“No,” said Laurie. “I love doing that!”
“But Perry won’t be Santa anymore,” said Mrs. Donovan.
There was a brief, awkward silence.
“Thank God,” Laurie finally said. “The boys always wondered why Santa looked like he was constipated.”
Edwina snorted like a pig at that, which made everyone else laugh, too.
Mrs. Hattlebury, reeking of cigar smoke, wandered in. Cissie suspected she’d already been drinking from the colonel’s flask. “Scotty wants his pie,” she said. “And we have some interesting visitors.”
Cissie grabbed the wedge of Starla’s pie she’d set aside, added a fork to the plate, and handed it to her. “Who are the visitors?”
“They’re on the porch with Nana.” Mrs. Hattlebury was in full Elvis Presley beach-bunny mode. “She won’t let them inside until they smoke a cigar with her.”
“Who is it?” Edwina asked shrilly, her sharp bob swinging.
“I’m not gonna tell.” Mrs. Hattlebury disappeared with the pie, weaving just a tad.
“Maybe not having TV news accounts anymore—or old documents—about the goings-on in Kettle Knob is a good thing,” Janelle said. “Not everyone’s gonna be a hero. Most of us are just folks.”
“We still have Edwina,” said Laurie, and sent the Bugler editor the evil eye.
“I know,” Edwina said. “The reporter in me is off duty tonight. Okay? Gawd!”
But Cissie was thoroughly charmed by what Janelle had said. There was hope for the woman yet. “We are just folks,” she said, and felt a little teary. Because she knew exactly who her special guests were.
She felt it in her bones.
She walked out on the porch and saw him—Boone sitting in a rocker, his parents doing the same. They were smoking cigars and drinking bourbon with Nana—even Mrs. Braddock, who inhaled shyly on her cigar and then coughed. Mr. Braddock patted her back.
“Good news, baby,” said Nana to Cissie. “Our erstwhile ancestors kept separate copies of a lot of the town history at home. Your father reminded me of several secret drawers in the secretary in the library.”
“Are you making this up?” Cissie asked her dad. “We have secret drawers?”
“It was standard practice in the old days,” her father said, “and ours are packed with historic papers: legit journal entries, a few poems. You weren’t supposed to know until I was on my deathbed.”
“This is so Southern,” said Mother, fanning herself with a cocktail napkin.
The librarian in Cissie was verklempt at the news. “Thank you, erstwhile ancestors,” she whispered, hoping they could hear her from their writing desks in the sky.
Nana chuckled. “Tell her what I just found out about you, Boone.”
His gorgeous brown eyes met Cissie’s. “Thanks to a party my mother swore she couldn’t miss, I was born right over the border in Tennessee. Two weeks early.”
“So you’re not a Kettle Knob native?” Cissie sat on his lap and put her arm around his shoulders.
“No. What’s the big deal?”
“Nothin’,” she said, the Southern coming out in her strong and sweet. “Nothin’ at all. Good speech you gave tonight. And great win, too.”
“Thanks. I love you, Mayor Rogers.”
“I love you, too, Coach.”
“I’m sorry about the library. But we’ll fix it together.”
“I know we will,” she said.
They shared a long kiss, and Cissie didn’t even care that everyone was watching. Or that she hated cigars.
“Marry me,” Boone whispered huskily. In his hands he held some pink Gerbera daisies—her favorite!—wrapped in a paper towel. “I’ve already asked your dad’s permission.”
Her parents sat on the porch railing, eyeing her with such love that tears came to her eyes.
“I’d love to marry you,” Cissie whispered back, and took her flowers. They hadn’t come to her desk in the library, but someday, there would be a new library, and Boone would bring her Gerbera daisies there. She just knew it.
They kissed again, two ordinary folk among the many in Kettle Knob who messed up, cheered one another on, danced at dive bars, kicked leaves, went whitewater rafting, read good books, and ate casseroles—who played tag football, made love in sheds, cabins, and hot tubs, and slept the sleep of the exhausted because they worked hard and played hard, most of them.
And they were glad to be alive.
Cissie and Boone exchanged a jubilant smile.
“Rule number one,” announced Nana, a halo of smoke around her head. “And they lived happily ever after.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA Today bestselling author Kieran Kramer is a former CIA employee, journalist, and English teacher who lives in the Lowcountry of South Carolina with her family. Game show veteran, karaoke enthusiast, and general adventurer, her motto is, “Life rewards action.” Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and at www.kierankramerbooks.com. Or stay connected to Kieran on-the-go with her FREE mobile app available for iPhone and Android devices! You can sign up for email updates here.
ALSO BY KIERAN KRAMER
You’re So Fine
Sweet Talk Me
THE HOUSE OF BRADY SERIES
Loving Lady Marcia
The Earl Is Mine
Say Yes to the Duke
THE IMPOSSIBLE BACHELOR SERIES
When Harry Met Molly
Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right
Cloudy with a Chance of Marriage
If You Give a Girl a Viscount
Praise for these other novels of delightful contemporary romance by USA Today bestselling author Kieran Kramer
YOU’RE SO FINE
“Kieran Kramer writes a sexy, sassy Southern romance with heart.”
—Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author
“Kramer dishes up another delightful contemporary romance that is deftly seasoned with sassy Southern wit, snappy dialogue, and plenty of smoldering sexual chemistry. Readers who fell in love with Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s Dream a Little Dream (1998) or Ain’t She Sweet? (2004) will definitely want to add Kramer’s latest sexy, sparkling, spot-on love story to their reading lists.”
—Booklist
“Filled with smart, believable characters and fresh, witty storytelling. A sexy, poignant romance wrapped in Southern charm and lightly accented with Hollywood glamour.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A superbly written, powerful, and touching book.”
—Fresh Fiction
SWEET TALK ME
“The perfect combination of good-natured sass, sultry sexual tension, and hint of Southern crazy. I loved this book.”
—Tracy Brogan, author of Crazy Little Thing
“A sweetly sexy love story that is everything a romance should be … a knockout!”
—Booklist (starred review)
“The banter between these characters was fun to read and I loved the tension that flowed between them … a great read to lose yourself in for a few hours.”
—Night Owl Reviews (Top Pick)
“Readers who enjoy works by Nora Roberts and Luanne Rice will want to give Kramer a try. This reviewer predicts that the beaches this summer will be covered with copies of Sweet Talk Me.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Cha
pter 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 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
About the Author
Also by Kieran Kramer
Praise for these other novels
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
TROUBLE WHEN YOU WALKED IN
Copyright © 2015 by Kieran Kramer.
All rights reserved.
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eISBN: 978-1-4668-0556-9
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / August 2015
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Trouble When You Walked In (Contemporary Romance) Page 32