Falling For Gracie
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.
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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
To Hazel, with love and thanks.
Contents
“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 way possible, you were a dreadfully ugly child. Even your poor mother used to worry that you wouldn’t grow into your looks, but you did. You’re as bright and shiny as a magazine cover model.”
Gracie didn’t exactly want to reminisce about her homely period—the one that had lasted for nearly six years. “Thank you,” she said, inching toward the porch.
Eunice poofed her shellacked helmet of curls, then tapped her chin. “You know, I was just talking about you to my friend Wilma. We were saying that young folks today don’t know how to fall in love. Not like they used to in the movies, or like you did with Riley Whitefield.”
Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God. Not Riley. Anything but that. After all this time, couldn’t her reputation as a young, crazed teenaged stalker be put to rest?
“I didn’t exactly love him,” Gracie said, wondering why she’d agreed to come home after all this time. Oh, yeah, right. Her baby sister’s wedding.
“You were a testament to true love,” Eunice told her. “You should be proud. You loved that boy with all your heart and you weren’t afraid to show it. That takes a special kind of courage.”
Or insanity, she thought as she smiled weakly. Poor Riley. She’d made his life a living hell.
“And that reporter fellow wrote about you in the town newspaper so everyone knew your story,” Eunice added. “You were famous.”
“More like infamous,” Gracie muttered, remembering the humiliation of reading about her crush on Riley over breakfast.
“Wilma’s favorite is the time you nailed his girlfriend’s doors and windows shut so she couldn’t get out for their date. That’s a good one, but my favorite is the time you laid down right in front of his car right there.” Eunice pointed to the bit of road in front of her house.
