Homemade from the Heart

By Bru Baker

Craft store owner Grant has always been a sucker for a pretty face, and that goes double for a pretty face with an adorable sidekick. When seven-year-old Aubrey has her heart set on taking Grant’s already-full holiday craft series, he caves and gives up his one day off a week so she (and her hot guardian, Josh) can take private lessons. Their flirting ramps up week after week, and even though Josh isn’t with Aubrey’s mother, Grant can’t be sure the man isn’t straight. Maybe he’s just being friendly. And Josh, who most definitely is not straight, is afraid of being the creepy guy hitting on the teacher.

Frustrated by their stubbornness and cluelessness, Aubrey takes matters into her own hands. She decides the best gift to give Josh is something homemade and from the heart—a boyfriend they’ll both love.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2017 Advent Calendar "Stocking Stuffers."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
• Release date: Dec 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781640803107

Bru Baker

Bru Baker a eu un avant-goût de la vie comme écrivain à l’âge de quatre ans, quand elle a commencé à publier un journal hebdomadaire pour sa famille. Ce qu’ils appelaient de la curiosité, elle l’appelait avoir du nez pour les informations, et personne n’a été surpris quand elle s’est retrouvée avec des diplômes en journalisme et en science politique, et a commencé une carrière dans le journalisme. Bru a passé plus d’une décennie à écrire pour les journaux avant de sauter le pas vers la fiction. Elle travaille désormais comme référence et conseillère des lecteurs dans une bibliothèque du Midwest, bien qu’elle trouve toujours ça difficile de croire que quelqu’un soit prêt à la payer pour parler de livres toute la journée. Souvent, le soir, on peut la trouver pelotonnée avec un livre ou son ordinateur portable. Que ce soit pour créer ses propres personnages ou immergée avec ceux de quelqu’un d’autre, on ne peut nier que Bru est plus heureuse quand elle est captivée par une histoire. Son mari et elle ont deux enfants, ce qui signifie que nombre de ses livres sont écrits sur la touche de différents entraînements sportifs.

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Table of Contents

Blurb

Dedication

Two days after Thanksgiving

Four weeks before Christmas

Three weeks before Christmas

Two weeks until Christmas

Grant had just finished...

One week until Christmas

Two days until Christmas

One day until Christmas

About the Author

By Bru Baker

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Copyright

Homemade from the Heart

By Bru Baker

Craft store owner Grant has always been a sucker for a pretty face, and that goes double for a pretty face with an adorable sidekick. When seven-year-old Aubrey has her heart set on taking Grant’s already-full holiday craft series, he caves and gives up his one day off a week so she (and her hot guardian, Josh) can take private lessons. Their flirting ramps up week after week, and even though Josh isn’t with Aubrey’s mother, Grant can’t be sure the man isn’t straight. Maybe he’s just being friendly. And Josh, who most definitely is not straight, is afraid of being the creepy guy hitting on the teacher.

Frustrated by their stubbornness and cluelessness, Aubrey takes matters into her own hands. She decides the best gift to give Josh is something homemade and from the heart—a boyfriend they’ll both love.

For R, who has been tripping over my half-finished craft projects and supplies for more than twenty years.

Two days after Thanksgiving

MAKE AND Take, this is Grant. What can we help you craft today? Grant held the phone sandwiched between his ear and shoulder, freeing up his hands to gingerly grab the still-wet canvas that had just been thrust at him.

He angled his mouth away from the receiver and smiled at the artist. Great job, buddy! I’ll keep it back here until it dries, okay?

Grant received a beaming smile for his compliment, and he offered an exuberant thumbs-up after he’d put the painting on a ledge behind the counter to dry.

The woman on the other end of the phone was still whining when he tuned back in to the call. It didn’t sound like he’d missed much.

I’m sorry, he said, trying his hardest to sound like he gave a damn, but what you saw on the website was correct. Our holiday gift craft series is full.

The woman squawked. Honest-to-God squawked. Grant rubbed a hand over his temple, grimacing when he felt wet paint smear across his forehead as the caller protested.

No, I understand. I do. But the classes filled up as soon as they were posted.

Literally. He’d never had online enrollment go as fast as the one for the three-week Homemade from the Heart holiday craft series. It had been featured on a local parenting blog that apparently had a ridiculous number of followers, given how many calls they’d been fielding about the classes. They’d been sold out for weeks, but the calls kept coming.

Another painting sailed into his line of vision, and Grant snatched it by instinct before it could fall facedown on the counter. He righted it and grinned when he saw the turkey in the painting had battle armor instead of feathers.

Nice social commentary on the holiday, Ash. I like it! He accepted a slightly sticky high five from the artist before putting it next to the other painting on the ledge.

The caller was still ranting. Grant bit back a sigh as he listened to the woman go on and on.

Ma’am, he finally broke in. I apologize. I’m truly sorry. We just don’t have any space left. Grant braced himself for another diatribe, but a loud crash from the other end of the studio caught his attention.

Grant looked up, ready to dash to the back, but he was relieved to see that the instructor for the next class had already arrived and hurried over to help right a fallen easel and the pots of paint that had taken a tumble with it.

The irate woman on the phone offered a very colorful metaphor about Grant’s intelligence, which at this moment he could only agree with. What had he been thinking, starting a co-op art studio for kids? And then letting Krista talk him into doing the interview with the parenting blog—sheer idiocy.

The sleigh bells Krista had hung over the door—another poor decision he’d let himself be harangued into—rang out, signaling another influx of children and parents.

Grant looked up out of habit and then nearly dropped the phone he was clutching. A child he didn’t recognize had just flounced in, pigtails bouncing, holding the hand of what was flat-out the most gorgeous guy Grant had ever seen. The girl darted off deeper into the studio, but the man crossed the short distance between the door and the front desk in three easy strides, moving with an animal grace that made Grant’s mouth water. He could watch that body in tight denim all day.

Except he couldn’t. Reality sank back in when the woman on the other end of the forgotten phone raised her voice in annoyance. He had no idea what she’d said or how many times she’d said it while he watched the Greek god walk up to the desk. Grant’s cheeks flushed in both embarrassment and lust.

Again, I’m so sorry, he said, forcing himself to turn his attention back to the customer on the phone. You’re right. We didn’t anticipate how popular the series would be. I had no idea it would sell out so quickly.

Grant made what he hoped was an apologetic gesture to the man waiting at the counter, but the