Feisty Heroines Romance Collection of Shorts

by D. F. Jones

  Epilogue

  Nora smiled, holding her champagne in her hand as Tess worked on her hair. The room behind the bed-and-breakfast was full of laughter, and she looked around to see the people she loved sharing her wedding day with her.

  Barlow had proposed on the beach in Saint Croix during a vacation one year to the day they met. She thought it was just a trip until she saw the dinner on the beach, and he dropped to his knee. It didn’t take a lot for her to say yes, and she sank with him to wrap her arms around his neck. Their moms became fast friends and helped plan the wedding along with Grace and Tess.

  It was a simple ceremony at a gorgeous Victorian house with acres of land, offering them privacy. The arch overlooked the lake. A gentle spring breeze blew across the water as she made her way down the aisle.

  It was short and sweet. Barlow cried as she approached him with tears of her own sliding down her cheeks.

  Dad gave her away placing her hand into Barlow’s. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I love you,” he said, then joined Mom.

  She and Barlow exchanged written vows.

  The wedding party headed to the garden for the reception and after-party with an open bar and seven-course dinner. A photographer captured every moment.

  Once dinner was over, the speeches started. Her dad made Nora sob as he spoke about how much he loved her and Barlow together, joking through tears that he would never hold Nora back from what she wanted. Everyone laughed when he added that she’d never let him, and Nora snuggled into Barlow’s side.

  Cory stood up for Barlow and held a beer as he looked at the happy couple. “I didn’t think Barlow would ever settle down, that is until you came along, my dear friend, Nora, whom I love like a sister.”

  Grace cried through her speech then clicked a remote and a wedding video played with a photo montage of her and Barlow. “To my best friend, and her best man, may you both have many years of happiness.”

  Nora grinned so much her cheeks ached as she held Barlow close.

  The small crowd clapped as the couple thanked them all for being here for their special day. Barlow held her tight as they danced to the slow songs slipped in between the fast ones that Nora loved so much. He kissed her every chance he got as cameras flashed, and she giggled against his mouth. The party ended late with well wishes and goodbyes.

  Barlow led her by the hand to their room with the moon shining bright on the water. Nora watched him as he unlocked the door, pushing it open before he lifted her into his arms. “This isn’t our home, baby.” She laughed as she smiled into his eyes.

  “It is for tonight, and much longer. I bought it for you. For us, and someday our kids. We’ll celebrate every room in the house.” Barlow set her down in front of the bed, pulling her close for a kiss. “We’re branching out.”

  “Oh, Barlow, really?”

  “Really.”

  Her eyes widened, “You’re crazy, Barlow.” Nora slipped her arms around his neck and breathed him in.

  “I am crazy for you, Nora.” He leaned in and kissed her, slowing the movements down. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, Barlow.”

  About Claire Angel

  Claire Angel is deeply in love with Reading & Writing Steamy Romance Stories. She wants to bring some EXTREMELY HOT JAW DROPPING romance stories to lovely readers. The stories feature extremely gorgeous, sexy as hell, alphas, dominant male characters & beautiful, sweet, strong, bubbly and sassy female characters.

  Claire loves connecting with her readers. Feel free to email ClaireAngelBooks@gmail.com

  Also by Claire Angel

  Single Dad's Fake Marriage: A Billionaire Romance

  Alpha Mountain Man: A Billionaire Romance

  Bad Boys in Love: Contemporary Romance Series Box Set

  Hot Billionaires: A Contemporary Romance Box Set

  Turning Up the Heat by Ashlee Price

  Chapter 1

  Hazel

  The beautiful spring day mirrored the park’s excitement as laughter filled the air. Hazel carried her boxed baked goods towards the shelter’s tent and smiled at the sound of barking dogs. There, set up in the middle of the dog park, was a wonderful fundraiser focused on creating lasting homes for orphaned dogs. This was, to Hazel, the perfect kind of day.

  The boxes of baked goods wavered as she tried to keep herself from tripping. The grass of the dog park forgave none of Hazel’s missteps - too many dogs had rummaged through in an attempt to dig their way to bones forgotten by the canines before them. Hazel would ruin all of her hard work if she didn’t catch herself each step.

  Hazel could barely hear her own thoughts over the surrounding noises. Not that it mattered. She was just glad that there were so many people. The sun illuminated the makeshift fences around the areas where the dogs were kept. They were leaping into the arms of potential adopters and barking to get their attention. There were already twenty people meandering past the fences, searching for a dog to take home. Children were laughing and reaching over to pet the dogs. Hazel’s stomach fluttered with joy as she looked upon the hopeful faces. This was the best way she could think of to spend her Saturday, rather than being cooped up with Roger in the bakery.

  “There you are!” a voice said, the person hidden behind a couple at a booth. Alejandra waved from behind the couple and rounded the long table, which already had a number of dog treats lined up in beautiful tins for people to purchase. She pointed to the boxes as she neared. “Let me help you with those.”

  “Thanks, Aly,” Hazel told her, stopping as Aly reached out for the boxes layered in her hands. “Top one is muffins, middle is cookies, and the last box is donuts.”

  “I’ll take them all for me!”

  Hazel laughed as Aly grabbed the top two boxes, and left the two donut ones in her hands. “Thanks for your help. So, the donuts are all doggy-approved if people want to share them.”

  “You’re kidding,” Aly said, and lifted the boxes up higher so she didn’t run into anyone as they walked. “What’re they made of?”

  “Honey, mainly.”

  Each table around the fundraising space was covered in baked goods, T-shirts made and donated by a local retailer, hand-knitted booties for the dogs in the winter, and a number of treats created by a local chef. One of the reasons Hazel loved the local shelter was the way they were able to bring the community together, especially with Aly’s leadership. She definitely had a way with people. Hazel was convinced it was because Aly was a dog person and tended to be a little more outgoing than the people running the cat shelters in their area.

  “So,” Aly said, putting down the boxes with a huff, “this will be your table. Lucas will be by shortly with the coffee. This here is your till. You brought the signs, right?”

  It was obvious that Aly was having one of those days where she couldn’t focus or relax. She was everywhere at once and overwhelmed at trying to keep everything together. She always became like that when there was an event happening that she had planned. Aly always sought control of everything during the fundraisers.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got this,” Hazel told her, putting down the boxes of donuts. “I’ll put these on display and put up the signs. You just go get some good dogs adopted, all right?”

  She watched as Aly took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Thank you. This has been so stressful, but I appreciate you helping out with the bake sale.”

  “It’s the least I could do. Now,” Hazel said as she pointed towards a family as they looked at a small Pomeranian a few feet away, “go talk to people about adopting a new friend.”

  Aly’s eyes widened when she saw the family and rushed past the table to go speak to them. It was, after all, her main motivation. Today was their best day to empty out the shelter.

  Hazel turned back towards the table and set up the pastries on the table. Then, she stacked them onto the plates that she’d packed into the boxes. She’d tried her best to find doggy-themed plastic plates on Amazon and did manage to find some.
The only issue was that they weren’t really easy on the eyes. Around the edges were pictures of bones, fire hydrants and rope toys. In the middle of each plate was the massive circular face of a different breed of dog, drawn like a caricature. It was the best she could find on a strict time limit, so they’d just have to work.

  She arranged everything along the table and took a step back to admire her work. The table was simple, but there were small signs for each pastry, which were perfectly presented in small pyramidal shapes. She’d worked hard on them, spending most of the morning dipping the donuts into oil and decorating. The prices were fair, and all the proceeds would go to the shelter. She turned her head to peer over the multiple dogs, some older and some only puppies, as they barked and grabbed the attention of passersby. It was worth it.

  “Excuse me? You’re the baker, right?”

  Hazel turned around to see a young man holding small carrier coffee boxes in each hand. She squinted her eyes at the name on each box. Fairview Coffee? She hadn’t heard of it before. “I’m just one baker. I’m guessing you brought the coffee?”

  He dropped both coffee carriers onto the table, which caused her perfectly curated donut pyramid to collapse all over the plate. Not a great way to make a first impression.

  Hazel crossed her arms. It didn’t matter if he had perfectly styled dark blonde hair and eyes so blue you’d think they were made of ice. No. He’d messed with her baked goods and, by the way he suddenly spun around from the table, it was clear he didn’t feel bad about it. She watched as he rushed through the crowd towards a vehicle that had the trunk open. Likely to grab more of those coffee carriers.

  She pursed her lips and readjusted her donuts. She pushed the coffee carriers to the end of the table, trying to keep everything in an orderly fashion. There was something about having things perfectly organized that gave her a sense of relief. Hazel knew that it could be a flaw, but she liked to consider it as a good thing. It made it so that she had the best presentations of any bakery in town. Her shop was known among the locals for its visually appealing window installations and the beautiful rustic decor. It was all about turning a negative into a positive.

  When someone came around and decided to ruin it, though? That was another situation altogether. It was hard to keep everything positive with a negative force at the door.

  The coffee guy returned and slammed two more coffee boxes on the table, nearly knocking over the muffins.

  “Can you watch where you throw those things?” she asked, her voice higher than she expected it to be. She inhaled deeply and pushed the carriers closer to his end of the table. “You’re knocking over my baked goods.”

  He didn’t reply as he stalked away from her. Hazel watched as he passed through the crowd again. This time his body language was rough, and she thought for a moment he’d start pushing people out of the way. She rolled her eyes. It didn’t matter. It was just one day and it was just sharing a table. It wasn’t even necessary for them to have any contact.

  She rounded the table and set up the till in between her baked goods and the cardboard coffee carriers. It would be fine.

  Or so she hoped.

  Chapter 2

  Lucas

  He always thought that volunteering his time, and his services, was a good thing. Especially when it came to animals. There was always a soft spot for dogs in Lucas’s heart. So when Alejandra came to him with the opportunity to sell coffee on behalf of the shelter, there was no way he could refuse.

  One thing they failed to mention: an OCD baker with an attitude problem. She even arranged the coffee cups he’d brought so that they were inaccessible to anyone except the customers. The baker hadn’t even asked if he was the type of barista who would help his customers with their coffees. Little did she know, he always poured the coffee for his customers. He strived to give them full-service coffee, not self-serve, which had always struck him as lazy. This baker had other ideas.

  He glanced in her direction as she handed out another donut on her perfectly fitting plastic plates. God forbid she use paper. Of course, her prices didn’t factor in the cost of the plates and the baked goods. That was a quick way to lose even more money during a fundraiser.

  “Would you like a coffee with your donut?” she asked as she pointed towards the cups she’d put out of his reach.

  So now she was offering his coffee, as though it was a second thought.

  Lucas waited for the customer to shake his head and take a bite of the donut as he meandered around the rest of the stalls and the fenced in spots with the adoptable dogs. It took some patience, but Lucas finally found a moment.

  “Could you try not to control this table and stop acting like you’re the only one here?”

  She raised her hands to him and scoffed, “Really? You should be thanking me.”

  “Oh? And why is that?”

  “People have been coming up to the table because it’s organized. It’s the opposite of what you were doing earlier by just throwing your coffee carriers onto the table in no particular order.”

  He hated the fact that she was attractive. It only made her seem vain and snobby. Most of the bakers he’d met in his line of work had been kind and, though he hated stereotyping people, usually a little chubby. She was the opposite. Thin, well-built, with long burgundy hair that cascaded past her shoulders. It shouldn’t make a difference - being attractive shouldn’t give her a reason to walk all over him.

  “Do you even have a reason for being here?”

  She placed her hands on her hips. “Excuse me? Do I have a reason for being here?” she said as she withheld a laugh. “I’ve known Aly for years, and I’ve been doing these fundraisers for just as long. So don’t ask me if I have a reason to be here.”

  “Listen, I don’t want to fight over space. If you could just stop treating my coffee like it’s a secondary choice to your baked goods, that’d be great.”

  Her expression softened as her arms fell to her sides. “Listen, I’m not trying to treat it as though your coffee doesn’t matter. I’m just a stickler for how things look. If you have a problem, you can just tell me nicely. There’s no reason to be so rude about it.”

  “I wouldn’t have to be rude if you weren’t so oblivious.”

  “Look,” she said, pointing out towards the crowd. “There’s Aly. We can ask her if you can move tables. There’s some room over on the one with the dog treats.”

  Aly was lifting a dog out of a pen as they peered over at her. The crowd had become smaller since the fundraiser had started and only a dozen dogs were left. The fluffy white dog she lifted was a Samoyed, and was a massive fluffy cloud of a dog. It’s pink tongue lulled in and out of its mouth as it panted.

  The Samoyed met Lucas’ eyes, surprising him a little. The dog wriggled in Aly’s arm until she had no choice but to let go. The crowd dispersed slightly as the fluffy white dog ran towards their table, barking excitedly, as though it’d found its match.

  Lucas lowered himself to his knees and held his arms open. The dog leapt around the side of the table and nearly knocked him over before licking his face. He could feel the dog’s claws against his skin as the dog jumped above him and went straight for the baker. His lips formed into a massive smile at seeing the dog. He hadn’t thought that he’d have taken a dog home, but there was no denying that the Samoyed was adorable and friendly.

  Besides that, his apartment felt lonely since his ex, Jessica, was no longer living there with him. He watched as the Samoyed flitted around in a circle as Aly neared them, almost panting as hard as the dog.

  Chapter 3

  Hazel

  “Oh my gosh. I love him,” Hazel said as she nuzzled her face into his thick white fur. “How old is he?”

  “She is three and a half. She was rescued about a month ago. She’s really friendly with people and other animals.”

  Hazel glanced up from the dog’s white fur and met Aly’s eyes. “I’d like to adopt her.”

  “Wait. No.”


  Hazel rose to her feet and turned to Lucas. “Excuse me?”

  “She came up to me first,” he said with a sharp tone. “I want to adopt her.”

  Aly stepped back and glanced from one to the other. “I can’t have you both fighting over the dog. She has to go to one of you, or she goes into one of the pens and gets adopted by a passerby. Your choice.”

  Hazel had never heard that tone from Aly before. She was so typically lighthearted about things, but when it came to adoptions, she took her work very seriously. Her job was to get these dogs adopted, and it was clear that she was confident about choosing the right person or family.

  “I would really like to adopt her.”

  Lucas furrowed his brow. “Really? There’s, like, twenty other dogs here to choose from.”

  He infuriated her.

  “Well, I want to adopt her. I loved the way she ran over here.”

  “She came to me first.”

  Hazel pouted her lip at Aly, hoping that she would see her plea. Alejandra was unimpressed as she crossed her arms and stared at both of them in disbelief. The sound of children laughing and dogs barking seemed to become silent as Hazel ran her hands through the Samoyed’s soft white fur.

  “Can we both put in an application?” Lucas asked. “If we do that, you’ll have to pick one of us, right?”

  “Well, I suppose that could work.”

  Hazel continued stroking the dog’s head and glanced at Lucas, who clenched his square jaw in frustration. Of course, he would be the person that she’d be fighting with over a dog. “What if we get the dog to choose?”

  Aly raised her eyebrows. “Can you elaborate?”