blankly, as if he didn't have a clue what she wanted.

  Luke laughed. "He's never going to let us forget that whole leash business."

  "It doesn't seem so. I wonder if he'll ever want to visit us again."

  "I doubt that will be a problem."

  Luke took the basket inside the house and placed it on the kitchen table. He thought about grabbing some wine and heading down to the dock, since there probably weren't too many days left for them to enjoy it. They had spent many a summer evening there, getting to know each other, sharing their first kiss—

  "Stop that!" Mia cried.

  What the hell? Luke dashed outside, the screen door slamming behind him. Mia was waving her hands at Hellboy in a vain attempt to stop him from gnawing on the pumpkin she'd just placed on the patio step.

  "That's one way for him to get his revenge."

  "It's bigger than he is!"

  "Yeah, but to him it's just another ball." Luke wrapped his arms around Mia from behind. "Although I'm glad you're not going to toss this one at my car."

  She relaxed her head against his chest. "I still feel bad about breaking your headlight that day."

  "I don't," he said, peppering her cheek with kisses. "If you hadn't—well, I probably wouldn't have come over, even though I wanted to get to know you, in the worst way."

  Mia turned in his embrace until she was facing him. "Why not?"

  "What would I have said? 'Howdy, ma'am, I think you're incredibly sexy and I'd like to get to know you, even though you're only going to be here a couple weeks.'"

  "Yeah, that might have made me nervous. Especially the 'Howdy, ma'am' part." She buried a laugh in his chest, and Luke couldn't resist the chance to dot some more kisses along her temple. "Did I ever tell you I thought you were a music video stud?"