Head Over Heels for the Boss by Susan Meier
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publication: September 14th, 2015 by Entangled Publishing
Fantasizing about the boss is one thing. Falling in love with him is quite another…
Isabelle Cooper's in big, big trouble. Her flower shop? Well, it was just bought by the man she’s had a crush on forever. Her new boss, Devon Donovan, is a tall glass of melt-in-your-mouth hotness. The problem? Devon is definitely not interested in love. No ifs, ands, or buds about it.
Devon knows Isabelle has been crushing on him since college, but buying her business shouldn’t be a problem. Not only is she his employee, but as the eldest Donovan brother, he’s too busy protecting the family fortune for romance. But tomboy “Izzy” is all grown up now. And he’s finding it impossible to resist her, no matter how hard he tries...
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Excerpt
An hour later she drove to the Donovan mansion, got out of her car and walked inside through the back door near the offices. The scent of bacon hit her immediately and her stomach rumbled.
Not seeing Devon at his desk, she dropped her purse in a desk drawer and headed to the kitchen—where she found the entire Donovan clan sitting at the table, laughing.
LuAnn saw her first. “Hey, Izzy.”
“Morning, LuAnn. I just got here because of some Buds and Blossoms business and I wondered where Devon was.” The way she fumbled over her explanation made her face turn red. But Devon shoved his chair out from the table.
“Food’s still warm. Grab a plate. I’ve got to get to work anyway.”
She tried a smile but it barely worked. She was embarrassed and not quite sure how she felt about him leaving when she arrived, although no one seemed to notice but her.
LuAnn muttered, “Grab a plate? Devon, that’s not how you treat a guest.”
As he walked down the hall, he yelled, “She’s not a guest, Mom. She’s an employee.”
“That’s no reason to leave your manners behind.” She faced Isabelle. “Honestly, that boy. You sit. I’ll fix you a plate.”
Isabelle walked to the round table in the breakfast nook next to a bay window overlooking a piece of the patio. Rubbing her belly, Ellie said, “I hope this baby is born soon.”
Finn patiently said, “You still have ten days.”
“But think how great it would be if she came early. I’d be in much better shape for the wedding.”
LuAnn set a plate of bacon and eggs and home fries in front of Isabelle.
With the scent of breakfast wafting to her, she said, “What was the occasion today?”
LuAnn returned to her seat. “I wanted to put Devon in a good frame of mind when I talked to him about the wedding. So I made breakfast, but when he didn’t show, I realized he wasn’t home so I called Ellie and Finn to come over and eat. Then I realized I might as well call Cade and Piper and have them bring the baby.” As if understanding they were talking about him, black haired, brown-eyed little Richie cooed.
Finn shook his head. “Then Devon showed up. He tried to sneak in the back way, but we’d heard his car.”
Cade’s deep laugh filled the room. “He must have stayed out all night with a woman. I know the walk of shame when I see it.”
Unspeakable terror rattled through Isabelle. But Ellie’s eyes were sympathetic.
“I’m sorry, Isabelle.”
Finn said, “Why should you be sorry? It was damned funny.”
Piper gave her a pitying look too, and she realized they didn’t know she was the woman Devon had slept with the night before.
A laugh bubbled up. The feeling of melancholy burst. Not only were she and Devon successfully hiding an affair, but suddenly sneaking around did seem really fun.
Squelching her laughter, she quietly said, “It’s okay.”
Cade looked from his wife to Isabelle then back to Piper again. “What’s okay?”
“I had a crush on Devon,” Isabelle said, realizing rolling with this actually worked in her and Devon’s favor. Still, not quite able to out and out lie, she added, “But since I began working for him, my feelings for him are very different.”
Finn reached for his coffee. “He can be a slave driver.”
“I do have a lot on my plate.” She shrugged. “But once I hire new staff for Buds and Blossoms, I’ll be fine.”
Piper rocked little Richie to her. “You know what? I could take care of that for you.”
“Really?”
“Sure. Right now I’m not working and I have tons of free time. At first I slept when Richie napped. Now I’m just bored. I’d actually enjoy having some contact with adults.”
Isabelle sighed. “I’d appreciate it.”
Cade said, “First time—swear to God—very first time, we’ve ever caught him.”
Standing, Piper laughed. “You’ve got to get over this, Cade. It’s not that funny.”
LuAnn said, “No, but it is good. My God, this time last week he nearly bit my head off about my wedding. Today he offered—offered—to walk me down the aisle.”
Isabelle blinked. “He did?”
“Yep,” Finn said, as he rose and helped Ellie to stand too. “Cade and I will be Bob’s best men. Devon will give Mom away. And it was all his idea.”
“Wow.”
Ellie bent and kissed Isabelle’s cheek. “I’m glad you’re okay with all of this.”
“I’m fine.”
Piper said, “We’ll have a girls’ night one of these days and find you somebody else.”
Not knowing what else to say, Isabelle said, “Okay.”
After family hugs were exchanged, Finn and Ellie, Cade, Piper and little Richie left.
LuAnn said, “Eat your food before it gets cold.”
She eyed her eggs and bacon greedily. “Thanks for this.”
“Oh, it was nothing. I love having my family together and, Izzy, working for us, you’re becoming family.” LuAnn sucked in a breath and took her hand. “I want to make sure you really are okay with Devon dating someone.”
She almost choked on her bacon. “Yeah. Seriously. I’m fine.”
“I’m so glad because whoever this woman is, she’s a godsend. I can’t explain the shift in Devon, but it’s a good one. He’s happy.” She shook her head. “It’s a terrible thing for a mother to know one of her children isn’t just unhappy, but that he may never have known happiness at all in his life.”
Though she’d always recognized Devon was a serious minded person—because he’d had to defend himself and his brothers from their dad—Isabelle had never quite understood the ramifications of that, until LuAnn spelled it out so clearly. “That is sad.”
LuAnn sucked in a breath. “We were in a terrible situation. I swear Devon wasn’t more than twelve when he started stepping in when his dad would come home drunk.
Between the two of us, we kept Cade and Finn relatively safe, until they were older. Then no one was safe.”
“I’m sorry.”
LuAnn patted her hand. “It’s all gone now. And I don’t even want the memories. I don’t know if Devon will ever be able to have a relationship the way Finn and Cade have. But I’m glad he found the woman he’s found. He needs her.”
LuAnn suddenly brightened. “Now, about the wedding. I’ve got the dress. We have the Dinner Belles and the fire hall. The girls are going for their dresses next week. I’ve decided I want the short square vases with short-stemmed flowers. All bright colors. Maybe some aqua?”
As LuAnn went on and on about her beautiful wedding, Isabelle paid attention, but she also basked in the warm glow of the fact that she was good for Devon—a guy who clearly deserved something happy in his life—and he needed her. As an only child, Isabelle didn’t really know what it felt like to have someone need her until that moment. It felt pretty damned wonderful. As if her life had finally found some meaning.
So what if it was just an affair? It was a good thing.
Wasn’t it?
About the Author
Susan Meier is the author of over 60 books for Harlequin and Silhouette, Entangled Indulgence, Red Hot Bliss and Bliss and one of Guideposts' Grace Chapel Inn series books, THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS. In 2013 she lived one of her career-long dreams. Her book, THE TYCOON’S SECRET DAUGHER was a finalist for RWA’s highest honor, the Rita. The same year NANNY FOR THE MILLIONAIRE’S TWINS was a National Reader’s Choice finalist and won the Book Buyer’s Best Award.
Susan is married with three children and is one of eleven children, which is why love and family are always part of her stories.
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