You're The One: A Opposites Attract Steamy Small Town Romance (Ryker Falls Book 6) Read online

  You’re The One

  Ryker Falls

  Lani Blake

  Contents

  You’re The One

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Want More?

  A Promise Of Home

  Lani’s Books

  About the Author

  You’re The One

  Lani Blake

  She was everything he never thought he needed

  After a life working his family’s ranch, Nash Winter understands animals better than people. He loathes social media, and twitter to him is a fancy word for talking. So, when his friend’s sister gets excited over the arrival in Ryker Falls of model, and social media influencer, Luna McKinley, he’s going to make damn sure she does no influencing of young minds in the town he now calls home.

  Nash watches closely, waiting for her true colors to show. But the more time he spends with her, the more he realizes that the lady who’d once walked catwalks worldwide is open and honest. She also has him feeling things he’s never felt before.

  Grumpy hot guys really didn’t do it for her

  Luna didn’t exactly run all the way to Ryker Falls when her friend said it was time to catch up, but it was a near thing. Her life was too fast, too crazy, and too much of everything. She wasn’t walking away, just taking a break. She’d fought hard for what she’d achieved and no one, not even the past she’d run from, was taking that from her.

  Okay, so the town was full of people who seemed to know everything about everyone, and it had him, Nash Winter. A tall dark drink of bitter water, who was determined to see her for what she wasn’t. She didn’t need him looking at her like a bug he wanted to squash. She’d had worse than that in her lifetime. Why then did he bother her. Why did his touch make her want something she’d never had? And why was he the one she turned to, to keep her safe?

  When her past catches up with her, Luna has to decide to stay in the town where her heart now lies, or run again, and not look back.

  Can Nash convince Luna to trust him? Can Luna keep Nash safe? The town cheer squad is determined they will find their HEA, but they must navigate the road to true love with care!

  BOOKS IN THE SERIES

  Somebody To Love

  From This Moment

  Love Me Tender

  Only Just Begun

  Hold Me Close

  You’re The One

  We Belong Together

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  www.laniblake.com/connect

  To my very own Mr Grumpster,

  thanks for being my hero.

  xx

  Chapter 1

  “Nash!”

  Looking left Nash Winters found Mrs. L, aka Mrs. Longkovsky. She was standing out the front of her store dressed in something that might have begun life as a kaftan. It had so many colors to it he wasn’t sure he could name them all and was covered in sequins. There was also a leg split Nash found disturbing. He’d been in her store once and vowed never again. The place was loaded with cabinets that could take out a shin or an eye.

  He raised a hand and prepared to cross the road.

  “I have your sweater,” she called.

  “What sweater?” He stopped.

  “Your Christmas one!”

  Nash looked up at the sky. Blue and cloudless; the sun was beaming down on the small town of Ryker Falls and had for several days. Summer this year had proved to be a bitching hot one so far.

  “It’s summer. Don’t we celebrate Christmas in the winter here?”

  She made a pfft noise and waved him closer. Nash had only been a local for a few months. Before that he’d lived out of town on his family’s ranch. He knew he wasn’t accepted yet and was all good with that. He liked his space and knew enough about this place and its inhabitants to know he didn’t want to get too close to some of them.

  Once, maybe he would have, but life lessons had taught him people were rarely as good as they seemed.

  His sister Maggs and her man, Fin, were locals and lived on the land neighboring his. Or would when their house was finished. Nash had purchased his land because he liked the fact he had no neighbors that he could see. They were there, but not close enough to visit demanding he be social.

  “Come into my shop, Nash.”

  “I’m sweaty. I’ve been working.”

  “You think I don’t like sweat? Jack Trainer comes in here all the time with it smeared all over him.”

  He went because he wanted a peaceful existence and because she was old, and as such deserved his respect—at least until she did something to piss him off.

  He moved to the doorway and looked in. Mrs. L was holding up a Christmas sweater. Black with a cabin on the front and a tree with twinkling lights. As far as that kind of thing went, it was pretty inoffensive.

  “Nice.”

  “Good.” She dumped it into a bag and held out her hand.

  “I’ve heard you’re pretty sneaky about getting the locals to buy your sweaters.” He pulled out some notes.

  “Poor old lady like me, I need to earn my money somehow.” She batted her eyelashes at him, and he noticed they had something red stuck to them.

  “Are they feathers?”

  “They are. Do you like them?”

  No.

  He went for, “They’re interesting.”

  She moved to his side, then nudged him out of the store.

  “That’s going to be a great big bundle of fun, you mark my words.”

  Nash followed her gnarled pointed finger to the store across the road and down a bit. The sign above it had only recently been erected.

  “Chocolate On The Rocks,” she said in her scratchy voice that suggested the pack a day had been a habit for many years.

  “You like chocolate then?”

  “Who doesn’t, but that’s not why it will be interesting. The Robbins sisters are not happy that it will be competition.”

  “Don’t they have a tea shop?”

  “They do, but Albert, the owner of Chocolate On The Rocks, told me he’s making his special homemade chocolate and has these fancy things called pane chocca-something that will be in direct competition with the Robbins sisters’ scones.”

  “Pain au chocolat,” Nash said, looking at the little store that had brown paper in the window so no one could see in.

  “That.” Mrs. L nudged him in the ribs. “You speak French?”

  “Some.” They’d had a French ranch hand for a year; he’d taught Nash and Ford some conversational French.

  “Yeah, go you. Can’t say I’ve ever had a need.”

  He didn’t touch that.

  “When is it opening
?” He nodded to the shop across the street.

  “Soon. If you look on the door it says ‘grand opening in three days.’ Apparently, Albert has been all over town handing out chocolate and pamphlets. Locals will be torn, seeing as the Robbins sisters aren’t happy. But the guy is nice, if hard to understand.”

  “Because he’s French?”

  She nodded.

  “Ryker Falls is full of tourists; can’t imagine there isn’t enough to go round. They’ll get over it.” He grunted a goodbye and took the bag she held with the sweater he didn’t want.

  “Can you change my lightbulb before you go, Nash?”

  He didn’t sigh out loud as he followed her back into the store. After changing the lightbulb and listening to her discuss her cat’s health problems, he managed to leave after only walking into one shelf.

  “Nash.”

  “Joe.” He nodded to the man walking toward him. He held the hand of a little boy, swinging it as they walked. The resemblance was obvious, and the boy would one day look like his daddy.

  “New sweater?” He nodded to the bright purple bag in his hand.

  Nash nodded. “That woman could sell anything.”

  “Say hi to Nash, Ben,” Joe said.

  “Hi.” The boy waved a hand at Nash.

  He dropped down before him and waved back. He liked kids; they never wanted anything from him. “Hello, Ben. Daddy taking you for ice cream?”

  Joe groaned. “He is now.”

  “Go for a double scoop.” Nash touched the boy’s soft cheek, then rose.

  “You settling into town?”

  Joe was big, with green eyes and an easy smile. Nash also knew his life had not always been what it was today. His father was an asshole, according to Maggie.

  “Sure. You people are nosey and tend to ask too many questions, but I’ll get used to it or put a really big gate with a sturdy lock at the end of my drive.”

  Joe laughed. “It’s all well-meaning and our way of helping you settle in. We need to know everything about you before we accept you.”

  “Not much to tell. I’m an open book.”

  Joe studied him. “Something in me says that’s BS. But we need a town grouch; seems like we got one now.”

  He wasn’t insulted, because it hadn’t been said to piss him off. Just a statement of fact. Nash didn’t like people very much, only a select few, and not all at once.

  “Nice. Glad there was an opening. See you round, Trainer.”

  “Later, Nash.”

  He crossed the road, read the sign on the new chocolate shop that confirmed it was opening in three days—because he knew it was expected of him and that Mrs. L was watching. He then headed down a few shops.

  Nash had a reason for being in town and not on his property building his house away from people. It was his mother’s birthday tomorrow, and she loved flowers.

  Blooming Marvelous was the name of the shop he wanted.

  A woman stood looking in the window. She wore a fitted olive-green dress that stopped midthigh and showed off her lovely long limbs and every part of her body. Those legs seemed to go on forever. A wedge sandal made her taller—you knew about things like wedge sandals when you had a sister who talked constantly—and her toes were a soft pink. Her hair was a mix of brown and blond with other colors thrown in, and it was loose and long, stopping just below her shoulder blades.

  He had a sudden need to see her face. Moving closer, Nash noted the woman was studying a small white sign to the left of the florist shop’s window. He knew what it said, as he’d read it the other day. The business was for sale.

  “Thinking of buying the place?”

  She spun so fast, her back hit the window as she stumbled. Nash reached out to steady her. Her arm was warm, skin soft. He released her as she clenched her hands into fists.

  “I come in peace.” He raised his hands, palms facing the woman. “I just noticed you were looking at the sign.”

  If he’d thought the back view was good, the front was sensational. The dress was simple and modest but anything but on that body. In fact, she was everything Nash had vowed to stay clear of. Hers was a beauty that you saw in movies and magazines. Arctic blue eyes framed by thick lashes that he guessed were likely fake. He knew about them too, because Maggs used them and had once tried to put them on him. Smooth, soft skin, high cheekbones, with a dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her mouth was slicked with color, and her lips pouty. He still had a few inches on her, but he guessed she was close to six feet tall.

  “I was,” she said in a husky voice that rolled right down his spine. He detected an accent.

  “Yeah, well, sorry again for scaring you.” He moved around her and entered the shop. That reaction told him what he needed to know. She was likely the overly hysterical type. Woman like that usually spelled trouble, and he wasn’t looking for any. He’d been there before, a few times, and it had never worked out well for him. The last time he’d fallen for a face without checking what was behind it had scarred him for life.

  That earthy scent you got when a bunch of greenery and cut flowers were in the same room greeted him as he moved deeper into the shop. No one was behind the counter, but that wasn’t weird here, often you went into a shop and found it empty, as the owner was talking to someone on the street or out back.

  He leaned down and smelled a pink flower, then moved on to another. His mother liked color, but he was clueless as to what to pick for her. The florist usually took care of that.

  “The alliums are cute; put some zinnias in too.”

  She’d entered behind him. English, he thought, now he’d heard her speak again. A bit uptight, kinda prissy, and sexy as hell.

  “Or maybe tulips; they make a lovely bouquet.”

  “How do you know I’m looking to get a bouquet?” he asked, feeling annoyed for no other reason than looking at her made something inside him tense. Surely it was a crime to be that beautiful?

  She was slim but shapely. Nice breasts, flat stomach, and toned arms and legs. She was probably one of those gym types and frequented a place where people liked to be seen. Everything about her screamed pampered. Her nails were long, pink, and matched her toes. Nash thought she looked like a model.

  “You’re in a florist shop; I doubt you’d be in here just for fun. Unless you’re a flower grower, or want to be a florist, my next guess is buying a bouquet for someone.”

  He grunted something, then looked at the flowers in the bucket closest.

  “So, am I right?”

  “About what?” He shot her a look.

  “You, buying your girlfriend a bouquet of flowers.”

  “My mother.”

  “Need some help? I know about flowers.”

  He didn’t mean to look her up and down, because, well, that was just plain rude and if his sister knew he’d done it, she’d make his life a living hell. “I’ll ask the owner of the shop if she ever comes out of hiding,” he muttered, walking away from her.

  “Suit yourself.”

  “I will.” Nash was known as the grumpy Winter sibling, but he was not usually rude. He was being that now, simply because the woman was beautiful, which wasn’t her fault, but he had this crazy siren that went off inside his head when he was around a woman like that. He called it his self-preservation warning.

  He watched from the side of his eye as she wandered around the shop, pulling out flowers and putting them together in a hand. In minutes he saw she had an eye for what looked good. Seeing as no one had appeared at the counter yet, he decided to play nice just so he could get out of here.

  “If I say sorry, will you give me those flowers, seeing as the service in this shop is nonexistent.” He said the last word loud enough for anyone out back to hear. Clearly, they hadn’t heard the bell when he’d entered.

  “Are you always rude?” She smiled sweetly with total insincerity.

  “Mostly.”

  She laughed, and any hope that would be ugly was lost when it came
out a bit gruff and sexy.

  “So will you give me them?”

  “Sure, but moms need a bit extra, so I’ll just add a few things.” She went around the shop, pulling out more blooms and greenery. Then came back to hand them to him. “These will make a lovely bouquet for your mother.”

  “Are you sure?” Nash took them in case she changed her mind but had felt he needed to say the words.

  “I can get more, and I like it in here, so it’s no hardship to stay longer.”

  She had to be a tourist or visiting someone.

  “Why?”

  “Do I like it in here?”

  He nodded.

  “It reminds me of a place I loved.”

  “Sorry!” A young girl appeared at the counter. Her face was painted white, with a black skull on her right cheek. “We had a leak in one of the drains.”

  Nash took his flowers to the counter and handed them to her, wondering where this place was the hot woman thought a florist reminded her of. “Is it fixed?”

  “Yeah, someone is out back now working on it.”

  She had a sweet smile under all that paint.

  Nash grunted something and was grateful he didn’t need to go back and check out the problem.

  “These look good. You have an eye for this kind of thing, Nash.”

  The surprise on his face had her speaking again. “You’re Maggie’s brother. She told us all about you and how you moved onto Ted’s land.”