Book 9: A Small Town Girl with a Big City Secret
Love in Harmony Valley Series
On this page, you’ll find the story blurb, an excerpt, the story behind the story, and bonus content.
Mina tells everyone life is just the way she likes it.
Single mother Mina DeWitt is a well-respected, political consultant, now working remotely in small town Harmony Valley. She and her young son live with her grandmother in a quaint home and have built a life with a support network of Liam’s friends and other single moms.
Then she’s given the career opportunity of a lifetime—to be the campaign manager for a very famous San Francisco mayoral candidate, one of those McClouds, someone who could become president one day.
She gave up her dreams to protect her son from the spotlight.
Mina is torn. Her goal had always been to work for a candidate worthy of changing the world. But there are several reasons she can’t take this job. She’d need to be in the city every day, missing out on her young son’s life and unable to care for her increasingly frail grandmother.
Not to mention she’d have to work long hours with Hudson McCloud, who is too handsome and too stubborn. And Mina would have to keep her secret from him—that she’d had a whirlwind affair with Hudson’s brother right before he died, the proof of which being a six year-old boy who bears a striking resemblance to his famous father, a man put on display since birth.
And now everything is at risk – her son’s privacy and his uncle’s dreams.
It doesn’t matter how often Mina turns the McClouds down. They soon show up in Harmony Valley to convince her to join the team. They’re willing to open up to Mina and get to know her better, expecting her to do the same. And as much as Mina wants to be honest, she knows that once the truth is revealed, everything will change.
But will it change for the better?
Fans of romance movies like Speechless, Dave, and The American President, will love this lighthearted, small town romance with a happily-ever-after.
Excerpt:
“Hud, everyone’s here for your meeting.” Hud’s mother held his office door open as the jury filed in with a verdict—salvageable candidate or not.
Dad, if you’re looking down from heaven, I could use a little intervention.
Hud drew a steadying breath.
The quality of the campaign manager Walter O’Connell brought with him on this stormy day would be telling. If he brought a no-talent, Hud would need to come up with Plan B.
Hud stood and came around his desk, nodding to Stu and shaking hands with Walter. He didn’t see anyone behind Walter’s tall, broad frame.
I have my answer. My political career is over.
The breath Hud expelled was heavy.
Dejected, he turned back to his desk.
His mother cleared her throat, inclining her head almost imperceptibly toward the door.
Hud glanced around to face a pixie with big, dark eyes and long, wild black curls, including one artfully arranged on her cheek. She’d been hidden behind Walter.
“Mina DeWitt.” Cheeks pinkening, the pixie thrust out her hand.
Mina DeWitt. He’d heard of her. She was good. Very good. So good, in fact, that she’d earned the reputation as a candidate whisperer.
Spirits rising, Hud took Ms. DeWitt’s hand gingerly in both of his, afraid his normal grip might crush her delicate bones. Warm and soft, her hand fit nicely between his. And her eyes… A man could gaze into those eyes for hours. She was beautiful. Truly breathtaking.
That can’t be good.
Despite her solid reputation, there was no way Mina DeWitt was capable of the cutthroat behavior Hud needed from a campaign manager. Her hands were more suited to soothing babies than salvaging careers, those dark eyes more fitting for comfort in a storm than combat in the political trenches. And that wild mass of hair…
He wanted to test if that curl on her cheek was as silky as it looked, wanted to know if the dark corkscrew would bounce back if he tugged on it.
As if sensing his assessment fell short of her reputation, Ms. DeWitt’s eyes flashed. She gripped his hand firmly, gave it a good shake and then dropped it. “You don’t want to greet a woman like that. You should acknowledge everyone, male or female, with a brief but firm grip.”
The absence of her warm hand in his robbed Hud of speech. Or maybe it was the chill in her tone. That chill was shocking. Didn’t she realize who he was? Hadn’t she felt that bolt of attraction?
While he was dumbfounded, his mother came to his defense. “I think it’s a sweet gesture.”
“Women see it as something more subtle and…” Ms. DeWitt gave Hudson a quick glance as she crossed the room to set down her stylish leather briefcase. “Perhaps belittling. Sometimes even a bit suggestive.”
Whoa. “I didn’t mean—”
“I know you didn’t.” Ms. DeWitt cut him off ruthlessly, digging in her briefcase with quick, choppy movements, as if she, too, had been thrown off-kilter when they’d touched.
Good.
She pulled business cards from her bag, passed them out, and then perched on a chair beneath a portrait of Hud’s great-grandfather, the first McCloud politician. She gestured for everyone to be seated as if this was her office, not his. “My point is that every gesture, every word, every interaction must convey what you want it to, and only what you want it to.”
If that was true, what was she conveying? It felt like rejection. Of him? They’d only just met.
The Story Behind the Story
Political romance? What was I thinking?
Well, I had an idea about a Kennedy-like family with a secret romance. How could I not write that? LOL.
Bonus Content
You can listen to the book for free in this YouTube Video.
If you’ve read the book, make sure you download your free Bonus Epilogue.
Get Your Copy Here
Amazon (digi, KU, print) BN (print only)
