Falling For Gracie. Susan Mallery

      Fall in love all over again with a heartwarming reader-favorite from #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery!

      First comes love, then comes marriage... At least, that was Gracie’s plan at the ripe old age of fourteen, when she loved eighteen-year-old heartthrob Riley with a desperation that made her a town legend. Even now that she’s all grown up, the locals in sleepy Los Lobos won’t let her forget her youthful crush.

      And how can she, when she’s face-to-face with Riley at every turn? The onetime bad boy has come back to town seeking respectability—but the sparks that fly between them are anything but respectable. Gracie’s determined to keep her distance, but when someone sets out to ruin both their reputations, the two discover that first love is sometimes better the second time around.

      Praise for #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery

      “Susan Mallery is one of my favorites.”

      —Debbie Macomber, New York Times bestselling author

      “Heartfelt, funny, and utterly charming all the way through!”

      —Susan Elizabeth Phillips, New York Times bestselling author, on Daughters of the Bride

      “This insightful, laughter-laced story fairly crackles with sexual tension and has a lot to say about friendship, love, and relationships. Heartwarming and memorable.”

      —Library Journal on Best of My Love

      “Both heart-wrenching and warmhearted... A discerning, affecting look at three women facing surprising change and the powerful and uplifting impact of friends.”

      —Kirkus Reviews on The Girls of Mischief Bay

      “If you love your romance with plenty of family dynamics and drama, you’re going to adore this book!”

      —RT Book Reviews, TOP PICK!, on Daughters of the Bride

      “Mallery spins such an appealing town in Fool’s Gold that readers will want to move in, or at least return for many visits...this expertly characterized tale has heart and soul.”

      —Publishers Weekly on Best of My Love

      Falling for Gracie

      Susan Mallery

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      To Hazel, with love and thanks.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Praise

       Title Page

       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

       EPILOGUE

       Extract

       Copyright

       CHAPTER ONE

      “GRACIE? GRACIE LANDON, is that you?”

      Trapped, standing in the middle of her mother’s front lawn, a newspaper in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other, Gracie Landon glanced longingly toward the escape that was the front door.

      In theory, she could bolt for freedom, but that would mean being rude to Eunice Baxter, neighbor and octogenarian. And Gracie had been raised better than that.

      She pushed her sleep-smashed hair out of her face and shuffled in her younger sister’s Tweetie Bird slippers over to the low wood fence that separated the Landon property from Eunice Baxter’s.

      “Morning, Mrs. Baxter,” she said, hoping she sounded cheerful instead of trapped. “Yes, it’s me. Gracie.”

      “My stars, so it is. I haven’t seen you in forever, but I swear, I would have recognized you anywhere. How long has it been?”

      “Fourteen years.” Half her life. She’d been so hopeful that people would forget her.

      “Well, I’ll be. You sure look pretty. When you left, and I mean this in the kindest