A Summer Path

By Maddie Evans

Will a mix-up with a landscaping job put these two on the path to romance?
 

Alyssa needs someone to rebuild a stone walkway on a Cape Cod vacation home. The man who answers her video chat request for a quote is younger (and cuter) than she expects, but the more they talk, the more impressed Alyssa is by his knowledge of weird subjects. She's less impressed to discover he's not a contractor at all. His father is.

When his dad refuses to build the walkway, Chip accepts the work instead. As a PhD student who's usually neck-deep in research, he's now learning more about landscaping than he ever anticipated—and more about Alyssa.

No matter how much Alyssa enjoys spending time with Chip, she has seventy-two hours until a plane flies her home to Savannah. Can a summer path lead Alyssa and Chip to a happily ever after?

This book was previously published as "Meeting Up with the Mason" and was a part of the Sweet Promise Press collection, "Meeting Up With Love."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Philangelus Press
• Release date: Aug 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781942133513

Book preview

Will a mix-up with a landscaping job put these two on the path to romance?

Alyssa needs someone to rebuild a stone walkway on a Cape Cod vacation home. The man who answers her video chat request for a quote is younger (and cuter) than she expects, but the more they talk, the more impressed Alyssa is by his knowledge of weird subjects. She’s less impressed to discover he’s not a contractor at all. His father is.

When his dad refuses to build the walkway, Chip accepts the work instead. As a PhD student who’s usually neck-deep in research, he’s now learning more about landscaping than he ever anticipated—and more about Alyssa.

No matter how much Alyssa enjoys spending time with Chip, she has seventy-two hours until a plane flies her home to Savannah. Can a summer path lead Alyssa and Chip to a happily ever after?

This story was previously published as Meeting Up with the Mason.

A Summer Path, Copyright © 2023, Maddie Evans.

This story was previously published under the title, Meeting Up with the Mason through Sweet Promise Press.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. So there.

ASIN: B0CB98MFC4

Cover art by GermanCreative

Editing by Judy O’Gara

BEFORE WE BEGIN...

THIS NOVELETTE ORIGINALLY appeared as part of the Sweet Promise Press series of standalones, Meeting Up With… I’ve republished it under a new title and with only a few words changed. (Twelve. I counted.)

If you previously purchased this story back when it was called Meeting Up with the Mason, please close the book and try to get your purchase refunded because as the author, I can assure you, there’s no reason to pay for the same story twice. (I love words, but it’s not worth the eight cents a word.)

If you’ve still got the book open, then thank you for checking out the story of a gal with artistic dreams, and the geek who got in over his head.

CHAPTER ONE

I STRUGGLED NOT to recoil from the leering face on my monitor. I just want a quote for redoing the front walkway. Not a retaining wall, and also not a rock wall around the back of the property.

The way I see it, little lady, the contractor drawled, rubbing his bristled chin, a rock wall adds value to your property. In ten years, with the shrubberies I mentioned, your property will go way up in value. You’ll thank yourself.

In ten years, I wanted to be doing anything other than working as a virtual assistant for Aunt Sophie. Certainly not dealing with her Mashpee vacation home.

The contractor began another spiel about a tiered retaining wall with azalea bushes, but I spoke over him. Sorry, I have another call. You have my email to send the estimate!

I watched my own smile on the VidMeet software until the moment I’d left the meeting, at which point I dropped my forehead into my palms.

Get three quotes, Aunt Sophie had ordered before taking off for an event in Branson, Missouri. You’ll want to take the middle one. Aunt Sophie had escaped the August humidity to enjoy a week of country music, while I was stuck in Savannah, Georgia, daisy-chaining video calls with the only three contractors who’d even speak to me. Except the first one had ghosted me, and the second one—seeing a little lady who’d obviously just graduated college—assumed he could steamroll me.

I muttered, Too bad I don’t need a quote on a steamroller. I took five minutes to grab a glass of water while looking out the back window. The roses were enjoying their second bloom of the summer, and the snapdragons were poised to erupt.

Get through one more meeting. This could not be over fast enough. Fifteen more minutes on a VidMeet chat, and then I could check my VA account to see if Aunt Sophie had assigned more work. I hoped so. Otherwise, it was another afternoon of lead generation.

The grandfather clock toned the quarter hour, so I braced myself. Open laptop. Breathe deep. Click the meeting URL.

Waiting for the host to start the meeting, the screen assured me for five complete minutes. Awesome. That would leave me with exactly one quote from Mr. Upsell, who not only knew how to do all these home improvements, but who also came equipped with a bulletproof confidence