The easiest—and hardest—decision she’ll ever make starts with a kiss.
Coming Home, Book
1 AVAILABLE TODAY!!!!
In high school, Bianca Charleston was a nobody. An
overweight wallflower, so invisible that Cole, the boy she had a crush on,
never even knew she existed.
Things have changed, and she’s finally ready to show off her
new bombshell look. Sort of. Maybe. After a one-sided pep talk with her cat,
she takes a deep breath and flies home to help out with the annual hospital
carnival. Cole is there, too—and he still has no idea who she is.
FBI field officer Cole Johnson doesn’t have an easy job, and
his nights are usually booked solid. Then in walks Charlie, a blonde with
killer…everything. Suddenly he’s mentally clearing his schedule for a rare
night out.
While Charlie doesn’t do one-night stands, somehow after-dinner
dessert is served up against the wall of her hotel room. But happiness will
have to navigate an emotional minefield of preconceived notions—and a couple of
not-so-secret stumbling blocks.
Warning: Contains a former ugly duckling, and a big-hearted FBI
agent who knows how to get his money’s worth at a kissing booth. Plus, a little
black dress that comes off a whole lot easier than Dorothy’s ruby slippers.
Excerpt -
“Signed a
contract for next year?”
“Right
before I left. Have till mid-July before it’s official.”
“Given any
thought to applying to that charter school here in Buffalo? I still think you’d
be a perfect fit.”
Shrugging
probably didn’t translate all that well over the phone. “I’ve looked into it.
It’s amazing. Exactly what I’d like to be doing, especially since it’s an arts
academy. It’s perfect.”
Kia paused
before speaking. “But?”
“Buuuuttt.”
She drew out the word and nibbled her bottom lip. “The application process is
ridiculously stringent—”
“Which
means you’ve already filled it out almost completely.”
“Possibly,”
Charlie kind-of admitted. “I need references as well and I have a big fat goose
egg when it comes to Buffalo and references.”
“Am I
chopped liver?” Kia wanted to know, her words accompanied by another yawn.
“Of course
not.” Charlie clamped her mouth shut because she hadn’t asked Kia and if the
roles were reversed, Charlie would be more than a bit miffed Kia hadn’t
approached her. “And I have to have more than one. Two required. Three
recommended.”
“Surely
you know more people here than just me?”
“Of
course. As the girl I used to be.”
“And you
aren’t that girl anymore.”
Charlie
smiled. “No. Thankfully I most definitely am not. I feel cute now, which I
love. And confident.”
“You know
what you should do with this newfound realization of your hotness?”
“What?”
She put a few groceries away, grabbing a bowl to scoop some cottage cheese into
and a plate for the rest of her meal.
“Come to
the carnival.”
Charlie’s
spoon clattered to the floor and Lord Voldemort made a beeline for it. “No,
kitty.” She put it in the sink—the spoon, not the cat—and tried to take a
silent deep breath.
“Before
you automatically say no, hear me out. You wouldn’t need a hotel because you
could stay with me. You could meet with some people in town who knew you before
and make some contacts on getting a reference for the charter application. And
as head chairperson for the Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital Carnival
Committee, I formally invite you to come support this most wonderful charity
event.”
“While I
thank you for the formal invitation, I just can—”
“In a week
and a half, thousands of people will be coming together to raise money for the
local hospital with the mostest. There’s going to be amazing food,
entertainment, hay rides.”
“Where are
you going to do hayrides in Buffalo? And where are you getting hay from?”
“I was
hoping you were going to bring it.”
“Hardee
har har.”
“Come on.
You know it’s the biggest event here each year. We raise massive amounts of
funds for the hospital and—”
“All the
not-awesome people from high school will probably be there.”
“Exactly.
You can’t tell me you haven’t envisioned the moment when you get to see all of
them again and show them exactly what you’ve turned into. You’re slender now
with curves in all the right places.”
Charlie
looked down the length of her own body in a summer dress and heels and loved
knowing she looked good. “It may have crossed my mind a time or two. Hundred.”
“I knew
it.”
“But I
think I’ll wait until next year at the reunion. I could drop a couple more
pounds and—”
“You drop
a couple more pounds and I will hunt you down.”
“Oh will
you now?”
“Yes I
will. And don’t sass me while I’m sleepy. My snark-meter isn’t sufficiently
charged.”
“Ha!”
“Now, I
know most of the kids back then were assholes in school.”
“Most?”
“Okay,
pretty much everybody was assholes except for me and the rest of the kids in
the robotics group, but you’ve worked really hard to drop the extra weight you
didn’t like. And instead of a fashion flop, you’re now a fashionista. You’ve
really come full circle. You could truly teach classes on awesome. Bibi is no
longer alive, and no longer the most likely girl to become a real wallflower.”
“Ugh.
Hated that nickname. Not to mention the worst title ever in the history of
yearbook titles.”
“So, you
could show them all up. Life’s too short for waiting for something this epic.”
Her pause didn’t bode well. “I hear Cole’s supposed to be there.”
“Cole.”
It came out sounding like a question and a prayer. The guy she’d had a crush on
from the moment she entered high school in the Bakersville Central ISD. He was
a star athlete, smart, definitely one of the popular kids. Four years of
sharing classes with him. Having a locker just a handful of steps away from
each other. Passing him in the hall thousands of times. He didn’t even know she
existed and she was so in love with him.
“Just
think about it. You show up, charm the pants right off of him and then drop him
flat.”
Charlie
rolled her eyes and then sat down to eat. “I’m not that good.”
“No, you’re not. You’re better."
Hope you love it!!
Decadently Yours,
Jennifer Kacey
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Jennifer Kacey is a writer, mother, and business owner living with her miniman in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.
Sounds scrumptious! I love the witty tone especially and the ugly duckling trope is so symbolic for all women who grow into their own sense of confidence!
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