Falling for my Frenemy: Evergreen Crushes, #1

By Genevieve Goodwin

Cole Mc Knight has always been a thorn in my side.
And I have always been the sting in his bee.
There is no way that is ever going to change. Not even after one little kiss...

When Cole Mc Knight waltzes back into Evergreen Valley acting like he owns the place, I take it upon myself to put my old nemesis in his place. Too bad that place lands me right in his arms, against his lips and wondering how on earth I'd ever resisted him all these years.

Cole

After years away from my hometown, I am slammed directly into the path of my old archenemy, Belle Summerlin. My heart immediately begins to fight with my head- or more accurately, Belle's biting tongue. My old sparring partner from childhood has gone from braces to beautiful in the years I've been gone. Though she still has a sassy tongue, her unexpected kiss ignites some surprising and complicated feelings.

One business proposal, one surprising kiss, and one heck of an adventure trip later, and we're both wondering... is there hope for a lasting truce of love?

Evergreen Crushes is a small town, home town Rom Com series where old friends and new navigate the uncharted journeys of life, love, and friendship. A sweet, sizzling romance with all the feels of falling in love but no explicit content.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Love Smitten Books
• Release date: Sep 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215473092

Genevieve Goodwin

Genevieve Goodwin writes sweet, romantic Contemporary Romance and Romantic Comedy with swoony heroes that will melt your heart. She loves writing witty banter, real life emotions, and forcing her hero and heroine to wake up and realize they've found the love of their life. She love chocolate, traveling and an endless cup of carmel machiato coffee. She currently lives in Florida where you can find her on the beach with her toes in the sand, when she's not spinning another story for her next book.

Book preview

Falling for my Frenemy

Evergreen Crushes

Genevieve Goodwin

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

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher and author. For more information regarding permission, contact the author.

Copyright © 2022 Genevieve Goodwin

All rights reserved.

Love Smitten Books

Description

Cole Mc Knight has always been a thorn in my side.

And I have always been the sting in his bee.

There is no way that is ever going to change. Not even after one little kiss…

When Cole Mc Knight waltzes back into Evergreen Valley acting like he owns the place, I take it upon myself to put my old nemesis in his place. Too bad that place lands me right in his arms, against his lips and wondering how on earth I’d ever resisted him all these years.

Cole

After years away from my hometown, I am slammed directly into the path of my old archenemy, Belle Summerlin. My heart immediately begins to fight with my head- or more accurately, Belle’s biting tongue. My old sparring partner from childhood has gone from braces to beautiful in the years I've been gone. Though she still has a sassy tongue, her unexpected kiss ignites some surprising and complicated feelings.

One business proposal, one surprising kiss, and one heck of an adventure trip later, and we're both wondering... is there hope for a lasting truce of love?

Evergreen Crushes is a small town, home town Rom Com series where old friends and new navigate the uncharted journeys of life, love, and friendship. A sweet, sizzling romance with all the feels of falling in love but no explicit content.

Note to the Reader

Dear Amazing Reader,

A few things before you dive into Belle and Cole’s love story. Evergreen Valley is a fictional town set in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Places in Evergreen that are mentioned in the book like Peace River, Castlemore Lodge, Serenity Peak and Belcourt Mansion are all fictional as well. As a child, I spent my summers vacationing in different towns in the Blue Ridge mountains from Georgia to Tennessee to North Carolina. As an adult, I still visit as often as I’m able and continue to make happy memories in the beauty of this stunning mountain range. This series is a culmination of so many fond memories of those towns and the people who live in them.

I hope you enjoy Belle and Cole’s love story as much as I enjoyed writing it. And if you ever have the chance, please visit the beautiful mountain towns that dot the Blue Ridge Mountain range. I promise, you will not regret it. It is truly a magical, heavenly place.

Oh, and another thing- the Matchmaker is not who you think!

Lots of Love,

Genevieve

Prologue

Belle

Summer, 20 years ago.

They were the silliest boys I had ever seen.

They were all sitting inside their so-called Clubhouse in a circle around a fire, discussing what they considered important boy business. It appeared that Beckett, my brother, was their leader. Oh, gag. Who on earth would follow him? I looked over the rag-tag group of middle schoolers, making special note of all who were there so I could tell my best friend Grace when I saw her.

My stomach lurched like when I’d had too much cotton candy at the fair. I spotted him at the back, standing next to a stack of book bags that had been unceremoniously dumped in a pile. Boys were so messy. Except for one.

Cole Mc Knight. The cute one.

I didn’t know why, but every time I saw Cole, every time I was around him, I felt all queasy inside. Maybe because, out of all the boys I knew, he was the only one who was quiet. In fact, he was mysteriously quiet, all calm and collected like he had all the confidence in the world. I liked to hate that about him. That self-assuredness. The nonchalant way he walked when I spotted him at the malt shop. I wanted to call him arrogant, but that would not be accurate. He was more like a puzzle. One I couldn’t figure out. And it drove me nuts.

Plus, he was so cute. That was incredibly annoying. I knew from watching my older cousins when they came to visit, cute boys made girls act weird. Like they had a sickness. Laughing or crying hysterically, depending on what a boy had said to her as he passed her in the hallway at school. I sure hoped I never caught the sickness like my cousins had it. It made them act downright crazy.

But never-mind the teenagers. The boys were on the move now, and I had a feeling that things were going to get interesting. Their fort was just an old tent that looked like they’d dragged it out of a dumpster. They were all wearing capes from the costumes they wore last Halloween when they did a superhero theme. And, on top of that, they were all wearing cardboard crowns from the local burger joint. All five of them.

Yep, they looked ridiculous. I wished Grace was here with me to witness this spectacle of boys gone cray-cray. But my best friend had been nowhere to be found when I’d spotted Beckett covertly disappearing into the woods. And I had to follow him right away, lest I miss out on the grand, secret meeting of the so-called Brotherhood.

I knew they wanted privacy, but the big cardboard sign on the front of the tent said ‘No Girls Allowed’ in big ole red letters, and that was just too much of a challenge. In fact, it was practically a summons the way I saw it. Of course, I had to spy on them now. No two-bit piece of cardboard was going to keep this stealthy girl away. It was virtually an invitation for a girl who had a nose for conspiracy and intrigue. And the ripped hole I’d found at the back of the tent was the perfect size for me to spy on the silly boys.

They seemed to be preparing for some sort of ritual. Oh goody. I wondered if there would be blood involved? Would they do a blood oath? Then I thought about it. Nah. Those boys were too wussy to cut themselves. Beckett was for sure. He fainted at the sight of blood, though he’d never admit it to anyone.

The group was made up of five boys, most of them in the same seventh grade class. They were the same group that had hung around together as long as I remembered. Which was pretty much my whole eight-year life. Jaden was pigging out on a chocolate bar. Or maybe it was Riley. It was hard to tell the twins apart.

Beckett called them all to attention and cleared his throat. I had to cover my mouth so my laugh wouldn’t be heard. Who did Beckett think he was? The governor about to give a speech?

Kristoff was there, too. Of course, no one called him that but his mama. He was known as Kat, nicknamed for all the crazy stunts he did. Everyone said he must have nine lives like a cat and then someone started calling him that and it just stuck.

Oh, I could not wait to tell Grace. No doubt she was out on an errand with her aunt. Her parents had died, so her Aunt Margo was raising her. And as aunts come, she was pretty cool. I was glad about that because I thought it was awful Grace had lost her parents.

I looked through the ripped hole in the tent, my eyes all squinty, trying to take in this spectacle of boy rituals. I wondered what they were going to be swearing to? I was sure they’d swear to something. Isn’t that what boys did when they wore capes and cardboard crowns? It had to be something really big for them to gather this way.

The boys were mumbling in low voice among themselves and as much as I strained to hear, I couldn’t make out a word. Finally, Beckett shouted All stand!

Oh, goody, the party was going to begin.

They all stood around the fire, sweat streaming down their faces. Why they lit a fire in the middle of summer, I would never know. Again, boys were just the dumbest. Beckett cleared his throat again. Oh, here it comes.

He took a moment to look over his minions. We are here to swear an oath. The most excellent oath of our lives, he began.

I rolled my eyes.

Then Kat spoke up. Just to be clear, I like girls, he said. I’m not giving them up. He flashed that grin that made nearly half the middle school girls swoon over him anytime he said hello. It was disgusting. I swore I would never swoon over any boy. Never, ever, ever. That was just plain wrong.

"You don’t have to give up girls, Kat. Just some girls. And you wouldn’t want to go with them, anyway."

Which girls? Riley asked.

I’m confused, Jaden said.

Beckett let out an exasperated sigh as he placed a hand over his eyes. He looked like our fourth-grade math teacher trying to get the class’s attention two minutes before the bell was about to ring.

We will swear, he commanded, his voice stronger than before. An oath. We will not go with each other’s sisters. We will not go with each other’s cousins. We will not go with each other’s ex girlfriends. Our friendships, our Brotherhood will be stronger than any girl. Now swear!

He put his hand out like a sword and slowly the other boys followed, piling hand over each other’s hand above the fire. All but Cole.

I must have made a sound because Cole’s gaze wandered to the back of the tent and down to the hole I watched from. Oh no. If I was found out, there would be heck to pay. And I was out numbered five to one.

Cole? Beckett said in a low voice. "You’re the one I’m