by Jean Oram
Contents
Blurb
Copyright
Books by Jean Oram
Tequila and Candy Hearts
The Blueberry Springs Collection
What’s Next from Jean Oram
Invitation to Become a Jeanster
About the Author
Tequila and Candy Hearts
By Jean Oram
One new job. One chance to prove herself. And one crush on the man she most definitely shouldn’t.
Nicola Samuels has spent the past two years traveling the world with her best friend Todd Haber and is ready to settle down with her first real career as Blueberry Springs’s community planner. Eager to make her mark on the small town, she creates the first annual Valentine’s Day Love Extravaganza. Thinking she is immune to the holiday, she hires a man dressed as Cupid, not expecting to fall under the spell of the holiday…
But when Cupid strikes, will she kiss the man she shouldn’t—or will she hide her true feelings in order to prevent ruining the one thing she can’t risk losing?
Note to readers: This is a standalone short story featuring a new Blueberry Springs citizen and contains a mild cliffhanger. It does not contain spoilers for any of the Blueberry Springs stories.
Tequila and Candy Hearts
A Blueberry Springs Valentine’s Day Short Story Romance
By Jean Oram
Copyright 2015 Jean Oram
ISBN: 978-1-928198-12-3
First Edition
Contact Jean Oram by email at [email protected]
Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book, even when purchased, remains the copyrighted property of the author, and it cannot be reproduced, modified, copied and/or distributed by any means for commercial or non-commercial purposes whether the work is attributed or not, unless written permission has been granted by the author, with the exception of brief quotations for use in a review of this work. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite online vendor where they can also discover other works by this author as this ebook edition is not intended for resale. Thank you for your support. Keep reading!
All characters and events appearing in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people, alive or dead, as well as any resemblance to events is coincidental and, truly, a little bit cool.
Cover created by Jean Oram
Books by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jean Oram
The Blueberry Springs series
*Champagne and Lemon Drops (FREE! Book 1)
Whiskey and Gumdrops (Book 2)
Rum and Raindrops (Book 3)
Eggnog and Candy Canes (Book 4)
**Sweet Treats (Book 5—FREE for subscribers)
Vodka and Chocolate Drops (Book 6: Coming Summer 2015)
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The Summer Sisters Tame the Billionaires
Love and Rumors (Book 1—FREE)
Love and Dreams (Book 2)
Love and Trust (Book 3)
Love and Danger (Book 4)
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Love and Rumors—coming Spring 2015!
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Tequila and Candy Hearts
Okay, so Nicola Samuels may have mentioned her well-known aunts, Mary Alice and Liz, once or twice during the job interview to ensure she was chosen for the position of Blueberry Springs’s new community planner. And now that she had the job, all she had to do was bring the flare and gusto she’d promised so she wouldn’t receive a pink slip at the end of her probationary period.
Easy, right? Well, maybe if the town wasn’t so incredibly boring in the middle of the winter. Nothing thrilling had come across her desk other than the odd building permit, and her will to get out of bed each morning was waning with alarming speed. She’d wanted to grow up and get a real career not realizing it would suck this much.
She needed something exciting. She needed to wake up the small town of Blueberry Springs and put her mark on it. Either that or find a boyfriend. Or even just a best friend who wasn’t living his own new life hours away from her. She missed Todd Haber. She hadn’t quite realized how close they’d become over the years. Sure, they were best friends who’d barely been apart since high school where they’d shared study notes and a love of all things candy related. When they’d moved on to college they’d shared classes and a cramped old apartment over a Mexican restaurant that had ten different kinds of tequila. After graduation they’d traveled the world, side by side, for two years. But now they were living more than two hours away from each other and she missed him. Needed a friend who understood her and would allow her to bounce crazy ideas off of, someone to get silly over tequila shots and who would play ridiculous card games until the wee hours of the night. But he was in the city and she was here. The middle of nowhere.
Nicola sat back in her cubicle and stared across the open office and through the large windows, wishing she was outside. Fat flakes of snow wandered through the sky, gravity not giving up on its goal of pushing them down to the ground.
Nicola sighed and turned back to the stack of building permits waiting to be checked against local bylaws. She needed to meet new people and fill the hole Todd couldn’t from so far away. But where could she meet people? A few weeks ago, she’d borrowed equipment to go cross-country skiing, hoping to find other like-minded souls out on the trails, and had met Jen Kulak, a local nature guide. When she’d asked where everyone their age hung out, Jen had shrugged unhelpfully and said there were a ton of young, single people moving to town these days.
Nicola turned back to her computer, her attention drifting to the photos pinned to the back of her cubicle. One of her doing tequila shots while arm in arm with Todd for a Mexican night she’d organized as president of the college travel club. Her and Todd hiking Mount Fuji. Todd up a coconut tree in the South Pacific. Her learning to surf in Australia. She’d had years of adventure and now she was here. Bored. She had the power to influence the sleepy mountain town, but was at a loss on how to go about doing so.
Tucking her long bob behind her ears, she flipped her desk calendar ahead, checking for holidays she could somehow turn into a community celebration. The only upcoming options were St. Patrick’s Day and the spring equinox. Something niggled at the back of her mind and she flicked back to February.
Three and a half weeks until Valentine’s Day.
A town full of single people.
Slipping into her parka she tore down the building’s front steps, heading to Brew Babies for lunch and reconnaissance. Head down, so she could work through the ideas running through her mind without distraction, she hurried through the cold mountain air, snowflakes sticking to her bangs. Relishing the way the brisk walk perked her up, she hurried into the dimly lit pub and waited for her eyes to adjust to the change in light.
She found the woman she was looking for leaning against her boyfriend as she worked her way through one of Moe’s special onion ring double burgers. Whi
ch meant it was Friday. Finally. Talk about the slowest week ever. Tomorrow she could drive to the city and hang out with Todd in person rather than video chatting her evening away.
“Hey,” Nicola said, feeling more perky as she climbed onto a barstool beside Jen. “How’s the special?”
“Good,” the woman replied through a mouth thick with food. “Onion ring is perfect and thick.”
Jen’s boyfriend leaned across her to say, “Like our waists will be if we keep eating this every Friday.”
Jen shoved him with her elbow. “We’re active. I’m sure we’ll survive.”
“Hey,” Nicola said, before the two went off on a tangent about their latest outdoor adventure. “Did I hear you say that Blueberry Springs’s single population has increased? The latest census info isn’t available yet.”
“Yeah. That’s what everyone’s saying.” Jen wiped her hands on a napkin. “The town is totally appealing to the granola types who want to telecommute from a beautiful mountain. Works for me and my side business. Speaking of which, I’m planning an equipment swap meet at Wally’s Sporting Goods. Do you have some things you want to swap?”
“Handbags? An optimistically chosen pencil skirt thinking someday I won’t be pear-shaped?”
“Sporting goods.”
“Oh, um, no. Sorry. So, how many single people do you think there are in the area?”
Jen shrugged. “Lots. Why?”
“I have an idea.” She pushed away from the bar, forgetting about lunch. She didn’t have time to waste if she wanted to make a splash.
* * *
Back at her desk, Nicola phoned her aunts, Mary Alice and Liz, who assured her that there were plenty of single people in Blueberry Springs. Which meant there should be enough people seeking someone special—or were at least open to the idea—and could help make her idea fly.
Hanging up the phone, she tapped her pen against a blank notepad, working through various ideas and possibilities. She had less than a month to pull something together for Valentine’s Day. During college she’d planned tons of events, but nothing as complex as she wanted to do for Blueberry Springs. She wasn’t entirely sure what the town could offer in terms of support, but she was related to two of the most connected women in town and they could—and would—tell her everything she needed to know. Ticket sales could cover the event’s costs. A romance-themed trade show could draw both couples and singles. Add in speed dating, outdoor activities such as skating and fireworks, as well as a few competitions and an evening dance, and the day was pretty much planned.
She rolled her chair into the aisle between the cubicles, stopping beside Don who approved permits and was sometimes good for bouncing ideas.
“Can I get a permit for an event?” she asked.
“Sure.” His blue eyes remained focused on the screen in front of him, his reading glasses perched on the end of his short nose. “You know, the secretary used to input all this stuff for me. Before computers revolutionized the work week.” His voice held a hint of irony as he backspaced carefully, peering at the screen, then hunted and pecked his way through a correction.
“I want to hold a singles event.” Nicola held her breath, waiting for his reaction.
“Good. You could make due with a date since all you talk about is that just-friends guy you’re obviously hung up on.”
Nicola rolled her eyes. Everyone was getting totally the wrong impression about Todd. Namely, that she was in love him and had been secretly hoping he would come sweep her off her feet.
As if.
They were both happy doing their own thing. Independent and free. And anyway, they’d always had an unspoken agreement that they would be dead honest with each other and never hold anything back about their lives. They could safely flirt and make innuendos but there would never-ever be any perceived intention behind the words or actions. They were just friends and would never complicate things by putting their friendship at risk.
Nicola pushed away the pang of loneliness she felt whenever she thought about Todd these days and focused back on Don and the conversation. “I need a big prize to draw people in.”
“Good idea.” More hunting and pecking at the keyboard. Finally, he pushed back in his chair and swept his reading glasses onto the top of his head. “Ask businesses for donations.”
“Okay, I will. I was also thinking something like five hundred dollars for the winning couple.” She tapped her chin in thought. She was going to need to expand her audience so the thing didn’t flop if singles weren’t interested in the event. “I’m going to need some events to draw couples in, too.”
“In case you and that guy hook up. Smart.”
“Very funny.”
“What do the couples have to do in order to win?”
She thought fast, discarding ideas until one tickled her fancy. “Engaged. The couple that gets engaged. A bonus if they just met each other!” She clapped her hands, pleased with the idea. Even if nobody got engaged, it would be a talking point for the gossipy little town and possibly draw a few curious onlookers to come out and join the fun. “Is that too cheesy? I can’t tell if it is or not.”
He scratched the back of his neck, then took a sip of coffee from a reindeer mug. Finally he nodded in approval. “It’s okay.”
“Don’t let Jill see you with that thing.” She pretended to shield the cup from anyone walking by. “She finally got all the Christmas stuff put away and has been blowing a hissy fit whenever anyone finds something she forgot.” Nicola laughed. “I think the poor gal is contemplating going back to managing the diner.”
“When are you having this thing?” Don asked, placing the empty cup on the other side of his monitor so it wouldn’t be visible to anyone passing by.
“Valentine’s Day.”
“This Valentine’s Day?”
“Yeah.”
“You know you won’t get overtime for organizing this. And it’s not a paid holiday.”
She tucked her hair behind her ears, feeling nervous about pulling off an event of this magnitude. “I don’t mind working extra.” It would get her mind off how lonely she was and how much she was craving adventure.
“What if nobody comes?”
She hadn’t thought of that. She paused to think for a moment, then said, “There’s nothing better for single people to do in Blueberry Springs on Valentine’s Day. Hence me wanting to work extra.” She gave him a wink.
Although, come to think of it, she wasn’t sure a Valentine’s Day event would be something she’d go to—at least not willingly. She hated it when people said Happy Valentine’s Day! to her, assuming she had someone to share it with other than her goldfish or best friend. The last time she’d had a boyfriend over Valentine’s Day before she and Todd became close somewhere around eighth grade.
“Do you think something like this could break even—even if I try to draw in both couples and singles?” she asked, doubts beginning to dance across the forefront of her mind.
Don, who had turned back to his computer and lowered his glasses once again. “Whatever you want, Nicola.”
“I just want people to be happy.”
“Maybe someone for you finally?” He peered at her over his glasses, his pale blue eyes full of mischief.
She shifted uncomfortably. “It’s okay to be single in a small town, you know.”
“I’m sure your aunts will find you someone if that Todd fellow doesn’t come through.”
Unless they found someone like him—fun and easy to hang out with, and looking into the future in the same way she was—she wasn’t interested. Which was a good part of why she was single. A man like Todd was rare and she very much doubted someone like that was hanging out in Blueberry Springs just waiting for her aunts to make an introduction.
* * *
That afternoon, Richard, the man in charge of the Blueberry Springs community center, showed her around the hall. It mostly involved him pointing and grunting at various things and she was starting to wonder
if the man spoke English.
“Think anyone will come?” he asked finally.
Ha! He did speak English.
“You tell me.” She gave him a coy look. “You’re single.”
The middle-aged man adjusted his ball cap low over his forehead. “Your aunt coming?”
“Liz?” she guessed, seeing as her other aunt, Mary Alice, was married. “Of course. Did you know she likes daisies?”
“Her painted daisies are from my garden.”
“You garden?” she asked. “Really?”
“Yep.”
A man of few words. Perfect for her aunt who was a big gossip and always had a ton to say. Liz could talk, Richard could listen.
“I’d like to book February fourteenth,” Nicola said.
“Put it on the town’s account?”
“Yes, please.” Everyone in Blueberry Springs knew who she was already, which was an odd feeling. It reminded her of the Filipino village she and Todd had stayed in for a month. As the newcomers, everyone had known who they were and, slowly, they had come to know most of the villagers before they left. Here in Blueberry Springs, her aunts had thrown a party upon her arrival and dragged her through town introducing her to every person they happened across. The few short weeks she’d spent here already felt more like months. She wasn’t sure if that was comforting or scary.
“Got that job, did you?” Richard asked.
“I did.”
“Know what you’re doing?”
“I do.”
“Much experience?”
Yeah, nice try, but not going there. “So, how much is it to book this place?”
