Love at First Laugh: Eight Romantic Novellas Filled with Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever After Read online

  Eight Romantic Novellas Filled with Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever After

  Table of Contents

  About the books

  Second Impressions

  Mowed Over

  An Informal Affair

  A Heart Restored

  Unleashing Love

  A (nearly) Normal Nanny

  That’s When I Knew

  A Time to Laugh

  Thank you for reading!

  Table of Contents

  About the Books

  Second Impressions

  by Pepper Basham

  He likes streamline. She prefers embellishments. His forte is business. Hers is atmosphere. Will they realize each has what the other needs most to create the perfect romance with a touch of Jane Austen flair?

  Read Second Impressions here

  Mowed Over

  by Christina Coryell

  A tiny, chatty fairy artist with multicolored pastel hair. A burly, bearded landscaper who can’t get a word in edgewise. They have nothing in common, but is that enough to keep them apart?

  Read Mowed Over here

  An Informal Affair

  by Heather Gray

  Lia is tired of seeing everyone else get their happily-ever-after and decides to take matters into her own hands with online dating – and convinces her long-time friend Maverick to sign up with her. The two develop a bad-date streak that grows week by week. How will God show Lia and Maverick – both determined to do things their own way – that He’s had a perfect plan all along?

  Read An Informal Affair here

  A Heart Restored

  by Elizabeth Maddrey

  She renovates old houses. Can he restore her heart?

  Read A Heart Restored here

  Unleashing Love

  by Jessica R. Patch

  Strapped for extra cash, professional dog walker Emma Kate Lambert agrees to work full time as a dog sitter for construction mogul, Griffin Noble. She’s shocked when she arrives to find she’ll be caring for a sweet baby girl instead. Griffin Noble has accepted his niece into relative placement, mostly out of guilt and with no permanent plans to keep her, until the sassy and southern nanny gives him a glimpse of what the ‘good life’ might really mean.

  Read Unleashing Love here

  A (nearly) Normal Nanny

  by Krista Phillips

  Normal is highly overrated…

  Read A (nearly) Normal Nanny here

  That’s When I Knew

  by Laurie Tomlinson

  When childhood sweethearts Nick and Chelsea find themselves thrown together on the road to a trade show that could save Chelsea’s career, past mistakes threaten to ruin her chances—and the possibility of rekindling a romance. Will the end of the summer find them apart once again?

  Read That’s When I Knew here

  A Time to Laugh

  by Marion Ueckermann

  When an unexpected beach-house inheritance and a lung disease diagnosis coincide, missionary couple Brian and Elizabeth Dunham realize that perhaps God is telling them it’s time to retire. But sometimes retirement comes with strings attached. Will their life-long dream be a blessing or a curse?

  Read A Time To Laugh here

  Second Impressions

  Pepper Basham

  Nora Simeon is a Jane Austen nut. After years of putting her dreams on hold, she’s given the opportunity to attend the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England, but a brooding American businessman threatens to upend her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

  Ethan Keller hates his uncle’s sordid penchant for matchmaking. With a string of failed attempts in Ethan’s past, the last thing he needs is another ‘opportunity’ in the person of Nora Simeon, but her country charm brings color to his structured life in the most unexpected ways.

  As these two lonely hearts sort through misunderstandings, a conniving assistant, and a homicidal bonnet, will the heart of Jane Austen’s novels inspire their own romance or will their story end in unrequited love?

  Chapter 1

  Birthdays were not her happy place.

  Or at least they hadn’t been for the last three years.

  Nora Simeon drove her well-loved SUV up the narrow road to the mountain’s crest where her family’s pride and joy perched against the backdrop of a forever-sky.

  The Inn at Simeon Ridge.

  The stone and cedar B&B nestled at the peak of their family’s namesake mountain, welcoming guests to view the azure-hued Blue Ridge Mountains while enjoying hospitality from a historic building well over a century old.

  She loved the atmosphere of it all—the wind over the mountains bringing the scent of coming rain, views as endless as the sea, and the awareness that generations of people traipsed the mountain pass to rest in the twenty-five-room lodge with its walled-in garden and wraparound porch.

  Home.

  And she loved it.

  But not on birthdays.

  For the past three years, her mother had been relentless in her schemes to attach her second-born, widowed daughter to any eligible man in the vicinity. Any being the operative word. Birthdays didn’t just mean she grew a year older. It meant the throat-tightening fear of megawatt embarrassment loomed in the air like a heavy fog over the mountains—a showcase to her mother’s petrifying obsession.

  Matchmaking—with a greater passion than Jane Austen’s Mrs. Bennet ever dreamed.

  Nora pulled into her usual parking space near the inn: A slot hidden away between the end of the walled garden and the path down to her small, two-bedroom cabin. Not too small, though. Snug enough for her antiquing habit, her labradoodle named Darcy, and about two-hundred books–mostly English classics—a passion-turned-profession in both teaching and writing. Unfortunately, neither of her professions tamed her mother’s insatiable husband-hunt, much to the eternal dismay of her children.

  Nora slipped out of the car, her professional attire accommodating her tight schedule from lecturer into immediate hostess, a job she’d perfected since she was sixteen. She loved slipping between the two worlds of adjunct English instructor and hostess for the inn. Sure, she’d prefer a job which melded the two, but she hadn’t sorted out how Austen and Inns fit together in the grand scheme of employment…yet.

  She followed the stone path to the walled-in garden gate, drawing strength from the scent of pineapple sage breezing over the fieldstone wall. Why did her mother feel so compelled to find the perfect match for her kids? Opposite though they were, her parents exemplified a great relationship, but living through her mother’s obsession each birthday shouldn’t leave behind symptoms of PTSD.

  Nora sighed and pushed open the garden gate. At least, with four other siblings in the family, she wasn’t the only one with a marriage-target painted on her chest.

  The walled-in garden welcomed her, encouraging her to release her birthday tension to the cheerful hues and brilliance of late spring bouquets. Oh, how she loved the myriad of colors bursting from her little sanctuary, pouring over the lush groundcover and aged stone with a touch of vibrancy. This was her place. Always had been. The one realm in her world that fed her love for England and Austen and everything day-dreamy.

  Her place of healing in the long months and years after Grant’s death.

  Marrying right out of high school, she and Grant had grown up together. Learned to love with each other. Their marriage proved much-too-short, but oh-so-sweet. Mercifully, time
—as it often does—had soothed a gentle hand over her ache. Today, she cradled his memory a little closer.

  She’d experienced her romance; her mother really didn’t have to encourage another one.

  Nora took her time in the garden, enjoying the late spring afternoon. The fieldstone walls—a mixture of gray and tan—wrapped around her, framing rows of late summer roses, pink allium, a few deep purple hydrangeas, and her favorite blossom…Cupid’s Dart.

  She ran a finger over the lush lavender bloom and continued her walk toward the inn. A young marriage followed by a sudden death left some plans in daydream-mode. This garden, in its mix of wild and tamed beauty, reminded her that hopes lingered, waiting to bring color to her life again.

  Maybe now, she was ready to step outside the wall and pursue new dreams…or old ones.

  With a reluctant sigh, she opened the exit gate. At least she had her own little taste of England housed within these old walls, where she’d written her first poem, edited her first novel, received her first kiss.

  “You better get a move on, Princess. Mom’s packed the house this weekend.”

  Nora groaned as her brother’s voice shook her free from her musings. He came into view through the kitchen doorway, his apron already stained from his work on the evening’s cuisine.

  “Can I call in sick?”

  Liam tossed her a grin, his deep brown eyes sparkling with the same mischief as their father. Two peas in a pod. “Good try. You remember what happened when I tried that two years ago?”

  Nora let the gate swing closed behind her and finished her walk up the cobblestone path, stopping long enough to take in the vast view of blue mountains before facing the inevitable inside the inn. “I don’t think that was the first time our Mom called the police to locate one of her kids, do you?”

  His grin scrunched into a grimace. “I think her matchmaking mania is getting a little out-of-hand. I’m tempted to marry the next woman who walks into the inn, just to get her off my back.”

  “She’d probably have planned that too.” Nora nudged his shoulder as she pressed past him into the inn. “Her yenta-powers reach some kind of cosmic proportion.”

  Oh, the thought made Nora want to turn right around in her secondhand heels and drive as far away as possible. Perhaps this one year, her mother wouldn’t inform every guest in the Inn that it was Nora’s birthday, compelling them all to come to the Great Room to celebrate and hear her usual speech about her daughter needing a good man. Followed, inevitably, by a gift of humiliating proportions to highlight Nora’s spinsterhood: Usually a dress to catch the perfect mate, a how-to book, or—the icing on the proverbial cake—tickets to a national convention entitled Unsatisfied and Single.

  One year she even threw in a bumper sticker which read: Single gals need love too.

  “Call it wishful thinking, but I’m pretty sure this year’s birthday present is going to be the best one yet.” Liam held the door open and ushered her into the kitchen.

  She cringed at the mere thought of all the ways her mom could top the last few gifts. Heat fled her face and she turned to her brother, gripping his apron strap to pin him in place. “Liam Thomas, she did not hire one of those ‘pay-a-date’ guys for me like she did for Clara last year, did she?”

  Liam’s grin turned to a full-fledged laugh. “I think she realized she overstepped her boundaries on that one.”

  Nora’s gaze locked with her brother’s. “You’re talking about our mom, right? The one who bought matching outfits for all four of us until we were twelve; who had to be escorted off the plane because somehow she snuck past security to deliver your glasses and a new container of cologne to you for your trip to France; the woman who—”

  “I get it! Her boundaries are elastic.” His palms came up. “And, by the way, sister dear. I ought to warn you.” He winked. “You’re late.”

  “Late?” She followed her brother’s self-satisfied smirk through the back door and into the warmth of dark wooden walls and rock fireplaces. “It’s not even five o’clock. Her wild host of shenanigans don’t start for at least another hour.”

  “That’s not what I’ve heard.” He slipped the apron over his head. “She switched the time at the last minute because Uncle Perry has a body to attend to at the funeral home and time is of the essence.”

  “Oh, heaven help us all.” Nora’s heels clicked a rumba across the oak hardwood into the hallway, and from the sound of his rumbling chuckle, Liam followed close behind. The narrow hall opened into the Great Room, a grand space composed of massive beams, large windows, and—the central focus—a double rock fireplace. Well, that was usually the focus, when fifty people didn’t crowd the mantel from view. Like now.

  Nora slid to a stop at the threshold and took a step back. Too late. Clark Regan from the local mercantile saw her before she could sneak away.

  “It’s the birthday girl.”

  All eyes zoomed in on her poorly executed escape attempt, and her dear brother pushed her forward into the room.

  Traitor.

  The room erupted in applause and celebration, deepening the heat in her face until her vision blurred. Only a third of those crowding the room were guests, the rest formed a quirky conglomeration of family and locals who came for free food and to watch their family’s shenanigans like a reality TV show.

  She couldn’t blame them, really. Reality TV had nothing on the Simeons. Especially the mistress of matchmaking mayhem herself—her mother.

  “So glad you’ve finally shown up, my dear.” Mother emerged from the crowd in all her colorful regalia. Her hot pink blouse fell in a silky sway to her black slacks, matching the shade of her lipstick. Her thick dark hair, a family trait carried down from the Irish side of the family, spun back into a fashionable bun.

  And those eyes…as green as the mountain fields after a rain. With the added eyeliner, they looked positively terrifying.

  Her mother captured her in a hug and the eye-watering aroma of her posy scent. “You’re half an hour late,” she whispered.

  “I thought it was a surprise party,” Nora shot back, her smile intact for the onlookers.

  The narrowed green slits gave off the Wicked-Witch-of-the-West vibes, in a southern sweet sort of way.

  In all honesty, the party was for Mom.

  Every year.

  “Thank you everyone for coming to celebrate Nora’s birthday with us at The Inn at Simeon Ridge. As you know, we take birthdays quite seriously in the Simeon family.”

  Nora caught her baby sister, Gwynn, trying to cloak her snicker with her hand. Nora stared her down, but her grin only grew. Oh, just wait! Her twentieth birthday was next, and probably the first of her Mama-marriage-matchups, too.

  Clara, her middle sister, bumped Gwynn’s shoulder and shot a stern look, ever trying to control the youngest’s antics to no avail.

  “For the past one hundred and twenty-five years, the Simeon family has gathered the community together through parties, such as this.” Her mother gestured around the room as she began her usual spiel of the Inn’s virtues. “We are honored to continue the tradition today, with our very dear Nora Elizabeth’s twenty-sixth birthday.”

  And…she announced the age. Like a nail in the proverbial coffin of her spinsterhood.

  “Before we enjoy some refreshments, I’m excited to share Nora’s very special birthday gift.” Her mother smiled her delight. “One, we hope, will fill her next decade with romance.

  A mountain woman with the heart of a drama queen. What a combination.

  Nora’s stomach dropped to her toes and a drumroll pulsed to life in her head.

  “Because of her faithful service to our inn and the students at the university, we’ve decided to send her on a little vacation.”

  Please don’t let it be a conference. Please don’t let it be a conference.

  “Her father and I have secured a ticket for Nora to participate in a special convention.”

  Did she just whimper out loud?

&nbs
p; “Festival, mother,” her older sister, Fiona, whispered from the sidelines. “Festival.”

  “Oh yes,” her mother corrected, her voice lilting with excitement. “The Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England.”

  Nora froze and searched the crowd for Fiona. Her bright smile confirmed the truth: A dream come true.

  She was going to England? She, who had never flown in a plane, was traveling across… The Pond? Her mother wrapped her in another hug. “But you’ll have to pay for your plane ticket.” Her squeeze tightened. “And the food.”

  Nora’s gaze found her father’s, his hearty laugh floating over the applause to settle the deal. She was going to England.

  “You must go.”

  Ethan Keller glared in response to his uncle’s demand, not taken in by the man’s suspiciously unnatural cough. Donovan Keller sat at his sleek desk, a wall of windows behind him showcasing the high-rises of Charlotte, North Carolina on every side.

  Donovan Keller’s grand palace.

  “I’ve had my vacation planned for three months, Uncle.” Ethan stood and removed his suit jacket to pace the length of the room. Of course, his uncle would find some way to delay his much-needed break from the bustle and business of their million-dollar family-owned hotel industry. “You can’t expect me to drop everything to travel halfway across the world for one of your smaller ventures. I need this break.”

  “And you’ll have it, I give you my word. I’ve even discovered a wonderful mountain escape to recommend to you. A family-owned place, actually. I met the owners recently, and their description of the mountain inn fits your reclusive habits to a tee.”

  “Sounds perfect. How about I go ahead and book my spot now and you can ask Laurence to take my place in England?”

  “I can’t trust Laurence with one of my newest projects. This agreement has the makings of gold for us, Ethan. Small, but with excellent prospects.” Donovan put his handkerchief to his mouth for another round of fake-coughing, and Ethan waited it out, studying the man with increasing disbelief. “Timothy Steele is not only a well-respected businessman but a personal friend. I assure you, this trip will be good for you.”

  His uncle worked tirelessly, but he also had the uncanny knack of stretching the truth and his morals far beyond Ethan’s comfort level—probably one of the reasons his uncle and father failed to see eye-to-eye on many personal decisions. But, as far as the business was concerned, they matched beautifully—something Ethan hoped to continue as he attempted to fill his father’s place in the hotel enterprise.