Kathy Altman - Staying at Joe's

A deal she can’t refuse!

Allison Kincaid can make a great sales pitch. But showing up at Joe Gallahan’s motel asking for a favor is her toughest challenge yet. A year ago they were more than just colleagues at a big PR firm. When work came between them, Joe put the blame on Allison…and his opinion hasn’t changed.

She’s shocked, however, when Joe agrees to help. Even though she doesn’t love his terms, she accepts them because she’ll get what she needs. If striking a deal with him means donning a pair of coveralls and swinging a hammer, so be it. Working side by side with Joe again, they might be able to repair the past. They just might get a second chance, too!

“Joe, we had good reason for what we did.”

Allison could hear the pleading note in her voice. “Surely after all this time you can accept that.”

“I’m not having this conversation, Allison. I don’t want to talk about the agency, or Tackett, or any lame offer he sent you to make. Unless you want to pick up a paintbrush and dig in, you need to leave.”

“Just…give me a chance to change your mind.”

“And how do you plan on doing that, Allison? Wait. Let me guess.” Joe set the water bottle on the ladder and with one swift motion pulled his shirt over his head. “You and me, Slick. Right here, right now. Remind me how convincing you can be.”

Heat slapped at her cheeks. Her knees felt loose. He was unbelievable. She was unbelievable. While part of her loathed his over-the-top he-man tactics, another part couldn’t help admiring the hard, sculpted plane of his bare chest.

Shame sidled in, jacking her chin high. “That wasn’t what I had in mind, Joe.”

Dear Reader,

Welcome back! I’ve missed you! I’m so very excited to be able to take you on another journey to Castle Creek. After Harlequin Superromance released The Other Soldier last summer (July 2012), I received a number of emails expressing hope that I’d give Joe Gallahan his own book, since readers were curious to know the motel owner’s story. I have to admit I was curious about him myself. :-)

Forgiveness plays a pivotal role in Staying at Joe’s. As the book opens Allison and Joe are both harboring grudges, along with a double dose of heartache. It takes a lot of soul-searching—and sly encouragement from certain matchmaking elders—for the two to realize the life decisions they made were based on bad assumptions. Now not only do they need to forgive each other, they need to forgive themselves. (I just hope that Joe forgives me for everything I put him through!)

By the way, in the latter part of the story Allison samples a rather unusual cake. Occasionally my mother finds all kinds of glee in baking this cake, challenging the unwary to name the two secret ingredients—which no one has ever been able to do! Then, giggling maniacally, she reveals the mystery and the partakers refuse to believe that they ate—nay, relished—such a peculiar blend. If you’d care to have a copy of this recipe (which really is quite delicious!) please send me an email at kathy@kathyaltman.com and I’ll fix you right up. Or send me an email even if you wouldn’t care for the recipe—I’d adore hearing from you!

Thank you again for coming back to Castle Creek!

All my best,

Kathy Altman

Staying at Joe’s

Kathy Altman

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathy Altman writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense and the occasional ode to chocolate. When she’s not plotting romance novels or writing reviews for USA TODAY’s Happy Ever After blog, she’s probably putting in her forty hours a week as a computer programmer for the air force, watching the Ciarán Hinds version of Persuasion or making other people feel superior by letting them win at Scrabble. Find Kathy online at www.kathyaltman.com, or email her at kathy@kathyaltman.com—she’d adore hearing from you!

To my own personal PR crew—Mom, Mary, Jerry, Bill and Stephen—you all keep me going and I love you more than ham.

To Toni Anderson—I couldn’t have done justice to Joe without you.

To Kathy Jones—how lucky am I, to be your friend?

And to the sweetest, most thoughtful romance fans ever—Barb Kopsic, Carol Shaffer, Rhonda Sipe, Carol Opalinski, Mary Kennedy, Julia Broadbooks, Louise Hackworth, Edie Faile, Yvonne Cruz, Judy Kuhns, Marlee Soulard, Dolores Finley and especially Linda Esau.

You all are the best and I couldn’t appreciate you more!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For a newly published author, writing that sophomore book (the second published book) is notoriously stressful. Actually it’s downright agonizing. If your first book was well received, you can’t help but fret that readers will find the second a complete and utter letdown. If that first book tanked, you’ll spend every waking moment worrying that the second will disgrace your name beyond all hope of redemption and obliterate any chance of a writing career while everyone reading your words is rummaging for antacid or scrambling for a paper shredder as black rain erupts from the skies and cats begin to bark and small children everywhere demand brussels sprouts for breakfast—

Ahem. Let me pull myself back from the brink and thank the amazing people who made this return to Castle Creek possible. My most heartfelt gratitude goes to:

My ever-patient sweetie, Dan, for his expertise on building renovations;

Harlequin Superromance editor Karen Reid, for a rockin’ set of revisions;

Robin Covington, Entangled author extraordinaire, whose blog introduced me to Matt Nathanson and helped build my soundtrack;

and the brave, insightful and kindhearted Toni Anderson, Robin Allen and Debby Collier, for cheerfully reading early drafts of Joe’s story and generously helping me brainstorm.

Big squeezy hugs to you all.

Contents

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

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER ONE

THINK OF IT as just another pitch. One more client to woo. Schmooze and booze. Deal and seal. Nothing new here, Allie.

Except they weren’t in a high-end restaurant. He wasn’t a client. She wasn’t sipping wine. And she’d never been so bone-deep desperate.

Nor so ready to rely on bondage and torture, should the whole schmooze-and-booze thing end in an epic fail.

Though the thought of duct taping Joe Gallahan did cheer her immensely. She rolled her shoulders up and back, wiped her palms on her linen pants and stepped into the open doorway of the motel room. And blinked.

She’d never seen him in jeans. Two years of working together and three months of dating and she’d never seen him in anything with the slightest resemblance to denim. He’d never been the casual type. Not when it came to clothes, anyway. Then again, it had been nearly a year since he’d left—of course he’d changed. She had, too. Just...not as noticeably.

He stood with his back to her, in a sweat-stained T-shirt and faded, paint-spattered jeans. A pair of scuffed boots added to the construction worker look she was having a hard time wrapping her brain around. And his hair—once kept regularly trimmed—had now grown so long that the shaggy ends flirted with his shoulders.

She inhaled deeply and the thick, sharp smell of paint made her wish she hadn’t. She fought the urge to cough. A cough would give her away. A cough would mean she couldn’t change her mind.

As if she even had that option. Her pulse kicked up and her fingertips tingled. Easy, Allie. Too much at stake to chicken out now.

At least he seemed sober.