A Recipe For Reunion. Vicki Essex

      

      Second time’s the charm!

      Nothing about working with his former high school crush, Stephanie Stephens, is ideal. Still, if Aaron Caruthers intends to save his grandmother’s bakery, he must. Good thing he has a lot of ideas he can’t wait to implement. He never imagines Stephanie would have her own ideas for the business. Or that they would clash with his!

      It doesn’t take working with her long for Aaron to realize his impression of Stephanie as a helpless ex-cheerleader is way off. And the more of her kindness and strength he sees, the more attracted he is! Now to convince her…

      It was freezing out here.

      Maybe Aaron had trapped Stephanie on the porch deliberately so that she’d agree to his terms quickly. “What’s your grandmother’s stake in the business?”

      “She owns the whole shebang. I’m basically acting as her business manager.”

      “So only she can fire me.”

      Aaron opened his mouth to form an objection, but then closed it. “Yes. She’s our boss.”

      It must’ve killed him not to have seniority over her. If anything, she should have seniority over him.

      “All right,” she said, holding out her hand. “Consider me your new assistant manager.”

      Relief flooded Aaron’s stormy eyes. As he squeezed and pumped her hand, a pulse of something thick and hot blew through her.

      Oh, no. Hell, no. She was not attracted to Aaron Caruthers. They weren’t just out of each other’s leagues; they were playing different sports.

      Dear Reader,

      Welcome back to Everville, New York, the town where my second book, Back to the Good Fortune Diner (Mills & Boon Superromance, January 2013), was set. I’ve gone back in time to a few months before Tiffany arrived to tell the story of how the county’s best roadside bakeshop became the very popular Georgette’s Bakery and Books.

      Everville’s motto is The Town That Endures. To me, enduring means accepting change. As the wife of a civics nut, I enjoy learning about what makes communities work. As the town evolves, so, too, do the lives of Aaron Caruthers and Stephanie Stephens—the bookworm and the cheerleader who never thought they could be a match.

      I love to hear from readers! Visit me on Facebook, Twitter (@VickiEssex) and my website, vickiessex.com, and watch out for more stories from Everville!

      Happy reading!

      Vicki Essex

      A Recipe for Reunion

      Vicki Essex

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      VICKI ESSEX likes eating baked goods, but isn’t great at baking them. She loves books, and isn’t a bad hand at writing them. To be showered with cookies, say hello to her at vickiessex.com, find her on facebook.com/vickiessexauthor and follow her on Twitter: @VickiEssex.

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      I’d like to thank my agent, Courtney Miller-Callihan, for being awesomely supportive and for really grokking me. *cookies*

      Thanks to my editor, Karen Reid, whose insights are always, always helpful.

      And as always, thank you to my darling, brilliant husband, John, whose magnificent brain inspired Aaron’s eclectic tastes and polymathic genius. I couldn’t do this without you, magoo.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

      Dear Reader

       Title Page

       About the Author

       Dedication

      CHAPTER ONE

      CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

       CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       CHAPTER ELEVEN

       CHAPTER TWELVE

       CHAPTER THIRTEEN

       CHAPTER FOURTEEN

       CHAPTER FIFTEEN

       CHAPTER SIXTEEN

       CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

       CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

       CHAPTER NINETEEN

       CHAPTER TWENTY

       CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

       CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

       CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

       Extract

       Copyright

       CHAPTER ONE

      Two months ago...

      NO ONE WAS eating her goodies.

      Stephanie racked her brain trying to figure out why. She’d baked all the treats herself, tailoring each recipe to meet her friends’ varied preferences and dietary