The Rocky Road to Romance

By Shawna Delacorte

History teacher Sarena Fallon has leased the ice cream shop at the Colton Marina for the last three summers. And every year, she looked forward to spending time with her friend, Drew. Only this summer, she wants their relationship status to move beyond the friend zone he seems to prefer.

Drew Braden was taken with Sarena the first time he saw her. But a disastrous marriage to a scheming woman has left him seriously commitment phobic. Then there's also the matter of his true identity. If she discovers who he really is, he could lose her forever.

• Language: Unknown
• Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
• Release date: Jul 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781509232048

Shawna Delacorte

Shawna Delacorte is from Los Angeles, California. It may sound a little weird, but she started her writing career as a photographer. While trying to market her photographs, she found that she had a better chance of having them published in magazines if they were accompanied by articles. So...she started writing. Non-fiction articles at first such as travel destination pieces, then she tried her hand at fiction. The result was twenty-one published novels with Harlequin Intrigue and Silhouette Desire. Over the last few months, Harlequin has reissued 13 of her backlist titles in ebook. Shawna loves to travel and has renewed her interest in photography. In some ways making the change from film to digital is like starting all over again. And that's just camera operation. Add to that all the computer graphics and effects that need to be mastered.

Book preview

Inc.

The Rocky Road

to Romance

One Scoop or Two

by

Shawna Delacorte

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

The Rocky Road to Romance

COPYRIGHT © 2020 by Shawna Delacorte

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Contact Information: [e-mail]

Cover Art by Diana Carlile

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

PO Box 708

Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History

First Champagne Rose Edition, 2020

Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-3204-8

One Scoop or Two

Published in the United States of America

Praise for Author

Shawna Delacorte

"Shawna Delacorte’s Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed? has an intriguing plot and forthright characters."

~Romantic Times

~*~

"The Sedgwick Curse by Shawna Delacorte is a spine tingler from the very beginning. I spent a nail biting evening racing through the pages to a wonderfully, satisfying, aha ending. Lovers of romantic intrigue and suspense will be totally captivated by The Sedgwick Curse."

~CataRomance

~*~

"Stormbound with a Tycoon, Shawna Delacorte’s latest, sizzles with two hot characters and an interesting storyline."

~Romantic Times

Chapter One

Sarena Fallon took the key from her purse and unlocked the front door of the Marina Ice Cream Shop. This would be her third year of operating the summer business at the Colton Marina when school wasn’t in session.

Colton Lake, Colton Marina, the large Double Bar C cattle ranch and adjacent Double Bar C dude ranch—the Colton family seemed to own everything in sight and had for several generations. They also owned numerous businesses in nearby Coltonville, population forty thousand, where she lived and taught high school history. Gossip said previous generations of the Colton family had flaunted their great wealth and status, but current members kept a much lower profile and maintained a more subdued lifestyle.

As she had done the last two summers, she arrived on site a week early to check out everything before opening for the season, to verify that the property management company had cleaned since the shop had been vacant all winter. She also checked with her vendors for last minute confirmation on deliveries of supplies and made contact with her employees—primarily college students who had worked for her the last two summers.

She looked up and down the boardwalk running along the front of the marina that bordered the lake, hoping for a glimpse of Drew Braden. She emitted a sigh of disappointment but wasn’t surprised when she didn’t see him. She met Drew about half way through the first summer she had operated the ice cream shop. They quickly became friends. Last year, he greeted her on the opening day of the season. This year, she had hoped he would be there when she arrived a week before opening to the public.

She entered the ice cream shop and set her purse on one of the chairs. A quick glance around told her everything appeared to be in order. She ran her hand across the counter, then rubbed her fingers together. She wrinkled her brow into a scowl. It definitely did not feel very clean. I have the uneasy feeling a more detailed inspection is going to discover—

Hi. I hoped I’d find you here.

Sarena turned at the sound of the smooth, masculine voice. She couldn’t stop the smile that came to her lips as her gaze fell on Drew Braden, all six feet one inch of him. Her breath came a little quicker, and her heart beat a little faster.

His blue eyes sparkled as he blatantly looked her up and down. He wore his medium brown hair longer than last summer, but it was a length that looked good on him. It gave him a sexy appearance—even more sexy than she remembered from last year. She liked it longer. She definitely liked it.

Hi, yourself. Her smile widened, conveying her pleasure at seeing him. I just unlocked the door. If you had arrived five minute ago, you would have beaten me here.

He looked even more desirable than he did at the end of last summer, right before she returned to her teaching job at the beginning of the school term, when he had suddenly pulled her into his arms and captured her mouth with the hottest kiss she had ever experienced. A kiss that curled her toes and confirmed how much she wanted more of him. But more apparently wasn’t to be, much to her disappointment.

Fall, winter, spring—not a word from him, as if he had totally forgotten she even existed. But now, here he stood, as if he had been waiting for her to show up. The situation left her slightly perplexed. She briefly touched her fingers to her lips. All these months later, his parting kiss still burned hot against her lips. You’re looking well. I like your hair longer like that.

Thanks…I think it might be the result of a bit of mid-life crisis. Trying to recapture a little youth. His teasing grin said far more than his words.

Mid-life crisis? You can’t be old enough for that.

I’ll be that dreaded forty in a couple of months.

There’s nothing old about forty. Especially considering that I’m thirty-five.

He winked. How would a sweet young thing like you know anything about old?

You’re incorrigible. Her laugh surrounded her words. It looks like you managed to survive the winter without any mishaps. Your brittle old bones didn’t snap?

His spontaneous laughter filled the air. No broken bones from slipping on the ice or falling into any snow drifts if that’s what you meant. And no broken bones from being thrown off a bucking horse, either. His smile slowly faded as he pulled her into his arms. I’ve missed you. I’m so glad to see you back this summer.

I have a phone, you have the number, and I only live fifteen miles from here in Coltonville. It’s not like you need to drive for several hours to get there. She teased, but her comment contained a lot of truth.

A hint of something darted across his features but disappeared before she could read it. He slowly released her without kissing her, almost reluctantly so. After the goodbye kiss from last summer, she had anticipated more than