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By: Petie McCarty
Released December
16, 2015
Soul Mate Publishing
Soul Mate Publishing
Cinderella's fairy tale moves to Jupiter Island,
Florida where Lily Foster, owner of an eclectic landscape nursery, is mistaken
for a wealthy socialite by billionaire resort developer Rhett Buchanan. Overdue
for a little romance in her life, Lily is anxious for one fabulous date with
her handsome prince, so she cultivates her inadvertent masquerade.
Rhett Buchanan has become jaded with the Palm Beach
social scene, dominated by scheming women desperate for more money -- his
money. Rhett falls hard when he meets Lily Foster. She is a breath of fresh air
after the smog of gold diggers constantly surrounding him.
For Rhett and Lily, it's love at first sight until
her deception comes to light and pitches their relationship into a disastrous
tailspin. Well-meaning friends are determined to intercede and resort to inept
high jinks to reunite the estranged couple while a wicked ex-girlfriend plays
dirty to keep the couple apart.
The front door of the quaint, shake-roofed office
stood open when Rhett Buchanan drove into the parking area. Like he had time
for this foolishness. Whoever heard of the CEO of a billion-dollar development
firm approving a truckload of trees, even if they were species no other nursery
could grow?
He peered through the windshield at the overhead
sign. Evidently, a small-time nursery called Bloom & Grow had heard of such
nonsense. He tugged his tie loose and rolled up the sleeves on his white dress
shirt before angling out of his black SUV. At least a nice breeze was whipping
off the Intracoastal Waterway.
Rhett had argued with Garrett over lunch about
doing this inspection alone. Apparently, this eccentric nursery insisted on a
final inspection conducted only by the actual owner—no substitutes. Sounded
more like an interview. He let out a resigned sigh. Garrett Tucker made Rhett’s
new resort developments stand out like diamonds in the rough and accomplished
the feat with specialty landscape materials. The man had a gift, but only
Garrett could find an oddball place like this to buy trees.
“Better just to get this over with,” he muttered
and started up the stairs to the porch.
At the threshold, he froze. His gaze slowly took in
a pair of perfect slender legs, then inched up to a spectacular yellow sundress
with a cleavage that made his mouth water.
Damn.
A flawless complexion, shoulder-length blond hair,
and delicate features finished the marvelous package who appeared to be
perusing some sort of plant brochure. At that moment, Rhett wished he owned this oddball nursery, so he
could spend all day selling plants to the beauty in the yellow sundress.
Wait a
minute. Single women don’t buy plants. Married women buy plants.
His eyes flashed to her left hand.
No ring.
Hmm. Things just got interesting.
He cleared his throat.
The beauty started and turned a pair of sapphires
the color of the Gulf Stream in his direction.
“Sorry,” he said, then smiled. “I didn’t mean to
startle you.”
The beauty smiled back—a dazzling smile with
perfect straight white teeth.
His mouth went dry. The woman was drop-dead
gorgeous.
“It’s okay,” she said softly. “I was daydreaming
and didn’t hear you come in.”
He nodded, started to reply, then didn’t. He just
wanted to stare a while longer. Quickly realizing he’d look like an idiot if he
did, he cleared his throat and began again. “Sorry, I’m being rude. My name is
Rhett Buchanan.”
She took the hand he extended. He felt a spark, and
her eyes widened almost imperceptibly. If he hadn’t been staring at her eyes,
he might have missed it. Had she felt the spark, too?
“I’m Lily Foster.”
“I’m, uh, h-here to inspect some plants. T-Trees
actually. An order for BDC.”
Great. He just stuttered like a bashful high-school boy.
This from a man who bought and sold corporations over lunch. What the hell was
wrong with him today?
“I see.” She stared for a long moment, then glanced
down.
Good Lord, was he still holding her hand?
“Sorry.” He let her go.
She smiled again. “The sales manager will be right
back.”
“Are you here to inspect trees, too?” At least he
didn’t stutter this time. He was getting his wind back.
“No, I’m here to look over the new interiors line.”
She held up the brochure.
He nodded. He wanted to keep her talking. Her voice
sounded sexy as hell.
“Do you spend a lot of time here?” He glanced around
the tidy office made cozy with a half-dozen plants and palms of some sort.
“Not really.”
He nodded again. He was getting real good at
nodding. “Are you pretty good with landscaping?”
She eyed him warily. “Yeah?”
He dusted off what he hoped was his most charming
smile. “Maybe you could help me with my inspection. It’s too many trees for me,
and I could sure use some help.”
“Well, Tammy will be there to answer any
questions.”
“Tammy?”
“Tammy Waynette, the sales manager.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“About what?” The sapphires looked wide and
innocent.
“The name—Waynette.”
She laughed, a musical sound like delicate wind
chimes. “I’m not kidding. Tammy says her mother loved the country western
singer.”
He grinned back, couldn’t help himself. “Poor
girl.”
“I don’t think she minds.”
He nodded. Again. “Do you know if she went to the
laydown yard? My assistant said the trees would be staged in the laydown yard.
We could meet her there and get started.”
Her eyebrows rose to twin peaks. “We?”
“Yeah, well, Tammy’s here to sell trees, and I’m
looking for an objective second opinion on what I should keep or exchange. I
could sure use your help since you’re pretty good with landscaping and all.”
Not that he had any intention of exchanging anything.
He couldn’t tell a diseased tree from a healthy one, but he’d look at every
single tree if it meant spending more time with Lily Foster.
She hesitated. “I suppose I could tag along.”
“Great! Shall we go?”
Lily led Buchanan outside where they grabbed the
customer golf cart parked in front of the office. Rhett climbed behind the
wheel and headed for the center drive Lily indicated. The man was tall; she
guessed at least four inches over six feet. Riding passenger gave her an excuse
to stare at him and wonder how she’d gotten so lucky. To actually be dressed up
on the day a gorgeous hunk came in to inspect trees? What were the odds? A
successful hunk, too, since he owned his own corporation, and Tammy said the
BDC order was a big one.
Rhett Buchanan certainly didn’t fit her impression
of a corporate CEO, powerfully built and handsome enough she had gone
completely tongue-tied back in the office. She could get lost in those amazing
green eyes. And that slow, sexy smile he’d given her had made her toes curl.
Yikes!
“You’re smiling,” he said. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. I’m just enjoying a pretty day.”
She would do much better out here in the nursery
with plant material to talk about rather than forcing conversation in the
office. For the first time in her life, she wished she had spent more time
flirting with boys in high school like all the other girls. Instead, she had
studied her heart out to get good grades and make Hank proud since she was all
he had.
Buchanan pulled the cart up at the laydown yard, but
there was no sign of Tammy’s fiery-red curls among the rows of trees. An errant
customer had probably waylaid her somewhere in the nursery.
Lily and Buchanan got out and ambled over to the
first row of trees, a dozen dwarf magnolias. The containers were well-chosen,
some of their best product. Hands on his hips, he gazed at the trees and back
at her, then raised his brows in question.
“They’re perfectly matched, disease-free,” she
said.
“I thought so, too.” He winked.
She felt her neck flush, and her gaze strayed to
the dusting of dark hair on his tanned forearms. “Where are you going to use
all this stock?”
“A new condominium and shopping district in Boca.
These trees are for Phase I, and I suspect Garrett will be ordering more.”
“Garrett?”
“He’s the vice-president of real estate development
for our company, BDC. He’s also a frustrated landscape architect—that was his
bachelor’s degree—but his subsequent MBA pushed him up the corporate ladder.”
“You like him,” she said simply.
His gaze sharpened. “I do. How did—”
“The sound of your voice when you talk about him.”
“Wow, beautiful and perceptive.”
She felt her cheeks grow warm and glanced away.
“Sorry,” he said softly, “I didn’t mean to
embarrass you.”
“You didn’t.”
A dark brow went up.
“Okay, maybe a little.”
Actually a whole lot. Rhett Buchanan seemed so
confident, so sure of himself. She was out of her league, and she knew it, but
she still wanted to play for just a little while longer.
“Garrett and I were fraternity brothers in
college,” Rhett was saying. “Been together ever since.”
“Ah, I see. So who likes the plants, you or
Garrett?”
“Mostly Garrett, but I do appreciate their value.
He’s convinced me that installing—and more importantly, maintaining—specialty
landscapes can double the exterior value of architectural designs.”
“Good for him! He’s right.”
“Another plant lover,” he said, grinning.
“Of course I am.”
“You’re gorgeous when you smile,” he said suddenly.
Okay, that had nothing to do with inspecting trees.
Was Mr. Buchanan flirting with her? He’d complimented her twice in five
minutes. She jerked her gaze away. She was heating up—all over.
“I’ve embarrassed you again.”
“You didn’t,” she assured him, lying through her
teeth. “You just took me by surprise is all.”
“I would think you hear that a lot,” he said
softly.
“Oh. No. I don’t.”
He stepped closer, and she feared her cheeks and
neck would turn bright pink. She quickly moved toward the next row of trees.
The first six containers were perfectly manicured weeping mulberry trees. This
Garrett guy sure knew his plant material. She guessed he had selected their
best specimens.
“What do you think?” she asked, gesturing toward
the mulberries and staring straight ahead. Safer that way.
“Gorgeous, like I said.”
She glanced back.
He wasn’t looking at the mulberries. He was staring
at her. Her cheeks just had to be
pink. Lord knew they felt hot enough.
“You’re supposed to be inspecting trees,” she
scolded with a smile.
He laughed. “Oh yeah, that’s right.”
By the time they made it through the third row of
containers populated with an assortment of Helliconia
and Callistemon, she grew more
comfortable and even tried flirting back. They laughed and joked about the
perfect places to plant the gnarly and exceedingly crooked Corylus, and Lily had the time of her life. Until the bottom
dropped out about halfway down the fourth row at the gray Bismarchia palms.
“Do you buy a lot of plants here?” Buchanan
suddenly asked.
Her head snapped up from examining a bent gray
frond. She swallowed. “Buy?”
“You must be one of the nursery’s best customers as
well as you know the stock and know your way around here.” He gave her that
slow, sexy smile again. “Are you buying landscaping for business or pleasure?”
Oh good
grief! He thinks I’m a customer.
Petie spent a large part of her career working as a biologist at
Walt Disney World -- "The Most Magical Place on Earth" -- where she
enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic
fairy tales by night. She eventually said good-bye to her "day" job
to write her stories full-time.
Petie shares her home
on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband, a
spoiled-rotten English Springer spaniel addicted to pimento-stuffed green
olives, and a noisy Nanday conure named Sassy who made a cameo appearance in
Angel to the Rescue.
Thank you very much for hosting my Book Blast with Tasty Book Tours! Have a magical week!
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