Adoring Stacey: Unexpected Love, #4

By Elsa Winckler

Can he convince her that what's between them is much more than just biology?

 

Stacey Lawrence is happily single even though the folks in Alisson, Montana seemed bent on getting her the last thing she wanted: a husband. And babies? The mere thought has her shuddering, and that is not because of the cold Montana winters. If she can now only stay away from the very sexy ex-FBI agent turned self-defense instructor, Jason Coleman until her dopamine and norepinephrine levels have settled, she'll be able to continue her happy single life as the computer whizz in town. But when Eleanor Johnson needs Stacey's help with the upcoming bachelor auction, avoiding Jason becomes a problem. Turns out, he's going to be one of the bachelors.

 

Since the moment his eyes met Stacey Lawrence's gorgeous blue ones in one of his self-defense classes, Jason knows she's trouble. He likes women but he's not interested in anything more permanent than a few dates. Avoiding her isn't initially a problem. Turns out, the lady is also trying to avoid him. But when he's roped in to take part in the ridiculous bachelor's auction, he ends up spending more time with the elusive Stacey until he forgets why he wanted to avoid her in the first place.

 

Too old to play games, Jason suggests they spend time together but Stacey seems convinced that they're attraction is just biology. Is she right or are his feelings for the redhead much more than a mere chemical reaction?

 

 

This matchmaker romance brings to mind the contemporary romances of RS Lively and Rosalind James and will have you chuckling along with Stacey and Jason's avoidance antics. Love and Marriage is booming in Alisson, Montana. Come along for the ride!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inkspell Publishing
• Release date: Jan 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9781958136256

Elsa Winckler

Elsa Winckler is ’n gewilde skrywer van liefdesverhale. Sy het al die gesogte ATKV-Woordveertjie vir romanses gewen vir Tussen jazz en rock (LAPA) in 2010, Te eenders, te anders (Satyn) in 2014, en Liefde in laslap (Satyn) in 2016. Sy woon op Bettysbaai.

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The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, places, or events is coincidental and not intended by the author.

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If you purchase this book without a cover you should be aware that this book may have been stolen property and reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher. In such case the author has not received any payment for this stripped book.

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Adoring Stacey

Copyright © 2023 Elsa Winckler

All rights reserved.

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ISBN: (ebook) 978-1-958136-25-6

(print) 978-1-958136-26-3

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Inkspell Publishing

207 Moonglow Circle #101

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

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Edited By Rie Langdon

Cover Art By Fantasia Frog

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This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission. The copying, scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions, and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

dedication

To our son Johan for all his love and support

CHAPTER 1

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I simply have to talk to Stacey, right now! Eleanor Johnson’s voice carried right to the back of the shop where Stacey Lawrence happened to be working in her office. I’ve been here twice already this morning.

Swallowing a soft groan, Stacey got up and walked to the front of her printing-slash-design-slash-handling-computer-related-problems shop.

Oh, Stacey, there you are! Eleanor beamed and rushed closer, her arms outstretched, ready for a hug. I’ve just been telling Billie here it’s urgent that I talk to you. It seems I keep missing you today.

Guiltily, Stacey returned the older woman’s hug. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Eleanor Johnson. In fact, she loved talking to the flamboyant, funny, and endearing local artist, but besides the fact that she was crazy busy on this freezing last Friday of October, she was also extremely wary of Eleanor’s self-proclaimed matchmaking skills.

As a very happy single woman, her biggest frustration since moving to Alisson, Montana two years before was that everyone in this town, especially Eleanor, seemed bent on finding her the one thing she seriously didn’t want: a husband.

When she’d arrived here, two of the first people she’d met were the two Wilson sisters, Charlie and Lindsay, both local businesswomen. It had been such a surprise to discover that they, like Stacey, were also originally from South Africa.

Over the last two years, Charlie had married Eleanor’s son Logan and Lindsay had married Blake Davidson, an ex-FBI agent who was now one of the owners of the local dojo in town.

Eleanor’s daughter Brooke, also a renowned artist, had married Charlie and Lindsay’s brother Gavin, and he’d subsequently moved to Alisson during the past year. Although Eleanor had never admitted she’d played any active role in these love matches, the town gossip mill was full of stories of how she’d wrangled things to get the couples together.

Eleanor had been shamelessly inquisitive about Stacey’s history ever since her arrival in town, but so far, she’d managed to evade the older woman’s questions by offering simple, vague answers with a smile. Even though Stacey preferred not to think of the past—it wasn’t as if she had anything to hide—but she’d quickly picked up on Eleanor’s not-so-subtle-attempts to try and find her a husband.

So, the less Stacey talked about her herself, the quicker Eleanor would find a new subject to try her matchmaking skills on, she’d reasoned. However, since Brooke and Gavin had tied the knot in June earlier that year, it was clear Eleanor had turned the focus of her skills on Stacey with renewed gusto, something that made Stacey even more wary.

I need your help, dear, Eleanor was saying.

Stacey smiled tentatively. As long as it’s not about dating anyone, I’m happy to help.

Eleanor sighed dramatically. You are one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. With all that glorious red hair and your beautiful sapphire blue eyes, you have all the single men—and, I’m afraid, even some not-so-single men—in this town just about salivating after you—

Rolling her eyes, Stacey groaned out loud to stop her. Seriously, Eleanor, I’ve—

Don’t worry, Eleanor interrupted, seemingly resigned. I know. I’ve received the message: you’re happily single. I’ve given up hope to get you married, so you can relax. My matchmaking skills are obviously not working on you. I’m here to ask if you can make posters for the Bachelor Auction.

Stacey laughed in surprise. Bachelor Auction? Are you serious? I didn’t know that was actually a thing.

Eleanor patted her arm. It’s a fun way to fundraise, my dear. The town hasn’t done it in ages, but when the mayor asked what we could do to raise money for some of the local kids who want to go to college and can’t afford it, someone suggested a Bachelor Auction. Everyone was keen on the idea. We’re hoping to rope in all the bachelors in town and on the neighboring ranches. We don’t have much time; it must be done before all the Christmas festivities start, so it’s to be held in three weeks in the town hall and we need to advertise the event, hence the need for posters. And of course, we’ll need pictures of all of our bachelors taking part. Would you mind doing that for us? You take such lovely pictures...

Do you think that’s necessary? Brooke asked, finally speaking up. You could do an eye-catching poster with maybe silhouettes, or—

Oh, no, my dear, Eleanor smiled. We want to flaunt our bachelors. Alisson boasts so many attractive, single men and I think it’s time to let them shine, don’t you?

Whatever you say, Brooke replied. Although texting everyone an invite would probably be quicker and cheaper.

Eleanor winked at Billie. See? This is why I came to see you. Stacey will know what to do: I’ve told everyone on the committee. That’s a brilliant idea! Thank you, my dear. I do think, though, that there should also be a few posters we can put up around town. And could you perhaps take pictures of our bachelors tomorrow? I’ll of course arrange with the bachelors to come to your shop? I know you’re not open every Saturday, but we don’t have much time. We could put up posters at Lindsay’s shop, for instance, the coffee shop, the pharmacy and... She snapped her fingers. I know—what about the dojo? Now that Jason is co-owner with Blake, you can also ask him if you can’t get hold of Blake. Lately, just about everyone I know goes for self-defense classes, or whatever other martial arts they fancy. It just makes sense to have a poster in their window. What do you think?

Ignoring the slight tug at her heart at the mention of Jason Coleman’s name, Stacey swallowed a groan. And there it was: Eleanor never talked to her without mentioning Jason’s name at least once. You had to be both deaf and blind not to see what the older woman was up to.

Stacey was all business, though; she was not going to react to Jason’s name. Okay, yes. We can do the posters for you and text the ad to everyone on our mailing list. Billie here won’t mind putting up the posters, you just let her know where. Let’s sit down over here at the table and you can tell me what you had in mind.

An hour later, when Eleanor left, she was all smiles. Billie chuckled. You do know that she’s going to get you to bid on one of the bachelors, don’t you?

Over my dead body, Stacey muttered as she stomped to the back where her studio was.

Not even on Jason Coleman? Billie’s amused voice followed her all the way.

Especially not on Jason Coleman. Irritated, Stacey opened her laptop. It didn’t matter that the tall, broad-shouldered ex-FBI agent was drop-dead gorgeous, she was not looking for a boyfriend or a husband.

Not even a lover? The pesky little voice inside, always irritating her, wanted to know.

The image of Jason’s broad shoulders flashed in front of her, heating her blood. Groaning, she tried to fan herself with the paper she held in her hand. She had work to do. She was not going to entertain thoughts of Jason Coleman, no matter how ridiculously hot he was.

Oh, my goodness, there you go again. It was time to get some fresh air. Grabbing her coat, she made for the front door. Billie was on her phone, as she very often was, so Stacey motioned to her she was going to get a coffee.

The October air was freezing cold. Huddling in her coat, she glanced up at the snow-tipped mountains as she crossed the street. The bitter cold of the Montana winters had been the one thing she’d struggled with when she’d first arrived. Winters in South Africa were mild compared to the extreme temperatures in Alisson.

Over the past year, though, she had come to appreciate the slowdown of life during the cold months. As an avid reader, she enjoyed being holed up over weekends with a book, a hot chocolate, and a warm fire. There was nobody else she needed to take care of, an absolutely blissful thought.

She’d finally found a place where she could settle, where she lived a simple life, one without complications or friction. That was why it had been important to her to make success of her small business. She wasn’t rolling in money, but she determined what she did each day and how much she wanted to do. Never again did she want to be in a position where someone else could dictate what she should do—and shouldn’t do.

A car horn blared just as she entered the coffee shop, making her glance behind her. The next moment, she walked directly into a brick wall. A big hand folded around her arm. Even before she looked up, she knew it must be Jason Coleman. There was just something in the air when he was around.

Uhm... sorry, she muttered, and tried to move around him, but he stayed where he was.

Good morning, Stacey, he said, his voice sending delicious shivers down her spine.

Seriously, whatever was the matter with her? Granted, Jason was swoon-worthy, but she was a grown woman, not a schoolgirl, for heaven’s sake. She didn’t actually have to swoon now, did she?

Jason. She nodded and again tried to move past him.

Oh, Jason! Eleanor’s voice rang out behind her. There you are—I’ve been looking for you! She smiled while catching her breath. And here is Stacey as well. Perfect timing. Have you told him, my dear? she asked, looking at Stacey.

Told me what? asked Jason.

About the Bachelor Auction, Eleanor said, her whole body vibrating with excitement. Stacey is doing our marketing and has agreed to make some posters for the event. We were wondering whether she could put one up on one of the windows at the dojo. And you will, of course, sign up to be one of our bachelors, won’t you? All the gorgeous single women in town, like our Stacey here, will be there to bid on their bachelor of choice. We’re raising funds to help kids who can’t afford to go to college, so you can’t say no. While talking, she whipped out a book and pen. I’m adding your name to the list. Thanks so much, Jason! And blowing kisses, she rushed down the street.

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Stunned, Jason stared after Eleanor’s retreating figure. What just happened?

I think you’ve been conned into taking part in the bachelor auction, Stacey said, her eyes dancing with mirth.

Intrigued, Jason looked down at the gorgeous redhead who, much to his irritation, had been invading his dreams since he’d first laid eyes on her. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her smiling, at least not when he was around. Seems to me I’m not the only one who’s been conned.

Oh, I’m just helping with the marketing, I know what I’m doing.

Is that right? he drawled. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard her say you’ll be one of the...how did she put it? Oh, yes, ‘gorgeous single women in town, like our Stacey here, will be there to bid on their bachelor of choice.’

"Bid on a date with a bachelor, she said. And I’m not bidding. I want to get a coffee. Do you mind...?"

Wanna bet?

Yes, I’ll even bet on it. You won’t get me near the event—

Okay, here’s the bet. If Eleanor succeeds and you do bid, I get to take you out on a date.

He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. Don’t be ridiculous.

Chicken?

Rolling her eyes, Stacey groaned. Seriously. Okay, if I take your bet, will you please move so I can get a coffee?

So what do you want if you do succeed in not bidding?

I... Her eyes lit up. Oh, I know. She chuckled. If I don’t bid, which I won’t, you have to sing a song.

Sing a song?

Fascinated, he stared at her. Her eyes were actually twinkling.

Yes. At the end of the auction. I’ll make sure I’m on time to hear that. Could you please move?

He did. With an exasperated sigh, Stacey stomped into the coffee shop. As she walked past him, he caught a whiff of her scent, camellias. And his body reacted.

After nearly a year, he finally had a name for the fragrance always enveloping her. It had taken him the best part of a morning during his last visit to Bozeman, and he had to sniff every damn bottle of perfume at the counter in one of the big stores in town, but eventually he was able to identify the perfume she wore, the smell that had been driving him crazy ever since he’d met her. Camellias.

Grimacing, he slowly walked toward his truck. What the hell was wrong with him? He liked women, he enjoyed them—their softness, their strengths, their curves—but he always kept it light and made sure every woman he spent time with knew from the start he wasn’t interested in anything more permanent.

Marriage, kids—those had never been possibilities he’d even considered. His experience of his parents’ marriage had left a bitter taste in his mouth. His decision had never bothered him. No woman came close to making him re-think his future.

But then on a perfectly ordinary day, Stacey Lawrence had happened.

He’d first seen