Beauty and The Best (Once-Upon-A-Time Romance) (44 page)
Read Beauty and The Best (Once-Upon-A-Time Romance) Online
Authors: Judi Fennell
Judi Fennell has had her nose in a book and her head in some celestial realm all her life, including those early years when her mom would exhort her to “get outside!” instead of watching
Bewitched
or
I Dream of Jeannie
on television. So she did—right into Dad’s hammock with her Nancy Drew books.
These days she’s more likely to have her nose in her laptop and her head (and the rest of her) at a favorite writing spot, but she’s still reading either her latest manuscript or friends’ books.
A PRISM Award and Golden Leaf Award winner, Judi is the author of the Mer series:
In Over Her Head, Wild Blue Under,
and
Catch of a Lifetime
; the Bottled Magic series:
I Dream of Genies, Genie Knows Best,
and
Magic Gone Wild;
and the Once-Upon-A-Time Romance series featuring:
Beauty and The Best, If The Shoe Fits,
and
Fairest of Them All
; and, surprisingly enough, an anthology of psychological thriller/horror short stories, entitled
Off The Beaten Path, A Terrifying Tales Anthology
, under the pseudonym, J.A. Fenn.
Check out her website at
www.JudiFennell.com
for excerpts, deleted scenes, reviews, and contests, as well as the chance to discover a whole new world!
Connect online at:
And now, read on for a preview of another Once-Upon-A-Time Romance,
If The Shoe Fits
If The Shoe Fits
by, Judi Fennell
Once upon a time…
a long time ago
in a land far, far away,
there lived a girl by the name of Cinderella.
This is not her story.
This
is the story of Lucinda Isabella Casteleoni,
who, like her namesake,
has a wicked stepmother, two tacky stepsisters,
and countless hours of hard work to (not) look forward to.
But unlike that fairy tale princess,
Bella’s Prince Charming is nowhere to be found.
Until
a little old man with sparkling green eyes
opens a shoe store down the street.
Then the magic begins...
And it begins…
Where was a fairy godmother when she needed one?
Bella Casteleoni gripped the railing on the steps outside the law office. Her stepmother was
not
going to send her little sister to boarding school if Bella had anything to say about it. Unfortunately however, the language she needed to speak was Cash since a custody battle required lots of it. And while Bella had been saving for one, she hadn’t counted on it happening just yet. But Madeleine’s latest threats had upped the stakes.
That witch had been using Sophia—as well as the family business—as a pawn for years. And now the woman wasn’t just threatening to sell off the family restaurant, but also to send the fourth-grader away merely because, in the six months since Dad’s death, she’d found single parenthood counterproductive to the life she’d become accustomed to since marrying their father.
Bella would show her counterproductive…
She picked up her pace, her pumps clicking on the stone steps. First thing tomorrow, she’d tell Giacomo and Guiseppe that the catering business she’d started on the side out of her family’s restaurant was going to be more than just a
side
thanks to the discussion she’d just had with Uncle Vinny’s lawyer. Without the resources she wouldn’t be able to stop Madeleine from selling the business, but she could make sure she still had a business when it all shook out so she could still fight for custody.
She was going to have to ramp up the word-of-mouth campaign and set up sample tables at local events. Put out flyers. Build a website. Give referral discounts. Yes, she had a lot of ideas and she was going to do whatever it took to earn enough money to knock Madeleine’s feet out from under her.
Like the dove that flew in her face did to her…
Bella missed the next step, stumbled down the last one, and found her skirt ripped up the middle when she landed butt-first on the pavement with one of her pumps flying off to God-knew-where.
Two seconds later, something—make that some
one
—ended up sprawled across her lap.
“
Ooomph
!”
A very large, very male someone.
Bella groaned as the big hunk of maleness hefted himself off her and got to his feet while she yanked the torn edges of her skirt together. Great. Add
mending
to her To-Do list. As if she needed more on it.
A hand appeared in front of her. “Here, I’m sorry. Let me help you up.” The deep, husky voice resonated down her spine.
She looked up. Standing above her with broadly sculpted shoulders outlined against the afternoon sky, was one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen. Coffee-colored eyes, perfectly molded lips, sleek mahogany hair that showed just a hint of wave as it blew in the afternoon breeze, and those cheekbones. Good Lord. This guy could’ve been the model for Michelangelo’s David, but with a much stronger jawline.
And clothing.
“
Miss? Are you okay?”
“
Um, yeah. Yes. I think I am.” She looked around and spied her shoe on the next section of sidewalk. “Great,” she muttered, taking the proffered hand.
“
I said I was sorry.”
At five-six, Bella wasn’t exactly short, but he dwarfed her by a good eight inches. Tall, dark, and handsome. Like something from a fairy tale. Too bad she’d stopped believing in those ten years ago when a drunk driver had killed her mother and put Dad in a wheelchair and downward spiral of depression that had led to her and Sophia’s current situation.
No. She couldn’t go there. Fighting Madeleine was going to take every bit of strength she had. And some she didn’t.
This guy looked to have some strength to spare.
She shook her head. Why drag someone else into her mess?
Speaking of mess… She brushed away a strand of blonde hair that had escaped the ponytail she’d scraped it into earlier. “I wasn’t talking about you. My shoe.” She nodded toward it. “Are you okay?”
“
Yeah, thanks. Hang on, I’ll get it for you.” Tall, Dark, and Handsome crossed the three feet of concrete with the grace and speed of an athlete. Filled out those slacks pretty nicely, too.
Bella bit back a smile. Good to know Madeleine and her machinations hadn’t sucked all the beauty from her world.
Then he rocked it with one hell of a sexy smile when he returned with her shoe.
Tall, Dark, and
Potent
.
Bella teetered on her one pump as she tried to put the other back on, the teetering having more to do with balancing on one thin heel than his potency. At least, that’s what she told herself.
The hand he put on her waist to steady her, however, made her a liar.
“
Here, let me,” he said, slipping the shoe from her suddenly boneless fingers, then sinking to one knee and slipping it on her foot.
Charming, too.
Prince
Charming, maybe?
As his light blue dress shirt stretched across those strong shoulders and the unbuttoned collar gapped open to reveal a strong, corded neck, she took a deep breath. If only he really
were
Prince Charming…
She glanced heavenward with a silent plea, only to have to duck as the dove circled back around and nearly poked her in the eye with its wings as it headed toward one of the ornamental cherry trees lining the sidewalk.
Prince Charming stood and put his hands on his hips. “There. Shoe’s in place. How ’bout everything else?”
“
Everything else?”
His eyes skimmed her body. “Yeah. Anything else broken? Missing?”
“
Well, if you don’t count the skirt, I guess I’m in good shape.”
He quirked his eyebrows and she blushed at the double entendre she hadn’t intended. Oh, God. He thought she was flirting with him.
She so wasn’t. She didn’t have time to flirt now, much less date, Prince Charming or not. Sophia’s fifth grade year started in five months and Bella had to ensure that her sister stayed in that school. With all she needed to accomplish in such a short period of time, she’d be lucky to have time to sleep
alone
, never mind
with
anyone.
“
I mean, yes, I’m fine. Thank you. Have a nice day.” She spun on that heel, willing the stupid tingle his interest had sparked to go away, and headed toward her car.
“
Hey, wait a minute.” Prince Charming caught up to her and grabbed an arm. Awareness sizzled through her.
She took a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“
I’m Reese.” His hand hadn’t left her arm and his fingers were doing all sorts of wonderful twirly moves on her skin.
She tugged. She did
not
have time for this. Not now, not in the next five minutes, nor the next five years.
“
And I’m late. Thank you for your assistance. Have a nice day.” She gave him a slim smile and walked away. Another life, maybe.
“
Hey, Cindabella!” called a nasal-y voice from behind her.
Drew
. Bella missed a step, groaning while she tried to regain her balance. That stupid nickname. Her stepsisters found it funny. Bella did not.
But Drew would keep calling her until she turned around, so, resigning herself to three minutes of torture, Bella took another deep breath and turned around—
To find Prince Charming, er, Reese, with his arms folded, one shoe crossed over the other, and that mocking eyebrow almost touching his hair. “Cinda
bella
?”
“
Don’t ask.”
He uncrossed everything. “On one condition.”
“
Huh?”
“
I won’t ask on one condition.”
Drew was at the top of the courthouse steps and, even from there, the speculative gleam in her eyes was visible. Bella didn’t have much time.
“
Fine. What’s the condition?”
“
Your name. Unless it really is Cindabella?”
She laughed in spite of herself. “No. It’s Bella. Bella Casteleoni.”
When he smiled she’d swear his eyes actually twinkled. “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Darn, she didn’t want to like him, but he was making it awfully hard not to. “I guess not.”
“
So, Bella—wait. Casteleoni? As in Casteleoni’s Restaurant?”
“
And Catering. Well, Bella’s Catering.” Might as well start the advertising now. She was going to need a lot of side jobs to fight Madeleine.
“
Bella! Wait up!” Drew was a third of the way down the steps. “I need you to do something for me.”
Of course she did. Both of her stepsisters took that stupid nickname to heart.
Bella looked between Drew and Reese. Even though she wasn’t planning to get to know him, she didn’t want him witnessing whatever ridiculous minutiae Drew was about to spew. And it was
always
ridiculous minutiae.
Reese glanced back at Drew, then nodded to the platinum Ferrari by the curb. “I could give you a ride somewhere.”
Cool car, complete with convertible top and rearing stallion logo. Not one of those souped-up muscle-bound cars, but elegant, classy, and sexy as all get out. Just like him.
Which was reason enough to stay away. She needed to keep all her focus on the battle with Madeleine. “Thank you, but I can handle it, er, her.”
“
You’re sure?”
They both looked at Drew who was now extremely interested in Reese. Which meant Bella could show no interest whatsoever. “I am. Thank you again.”
Reese took one last glance at Drew who had changed the angle of her descent to head right toward him. “Okay. Right.” In half a dozen steps, Reese reached the car and jumped into the driver’s seat. “Good luck. It looks like you’ll need it. See you around.” The engine gunned to life and he peeled into traffic with a wave just as Drew sauntered to her side.
“
Who’s the hunk?”
“
Oh, just someone I bumped into.”
“
Hmmmm.” Drew flipped her hair back in that annoying affectation she thought made her look sophisticated. It didn’t. “Listen, I need you to cater a party this Saturday.”
Of course she did. Five days’ advance notice was nothing to Drew. Matter of fact, Bella should probably be grateful for that much.
“
What kind of party?” She’d love to tell Drew to take a hike, but the fact of the matter was, she needed the money. Even Drew’s. And there was a certain irony in her stepsister contributing to the fight against Madeleine.