Book 1: The Mountain Monroes
Kissed by the Country Doc
She came to sell a town…
Never in her wildest dreams could single mom Ella Monroe imagine co-inheriting the small town of Second Chance, Idaho—or falling for its curmudgeonly doctor, Noah Bishop. Despite his rough edges and protests for isolation, Noah has her believing in love at first sight again. But when she’s pressured to sell her stake, Ella is torn between family loyalty and following her heart.
Tropes: second chance romance, single mom, medical romance, small mountain town romance
Excerpt:
They stood staring at each other, which should have been uncomfortable. So why did Ella have the strongest urge to smile and ask him if he could use a cup of coffee?
She didn’t do either. “Well, I’ve got a toddler to pick up.” And a market evaluation to figure out.
“And I’ve got to return to looking out my window, waiting for the next medical emergency.” Noah’s gaze dropped to the dog’s before returning to hers. “Seems like a slow morning, other than you, I mean. Maybe I’ll walk over to the Bent Nickel for some coffee instead.”
“All that watching. You’re like a fire spotter in the wilderness.” Ella backed up a few steps, reluctant to break eye contact, but feeling that she needed to return to the coffee shop without him. Because… Because…
Something fluttered in her chest. Something more than attraction.
“Oh.” She stopped in her tracks as the flutter took on meaning.
It was awareness. Of a man. Who wasn’t Bryce. And appreciation. Of a man. Who wasn’t Bryce. Her humor clicked with his humor.
And appeal. Of a man. Who wasn’t Bryce. He was a reluctant rescuer of dogs and women.
Well, maybe not a rescuer of women, but he had waited to make sure she was all right.
Her mouth went dry as the implication hit her.
This wasn’t just a reaction—wow, that guy’s gorgeous. This was something deeper—wow, I wonder if that man’s a good kisser.
Noah cocked a dark eyebrow. “Did you forget something?”
“Yes.” She’d forgotten what it was like to be interested in a man. She’d forgotten how attraction fluttered and buzzed and made her feet feel light. Or how she stammered and stopped and stared as if she couldn’t believe she felt that magnetism, that pull to gaze deeply into someone’s eyes and sneak a glance at a man’s mouth and wonder about compatibility.
This was exactly the way it’d started with Bryce. Eyes met. Held. A few witticisms exchanged. It was exactly the same… If you didn’t count the sudden awkwardness, because the last time she’d followed her instincts she’d fallen in love, gotten pregnant and faced the repercussions with the Monroes.
She needed to ignore attraction, awareness and appeal, and focus on awkwardness. Which right now was Noah waiting for her to say something as intelligent and sparkly as she’d said before. If she’d been witty with him before. She could no longer remember.
“I have nothing clever left to say,” she admitted baldly, before she turned and walked away, lecturing herself about men with soulful eyes, quick wit and quirking eyebrows. Men like that were the opposite of Bryce, which meant they weren’t her type. So why did she still feel flutterful?
She didn’t realize Noah and the dog were following her until Noah spoke. “Who cares if you’re clever all the time? That’s the thing about life in a small town. Sometimes you don’t have to say anything at all.”
His words didn’t reassure her.
The flutters didn’t go away.
If anything, they increased.
The Story Behind the Story
After finishing the Harmony Valley series, I pitched a few different ideas to Harlequin, one of which was simply - 12 grandchildren inherit a small town…somewhere. Don’t know why.
My editor told me they were looking for a series set in Idaho. She and I tossed around several different ideas for the town’s name (I liked Way-to-Go, Idaho - located at a crossroads; she preferred Second Chance). Once we settled on a name, I decided each book should be a second chance at love.
I usually give my books nicknames - mostly so my husband can remember what I’m working on. This one was called “My Dr. Strange book” because the movie had just come out when I was plotting the book and Noah was a renowned surgeon who was in an accident and lost his finger dexterity. So he’s going through the same emotional journey as Dr. Strange…just without superpowers.
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