Darcy and the Single Dad. Stacy Connelly

shrugged. “Sorry. It’s just—Well, I’ve seen this all before.”

      Darcy set her mug on the counter with a dull thud. “Someone else has a shop like mine?”

      “Not a shop just like it, but that spot you rented? It’s gone through more changes in the past few years than I can remember. A dress shop, a shoe store, a health food clinic. Nothing stays open for long.”

      “So, you’re telling me that the shop I’ve rented has some kind of Clearville Curse attached to it?” Darcy wiggled her fingers in a spooky motion, her teasing smile enough to jerk a rough half laugh out of Nick. But then a rush of heat surged through him when he remembered those same fingers pressed into his shoulders, and he quickly sobered.

      “Not a curse, and it’s not just Clearville, either. I’m sure it happens in small towns all over the place. Big-city folks get tired of the traffic and noise and fast pace of the city, so they go off seeking peace and quiet in some small town. Only before they’ve had the chance to even unpack, they start to miss all those same things they left behind. Before you know, they’re gone without a word.”

      Darcy wasn’t unaware of the chance she’d taken, and a string of failed stores could give a location a bad rap. Plus, starting a new business was always a risk, especially in this economy. But for as long as she could recall, her mother had talked about moving back to her hometown, only to never have the chance.

      Darcy refused to miss her opportunity by waiting for the perfect moment. Instead she was going to make the most of the time she had now. Not that she was counting on blind faith to see her through. She’d done her research. Clearville was a small town, but one with a healthy tourist trade, catering to travelers who came to enjoy the surrounding redwoods, the rugged coastline, the days-gone-by feel of the Victorian Main Street.

      The town had its share of bed-and-breakfasts, and Darcy had already arranged for a few of those businesses to carry her beauty baskets in their gift shops. She hoped to start up a buzz about The Beauty Mark before her grand opening.

      “Maybe those other shops closed for a reason,” she suggested.

      “Such as?”

      “So that the space would be available for me.”

      Nick stared at her as if he couldn’t quite believe she was for real, and Darcy doubted she’d be able to explain her certainty in the move she’d made. Because even though she’d struggled with turn-of-the-last-century plumbing, ghostly electricity and a car that had turned into a lemon at the stroke of midnight, she refused to allow any of it to shake her faith that she was right where she was supposed to be.

      Darcy’s only regret was that her mother wasn’t there with her, but she felt her presence in every decision she made. From their long-ago conversations as they’d imagined the perfect look and feel of the shop to the recent, far-more-practical hand Alanna had given her only child—the life insurance policy that made the dream a reality.

      “I would think,” she told Nick, “if anyone would understand, you might.”

      Nick’s dark brows arched toward his hairline. Clearly he thought he’d be the last person to understand anything about her. “Me?”

      “Yes, you said being a vet, being Clearville’s vet, is the only thing you’ve ever wanted to be. It was the same thing for me the first time I drove down Main Street. I knew this was where I was supposed to be. It might have taken me a little longer to get here, but it’s really the same. We’re really the same.”

      Crossing his arms over his broad chest, Nick wryly countered, “We’re really not. I was born here. I grew up here. This is all I’ve ever known.”

      “And I didn’t just stumble across Clearville by accident. I may not be from here, but my family was,” she said, feeling a little gratified by the surprise on his face. “My mother lived here until she and my grandparents moved when she was a teenager. She always dreamed about coming back and opening this boutique.”

      “Your mother always dreamed about it?”

      “She did.” Darcy didn’t see the knowing look in his eyes until it was too late. “I mean, we did. It was our dream. It just turns out that I’m the one who’s going to make it come true.”

      Seeing the unasked question in his gaze, she explained, “She was in a car accident a little over a year ago. Her injuries left her paralyzed. She was making progress, and I really thought if anyone had the strength to recover, she did. But then she suffered from a blood clot, and the doctor said there was nothing they could do.”

      “I’m sorry, Darcy.”

      Already figuring out Nick was a man of few words, she wasn’t surprised when his condolences ended there. But she was touched when he took the mug she barely realized she was still holding and poured her a second cup of tea from the pot warming on the stove.

      She soaked in the comfort of the small, thoughtful gesture and the heat from the steaming mug he handed back to her, but she wanted more. Nick stood close enough for the rain and earth clinging to his clothes to blend with the floral fragrance of the tea. But beneath that was the faint scent of his aftershave and warm male, and she longed to step closer and breathe it in.… To breathe him in.…

      He stepped back suddenly, leaving her holding nothing but the cup of tea.

      It was only her vulnerability after talking about her mother that made his withdrawal feel like a rejection. It wasn’t like he knew what she’d been thinking.

       Please don’t let him know what I was thinking.…

      “So your mother wanted to move back,” Nick was saying as Darcy refocused on the words instead of simply following the movement of his lips.

      She sighed, unsure why he was so hung up on that point. “This isn’t only about my mother’s last wish. It’s about a new start for me. A chance for me to own the kind of store where I like to shop.” She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised by Nick’s lack of interest. He wasn’t exactly the demographic she had in mind for her boutique. “You know your sister’s looking forward to my grand opening. I think Sophia’s almost as excited as I am. And your daughter will love it. Girls always have a blast playing dress-up and having little girl makeovers—”

      Warming to her subject, it took Darcy a minute to realize however slightly Nick had relaxed in the last few seconds, that moment was now gone. His expression was closed off, his posture once again rigid. He cut her off saying, “I should go check on the dog.”

      “I thought you said she was fine.”

      “She is.”

      Staring at the straight, unbending line of Nick’s backbone as he walked away, Darcy couldn’t help wondering, if the dog was okay, then what on earth was wrong with Nick Pirelli?

      Chapter Three

      Darcy bringing up his daughter and the dog’s quick delivery of four tiny puppies could not have happened at a better time, Nick determined later as he watched the new pups, their eyes and ears still closed, their mouths wide open. The mama dog nuzzled them each in turn, guiding them toward their first meal.

      “You’re doing great, girl,” he reassured her, and Nick could have sworn the dog responded with a proud smile.

      He didn’t know if Darcy truly was squeamish, but she had stayed away from the laundry room during the birthing process, giving Nick time to clean up and toss some of the old rags into the trash out back. She hadn’t been in the kitchen as he’d passed through, and he hadn’t gone looking for her.

      “It’s a big responsibility, you know,” he murmured to the dog who’d either grown accustomed to his touch or had better things to worry about than the human petting her head. “Having a child is the most amazing experience and the most terrifying.”

      But he was determined to do right by Maddie. Which did not mean