Valentine Wedding Hound: The Hart Family (Have A Hart Book 5) Read online

  Valentine Wedding Hound: The Hart Family

  Have A Hart Series #5

  Rachelle Ayala

  Amiga Books

  Contents

  Have a Hart Sweet Romance Series

  Praise for Valentine Wedding Hound

  Description

  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

  Epilogue

  Reading List

  Many Thanks

  About the Author

  To Amber McCallister, a true romantic at heart who gets my stories and feels for my characters.

  Have a Hart Sweet Romance Series

  Christmas Lovebirds, Rob and Melisa

  Valentine Hound Dog, Larry and Jenna

  Spring Fling Kitty, Connor and Nadine

  Blue Chow Christmas, Brian and Cait

  Valentine Wedding Hound, Larry and Jenna

  Summer Love Puppy, Grady and Linx

  Praise for Valentine Wedding Hound

  Rachelle Ayala has done it again, taking the reader into the heart of a Hart couple. - Angi DeMonti

  Funny, touching, heartwarming. Rachelle at her best! - Cathy Zaramba

  Suspense, betrayal and romance mix together for a superb read!!! - Carol Smith

  Drama they didn't expect for better or worse. - Ella Gram

  Love has its ups and downs; however true love will prevail in this wonderful story. - Terri Merkel

  -- funny wedding mishaps that occur while an already stressful event takes place... why not take part in a wedding reality show? - Audrey

  Weddings can be stressful at the best of times and Ms. Ayala shows us what happens when reality TV comes into play! Great read! - Rebecca Austin

  Valentine Wedding Hound is an unexpectedly raw and beautifully heartfelt story of learning how to love beyond yourself. - Amber McCallister

  This story was a delight to read, wondering what the next dare the reality show might offer up to the lucky couple. - Eileen Aberman Wells

  Rachelle Ayala gives us another sweet story in the Have A Hart series. Jenna, Larry and Harley's story will have you turning the pages and looking at reality shows a whole new way. - Barbara Cassata

  Another great book by Rachelle Ayala, once you pick it up it is so hard to put back down and when you are finished you feel like you have left behind some great friends. - Phylis Carpenter

  Another sweet & fun read. - Sophie Koufes

  Love can even conquer Reality TV. - Kris Woltzen

  Beautiful and heartwarming with lots of drama that will surely entertain and fill your heart for many Valentine’s to come. - Yomari Suarez-Rivera

  Description

  Fashion designer Jenna Hart's wedding turns into a media circus when her wedding planner signs her up for a reality show. Each week, the producers challenge her to keep her wedding on track while performing an unpleasant task or working with difficult people.

  Firefighter Larry Davison wants Jenna to be happy, so he goes along with the reality show despite hating to be on camera. When the show digs too deep into his past, he has second thoughts about both the wedding and Jenna's celebrity lifestyle.

  Will their ring bearer, Harley the basset hound, bring Jenna and Larry together to tie the knot in the season finale?

  Have A Hart Romance Series:

  Book 1: Melisa, Christmas Lovebirds

  Book 2: Jenna, Valentine Hound Dog

  Book 3: Connor, Spring Fling Kitty

  Book 4: Cait, Blue Chow Christmas

  Book 5: Jenna, Valentine Wedding Hound

  Book 6: Grady, Summer Puppy Love

  Author’s Note: Reality hostess Amy Suzuki was in her own reality show in Roaring Hot! along with motorcycle racer Teo Alexiou. You might be interested in reading how she “romanced the racer.”

  Copyright © 2016 by Rachelle Ayala

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real events or real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  All trademarks belong to their respective holders and are used without permission under trademark fair use.

  Contact Rachelle at:

  http://rachelleayala.me/author-bio/contact/

  Created with Vellum

  Chapter One

  “She wouldn’t dare!” Jenna Hart rose to her full height and towered over her youngest sister, Melisa. “It’s my wedding, not a reality show.”

  Of course, shooting the messenger never worked, but it sure felt good.

  “Contract’s already signed.” Melisa made a dour face and slapped a pink manila folder on Jenna’s ironing board. “I’m sorry, but you made a deal and you have to play.”

  Last December, both Jenna and Melisa had encouraged their eldest sister, Cait, to take her husband’s surname and start a business. In return, they had agreed to be her first clients. Hence, Cait Wonder and her business, Cait’s Wonderful Weddings, was born.

  Melisa had had a New Year’s Eve extravaganza, which was another story on its own, but now, it was time for Jenna to pay the piper.

  “Cait’s gone over the top, completely.” Jenna swept the folder onto the floor, scattering the contents.

  Melisa, who usually sympathized with her concerning Cait’s screwball plans, shrugged and twisted her lips. “This will promote your design firm. Think of the visibility you’ll get.”

  “I can’t do it! It’s going to be a zoo.” Jenna threw up her hands and paced around the small design studio. She was an independent fashion designer and owned Hart in SF Designs based in San Francisco.

  She was also one of a few designers not headquartered in New York, London, Milan, or Paris, and she needed the publicity. At the same time, it was her wedding, and maybe behind the glamour and glitz of the fashion business, Jenna was still an old-fashioned girl who wanted a quiet church wedding—not the media extravaganza her sisters seemed to believe she really, truly wanted and needed.

  Melisa calmly picked up the folder and showed Jenna the spec sheet. “You already agreed to the fashion show, right? You also agreed to the assortment of pets each groomsman would escort. You even agreed to the pet adoption after the reception.”

  “Yes, yes, and yes!” Jenna tapped her finger on the terms and conditions. “But I didn’t agree to the reality show, especially one where I have to take on-camera dares.”

  The popular reality show, She Wouldn’t Dare, was based on goading celebrities to accept challenges during important events—in this case, Jenna’s wedding to her fireman hero, Larry Davison.

  They’d met a year ago when the mascot for her Valentine’s Day fashion show, a sweet and gassy basset hound puppy named Harley, was lost and then found by Larry.

  A runway show, bachelor auction,
and a house fire later, Jenna and Larry fell in love and decided to marry. At the time, it seemed fitting to have the wedding on Valentine’s Day. Romance, hearts, flowers, chocolates, and wedding vows went well with Cupid’s arrows and pledging everlasting love.

  But now, after Melisa’s raucous and highly publicized New Year’s Eve wedding, Jenna was tempted to take Larry and their dog, Harley, and elope.

  “You’ll have to speak to Cait about the contract,” Melisa said. “I’m afraid you gave her power of attorney …”

  “She wouldn’t dare.”

  Melisa flipped to the signature page. “She already did. I don’t think you can afford the cancellation clause.”

  She definitely couldn’t, and if she could pull it all off, it might be a good idea to do the show. In fact, the exposure could get her name recognition and be a boost to her brand. Hadn’t a marketing guru once told her that all publicity, bad or good, was good publicity?

  “When do they start shooting?” Jenna’s eyes darted wildly around her studio, currently in a deep state of chaos with half-finished dresses and material tossed everywhere.

  “Camera crews are outside with Cait.” Melisa turned to the double doors and flung them wide open. “Come on in, Jenna Hart is ready to rock and roll.”

  Jenna watched in horror as her older sister, Cait, led the camera and sound crew into her tiny studio, followed by the host of She Wouldn’t Dare, actress Amy Suzuki, who’d starred on the now defunct Romancing the Racer reality show a few years back. The show was a flop and cancelled when the motorcycle racer crashed and ended up in the hospital due to being distracted over her and the drama she’d caused.

  “Welcome to this episode of She Wouldn’t Dare: Wedding Edition, featuring up and coming San Francisco fashion designer, Jenna Hart.” The Asian-American beauty spoke to the camera as she positioned herself beside Jenna. “We’re in Jenna’s design studio where she is busy putting together her bridal collection. How are you feeling today? Is the pressure ramping up?”

  Jenna was sweaty, her hair was a mess, and she hadn’t put on makeup. She glared at her two sisters and felt every sharp pain of the knives stabbing and twisting in her back.

  Gritting her teeth, she forced a smile for the camera. “Everything’s going great. I have these two bridesmaid dresses on the forms, and my two wonderfully adoring sisters just happen to be here for a fitting.”

  There, that’ll get back at them and give them on camera time. See how they like not having their hair sprayed and their clothes ironed before going on camera.

  “Awesome,” Amy chirped. “I see the two dresses are different in terms of cut and style. Why is that?”

  “My two sisters are very different animals.” Jenna kept herself from growling. “Cait, the eldest, is efficient and very bossy. She favors clean lines and bold statements. She also has a figure which presents many design challenges.”

  “How so?” Amy shifted her glance from Jenna to Cait’s waistline.

  “I have to be careful with balance and form. For example, drawing the eye away from problem areas to provide the illusion of a slender femininity.”

  “Rawrrr …” Amy made a catty noise as she placed the mic in front of Cait. “We all know how difficult bridesmaid dresses are. Do you have confidence Jenna can tackle all of the problem areas, as she puts it, and make you a truly memorable dress?”

  “I have no doubt. My sister is capable of anything.”

  “Do you like your dress?” Amy asked. “After what Jenna said about her design goals?”

  “Yes, I do.” Cait crossed her arms. “She captured my personality and style fabulously.”

  “That’s why she’s the star.” Amy focused on the form holding together the pieces of Melisa’s dress, a lacey, frilly concoction of tulle and soft curves. “Tell me about your younger sister, Melisa.”

  “She’s always been a sweetheart,” Jenna said. “Until now.”

  “Oh, do tell. Is that why her dress is so juvenile?”

  Jenna couldn’t help smirking at the frown which flickered across Melisa’s face. “She’s the baby of the family, almost, and she follows Cait around like a little duck.”

  “I do not.” Melisa put her hands on her hips and stamped her foot. “I may be nice, but I’m no pushover.”

  “Do you like the dress she designed for you?” Amy ran her fingers from the beaded lace bodice down to the poufy tulle skirt.

  “No, it’s too fairy tale.” Melisa wrinkled her brow. “The problem with Jenna is she underestimates me. I don’t believe this dress reflects who I am.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that,” Amy said. “If Jenna had time for a do-over, would you want her to make you another dress?”

  “Of course.” Melisa jutted her chin at her designer sister. “I’m no longer that dreamy little girl she thinks I am.”

  “Cait, Melisa, tell me something.” Amy chuckled in an annoyingly saccharine voice. “Is there anything Jenna wouldn’t dare?”

  “Nothing whatsoever.” Cait bobbed her head as if she were an expert on Jenna, having bossed her around since she came home from the hospital. “Jenna has no circuit breakers. She’ll try and do anything.”

  “Jenna’s brave. She always did her own thing,” Melisa said. “I looked up to her, and I still do.”

  “Wonderful.” Amy turned to the camera. Her assistant handed her a pair of scissors. “Jenna Hart, you are five weeks away from your wedding. For your first dare on the She Wouldn’t Dare: Wedding Edition show, I dare you to cut up Cait’s dress, the one she likes, and replace it with one that isn’t so businesslike.”

  “Can I cut up Melisa’s dress instead?” Jenna’s heart took a flying leap. There was no way she could redo both Melisa and Cait’s dress.

  “No, the dare is to cut up Cait’s dress. She’s going to be in a wedding, not a presidential cabinet meeting. Up for grabs is a home remodel worth fifty thousand dollars.” Amy put the scissors in Jenna’s hand as the countdown clock began to tick.

  “Does it have to be a remodel or does new construction qualify?” Jenna’s parents’ house had burned down earlier in the year, and they were having a new one built.

  “New construction is okay as long as it’s within the budget. Do you take the dare? You have ten seconds left.” Amy turned to the camera and said, “She wouldn’t dare, or would she?”

  Jenna swallowed and bit her lips, computing time and material estimates in her head. She owed her pregnant sister-in-law, Nadine, a dress, and her mother’s dress needed alterations. As for her own gown, she had a bad case of designer’s block, and it was still on the drawing board.

  “Four, three, two,” Amy counted down.

  “I’ll do it.” Jenna slashed the scissors across the satin lapel of Cait’s dress and ripped the bodice.

  “No!” Cait lunged to the form and put her arms around it, almost getting cut. “I love this dress. I love it, I love it.”

  Chapter Two

  Larry Davison was a man with few needs and wants. Give him a comfortable chair, a plate of spaghetti, and his loyal hound dog, and he was as good as gold.

  Which was why he hated being the center of attention. Three years ago, he was burned in a house fire and scarred over fifty percent of his body. He didn’t necessarily hate cameras, but he definitely had a good side and a bad side.

  Being engaged to a fashion designer and posing with her for magazine spreads was something he could do without. As long as the photographers positioned him so that he was on Jenna’s right side, he could hide the left side of his scarred and pitted face, as well as his missing ear, by looking at her adoringly, which wasn’t hard to do since he loved her beyond anything he’d every encountered.

  It was a rainy weekend, and Larry had maintenance duties at the firehouse. Rain meant less fires and more rescue operations, but so far, it had been a slow day.

  Larry finished checking the operation of the pumper and its ability to maintain pressure. He noted the hydraulic fluid levels and sign
ed off on the daily apparatus checklist.

  It was lunchtime, so he picked up his dog, Harley, and headed upstairs to the kitchen.

  He stopped at the entrance of the day room and looked around. For some strange reason, everyone else was wearing bowties and a boutonniere over their regular work clothes.

  Setting Harley down, he went to look for his best buddy, Connor Hart, who was Jenna’s brother and the fire chief.

  “Is there something going on that no one told me about?” he asked.

  Connor looped an arm around his shoulder. “You didn’t think you’d get away without a bachelor party, did you?”

  “As long as there are no strippers and no booze,” Larry said. Alcohol wasn’t allowed in the station, and he doubted his soon-to-be brother-in-law, who was always a stickler for rules, would make the party too wild.

  “Nope, just a good, old-fashioned bachelor’s party with your favorite food and people.” Connor corralled him into the dining area where the long table was laden with casseroles and skillets of every color and style.

  “Bet you like that, don’t you?” Larry said to his basset hound whose nose wiggled and danced in anticipation of the feast.

  He was so short and low to the ground that his ears dragged, and if he didn’t watch his waist, his belly could end up bouncing on the floor. Larry picked him up so he could get a better view of the firehouse delicacies.

  Camera’s clicked and the firefighters cheered for Larry, breaking out into a rousing, “For he’s a jolly, good fellow.”