On The Verge With A Heartbreaker

Prologue

How is it that your granddaughters haven’t pressed you into making a decision yet? Teresa grimaced as she lifted her cup.

Lillian Heartbreaker and Teresa Todd sat in a booth at Eve’s Creations, drinking tea out of white ceramic cups. Lillian would rather have been in her dining room using her delicate china, but today that just wasn’t possible. Though it was her turn to play hostess for their weekly Tuesday tea date Lilian’s granddaughters were busy doing something in their dining room and she didn’t want to chance them overhearing her conversation with her best friend. Her girls could be quite nosy when it suited them. Teresa would have offered to have tea at her house, but the carpets were being cleaned. Hence they were having tea at Eve’s, where the cups my not be fancy, but the lemon shortbread cookies where to die for.

Actually, I’m not sure. Lillian shrugged her shoulders. I thought that Cassandra would have pushed the point by now.

I think she’s too busy avoiding Byron and working to get Breakers Landing ready for opening day. After glancing around the bakery Teresa leaned forward. You know I don’t think you could have planned this any better. When it’s over you should send Mr. O’Leary a thank you card along with your rejection of his offer.

No, no. Lillian shook her head. I’m not ready to dismiss his offer just yet.

Why not? Her friend seemed surprised. It’s not nice to string the man along when you know you’ll never sell. Not to him or anyone else.

I know, but something tells me I’m doing the right thing.

Teresa laughed and shook her head. That sixth sense of yours has gotten you into just as much trouble over the years as it has gotten you out of.

Well, I may have been looking in the wrong direction when I hoped that they’d find love, but they have devoted themselves to they’re work. She smiled. I think I should let it play out a little longer.

I don’t know. Teresa shook her head again slightly.

Cassie and Rachel my not be opening themselves to finding a man to share their lives with, but with Veronica focusing on her idea of adding a wedding venue to our business her inner romantic is bound to rise to the surface.

Oh I agree. Teresa smiled as she reached for another cookie. Including some of the other businesses in town was a brilliant idea. My granddaughters are thrilled with the idea of offering a honeymoon suite package. They’ve been gathering ideas to talk about with Veronica.

I hoping that if Veronica comes across a man who strikes her fancy maybe her sisters will give it a go too.

Hopefully that will happen before you run out of time with this scheme of yours.

The bell jingling had both women turning to see who was entering the shop. Lillian’s granddaughter, Veronica, smiled and waved at them as she walked to the counter. After placing her order she walked over and stopped beside the table

Hi ladies. Veronica bent placing a kiss to first Lillian’s cheek then Teresa’s.

Hello darling. Lillian glanced down at the file in her hands. Are you running errands?

Veronica’s smile morphed into a frown and her eyes narrowed. Yes ma’am. I plan on getting something accomplished today.

Lillian fought to keep her smile at bay. Her granddaughter had been working on something that wasn’t working out, and she hadn’t pushed Veronica to tell her what it was. Mostly because she already knew part of what was going on. She was smart and strong enough to handle things on her own, but if she decided that she needed help she’d come to Lillian or one of her sisters.

Veronica. The girl at the counter called out. I’ve got to go.

As Veronica headed for the counter Lillian said, Good luck honey.

The second she was out of the door Teresa asked, What was that all about?

She seems to be having trouble getting a meeting with our lovely new mayor. I’m not sure why she wants to see him, or why he’s avoiding her, but something is going on there.

Do you think it has something to do with Mr. O’Leary’s interest in Breakers Landing?

It’s possible. Lillian laughed. It’s just as possible that she wants a new stop sign installed somewhere. I guess time will tell.

Chapter One

Laughter, soft and purely feminine, floated into his office through the slightly ajar door. The sweet sound called to him. He wished it grated on his nerves instead because he knew exactly who it belonged to. Telsen wasn’t a gambling man, but he’d be willing to bet big bucks that he could pick that laugh out in a crowd. It had become very distinct to him in a short time even though he’d only heard it maybe a dozen times. Then again it taunted him in his dreams. His fist tightened around the phone he was holding to his ear. He’d stopped listening to the man on the other end the second he heard her laugh. Telsen inhaled a deep breath and slowly counted to ten.

Byron, I’m going to have to call you back. Telsen hated that he was thinking about sneaking out his office through the back door.

Everything okay? His best friend asked.

Telsen shook his head. She’s here, again.

Gonna run away again? His friend who also happened to be her sister’s ex-boyfriend taunted.

Maybe, Telsen admitted then hung up on his friend’s laughter.

Veronica Heartbreaker had come to see him again. He knew she wasn’t going give up until she got what she wanted. In this case, it was a meeting with him. He wasn’t going to be able to keep putting her off indefinitely either. There was no choice right now because a meeting with her would no doubt cause more trouble than avoiding her was doing. It didn’t matter that he didn’t have the information she wanted. A man in his position couldn’t get involved in private affairs unless it had something to do with the town. As far as he knew, which he admitted wasn’t much, at this time her grandmother’s dealings with land developer Riley O’Leary didn’t.

Leaving the papers spread out on his desk he got up, and quietly walked across the room to the door. Telsen eased the door open a little more and peered out into the outer office where his secretary was stationed. The woman was leaning against the desk chatting with his secretary Emily. The two women laughed and Telsen wondered what the hell they were talking about. Was it him?

Emily had very strict orders that, for the time being, he was unavailable to any of the Heartbreaker sisters. He figured he was lucky that Veronica was the only one who had shown up at his office so far, but he knew that could change at any moment. The only Heartbreaker he was willing to see was their grandmother Lillian. Though the older woman could be fierce at times she was also the most level-headed of the bunch.

As he watched Veronica walk away he wondered how much longer he was going to be able to get away with this cat and mouse game they were playing. He also noted how much he disliked being the mouse, even if the cat was a damn sexy creature. She wasn’t overly tall, maybe around five-eight or nine, yet her legs looked long and amazing. Today she wore a tight skirt, the hem hit her mid-thigh. It gave him a really good look at those legs as she strode down the hall away from his office. Her hips and curvy ass swayed in a gentle rhythm opposite of the direction her long blondish ponytail swung. The vision of her walking away was going to haunt him when he tried to sleep tonight.

The more he turned her away the more he wanted to talk to her. Okay, talking wasn’t the only thing she made him think about doing. Once she was out of sight he went back to his desk.

Telsen pressed the button on the intercom. Emily, can you come in here, please?

Yes, sir, her cheerful tone replied.

A few moments later Emily came into his office and walked over to his desk. Telsen closed two of the folders he’d been working on and held them out to her.

She took the files and waited for instructions. Can you update the notes I made and file those?

Yes, sir. Emily nodded and turned to walk away.

Telsen should have let her go, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking. What did Ms. Heartbreaker want today?

To see you of course. She let out a little laugh. When I told her you were unavailable she asked me what I know about that guy Riley O’Leary.

What did you tell her?

Other than he’s cute, and supposedly single, not a thing.

Why would she care if he’s single?

I don’t know. Emily shrugged one shoulder. But she’s single.

It was on his tongue to tell Emily that Veronica’s sister Rachel had a somewhat personal run in with O’Leary, but he wasn’t going to spread gossip like that. He warned himself that might be getting a little hot under the collar where Veronica was concerned, but thankfully she had no frigging clue. No one did and she wasn’t about to find out either. Still, he wasn’t about to let her or her sisters scare away a possible investor that could mean big changes for their little tourist trap. And a sorely needed influx of cash for the town coffers. He’d have to find a way to distract them all, especially Veronica until he figured out what O’Leary’s plans were himself.

~* * *~

Telsen Atwater was quickly becoming Veronica’s least liked person. She hadn’t even met him yet, well, not really. Like everyone else in town and the small towns that surrounded them, she knew who he was. And her sister Rachel was right about him being hot. A little too hot to be a mayor of a small town like theirs. He wasn’t one of those over six foot tall ruggedly handsome guys that drew attention wherever he went.

No, Telsen cut a more refined image. He was only an inch or two taller than her own five-eight height. Fit and trim he looked like a man who could hold his own. His deep brown hair had a slight wave to it and was cut short, probably to keep it from ever looking too messy. He seemed like a guy who took pride in his looks, but not in an egotistical way. His eyes were a dark green and very assessing. When he looked at you or in your direction you knew he was looking.

He was older than her and very imposing. Telsen had an intenseness that she could sense from across the room, and she had in fact when they had been in the same room at a few meetings and town functions. They’d never spoken to one another because Veronica had chosen not to interact with him. Right now she was regretting that choice, he may have seen her already if they had been on a first name basis. Instead, she was trying to get in to see him and failing spectacularly, which wasn’t acceptable at all. She needed to find out what he knew about Riley O’Leary and sooner rather than later. Getting a face to face meeting was turning out to be a major chore.

She understood that as mayor of the town he might really be as busy and his secretary Emily claimed. On the other hand Breaker’s Landing was one of the most prominent businesses in town. They drew in a lot of tourists and donated a lot of their time and money to a bunch of the town’s community projects. The ones he was probably thinking about cutting funding for. Shouldn’t he at least want to know what she wanted to talk to him about? Well, if he was as smart as everyone said he’d probably already figured it out. He was going to hear it from her because Veronica was done waiting. Veronica pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and called her sister Cassie as she hustled toward her car hoping to get there before her sister answered. What she was about to say should stay just between them.

What’s up? Cassie asked bypassing any pleasantries.

His secretary blew me off again. She sighed as she yanked open her door. I know you and Byron aren’t on the best of terms right now, but can’t you have Byron pull some strings to get me, or any of us, or all of us, in to see him?

I tried, he said Telsen doesn’t know anything, so he’s not getting involved.

How does he know he doesn’t know? Veronica asked as she got in the car and closed the door.

They’re best friends and I’m pretty sure they’ve talked about the situation.

Then why won’t he just meet with me and tell me that?

Would you believe him if he did? Cassie asked.

Probably not, Veronica admitted with a shake of her head that her sister couldn’t see. But he should know I’m going to keep coming back until he sees me.

I’m sure he does. Cassie laughed. Maybe he likes having you chase him around.

Why?

Let’s try and look at this from his point of view. You’re a pretty woman—

Thank you, Veronica said interrupting her.

You’re welcome. Cassie laughed. So the way it looks is that Telsen has a pretty woman chasing him around. That’s got to have other women looking at him more than they had. And the other guys that work in town hall are probably jealous as hell that you aren’t after them.

I’m not after him that way. Veronica sounded so indignant she shook her head at herself.

We know that, but no one else does. Cassie made a little humming noise before adding, I wonder if he’d give you some time if he thought that was why you want to see him?

I don’t know him, so I won’t speculate on whether or not it would. As much as I want to get in I hope he has more integrity than that.

Me too. Cassie made a strangled noise like she was trying to smother a laugh. I guess in his position he probably wouldn’t risk getting involved with someone who had a reputation like yours when it comes to dating.

Excuse me?

Come on Veronica. You know what I’m talking about.

Then just say it.

You can be a class A flirt when the mood strikes, but everyone knows it doesn’t go any further than that.

There’s nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting.

No there’s not, but even when a guy gets you to agree to go out with him it never lasts more than a few dates. Then you end it quick and clean before any emotions can get involved.

I’m not that cold-hearted. Veronica protested even though her sister’s comment hit a little too close to the mark.

No, not cold. No one who’s ever met you would say that about you.

So everyone just thinks I’m a serial dater? Cassie’s laughter answered her question. Can I help it if I know after a few dates the guy isn’t my Mr. Right?

Nope.

Good, because I refuse to waste my time, or lead anyone on.

Veronica and her sisters had seen first-hand how badly things could go when you tried to make things work when the right emotions weren’t there. Their father had