Syndi Powell - Their Forever Home

A house isn’t a home

...without someone to love

Construction expert Cassie Lowman has been paired with the last designer she wanted for Detroit’s new home reno contest. John Robison finds Cassie intriguing yet intimidating. When tough family issues arise, John and Cassie are forced to see each other’s strengths and work together on all fronts, and yes, maybe fall for each other along the way...

SYNDI POWELLstarted writing stories when she was young and has made it a lifelong pursuit. She’s been reading Mills & Boon romance novels since she was in her teens and is thrilled to be on the Harlequin team. She loves to connect with readers on Twitter, @syndipowell, or on her Facebook author page, Facebook.com/syndipowellauthor.

Also By Syndi Powell

Finding Her Family

Healing Hearts

Afraid to Lose Her

The Sweetheart Deal

Two-Part Harmony

Risk of Falling

The Reluctant Bachelor

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Their Forever Home

Syndi Powell

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09749-9

THEIR FOREVER HOME

© 2019 Cynthia Powell

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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Text to speech

Cassie turned to him, worried. “What if we don’t win? This contest means everything to me.”

John nodded. “I get that. It means a lot to me, too. But I can’t think that way about losing and neither should you. I have to focus on being the best at what I do and proving to them all that I’m just as good as they are.”

She rested her hand on his. “You are good. Better than good. You blow me away with some of your ideas. It’s been my privilege to work with you.”

He reached out and touched her cheek. “The privilege is all mine, Cass.”

She dropped her gaze from his, aware of how vulnerable she’d made herself to him. Wondering if he would accept her words, accept her. And why did it matter so much if he did?

Dear Reader,

Did something ever happen to you that changed the path you’d been following? Maybe it was a job loss or the death of a parent. Maybe it was the breakup of a relationship that you thought would never end. Whatever it was, it changed your life from one you expected to something you didn’t recognize.

If you’ve read my books before, you know that divorce and cancer were two things that changed the path I’d been traveling. They made me stop in my tracks and start asking the big questions. What followed were times of amazing personal growth and change, but it wasn’t easy to start imagining a different future.

I don’t know about you, but I love reading stories about people getting a second chance. About those who take their losses and turn their lives into something beautiful. In this story, Cassie had planned to take over her father’s construction company, and John thought he’d keep designing award-winning cars. But they are about to find out that sometimes the best plan is to embrace the unknown.

If you’re going through one of those times of losses and searching for a new path, don’t give up. Just hold on because a better day is coming.

Syndi

This book is dedicated to all the dogs I’ve loved before: Midnight, Kohlby, Furio, Phoebe, Gracie Lou, Shiloh, Cody, Rocky, Ladybird, Reno, Evie, Pinot, Bella, Katie and Ceasar. And in memory of my beloved kitty, Diva. You’ve all made my life better.

And thank you to my parents, Russ and Pattie D’Hondt, who helped inspire this new book series by helping me brainstorm ideas for the plot. Thank you also for watching home renovation shows with me for research. I love you both.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Introduction

Dear Reader

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

A Sneak Peek At Syndi Powell’s Next Novel

Extract

About the Publisher

THE BALLROOM AT the Whittier Hotel in downtown Detroit glittered under the dozen chandeliers that hung from the high ceiling. Cassie Lowman felt a crick in her neck start to form as she stared at the opulent murals decorating the ceiling above her head. While it wasn’t her favorite aesthetic, she could appreciate the artistry. Too ornate and fussy for her—she would rather have something be beautiful in its simplicity.

A tuxedoed waiter passed by with a tray of half-filled champagne flutes. She snagged one before returning her gaze to the ceiling. She lifted her glass for a brief salute and then started to scan the room for familiar faces.

In truth, most of the faces were known to her as well as their names. These were her father’s former competitors—building contractors who had rejoiced when he’d failed and patted themselves on their backs while they swooped in and stole his clientele. She tasted the bitterness and anger at the back of her throat, so she tipped the champagne flute and drank the bubbly liquid before leaving the empty glass on a nearby table. Maybe it was better for her to look for new friends.