Laura Delaney loves her small mountain hometown of North Powell with its quaint charm, stately Victorian homes and surrounding hiking trails. Unfortunately, when it comes to attracting travel dollars, it can no longer compete with the flashy hot springs and ski slopes of nearby competitors.
Thatโs why she hires a hotshot marketing team to figure out how to inject the old magic back into North Powellโs sagging tourist trade. What she doesnโt expect is for the team to include David Harper. Smart, funny, handsome, and amazing in bed, heโs the perfect man. All she needs to do now is keep their relationship under wraps until the project is over.
But thatโs easier said than done when sheโs assigned to work with Spence Markham, the companyโs offbeat โidea manโ and Davidโs professional nemesis. When Spence suggests hosting a Dickens Festival to revitalize the townโs once-booming holiday season, Laura is thrilled. Sheโs even more thrilled when Spence falls in love with Powell House, the dilapidated Victorian that Laura hopes to renovate and turn into a town museum. But is Spence falling in love with her as well?
As the Festival nears, Lauraโs feelings for both men intensify. Her relationship with David has only gotten betterโand hotterโand yet she finds herself counting down the days until she can see Spence again.
Soon, what started as a simple assignment becomes a tale of two possible futures. But which one will Laura choose?
If you are looking for a small-town, holiday romance, look no further than WHY I HELD YOUR HAND by Augusta Reilly! This delightful, sexy, feel-good rom-com is out now and you can read an excerpt below!
Laura awoke to find a twelve-year-old boy in a baseball cap staring at her through her open car window. He was wearing a frilly pink 34D bra over his Little League jersey. It was her first clue that this wasnโt going to be an ordinary Monday.
She had been awake now for about ten seconds, and what sheโd figured out so far was this: she was lying in the back seat of her car in a parking lot somewhere, her bare legs dangling out the window and the skirt of her long yellow sundress bunched up around her hips. The top of her sundress was partially unbuttoned, and her hands were under the fabric, happily resting on her breasts. She wasnโt sure how sheโd gotten herself into this situation, but she knew sheโd managed to do it without the help of drugs or alcohol, which somehow made it worse.
The arrival of a second spectator at the scene was her next clue that something wasnโt right. A dark-haired young man wearing a grey suit and tortoise shell glasses was suddenly standing beside the boy. He was smiling. โHello, Laura,โ he said, looking incredibly happy to see her. โSo sorry Iโm late. There was an accident on the interstate.โ
She had no idea who the man was, why he was apologizing to her, or how many of his old college buddies he would share this story with later. โI forgive you,โ she said. โCould you please ask your son to give me my bra back?โ
โHim?โ the stranger said, thumbing to the boy at his side. โIโve never seen him before. I thought he was a friend of yours.โ He turned to his fellow spectator. โJeffrey,โ he said, โcould you please give the nice lady her bra back?โ
The boy, motionless until now, turned and bolted across the parking lot.
โSorry,โ the stranger said. โIf you want, I can chase him down and wrestle the bra off of him, but I donโt know how Iโll explain myself to the police.โ
โHow did you know his name?โ Laura asked, suspicious.
โIt was on the back of his uniform.โ โHow did you know my name?โ
โParking pass,โ he said, pointing at her windshield. โAnd why are you so happy to see me?โ
He looked at her chest. โBesides that,โ she said.
โOh, sorry. I didnโt introduce myself, did I?โ He extended a hand through the window. โDavid Harper. KPS Marketing. Iโm your ten oโclock appointment.โ
And suddenly she remembered. She was in the parking lot of the North Powell town hall. It was Monday morning, June third, and she had a meeting with KPS Marketing. Sheโd been preparing since eleven last night and had come out to her car about an hour ago to take a power nap before the meeting. KPS represented some of the most luxurious (and expensive) travel brands in the country, and she represented one of the most unglamorous (and broke) tourist towns in the state. As such, her top priority was to make a good first impression.
Well, sheโd made an impression, alright. She supposed the proper next step was to accept Davidโs handshake. But both her hands were still otherwise occupied.
โSorry,โ she said, still on her back. โIโve been here working since last night and I came out to my car to take a little nap before the meeting and took my bra off for comfort and . . . you know what?โ she said, interrupting herself. โI canโt really think of any way to get myself out of this situation in an intelligent or dignified manner, so Iโm just going to stop trying. Could you please spin around for a second while I freshen up?โ
โOf course,โ David said.
While his back was turned to her, she sat up and quickly buttoned her dress. Smoothing out her skirt and combing out her long red curls with her fingers, she grabbed her briefcase from the front seat and stepped out of the car.
When David turned around, Lauraโs hand was extended and waiting for him. โThank you so much for coming all the way in from the city,โ she said. โItโs so nice to meet you.โ
The plan was to pretend this silly little semi-topless moment had never happened. But evidently, he wasnโt going to let her off the hook that easily. He did not accept her handshake. Instead, he looked around to make sure no one was watching.
โListen, Laura,โ he said, โIโm pretty sure Iโll never have a better โfirst time I saw your momโ story than this, so all I ask is that you think about marrying me. You can give me your answer after the meeting.โ
She laughed. And felt an enormous wave of relief. Making light of this extremely awkward moment was much better than pretending it wasnโt there, and she was grateful to David for handling it with tact and humor.
โThe twins and I will need to discuss your proposal in depth before we give you our answer,โ she said as they finally shook. โIโm sure you understand.โ
He responded with a laugh that seemed genuine, and he suddenly seemed more handsome than he had two minutes ago. It was the smile. He looked nice. She especially liked his glasses. He looked smart. He appeared to be about thirty, a good age for a man. Old enough to be responsible and committed, but young enough to be fun and exciting. And in this case, available. Sheโd noted his ringless finger when theyโd shaken hands.
โLet me carry that for you,โ he said, taking her briefcase.
Walking across the parking lot with him at her side, she judged that he was about six feet tall to her five-foot-one frame. Tall was good. As was gentlemanly.
Speaking of gentlemen. โWerenโt there supposed to be two more of you?โ
โJames and Spence,โ David said. โWe came in separate cars. Theyโre already inside.โ
โOh my gosh,โ Laura said, trotting up the front steps of town hall. โIโm so sorry. I had no idea anyone was waiting for me.โ
A minute later they entered the conference room, and Laura took her place at the head of the table. To her left sat a freckled redhead who could have been her long-lost twin from the old country, only better dressed. He wore a neatly pressed blue suit and was pulling something out of his four-hundred-dollar leather briefcase. When David sat down beside him, the two of them together looked like the cover boys of Consummate Professional magazine. Across from them was a young man with disheveled sandy-brown hair and no tie who looked like heโd wandered into the meeting by accident during a sleepwalking episode. Other than twirling a pencil, he showed few signs of life.
At the opposite end of the table sat Carolyn, North Powellโs mayor. She looked like a bitch, because she was one.
Laura put her twenty-dollar acrylic briefcase on the table and jumped right in. โSo sorry to keep you all waiting,โ she said, extending her hand to the redhead. โLaura Delaney. Director of Economic Development.โ
The man stood up and accepted her handshake. โJames Murphy,โ he said with a friendly smile. โVP of Strategy. We talked on the phone. Always a pleasure to meet a fellow ginger.โ
The sleepwalker stood up next, barely making eye contact as he extended his hand. โSpence,โ he said, not offering up a last name. โCreative Services.โ
She was already late, so she got straight to business once everyone was reseated. โI know you gentlemen are very busy, so Iโll jump right in.โ
Her text tone pinged, and she looked down at her phone. It was from Carolyn.
Love your boobs. Thanks for sharing them with us.
She could feel her Irish face turning red. If Carolyn could tell she was braless, so could everyone else at the table. But she didnโt have time to be self-conscious. This was KPS, and their time was valuable.
โSo,โ she said, launching into her prepared speech, โas James and I discussed last week, for almost sixty years, North Powell was the most popular tourist town in the state. We were known for our quaintness, our Victorian architecture, and our charming main street.โ
โReally?โ said David. โThe most popular in the whole state?โ
โDuring the holidays, yes,โ she said. โOur family- owned businesses earn thirty percent of their entire yearly revenues between Thanksgiving and New Yearโs.โ
Her text tone pinged again. It was Carolyn.
Are you wearing underpants or is that too professional for you?
Sheโd respond to that later.
โI own one of the shops on Main Street,โ Laura continued, turning her phone face down on the table, โand I can personally tell you that the Christmas season is integral to my businessโs success. Unfortunately, weโre smack-dab between Haven and Bainbridge, and as everyone in the state knows, in the last ten years theyโve gone from small ski villages to two of the most popular resort towns in the entire country. Theyโre slaughtering our local economy, so weโve finally decided to hire a marketing firm, because, frankly, weโve tried everything and it just keeps getting worse.โ
โJust curious,โ David said. โThere are a million marketing firms that specialize in tourism. What made you decide to contact KPS?โ
โAndrew Roth from Birch Hill. He gave me the name of someone at KPS who he said did a really great job.โ She picked up her phone and started scrolling through her texts, looking for the referral. โOkay, here it is. Spencer Markham, Director of Creative Services.โ It took her a minute to register the name, but then it clicked. She looked at the sleepwalker. โThatโs you, right?โ
Spence raised a single finger. It was his entire response.
James chimed in. โYouโll have to pardon Spence. If youโre thinking heโs spent this entire meeting with his head in the clouds, youโre right. Heโs our resident dreamer and best idea guy, and what he lacks in social graces and fashion sense he makes up for in creative skills. Believe it or not, youโll have a lot of fun working with him. I, on the other hand, am a little less exciting. Iโll be your chief demographics analyst…โ
James blathered on some more about statistics and logistics and a bunch of other stuff Laura couldnโt care less about. She was in a hurry to get to more important topics. โAnd you, David,โ she said when James finally closed his mouth, โwhat would your role be?โ
โWell,โ David said, โif you decide to go with KPS, Iโll be your project manager. So, Iโd be working with you every step of the wayโโ
Youโre hired.
โHow much is this going to cost?โ said Carolyn, bringing the pleasantries to an abrupt halt.
โIโll be liaising with our finance team to prepare three quotes,โ David said. โWhen weโre marketing a tourist town such as yours, the low end is usually about three million dollars. The high end, not more than ten.โ
Dead silence followed. A few moments later, it was broken by Lauraโs text tone.
She turned her phone faceup.
I take it back, bring on the boobs. Theyโre our only hope.
Laura decided to ignore Carolynโs advice and leave her two most persuasive arguments inside her dress. Theyโd already shouldered more than their fair share of the workload today.
She returned her focus to David. โThatโs a bit higher than we were hoping,โ she said. โOur max budgetโ”
โWe could sell the whole damn town for less than that,โ Carolyn said.
Laura smiled at her guests, trying to keep the conversation friendly. โOur max budget is a hundred thousand.โ
โI knew this was a waste of time,โ Carolyn said as she stood up and walked towards the door. โNice meeting you all.โ
The door slammed behind her.
Laura sat down. โYouโll have to excuse Carolyn,โ she said. โShe won the election by playing rock paper scissors and hasnโt quite mastered the whole political charm thing yet.โ
But no one was looking at her. They were looking at each other, trading glances back and forth and mouthing silent words. She couldnโt read their lips, but she assumed they were all saying something to the effect of How soon can we get the hell out of here? She saw David mouth โYes?โ to his coworkers, to which they both responded by making an OK sign, which she took to mean, โYes, letโs make a run for it.โ
โI do thank you all for coming out here today,โ she said, eager to end the public humiliation. โIโm really sorry our budgetโโ
โWeโd like to bring the information youโve given us back to the office,โ David said. โWe can have three quotes to you by Thursday.โ
She said nothing, momentarily stunned. โSeriously?โ โKPS takes on a small number of what we call
โgoodwillโ clients every year. That doesnโt mean weโll work for free, but it does mean that you could retain our services at a greatly reduced price. I canโt make any promises, but I can assure you that James, Spence, and I will make our best efforts to persuade management that North Powell is a worthy candidate for the goodwill program.โ
โOkay,โ she said, still digesting this potentially great news. โI mean, thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.โ
She sounded like Elvis. What an idiot.
โOur pleasure,โ said David as the three representatives of KPS started gathering their things. James and Spence said their goodbyes and departed.
But David remained. โYou mentioned you owned a shop here in town,โ he said. โI passed a shop called โCreations by Lauraโ. Is that you?โ
โWow,โ she said, impressed. โYouโre observant.
Yes, thatโs my shop.โ
โI saw some kind of knitting kit in your display windowโโ
Her text tone dinged from inside her bag.
โDid you need to see who that is?โ David asked. โItโs Carolyn telling me what a loser I am,โ Laura
said. โAnyway, the knitting kit?โ
โRight,โ David said. โMy motherโs birthday is this weekend, and knitting is her latest passion. Is it okay if I drop by the store and have a look at it?โ
โSure,โ Laura said. โBut the basket youโre talking about is a beginnerโs kit. Iโm happy to put together something more level-appropriate.โ
โWell, she just started knitting last month and so far, sheโs made me a square, a rectangle, a parallelogram and a rhombus. All pink. They were supposed to be ski hats, but I canโt get them to stay on my head. And also, I donโt ski. And also, itโs June. So yeah, a knitting kit that requires a minimal amount of effort and common sense is perfect.โ
โI think I can help you out,โ she said, laughing. โAre you the primary victim of her knitting?โ
โI am. I have been her victim on many levels for thirty-two years.โ
โMeet me at the store in fifteen minutes. Iโll get you that basket and weโll pick out some new yarns for you.โ
โGreat,โ said David. โSee you in fifteen.โ He departed.
She grabbed her phone and looked at Carolynโs text.
It was a boob emoji, because evidently such a thing existed. She read the message that followed.
I just got to my car and my idiot nephew is sitting in the passenger seat wearing a pink push-up bra. Any idea where he could have gotten it?
She turned off her phone. Little Jeffrey could keep the bra. She had plenty where that one came from, but there was only one David Harper, and he couldnโt be replaced for forty dollars at Victoriaโs Secret. If she played her cards right, she might never have to feel herself up in the backseat of her car again.
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