A Villain for Valentine's Day: Hope Valley Romance, #6

By Tess Brennan

A dog named Villain, doing his best to live up to his name.

An ultimatum from her landlord.

A business that's struggling to survive.

 

Could things get any worse?

 

Edie Calhoun has always been a disappointment to her parents. She's not fashionable enough, not talented enough, and in the forthright opinion of her successful father, is wasting her talents on her fledgling graphic design business. 

 

It all becomes too much when her charming but feckless brother Alex begs her to look after his dog Villain while he takes his latest girlfriend to Hawaii for Valentine's Day. Edie, always a pushover, finds herself trying to meet deadlines while coping with a pooch that seems determined to wreck her life as well as the house. 

 

Then Jake Miller turns up at the door: a dog obedience trainer that her brother hired just before he flew out. Edie is suspicious of Jake immediately: handsome like her brother, he is just as charming. There's no way, she tells herself, that she's falling for that! Edie has watched her brother leave a trail of broken hearts, and she knows the type only too well. 

 

But Edie can't help thawing as Jake works his magic with Villain. Before long, she's just as enraptured with the dog trainer as her pooch—but then her world starts to disintegrate. 

 

Edie has no savings, an eviction looming, and now Jake seems to have fallen under the spell of a curvaceous blonde called Sherri! 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blue Gem Publishing
• Release date: Oct 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201658885

Book preview

One

Enter the Villain

When the door chimes sounded, Edie was none too pleased with the interruption since she'd already wasted too many hours that morning. The design she was working on for a new business card for Charlotte Kingscliff was a complete bust. The woman had changed her mind about what she wanted four times already, after giving an enthusiastic thumbs up to the first design—but then she talked to her husband, who promptly put forward his own brilliant ideas. 

What would he know about design? Edie had seen his clothes, his car, his house. Mason Kingscliff would win an award for bad taste. He thought his wife's hairdressing salon should have silver, pink and purple cards (because they were girly colors and all women liked those). He didn't appear to understand that the sorbet colors his wife had chosen to outfit the salon, all lime and lemon with an arty dash of tangerine, didn't go with pink and purple.

The door chimes sounded again, and with them came a resounding series of barks. 

Edie closed her eyes. Great. Her brother Alex and his pest of a dog, Villain.

She hit save and indulged in a moment of self-pity while Photoshop saved the latest version of Charlotte's doomed business card.

Please, God, what did I do to deserve this?  

Then she felt guilty because God had been pretty good to her, and she couldn't blame Him for brothers with annoying dogs and a client with a husband who wouldn't know good design if it jumped up and bit him. 

She shoved her glasses more firmly on her nose and went to answer the door. 

Edith Mary! My favorite sister! Alex opened his arms wide with a grin that would charm the birds out of the trees, and Villain danced around in circles, barking wildly, before jumping up and planting two paws on her thighs and shoving Edie backward. 

"Get down, Villain! Edie said, pushing the dog away. Down!" She scowled at him but then patted him anyway because it wasn't the dog's fault that her brother couldn't be bothered training him. Honestly, Alex, you have to teach this dog some manners, or he won't be welcome anywhere. 

He enfolded her in a hug. And I love you too. What's biting you this morning? He stood back and regarded her keenly, his dark eyes warm and laughing, and then gave her an extra kiss on the cheek. Tell Alex. 

Alex was a charmer, no doubt about it, and she could never stay cross with him for long. She shook her head at him anyway and stood back to let the pair of them in. You might as well come in. It's just a design that won't come right. 

Show me. 

No point, she said. I'm trying to please a client's husband instead of her, and he's got no taste, and… oh, forget it. Coffee? 

Absolutely. He followed her to the kitchen, and Villain bounded along with them, detouring to sniff enthusiastically at corners on the way. While Edie measured out coffee and put milk in the steamer, Villain got under her feet, whining and looking at her with pleading eyes. 

Move, Edie ordered, and he whined again, waiting expectantly. "You can't be hungry again."

Don't listen to him, Alex said cheerfully, investigating the contents of the cookie jar. He gets plenty to eat. Be quiet, dog. Edie! You made double choc chip! Gleefully, he extracted two and raised an eyebrow, offering her the cookie jar. One for you?

Thanks, but no. My rear end is already bigger than Texas, thanks to sitting down at a computer all day. Edie slid a sideways look at him. All right, Alex, what are you up to? You have that look on your face. 

Alex didn't bother asking what she meant: she was one of the few people who always knew when he was planning something. No fooling you, sis. He perched on a stool and then slapped his knee. Come here, Villain! Good dog! 

If you feed that animal one of my gold star cookies, you're not getting another, she informed him. Besides, chocolate's bad for dogs. 

I know that. He gave the dog that enthusiastic head-rubbing that men seemed to do. I'm just giving him some attention. 

And now you have to wash your hands before you eat. 

"I know. Honestly, Edie, you're worse than Mom. He pointed to the floor. Down, Villain! Sit!" 

Villain uttered a short, sharp bark and danced around in a circle before shoving his head in between Alex's knees, his tail wagging madly. 

Well done, Edie said dryly. Nothing like a well-trained hound. 

Which is why I brought him here. Alex went to the sink, squirted a bit of dish-washing liquid onto his hands, and turned on the tap, rubbing them together vigorously. 

Edie put the coffee cups under the twin spouts of the coffee machine, pressed the button, and put her hands on her hips, frowning at his back. What do you mean? 

You'll be much better at training him than I am, Alex said over his shoulder, turning off the tap and shaking his hands over the sink. He grabbed a tea towel and dried his hands, sending her his best Alex-the-charmer grin. I don't have the patience. 

"Oh, rubbish. You just can't be bothered. And I don't have the time. Edie nudged Villain with his foot as he pushed against her. Stop it, Villain. Can we put this dog outside?"

Sure. But he won't like it. Alex snapped his fingers and slapped his thigh. C'mon, Villain. Good dog. He walked to the back door and opened it onto the broad back deck. 

Villain raced outside, his tongue hanging out, almost seeming to grin, and ran in circles on the lawn. He skidded to a stop when Alex closed the screen door and bounded up to press his nose against it, indignant at being shut out. 

Another whine, followed by a bark. 

Oh, for heaven's sake. Edie slapped her hands over her ears. "This is beyond a joke, Alex. It's not fair to the pup not to train him properly. You have to be the alpha dog, not him!" 

See? I knew you were the one for the job. Alex poured milk into both cups and then opened several cupboards in a row. Where's the sugar?

Edie pushed the sugar canister towards him. "Here, where it's always been. Alex, I cannot train your dog. I don't have the time, and I don't want to. If you own a dog, it's your responsibility." 

Alex's smile dimmed. If you don't mind, we'll forgo the lectures on my irresponsibility. Or my lack of moral fiber and inability to settle to one job. I get that enough.

That made her weaken, as he knew it would. Alex was not only charming but very smart and had made a success of several businesses before becoming bored with them and looking for something else. He had made a tidy profit with each one, but that wasn't good enough for his father. Rich, successful, Harry Calhoun wanted his son to follow him into the business and wanted him to settle.

In other words, he wanted a son just like him. And he would never get that with Alex. 

Their parents were disappointed with Edie, too. Her father could never say the words graphic designer without a contemptuous inflection. And her mother, Carla, gorgeous like Alex and with a body like a model, couldn't look at her tall, skinny daughter with her out-of-control hair and glasses and faded jeans without a pinched expression on her face. 

Edie took her coffee and sat on the stool beside Alex. She tried one more time. "Alex, seriously, I'm swamped with work. I don't know anything about training dogs, and