Isabella: Daisy Hills B&B, #3

By Kali Hart

Isabella

It's no secret that I'm stressed out. My sisters avoid me as much as they can and secretly plot to get me laid. As if that will solve all my problems. When my oldest friend moves back to town, I don't time in my busy schedule to meet him. As the manager of the B&B, I have too much on my plate. But one sister twists my arm right out the door. I'm not prepared for the boy I knew to be all grown up into an incredibly sexy man. And when he offers to help me with our marketing challenges, I know I should say no. He's the temptation I don't want. But maybe he's the distraction I need.

Jude

I never thought I'd be back in Daisy Hills. But my life in the fast lane came crashing down. I'm here for a fresh start to open my own marketing business. And Izzy Turner is my first client. We were inseparable as kids. I spent half our time together hopelessly pining for her. She never let me out of the friend zone, and to be honest, I didn't try very hard to get out of it. But now a decade later, I can't help but think that fate has granted us a second chance. I'm going to help Izzy—with her marketing dilemma, with relaxing, and with opening up her heart to me. I'm not going to sit on the sideline of our friendship this time. And I'm not afraid to play a little dirty. If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to make her mine.

Welcome to Daisy Hills. Where love is waiting around every corner for those who are ready to accept it. This small town has a little bit of something for everyone. Daisy Hills B&B is the first of many series to come, set in this charming world filled with guaranteed HEAs. All sweet & steamy short instalove romances. Come, stay awhile and make yourself at home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jackie M. Wallick
• Release date: Feb 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9798224637362

Book preview

1

ISABELLA

"Did you put mints on all the pillows, or did you forget again?" I snap at one of my sisters as I shoulder my purse. I’m running late, out of coffee, and didn’t sleep for shit last night. Again. To say I’m cranky is an understatement.

Don’t worry about the mints, Miranda says, her voice calm. She was a nurse in her former life, a fulfilling career she gave up to open the B&B with the rest of us. My crappy attitude doesn’t appear to phase her.

I narrow my eyes, annoyed that I’m not having my desired effect on her. All my other sisters know to avoid me in the mornings, if they can. You’ve double checked?

Triple. Miranda gives me a not-so-gentle nudge to both shoulders, helping me into the kitchen. She means to usher me out the back door, but this route only reminds me that we’re down one Turner sister. Celia, the chef, is still out on maternity leave.

I can cancel, I say, starting to dig in my heels. I’m mentally overwhelmed by the amount of work piling up, and taking a morning off isn’t going to get anything checked off my to-do list. With Celia gone—

"Don’t you dare. Jude is one of your oldest friends. You’re not standing him up. She stops trying to herd me and takes a step back, blocking the doorway back into the lobby. Go, Isabella. I’ll hold down the fort for the whole hour you’re gone. The rooms have fresh mints, towels, and flowers. I’ve got this, okay?"

As the appointed manager, I hardly leave the Daisy Hills B&B unless it’s to run a business-related errand. There’s just too much to do and the list never gets any shorter. I’ll only be gone an hour, I promise before the back door closes behind me.

I haven’t seen Jude Langston in almost a decade. We were thick as thieves in middle and high school. He tried to talk me into attending the same college as him, but I had my heart set on another. Little did I know that one decision would create a wedge in our friendship.

After graduation, I moved home to Daisy Hills.

Jude eloped and traveled the world.

Before I back out of the gravel parking lot, I scan his email once more. But the brief message doesn’t give me many clues about why he’s back in town. I always loved Daisy Hills. Jude was eager to leave the second he was free. He swore he’d never come back. But he has.

After one last glance at the kitchen window, I decide my curiosity is too piqued to cancel on Jude now. The B&B will still be standing when you get back, I say to myself. Miranda appears in the window, shooing me away.

I don’t need another hint.

The Sweet Tooth used to be our hangout back in the day. It’s no surprise he’d want to meet there now. I take the last parking spot on the block, grab my purse, and prepare to meet the guy I once considered my best friend. We’ve hardly talked over the years.

The bells jingle overhead. Audrey Hamilton, the most recent owner, greets me with her dazzling smile. I could almost call her a friend after all the phone calls we’ve shared since Celia went into labor. We’ve had to have all the food for our guests catered—including Audrey’s amazing pastries—because none of the Turner sisters have the magic touch in the kitchen like Celia.

I don’t have you down for another order until tomorrow, Audrey says as I approach the counter. But I can put something together for you now if you’re running low.

I’m here to meet a friend, I explain, mentally calculating the amount of baked goods we had on hand when I left, and how much I expect to be gone by lunch.

A friend?

I can’t quite tell if it’s simple small town curiosity in her tone or hope. For weeks, my sisters have been determined to get me laid. Bianca even created an online dating profile for me—which I quickly shut down. As if sex would cure my sour mood. I fear their mission has leaked over town if the twinkle in Audrey’s eyes is any indication.

An old friend from middle school,