Valentine Hound Dog: The Hart Family (Have A Hart Book 2) Read online

  She touched his face, wiping at the soot, and shook her head. “I no longer want fashion. I only want you. This is the last dress I’ll ever make. You told me once that love isn’t love until it’s tested. I know now that you’re more important to me than dresses and looking pretty. I’m giving it all up.”

  “No.” Larry’s stomach clenched and dropped. “No. You can’t quit. Not for me. That’s not what I want. I want you to keep doing what you love and I’ll do what I love. You shouldn’t settle for second best.”

  “Neither should you.”

  “I’m not.” He grinned cheekily. “Not by a long shot. I love you, Jenna. You are the best for me. Life without you would not be life.”

  “Oh, Larry.” Her eyebrows creased and she cupped his jaw, caressing him. “I love you, too. You are the only life for me. Thank you for giving me a second chance.”

  Their lips met, and he kissed her, deep and tender at the same time. Joy flooded his heart, and he drank in her love, acceptance, and most of all, her courage. She had truly risked everything to bring him out of his pity party. He’d forever be proud of each and every one of his badges, and best of all, he had Jenna Hart to love, protect, and cherish forever. His Valentine and gift from God.

  Woof. Woof. Harley crawled between them, reminding him that he also had his Valentine hound dog, too.

  Epilogue

  Two months later.

  Jenna held the scissors in front of a giant pink ribbon. All around her, her family and friends gathered, each with a glass of champagne. Little Harley sat at her feet, the guest of honor at her ribbon cutting ceremony.

  “Ready?” Larry raised his glass to toast her new company, Hart in SF Designs. A venture capitalist had been so impressed with her work that he’d offered her seed money in return for locating her fashion design firm in San Francisco, the perfect location between East and West. Her smoky, sooty dress had wowed everyone on the red carpet, and a daughter of Shanghai billionaires had offered her ten thousand dollars on the spot to take that dress off of her. Of course, she’d immediately donated that to the Firefighters’ Family Fund. She might be Irish, but she certainly wasn’t welshing on her bid for Larry at the bachelor auction.

  “I’m more than ready.” Jenna raised the scissors and looked at Larry for courage. It was risky to give up her cush position at Moonique Designs and launch her own line, and she had had to leave all her designs behind, since her former design firm owned all of them. But it was indeed time for her to go for first place. No settling for second best, ever.

  “Three, two, one, congratulations!” The crowd counted down happily.

  Jenna cut the pink ribbon wrapped around the glass door to her headquarters. A loud cheer rang from the gathered crowd and a confetti machine blew confetti all over them.

  Harley danced around her feet and Larry dragged her into his arms for a big, wet kiss. He was once again a proud firefighter, having recovered from his arthroscopic knee surgery and passed all the physical as well as mental tests.

  “Congratulations, now you can eat.” Jenna’s mother and sisters rolled catering carts toward them, laden with Larry’s spaghetti, lasagna, bruschetta, calzoni, cannelloni, carpaccio, minestrone, parmigiana, cannoli, and gelato, along with bottles of Chianti wine in their straw baskets.

  Jenna’s stomach growled along with Harley’s delighted barks. Finally, she could eat. Not only was her new fashion house working on high fashion couture designs, but she’d also committed to a plus-sized collection inspired by Roman togas.

  Harley shook himself loose and dashed for the food. With a valiant leap, he hurdled onto one of the carts and landed in a pile of spaghetti, splashing marinara sauce over Cait and Mrs. Hart’s white aprons.

  “Get him,” Cait yelped, launching herself at the dog.

  Quick as a whiff of smoke, Harley squirmed from her hands and dashed around a mannequin wearing a white, toga-like gown.

  Everyone screamed and shouted as the dog knocked the mannequin down and shook himself, splattering the rather plain gown with gobs of spaghetti sauce.

  Jenna couldn’t stop laughing as Harley gave one guest after another the slip, tripping Quint into the punch bowl and flattening Gustave as he took pictures in rapid fire mode.

  Larry tackled Harley, whose flapping ears smeared his tie-dyed painter’s shirt with the russet color of yummy sauce, sprinkled with herbs and spices.

  “I think Harley’s given me an inspiration for my Roman inspired Marinara line.” Jenna laughed as she grabbed Larry for another soul-stirring and rather tasty kiss. Licking her lips, she raised her champagne glass. “To fashion, curves, and a whole lot of attitude. Cheers.”

  “Aaarrooohh!” Harley agreed wholeheartedly.

  >>><<<

  I hope you enjoyed Jenna and Larry and Little Harley’s love story. Fire chief Connor Hart is next.

  What’s with Dr. Elaine Woo? Does she want Connor or is she toying with him?

  Spring Fling Kitty

  At twenty-nine, Connor Hart, is one of the youngest fire chiefs in the country, and he takes his responsibilities seriously with no time for love and relationships. When his ex-girlfriend, Dr. Elaine Woo, bids on him at a bachelor auction and throws in a Dalmatian puppy, he is puzzled and cautious of her motives.

  Nadine Woo is always down on her luck. The cast-off half-sister of Dr. Elaine, she’s never measured up, according to her strict and distant father. When Nadine and her mother are about to be evicted from their apartment, she gets an interesting offer from Dr. Elaine Woo. Seems she’s in need of a little bit of help concerning her relationship with Fire Chief Connor Hart.

  As soon as Nadine meets Connor, she knows she’s in for a rough ride. Connor is the fireman who rescued her and her little gray kitty, and she’s never forgotten how safe she felt in his arms.

  Can a spunky little kitty show Connor and Nadine that doing the right thing is sometimes wrong, especially when it comes to love?

  >>><<<

  The Hart family will delight you with clean and wholesome love stories, filled with family, friends [both people and animals].

  Look for more Have a Hart Sweet Romances.

  Don’t forget to sign up for my Newsletter for updates and events. http://bit.ly/RachAyala as well as to pick up your free book. Thanks!

  Sports Romances:

  Played by Love, A soccer star dons nerd glasses to score a anime fangirl who won't date jocks.

  Playing the Rookie, A rookie pitcher and a sports intern on the rebound connect to get over their exes.

  Roaring Hot! A playboy motorcycle racer hires an aspiring actress when he is challenged by his grandmother to bring a real girlfriend to her birthday party.

  Playing Without Rules, A ballplayer's girlfriend hides his daughter from him because she fears he's like his abusive father.

  Intercepted by Love, A quarterback hiding from his Super Bowl losing interception meets a small town librarian with an active fantasy life.

  The Remingtons: Leap, Laugh, Love, A pro surfer on holiday after being attacked by a shark gets tangled up with an Army Ranger on leave with a mission.

  Playing Catch, A baseball catcher meets his match with a troubled bartender who can’t seem to keep her panties on.

  The Remingtons: Blush of Love, A hot New Year’s Eve date with bad boy Gunner Gibson leaves Safire wondering if it’s love at first blush.

  Romantic Suspense:

  Broken Build, Build engineer Jen Jones falls in love with the man whose life she ruined.

  Hidden Under Her Heart, A young nurse, Maryanne Torres, struggles with a difficult decision over an unwanted pregnancy.

  Knowing Vera, Playgirl Vera Custodio belatedly discovers that her father might have killed her boyfriend's mother many years ago. [2015 Angie Ovation Award Winner]

  Contemporary Romances:

  Taming Romeo, Medical student Evie Sánchez is recovering from heartbreak when she runs into the boy she left behind.

  Claiming Carlos, Restaurant manage
r Choco Sanchez finds herself caught between two hot men, an epic food fight, and a war to save the restaurant.

  Whole Latte Love, Carina Chen, a career-oriented young woman, has no time for distractions—especially the sexy, guitar-playing barista she rooms with.

  Bad Boys For Hire: Ryker (Bad Boys For Hire Series #1), Terri Martin gets caught in the middle of a motorcycle club vendetta when she tries to hire a biker for her birthday date.

  Holiday Romances:

  A Father for Christmas (A Veteran’s Christmas #1), Sweet romance between a homeless veteran and a single mother whose daughter asks Santa for an unusual gift. [Gold Award Winner, 2015 Readers’ Favorite]

  A Pet for Christmas (A Veteran’s Christmas #2), A veteran suffering from PTSD fights to return from Afghanistan and give his family their Christmas wishes.

  Christmas Stray, A couple grieving for their son is snowed in with a stray puppy and a little boy. Is there room in their hearts for a Christmas miracle?

  Christmas Lovebirds, Can two little lovebirds and Christmas cheer open Melisa’s heart to giving Rob another chance?

  Christmas Flirt, Bad girl Lacy Reed gets more than she bargained for when her naked selfies turn up on her boss’s phone.

  Santa’s Pet, A brilliant girl genius plays elf to a substitute Santa and turns both their lives upside down when he is charged with a sex crime and she loses her company to hackers.

  Valentine Hound Dog, A fashion designer and her basset hound puppy convince a burned ex-firefighter that beauty is never skin deep and neither is love.

  Historical Romance:

  Michal’s Window, The young Princess Michal loves her father's enemy, the upstart David who becomes king.

  Rachelle Ayala is a bestselling author of dramatic romantic suspense and humorous contemporary romances. Her heroines are feisty and her heroes big-hearted. She writes sweet and funny stories, and believes in the power of love and hope. She is the winner of multiple awards, including the 2015 Angie Ovation Award for best Multicultural Romance with Knowing Vera and the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Gold Award for best Christian Romance with A Father for Christmas.

  For updates and a surprise free book, sign up for Rachelle’s newsletter at http://bit.ly/RachAyala

  Check out her Reader’s Guide at http://rachelleayala.me/reading-guide/

  To chat and read new works in progress, join her Reader’s Club at http://www.facebook.com/groups/ClubRachelleAyala/

  Many Thanks

  After the success of Christmas Lovebirds, I decided to follow the Hart family and was inspired by Joy Campbell to come up with a Valentine story. Larry and Jenna were characters in Christmas Lovebirds and in dire need of some good, old-fashioned loving. Who better to play matchmaker than a cuddly little basset hound dog?

  My beta readers and members of my reader’s club are the most fun and supportive group, ever. Thanks to Terri Merkel for being the club cheerleader and spreading good wishes and cheer throughout the day. Thank you, Amber McCallister, my personal assistant, for helping me organize reviews and blog tours. And many, many thanks to beta readers who gave me suggestions and responses that made my story better: Jessica Cassidy, Angelica Berglund, Keli Morgan, Chantel Rhondeau, Sherelle Ellis, Kris Woltzen, Terri Merkel, Corissa Palfrey, Amber McCallister, Evelyn Nathalia, Yomari Suarez-Rivera, Dana Anderson, and Marie Smith Fowler. Much gratitude goes to my awesome proofreader, Kimberly Dawn.

  I would also like to thank Deborah O’Connor for sharing with me her stories about her sweet doggies, Jack the Basset hound and Vinnie the rat terrier. That was a fun chat.

  Finally, my gratitude to the readers, every one of you. I love your comments and emails, and I sincerely hope you will enjoy your Valentine’s Day as well as this sweet Valentine’s love story.

  As Harley would say, “Aaaahrrrroooh!”

  Contents

  Copyright

  Description

  Dedication

  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

  Epilogue

  Reading List

  Meet Rachelle

  Many Thanks