Synopsis

Will her party-girl past ruin her future?

Lori Randall is a dedicated ER nurse — dedicated to her patients and dedicated to finding a hot doctor to marry. But after she is shaken by a local tragedy, she decides it’s time to give up on chasing doctors and start building a better life for herself. Her first step is buying her own house, and she ends up with one with a very peculiar history. That sets off a surprising chain of events that rocks the lives of many of her Fairview friends — including her friend Molly from Worth the Wait.

Jake Williams is the local real estate agent who shows Lori a house that wouldn’t be for just anyone, but is perfect for her. Back in the day, it belonged to a man who fancied himself the Hugh Hefner of Fairview. Legendary parties took place there in the ‘70s, and nobody has redecorated it since then. The house is an ode to excess and debauchery, right down to its tacky gold wallpaper and the disco ball in the master bedroom. Lori immediately decides it’s the house for her. Little does she realize what will follow! Any woman who has ever decided to change her life will identify with Lori’s story.

Excerpt

Lori is a nurse. Jake is a real estate agent she cared for in the ER, the same night the ER lost a young girl in an unexpected way, causing Lori to decide to clean up her life. She decides to buy a house and contacts Jake, and he takes her house-hunting.

“I don’t know,” Lori said. “These aren’t quite what I had in mind. Maybe it would be better if I held on a bit and saved up some more money so I could qualify for something a step or two up. I guess I’ve been a little impulsive about this. I probably should have planned ahead more.”

“Not a problem,” Jake said. “Let’s check out the final one, and then we’ll head back to the office and talk about options.” She agreed, but didn’t hold out much hope. She regretted not having paid any attention to her finances all these years. She knew she could have bought something better if she’d paid as much attention to her bank statement as she had to fashion and fun, and said so.

“Not to worry, Miss Randall.”

“Call me Lori,” she said.

“You’re still young. You would be surprised. There are people who are a lot older than you and still haven’t gotten their money situation in hand. You haven’t done so badly. The important thing to remember is that you’re making a fresh start. And you make a good income. Let’s just see what you think of this next place. I’m going to warn you, it needs a lot of updating. The guy who built it was probably the closest thing this town had to a playboy, back in the day. He fancied himself the Hugh Hefner of Fairview and made some rather … unconventional … decorating choices. But the house has good bones and if you’re willing to put some effort into updating it, you could end up a few years from now with a showplace. Try to look past the décor. This place hasn’t been touched since the ’70s. He died about a year ago after spending several years in a nursing home and his family is motivated to sell,” he said, as he pulled up into the driveway of a brick home. The yard was overgrown and Lori didn’t hold out much hope.

Jake unlocked the front door and Lori gasped.

“Oh. My. God.”

“I know, it’s a lot to take in,” Jake said.

Lori laughed. “Seriously!” The house was a testament to ’70s gaudiness. The living room featured horrible geometric-patterned harvest gold wallpaper, a sunken conversation pit and the ugliest rug she had ever seen. But there was a cool-looking fireplace that she loved.

The kitchen kept the harvest gold look going. The appliances would all have to go, of course. The dining room was a monstrosity. A heavily carved sideboard filled one wall. The massive table and chairs matched, the chairs featuring gold velvet upholstered seats. She entered the downstairs bathroom. It was an unbelievable orange. She wanted to shield her eyes from the crazy orange patterned tile. Unbelievably, even the tub, sink and toilet were orange. A few touches of avocado green made the orange look even more aggressive. A pair of giant ceramic goldfish were mounted on the wall over the toilet. She quickly backed out.

Jake said nothing. He just let her wander and gather her own opinions. He bent to pick up a listing sheet someone had dropped and she bit her lip. Now that was a fine, fine butt. She looked away before he could catch her looking and went upstairs to check out the master bedroom. It had a huge round bed with a mirrored ceiling and a mirrored ball. Jake hit a button on the wall and suddenly they were in a disco.

“All we need now is some KC and the Sunshine Band,” Lori laughed.

Jake sang out a line from the chorus of their most famous song. Lori did a little dance, the glittering lights crossing her body as she moved.

“I wonder what this dude’s parties were like, back in the day,” Lori asked.

“Pretty sure they didn’t just play charades,” Jake said.

“OK, I know I’m supposed to play coy,” Lori said. “But yeah, this is the place. You said the furniture comes with it, right?”

“I’m pretty sure they’ll knock a grand off the price if you agree to take it as is,” Jake said. “You can imagine his nieces and nephews don’t want any part of clearing this place out. He didn’t have any children, and he apparently wasn’t close to his nieces and nephews. They live out of state and they just want to get what they can from this place and get out.”

“It is perfect. Oh, I’ll make some changes, definitely. But you gotta admit, this place has got personality!”

“I have to advise you to get a housing inspection and all that,” he said. “But it appears the place is in decent shape as far as plumbing etc. It’s just … well, it is what it is.”

“Those other three houses looked like grandma houses,” Lori said.

“This one does not look like a grandma house,” Jake agreed. “Unless your grandma was a Playboy bunny.”

“She was not. She’d be horrified. But I LOVE THIS HOUSE!” She went back to doing her little dance. “Come on, Jake, give me some music,” she said. He laughed.

“I just exhausted my entire knowledge of ’70s music, I’m afraid,” he said.

Lori jumped onto the bed, which rewarded her with a burst of dust, and began singing the chorus of an old Bad Company song as she danced and played air guitar. Suddenly she stopped, embarrassed, and jumped down off the bed. “I’m sorry! I went a little nuts there!”

Jake had a look on his face she wasn’t sure she understood.

“Forgive me,” she said. “This house is getting to me.”

He looked like he was making an effort to control his facial expression. “No problem. Why don’t we get back to my office and get the ball rolling? We’ll need to make an official offer and if they take it, I’ll need a check for the earnest money. If all goes well, you can be in this house for the holidays.”

“I will need a giant white artificial Christmas tree. With lots of gaudy ornaments!” she said.

“Well, uh, if there’s nothing else you want to look at, let’s get back to the office,” he said.

“Sure,” Lori said, abashed after her impromptu performance. She was subdued on the drive back. She’d embarrassed him, clearly, and tried to turn the conversation back to normal. “Hey, how’s your hand? I see you’re not wearing a bandage anymore.”

“It’s just fine,” he said, flashing his palm toward her. A jagged pink line was all that was left to show where the splinter had been. Back in the office, he excused himself to make her offer to the owners. It was quite a bit less than the listed price and she didn’t expect them to take it, but they accepted it on the spot.

“This was meant to be!” Lori exclaimed. “Care to celebrate with me at The Clipper tonight?”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I really can’t. It’s just an ethical thing. I really can’t date a client.”

“I did not mean it that way,” she said, insulted. “Excuse me for asking.”

“No, I’m sorry,” he said. “That came out wrong. At any rate, I do want to congratulate you. You’re getting a great house. When the ’70s look gets old for you, you can remodel and you’ll have a house worth significantly more than what you’re paying for it. And if at that point you feel like you want to move up to something higher-end, you’ll definitely be able to.”

Lori hid her irritation and embarrassment, wrote a check, shook his hand, and was on her way. Screw Jake. She should have known better than to make a move on him. He was cute, but he was no doctor.

About the Author

Sophia Sinclair grew up in a town so small (pop. 170!) that the little town of Fairview where this series is set seems like the big city to her. For many years, she was the editor of a small town’s daily newspaper, so she understands the rhythms of small-town life. When she started writing romances, she decided to set them all in a small town called Fairview. If you’re from a small town, you’ll feel like you’ve been there. If you’re from a larger city, don’t be surprised if you start yearning for small-town life. It’s often said that in a small town, everybody knows everyone else’s business, but the truth is, there are still a lot of secrets in small towns!

She is married to a European man, has two grown children and two lovely grandbabies she spoils to death. There’s a little bit of Sophia in every one of her books. Molly is a librarian who wears plain dark dresses and looks very conservative but often wears racy underwear under that plain black dress. Sophia dresses the same. Lori likes to have a good time and always has lots of boyfriends before meeting the love of her life. Sophia will take the Fifth on that one. Catarina has a German poem on her bedroom wall; Sophia has the first two lines of that same poem tattooed on her upper thigh, in German. (It’s Rilke, and the first two lines translate to: “You see, I want a lot. Perhaps I want everything.” As for Julie in Perfect Fit, Sophia is mad about all aspects of pregnancy, breastfeeding, childbirth, and babies. She attended many of her friend’s births, taught breastfeeding to WIC moms as a volunteer, started a business that handled pumps, bras, slings etc., and gave very serious thought to working as a lactation consultant, doula or midwife once the newspaper industry died. Instead, she started writing these romance novels, and she very, very much hopes you’ll enjoy them.

She also writes for Curvicality.com, an online women’s lifestyle magazine aimed at plus-size women. That’s why Julie in Perfect Fit is plus-sized. She wanted to show that love is for everyone; not just the thinner ladies.  Here is an example of the fun stuff she writes there.

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