Beauty And The...Man Whoâll Never Let Her Go
Elise Bravo needed a job, desperately. And soldier turned thriller writer Jed Walsh burned throughâalmost literally, it turned outâassistants like hellfire through brimstone. Turned out he had some...unusual work habits to go along with his giant talent and ego. He threw knives to relax. He cleaned his guns as he acted out scenes. And more than anything, he hated cats...
Enter Elise, crack typist, master plotter and perfect for the live-in job in every way but one...two if you counted Mr. Wiggles, her furry companion. For though Jed had sworn he would never get âinvolvedâ with a woman who worked for him, it took only a day or two with the perfectly professional, pencil skirtâwearing Bravo beauty to realize that his interest in Elise broke all the rules. He had to make her hisâeven if he had to win over her kitty to do it...
âWhat are you staring at?â
âYou.â He thought of the feel of Elise in his arms, the scent of her that he would know anywhereâand it hit him like the proverbial bolt from the blue.
He was going about this all wrong. Staying away from her in order to keep her made no sense at all.
He needed to get closer.
Closer. Dear God. He would love that.
Too bad he was no good at all that love and romance crap. And if he went for it with Elise and it blew up in his face, where would he be then? Zero and twoâand minus the assistant who made it all hang together.
âJed.â Sheâd reached the table and now stood over him, watching him, her smile indulgent, her eyes so bright. âWhatâs going on in that big brain of yours?â
âNot a thing.â
âLiar. Youâve got your scary face onâgive me your plate. Iâll warm it up.â
He handed it over. He watched her walk away. Always a pleasure, watching Elise walk away.
What would it be like, him and Elise, living together, working together, sleeping in the same bed night after night? He was starting to think he really needed to find out.
* * *
The Bravos of Justice Creek:
Where bold hearts collide under Western skies
CHRISTINE RIMMER came to her profession the long way around. She tried everything from acting to teaching to telephone sales. Now sheâs finally found work that suits her perfectly. She insists she never had a problem keeping a jobâshe was merely gaining âlife experienceâ for her future as a novelist. Christine lives with her family in Oregon. Visit her at www.christinerimmer.com.
For Nalria Wisdom Gaddy, who knows the names of all the flowers and never fails to brighten my day. Nalria, this oneâs for you.
Chapter One
Elise Bravo wanted a bath. A long, relaxing one. With lots of bubbles. She longed to shed every stitch and pile her hair up on her head. To grab a juicy paperback romance and sink into her slipper tub, the one sheâd had specially installed in the big master bath of her two-bedroom apartment above her catering shop in the gorgeous old brick building she co-owned with her best friend, Tracy.
Unfortunately, Eliseâs beautiful slipper tub was no more. Neither was her apartment. Her business? Gone, too. Three months ago, the historic building on Central Street in her hometown of Justice Creek, Colorado, had burned to the ground.
As for her lifelong best friend? Tracy had moved to Seattle to start a whole new life.
Now, Elise lived in a tiny rented studio apartment over Deeliteful Donuts on the less attractive end of Creekside Drive. The studio had a postage stamp of a bathroomâwith a shower, no tub.
And sometimes lately, as she raced through the lunch rush at her sister Claraâs café, or manned the counter at her half sister Jodyâs flower shop, Elise could almost lose heart. She was deeply disappointed in herself.
Because it wasnât the fire that had ruined her life. Sheâd been in trouble long before the idiot tenants who leased a shop on the ground floor had disabled the fire alarms and then left a hot plate turned on in the back room when they slipped out to run errands. By then, bad choices had already brought Elise to the brink of ruin. The fire had only slathered a thick helping of frosting on her own personal disaster cake.
Elise was one of four siblings. She had five half siblings. Of the nine children of Franklin Bravo, Elise was the only one whoâd blown through her very generous inheritance. Shame dogged her for every one of her stupid choices in life, in love and in business. She was circling the drain and she didnât really know what to do about it.
Except to hold her head high, work hard and keep moving forward.
* * *
After the lunch rush at the Library Café on that fateful day in June, Elise took off her waitress apron and transferred her tips to her purse. Her sister Clara waved at her as she went out the back door.