Mommy's Little Secret: Betting on Love

By Jennifer O'Malley

Being a single mother is hard enough, but add in trying to run a flailing bakery and it's a recipe for disaster. But when a storm forces a renowned celebrity chef through her doors, they're sure to cook something up. Because sometimes the spice you're looking to add into the recipe of your life, isn't the one you thought you needed.

 

Stephanie Simpleton is praying for a miracle to keep her bakery open. As a single mother with a teenage daughter, failure isn't an option.

 

Oliver Benois is a celebrity chef who is trying to close the deal of a lifetime, otherwise his career in reality television is over. When a freak storm traps him in a quaint bakery off The Strip, the last thing he expects to be faced with, is a blast from his past. Oliver soon finds himself with the decision of choosing his career or the woman he let slip through his fingers so many years ago.

 

Not to mention the teenage girl who stares back at him with his own eyes.

 

Stephanie and Oliver both have it all on the line and decisions to make. But when in Vegas, you need to take a gamble even when the odds don't seem to be in your favor.

 

If you love second chance romances then one-click now to stir up trouble with Stephanie and Oliver in MOMMY'S LITTLE SECRET.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jennifer O'Malley
• Release date: Jan 31, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224120987

Jennifer O'Malley

Jennifer O'Malley is the author of the contemporary romance series BETTING ON LOVE, which features a new couple each month as they fall prey to the magic of Vegas and falling in love. She grew up in a small town where she didn’t have much but her imagination to keep her occupied. As far back asshe can remember, she always needed a pen in her hand to jot down storyline notes. She now lives in the city with her family, including her human and fluffy kids, and enjoys all things romance, paranormal, and horror. She's excited to be introducing some of those YA loves that she enjoyed, to her kids.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

STEPHANIE

Iclosed my eyes as reality sunk in. Tears threatened to spill down my cheeks, but I had to be strong.

The only problem was, I didn’t have anything left to keep me strong. I was about to lose everything, and I had no backup plan.

A pained groan escaped from my lips as I massaged the area between my eyes with my knuckles.

Mom? The soft voice calling from the doorway had me jerking my head up in surprise.

Jessie? What’s wrong, sweetheart?

My fourteen-year-old daughter stood in the doorway, her bright blue eyes giving me the world’s saddest puppy dog look.

It was a reminder of what I had to fight for. She needed me to be strong because none of this should fall to her shoulders like it fell to mine.

Not that I resented or regretted running my family’s bakery that my grandparents had started in Vegas’ infancy. It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I went to culinary school, but it paid the bills.

Or at least it used to. It had been a long time—too long—since I’d been forced to dip into my quickly depleting savings in order to keep a roof over our head and the doors of the bakery open.

But the grim reality was, that was all about to change.

Jessie stared at me and shuffled back and forth nervously on her feet.

The storm is getting pretty bad. Weather alert said the flooding will be making the roads impassable soon, if they aren’t already.

I let out a sigh.

So much for hoping the extra advertising for this week would pay off. The storm is going to keep away any chance I had for a miracle.

The shrill sound of my phone ringing cut me off before I could reply. I looked down at the screen before giving Jessie an apologetic smile.

I just need to take this and then we can start to close up. I forced another smile, but I could tell by the worried look on Jessie’s face she wasn’t buying what I was selling.

Not that I could blame her. There was no way she hadn’t realized things weren’t looking so good. Even though I tried to shield her from the harsh reality, she was smart. Too smart sometimes.

Jessie nodded and turned back down the hallway toward the counter. There was no doubt in my mind, the place would be spotless and almost ready to close up by the time I got off the phone.

I shook off my apprehension and picked up the phone.

This is Stephanie Simpleton, I said in the cheeriest voice I could muster, ignoring the sliver of dread that curled in the pit of my stomach.

Stephanie? It’s Rob Majors. The voice on the other end of the phone hesitated. From National Savings and Investment?

My throat constricted, a lump forming as I sent up a silent prayer to anyone who might be listening.

Of course, Mr. Majors. How are you?

Rob Majors had been one of my father’s best friends and was the senior advisor at the local bank where my family’s bakery had always done their business. And he was one of my last-ditch efforts to keep the doors open.

Oh, I’m fine, thanks. Just wrapping some things up here, what with the storm. We’re preparing to be closed for the next couple days, just in case. He let out a soft sigh. That’s what I’m calling about, Stephanie.

Another pause had my heart sinking. Nothing good was that hard to say.

I know you probably see the storm that’s wrecking havoc out there—I hadn’t and had only been getting updates from Jessie about what was being said about it—so I’m not going to be able to make the meeting we had set for today about the loan for the bakery.

My heart sank, although it wasn’t a complete surprise.

What does that— My throat seized, tears springing to my eyes, before I could even finish getting the question out.

I’m sorry, Steph, he said, his voice resigned. I tried everything I could to get another extension, but the truth is, the bakery is in a prime location for developers and my bosses would rather cut their loses with the loan than take a gamble on your proposal. Especially considering we won’t be able to have the meeting today.

I bit my lip as my eyes fell shut. While I had expected the news, it still felt like a blow. The last of my hope faded. Because now, even if the deal I’d been trying to make with a new cooking network for a show that featured the bakery had been able to go through, there wasn’t any time left