Home Matters (A Ripple Effect Romance Novella, Book 1) by Julie N. Ford

Author:Julie N. Ford [Ford, Julie N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romantic Comedy, inspirational, inspirational romance, Contemporary, contemporary romance, sweet romance, clean romance, relationships, love
Publisher: HEA Publishing
Published: 2014-02-17T06:00:00+00:00

Lounging on a tarp, Pete supported his upper body on one elbow and looked down at Olivia who lay sprawled on the floor as well, her head resting on his thigh. The walls around them had long been repainted and now glowed with a soft shade of blue. How long they’d been stretched out on the floor talking was anyone’s guess. But in that time span, Olivia had learned that they were both the youngest children in their families, both conversely loved country and first-wave alternative music, ate grits for breakfast, and both had favorite movies that seemed to be films everyone else hated—Lady in the Water being exhibit A. He’d grown up on a ranch in Missouri, which wasn’t the South, but close enough that their upbringing with emphasis on community, family, and tradition, felt uncannily similar. Lying here with Pete, she had that sensation of being home again and of unconditional acceptance.

“Favorite Eighties movie?” he asked.

Olivia thought for a moment, but was having a hard time concentrating on anything other than Pete’s sapphire eyes and how the color had been intensified by the freshly painted walls. Finally, she said the first film that came to mind.

“Pretty in Pink.”

“Figures,” he scoffed. “Why is it every girl’s fantasy to hook up with the rich guy they’ve already convinced themselves is too good for them? Like winning his love will somehow validate her in the process? If you ask me, both main characters didn’t actually want to find love, they just liked the idea of it. Why else would they go for the only other kid in school they both knew they’d never be able to date without alienating all their friends and family? Like their love could transcend it all? And they’d known each other for what, one date?”

Laughter rolled up from Olivia’s gut. “Wow, you’ve given this a lot of thought, haven’t you?” she teased. “Not only a watcher of Nineteenth Century romances, but of cheesy Twentieth Century first-love films as well.”

Pete shrugged. “It bothers me, the way women are obsessed with dysfunctional love. With wanting the opposite of what’s good for them,” he said, and Olivia got the feeling he was referring more to her, and her attraction to William, than he was to a character in some silly teen film.

But then what did he know about her heart, her goals, and dreams? Nothing. So what if William tended to smoke and drink too much and leaned toward the shallow end of interesting? He’d been a bachelor for years now. All he needed was a little time and the love of the right woman to change all that.

“And like I said, I have three older sisters,” he added, his face twisting into a grimace that spoke volumes.

“Say no more. Let me guess,” Olivia said, waving her hands. “Your sisters fawned over you as a baby and toddler, giving you more attention than you knew what to do with. Then, as you got older, as many boys do, you became a pain in the butt and weren’t so cute anymore, so they stopped fawning over you.

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