If You Love Me(Sugar Maple #1)
by Ciara Knight
ebook
Published July 7th 2020 by Defy the Dark Publishing, LLC
ISBN139781939081940
Ex-Army sergeant, Drew Lancaster demands order, but when he’s thrust into small-town politics involving crazy elders and a manipulative mayor he finds himself submerged in chaos. His only hope to navigate the strange rules of the town comes from a distractingly beautiful, mess of a woman - Carissa Donahue.
As a small town girl, Carissa lives her life on a whim and a prayer. Even in the kitchen she never uses a recipe, yet her sweets are known as the best throughout the South. She has no desire to be a part of Drew’s show, but she knows it’s the town’s best option to increase tourism during a troubling economic time. If there wasn’t an upturn, she’d have to close her bakery. She can’t lose it. Owning a bakery has been her lifelong dream, and her focus since her best friend ran away with her fiancé.
The icing on the project for Drew is that a colleague has promised him a spot working at a real film network if Drew can spend time with Carissa and not fall in love. Drew isn’t sure he can resist the one person he’d never date under different circumstances, nor is he sure he wants to.
Can Drew convince Carissa she can trust him enough to open her heart?
Excerpt:
“Drew Lancaster? His name even sounds like a pompous jerk.” Stella grunted for extra emphasis. “If we can’t meet for five minutes, then how can we work together for five months?”
“Listen, I realize these corporate types need to be treated as if they’re everything in the world, so don’t worry about it. I’ll just send him to Tabitha,” Ms. Horton said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Like a toddler still on a pacifier,” Stella muttered under her breath.
She protested too much, which meant she needed this more than she would admit. They all knew her business was struggling the most in recent years. And even after all this time, as much as Carissa held so much resentment toward Jackie, she still couldn’t let the rest of her childhood friends lose to their arch enemies. No way would she allow them to win this program. Maybe if she spoke to this exec, she could convince him to start with one of the other girls first…another of the Fabulous Five. “Fine, I’ll meet with the glorified party planner.” Carissa realized that Jackie had a point. She did sound more like Stella than herself today. Good, maybe it was time for Carissa to give up her sweet-doormat title. It was time to take a walk and cool off before she met with this Drew character, so she turned on her heels and smacked into something hard and large. She rubbed her nose free of sting and blinked up at a perfect stranger. Perfect height, perfect hair, perfect lips.
“You okay there?” His deep voice closed in around her.
Space. That’s what she needed. She moved away and took a breath. A breath of Ode de Mysterious with an undertone of trouble. After a moment, she managed to turn her January gloom into a friendly welcome. “Yes, I am now. Thank you. Sorry. Who are you?”
He quirked an attitude-changing grin at her. “I’m the pompous, glorified party planner, toddler, stuck-on-a-pacifier Drew Lancaster.”
“Drew Lancaster? His name even sounds like a pompous jerk.” Stella grunted for extra emphasis. “If we can’t meet for five minutes, then how can we work together for five months?”
“Listen, I realize these corporate types need to be treated as if they’re everything in the world, so don’t worry about it. I’ll just send him to Tabitha,” Ms. Horton said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Like a toddler still on a pacifier,” Stella muttered under her breath.
She protested too much, which meant she needed this more than she would admit. They all knew her business was struggling the most in recent years. And even after all this time, as much as Carissa held so much resentment toward Jackie, she still couldn’t let the rest of her childhood friends lose to their arch enemies. No way would she allow them to win this program. Maybe if she spoke to this exec, she could convince him to start with one of the other girls first…another of the Fabulous Five. “Fine, I’ll meet with the glorified party planner.” Carissa realized that Jackie had a point. She did sound more like Stella than herself today. Good, maybe it was time for Carissa to give up her sweet-doormat title. It was time to take a walk and cool off before she met with this Drew character, so she turned on her heels and smacked into something hard and large. She rubbed her nose free of sting and blinked up at a perfect stranger. Perfect height, perfect hair, perfect lips.
“You okay there?” His deep voice closed in around her.
Space. That’s what she needed. She moved away and took a breath. A breath of Ode de Mysterious with an undertone of trouble. After a moment, she managed to turn her January gloom into a friendly welcome. “Yes, I am now. Thank you. Sorry. Who are you?”
He quirked an attitude-changing grin at her. “I’m the pompous, glorified party planner, toddler, stuck-on-a-pacifier Drew Lancaster.”
About Ciara Knight:
Ciara Knight is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author, who writes clean and wholesome romance novels set in either modern day small towns or wild historic old west. Born with a huge imagination that usually got her into trouble, Ciara is happy she’s found a way to use her powers for good. She loves spending time with her characters and hopes you do, too. http://www.ciaraknight.com
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