Met Her Match

by Jude Deveraux

  In small towns, no one lets the facts get in the way of juicy gossip...

  Terri Rayburn is a girl with a reputation. She doesn’t deserve it, but having grown up on the outskirts of Summer Hill, Virginia, she knows how small towns work. The only way to deal with vicious gossip is to ignore it. So she keeps to herself as she runs the summer resort on Lake Kissel.

  When she returns home from a short trip to find a handsome stranger living in her house, she smells a rat. Someone is trying to fix her up, and she has to admit that Nate Taggert is just her type. However, Nate is engaged to the daughter of the mayor and strictly off-limits.

  Nate and Terri form an unlikely friendship while he throws himself into life at the lake. As Nate starts to hear rumors about Terri he’s confused. Knowing how smart, beautiful and strong she is, he’s determined to discover the source of the gossip. Terri doesn’t want to revisit the past, but Nate won’t stop until he discovers the truth—even if the truth might be more than either of them can handle.

  Set in the beloved fictional town of Summer Hill, Virginia, Met Her Match examines the tensions between the wealthy townspeople, the summer vacationers and the working-class people who keep the town and resort running. Told with humor and heart, Met Her Match is the perfect summer escape.

  Praise for the novels of Jude Deveraux

  “Deveraux’s charming novel has likable characters and life-affirming second chances galore.”

  —Publishers Weekly on As You Wish

  “With three stories told two ways, this third book in Deveraux’s Summerhouse series (The Girl from Summer Hill, 2016, etc.) is emotional, imaginative, and gloriously silly.”

  —Kirkus Reviews on As You Wish

  “Jude Deveraux’s writing is enchanting and exquisite.”

  —BookPage

  “Deveraux’s touch is gold.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “A steamy and delightfully outlandish retelling of a literary classic.”

  —Kirkus Reviews on The Girl from Summer Hill

  “[A]n irresistibly delicious tale of love, passion, and the unknown.”

  —Booklist on The Girl from Summer Hill

  “[A] sexy, lighthearted romp.”

  —Kirkus Reviews on Ever After

  “Thoroughly enjoyable.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Ever After

  Jude Deveraux

  Met Her Match

  Also by Jude Deveraux and MIRA Books

  AS YOU WISH

  Medlar Mysteries

  A WILLING MURDER

  A JUSTIFIED MURDER

  For additional books by New York Times bestselling author Jude Deveraux, visit her website, www.jude-deveraux.com.

  Look for Jude Deveraux’s next novel

  A FORGOTTEN MURDER

  available soon from MIRA Books.

  Jude Deveraux is the author of forty-three New York Times bestsellers, including Sweet Liar, the Nantucket series and A Knight in Shining Armor. She was honored with an RT Book Reviews Pioneer Award in 2013 for her distinguished career. To date, there are more than sixty million copies of her books in print worldwide.

  Jude-Deveraux.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 1

  Lake Kissel

  Summer Hill, Virginia

  Terri Rayburn was looking out the glass front of her house at the lake. She liked the early morning calm, the few moments she had alone before she had to... Well, start solving problems. As the daughter of the owner of a resort, it was her job to fix everything. Arguments, leaky roofs, finding things, organizing people and events. Any and all of it was her job.

  Her eyes widened. A man in swim shorts was coming out of the lake. That wasn’t an unusual sight, but this one wasn’t like the usual renter or cabin owner. This man was different.

  The sun was just rising, sending light across his body and making shadows on his muscles. He looked like a well-toned football player. His face was turned to the side so she couldn’t really see it, but she was sure she didn’t know who he was.

  She liked that his shorts were modest. Too many visitors to the lake thought it was fashionable to wear as little as they legally could.

  His was the kind of body she liked. She’d never been attracted to men who were thin. She liked them big and muscular, a man who could pick up a rowboat and move it around. One who looked like he knew what a pickup truck was for. A man who could hold you and—

  She shook her head to quiet her thoughts. It had been too long since she’d had a boyfriend!

  When he walked toward one of her deck chairs and retrieved a towel thrown across the back, she came back to reality. As great as the vision of him was, he should not be there! He was on her property! Using her chair. Why couldn’t the visitors learn to respect private property? And why couldn’t her dad ever remember to tell them the rules? If she hadn’t been away for the last two days, she would have made sure this new visitor understood that he couldn’t go swimming wherever he wanted to. There were other cabin owners and renters to consider.

  So now it was her job to explain to the man that even though the houses surrounded a lake and everyone here wanted to have fun, there were still rules to be followed.

  She took a step toward the glass doors, then paused. The man was drying off now and the sunlight was hitting his back. He was very broad in the shoulders and small at the waist. Muscles moved about under his tanned skin. He looked like he spent a lot of time doing something that made muscles.

  Okay, so no matter how good he looked, she was going to have to bawl him out. He had no right to be on her property. He needed to go back to wherever he was staying.

  But as she watched him, her mind wandered to a different scenario. It was an unspoken rule that she, the manager’s daughter, couldn’t date any of the visitors at the lake, but usually that was easy. Skinny boys in Speedos; lecherous husbands who thought she was fair game; unmarried men who believed every woman wanted them. They were all there and Terri wasn’t interested.

  But this guy... She really liked the look of him! The size, the shape, even his skin color were all her favorites.

  He tossed the towel over his shoulder and turned to face the sun. His face wasn’t beautiful. Not like those high-cheeked models you saw everywhere. His was a man’s face, strong jawed, coated in black whiskers, and he had short dark hair. No nonsense. Nothing pretentious. The only thing soft-looking about him was his lips. They appeared to be very kissable.

  Terri closed her eyes for a moment, telling herself to cut it out. He was a visitor and it was her job to take care of him in a professional way. She was not to fantasize about pouncing on him!

  She put her hand on the door latch. It was time to be the warden and tell him he had to go back to his own cabin and—“What in the world?” she said aloud.

  The man walked across the terrace and slid open the door at the other end. She heard the whoosh of the door as he ent
ered her house.

  Terri instantly knew what had happened. Her father, Brody, was at the bottom of this! She had no doubt whatsoever that he was trying to matchmake and introduce her to this man. “Damn!” she muttered. As if she didn’t have enough problems to take care of.

  Turning on her heel, she stalked down the hallway. There were two bedrooms on that end of the long, narrow house, one very small and the other one larger. It had floor-to-ceiling glass on two sides.

  The man was standing at the end of the bed in the larger room, his hands on the waistband of his wet shorts, about to peel them off. He looked startled to see her.

  “You can’t stay here,” Terri said. His eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. He was older than she’d first thought. Midthirties, maybe. The hair on his chest formed a pattern from a centerline. He certainly wasn’t a boy! She noted that he wore no wedding ring. Not that it mattered.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I was told the owner of the house was in Florida.”

  Nice voice. Really nice. Really, really nice. Terri’s anger vanished. “Technically, that’s true. My aunt owns the house, but I...” She straightened her shoulders. Why didn’t she brush her hair when she woke up? Why did she always have to wear baggy, slouchy clothes?

  “Are you Terri?” he asked.

  “I am.”

  The man gave a nod of understanding. “This mistake is from my uncle. He mentioned that Terri might be staying in the house, but I thought that was the owner’s name and that she spent most of her time in Florida.” He gave Terri a quick glance up and down. “I’ll be out of here in minutes.” He walked to the closet, pulled out a canvas duffel bag and put it on the bed.

  “Your uncle?”

  “Kit Montgomery. Do you know him?”

  “He and my dad are friends,” Terri said. “Why would he put you in my house? There are lots of cabins available. My dad is a Realtor and he handles all that.”

  The man pulled some shirts from the closet and tossed them on the bed. “I’ve not met your father, but I know Kit wants me to like Summer Hill since I’m going to be moving here. He said I should spend my first three weeks here at the lake instead of in town. I guess he didn’t want to condemn me to staying in a house alone.” He shoved some shoes into the bag, then looked at her. “I just want to say that this is a great house. I’ve been here two nights and I like the glass front, the water, all of it.”

  Terri knew that in the nearly two years that Kit Montgomery had been in town, he and her father had become great friends. “Thick as thieves,” as the saying went. The first winter Kit lived in Summer Hill, he and Brody had spent a lot of time plotting together. At least that’s how Terri thought of it. When Kit bought an old warehouse, remodeled it into a theater and put on a play in an attempt to win the woman he loved, Brody had been involved in every part of it. From buying the warehouse, to hiring construction workers, to casting the play, Brody had helped. When Kit got the girl, there had been several champagne corks popped.

  As Terri watched the man pack, she considered the idea that Kit and her dad were again plotting—and this time, it was about her.

  She looked at the man’s bare back as he reached up to the top of the closet and thought that her dad had certainly had worse ideas than this one. “You want some breakfast?”

  Turning, he smiled at her—and Terri felt herself softening. Oh yeah, there were a lot worse things than having this man as a...as a roommate.

  “Only if I’m allowed to cook it,” he said.

  Terri smiled broadly. The men she’d known in her life couldn’t work a can opener. But then, Terri wasn’t much more advanced in that department. “Gladly. I hope you like Raisin Bran and I think the milk is still good.”

  “I went to the grocery,” he said, then paused. He seemed to be waiting for something.

  It took her a moment to understand. “Sure. Get dressed. I will too.” She backed out of the room, hoping she sounded like this wasn’t what she wore every day. Since she spent her life dealing with boats and motors and kids who thought “vacation” meant not bathing, she didn’t try to be a fashion plate.

  As soon as she was out of his sight, she ran past the kitchen and down the hall to her bedroom. In the closet by her bathroom were three plastic baskets stacked on top of each other and filled with dirty clothes. Why hadn’t she done the laundry before she left!

  Because two days ago, her father had given her the impression that if she didn’t immediately go to Richmond and pick up the new life jackets, he might have a stroke.

  “Have them FedExed,” she’d said. She had three boats to see to, someone said a barbecue grill was down, a raccoon was getting into the garbage of number eighty-four, number eleven had a broken window and Moonlight Beach had used condoms scattered across it. She did not have time to go to Richmond!

  But then Elaine twisted her ankle and couldn’t drive and there were six boxes of dresses that needed to be picked up. She acted like adding to her already-packed dress shop immediately was the most important thing on earth.

  Terri had glared at her dad and his girlfriend, Elaine. “You two haven’t heard of delivery services? Get Anna to call—” She broke off at the sight of them. They wore identical pleading expressions.

  So Terri drove to Richmond and when nothing was ready, she checked into a motel. While she waited, she saw a movie, went to a boat showroom, spent hours in a bookstore and generally enjoyed herself. She didn’t get back until late last night.

  That’s why she hadn’t done the laundry. She rummaged through drawers and pulled out a T-shirt and shorts. Not too tight; not too short. Just because a gorgeous man was in her kitchen, she wasn’t going to tart herself up.

  Okay, a bit of mascara, a comb through her hair. She looked in the mirror. She was always being told she looked like an “all-American girl.” Right now she’d like to be a little more... Well, sultry. Exotic. Interesting.

  She took a breath, dabbed on some lipstick and left her bedroom.

  He was in the kitchen, his back to her, and looking down at two skillets on the gas stove. Terri hadn’t been aware there was even one skillet in the cupboards. “What can I do to help?”

  “Nothing,” he said. “Just have a seat. You like eggs?”

  “Sure. Anything.” She sat down on a stool on the other side of the island. He wore a blue cotton shirt that looked like it had been washed many times, and jeans. On his left wrist was a black bracelet braided out of something. Horsehair, maybe?

  He poured a mug of coffee, set it in front of her, then waited for her to taste it.

  “Wow. You didn’t get this from any store in Summer Hill.”

  With a smile, he turned back to the stove. “I brought beans with me. So what do you do around here?”

  “You mean for work?” She waited for his nod. “Everything. If it breaks, someone calls me to fix it. I jump in the lake about twice a day to save some idiot who falls off a dock. Oh! Sorry. I mean I help the people who stay at Lake Kissel have a good time without visiting the emergency room.”

  “Or calling Dr. Jamie?” He put an omelet and toast in front of her.

  “This looks great. Either Jamie or Dr. Kyle. Summer Hill now has two doctors. We’ve come up in the world. But you said you’re going to live here so maybe you know about us.” He was cooking eggs for himself but he was adding spices from little jars that were along the countertop. They hadn’t been there before he arrived.

  “Jamie is my first cousin. His dad and mine are brothers and I’m going to be working for Jamie’s dad and an uncle.”

  “Doing what?”

  He shrugged. “Money things.”

  She didn’t think he sounded too enthusiastic about his coming job.

  He picked up his plate of eggs and toast and walked toward her. “You mind if we move to...?” He nodded toward the dining table around the corner.

>   When she looked up at him, she knew he wanted to sit so he’d be facing the water. It’s where she liked to be too. That they agreed made Terri smile—on the inside. She didn’t want him to see it. Too early for that!

  He sat at the head of the table, facing the view out to the lake, and Terri took the chair to his right.

  “Who designed this house?” he asked.

  “My dad’s sister, Agnes. She drew it on the ground. Said she wanted to see the water from every room. She drew an octagon, with two rectangles jutting out the sides. She’s a great cook so she wanted a long island where she could serve guests. She used to invite lots of people here.” Terri looked around the place. She still missed her aunt very much.

  “But now she’s in Florida?” His voice was encouraging, as though he wanted to hear more.

  “Last year she had a small stroke, not debilitating, but enough that Dad didn’t want her living alone. I think he meant for me to move in with her, but Aunt Aggie said I needed my own life.” Terri shrugged. “Anyway, she moved to Florida to live with her late husband’s widowed sister. I think they have parties every day and drink margaritas by the gallon.”

  He laughed. “Sounds good.”

  “Um, by the way, what’s your name?”

  “Sorry! Didn’t I say? Nathaniel Taggert. Nate.”

  “Right. Like Dr. Jamie Taggert. I’m Terri Rayburn.” She held out her hand and they shook. He didn’t have the soft palm of a money person.

  Nate pulled his hand away and looked back out the glass front. “I get the impression that your dad has been here since the beginning.”

  “He has. The Kissel family owned the lake and the surrounding land for over a hundred years. It’s great farmland. There were a few cabins for the locals, but not many. But the last generation, Bob Kissel and his wife, had no children so they decided to make a community.”

  “And your dad helped?”

  “Yes. It was one of those cosmic happenings. Dad came to Summer Hill to visit an old army buddy and they were planning to set up a construction company. One night at dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Kissel were at a table next to them, overheard it all, and they began to talk. By the end of the meal, Dad and his friend had been hired.” Terri smiled. “It was a great match. The four of them got on well. And Aunt Aggie was widowed when I was little, so she came here to live and she handled the bookkeeping.”