Winning her over means winning everything
Sophie Callahan is PI Brad Harrington’s best lead to tracking down the man he’s been hired to bring to justice: Sophie’s own thieving father. But when Brad arrives at The Pampered Pooch, just behind a litter of stray kittens, the pet-store owner is the big surprise. This scrappy, huge-hearted woman with charm to spare gets to Brad in a way no one has ever been able to before. She spends her life finding—and making—homes for others: abandoned pets, her young niece. He’ll have to tell her why he’s really here. Which means he’ll have to choose between his sail-away dreams and the chance to build a forever home—with her.
“What do you want from me?”
“I don’t want anything.” Brad pointed to the stairs. “But there’s a little girl down there who thinks of you as her world. As her everything. As her—”
“Don’t say it.” Sophie lunged forward and pressed her palm over his mouth. “I’m better as Ella’s aunt.”
Brad pulled her hand off his mouth, anchoring her with their linked fingers. She searched his face, watched the emotions in his gaze and the words backing up against his closed lips. Maybe he finally understood.
“I lied.” His voice was low. “I do want something from you.”
Sophie waited. The attic seemed to be closing in on her. She shivered. “What?”
Brad tugged her close. “This.”
Sophie stopped fighting, stopped running and stopped hiding. There was so much she couldn’t be. Couldn’t have. But this moment, she’d take this.
As a child, our family hopscotched across the US for my father’s job. Living in Pittsburgh meant begging to be allowed into my brother’s backyard snow huts and cheering on the Steelers. Houston brought rodeos and the largest flying cockroaches I’ve ever seen. Northern California introduced us to towering redwood trees and Lake Tahoe. And Hawaii gave us Christmas Day at the beach and a sense of aloha that remains with me today. My parents’ relocations continued after my brothers and I moved out and I’ve been fortunate to experience even more new cities on my trips to visit them.
But one place has been a longtime favorite: San Francisco. I loved to visit the city as a child and I still cherish the time I lived there after college—ever grateful for the lasting friendships I made. Friends who today I consider family. I fell in love in the city and seventeen years later, my husband and I still talk about our first date to the Orpheum Theatre followed by a toast at The Fairmont Hotel.
I’m so thrilled to be able to write a series set in San Francisco with characters who discover all they’ve ever needed can be found in the City by the Bay, if they only open their hearts.
I love to connect with readers. Check my website to learn more about my upcoming books and sign up for email book announcements, or chat with me on Facebook (carilynnwebb) or Twitter (@carilynnwebb). Let me know what your favorite city is and I’ll add it to my ever-expanding places-to-visit list.
Happy reading!
Cari Lynn Webb
The Charm Offensive
Cari Lynn Webb
CARI LYNN WEBB lives in South Carolina with her husband, daughters and assorted four-legged family members. She’s been blessed to see the power of true love in her grandparents’ seventy-year marriage and her parents’ marriage of over fifty years. She knows love isn’t always sweet and perfect—it can be challenging, complicated and risky. But she believes happily-ever-afters are worth fighting for.
To my daughter, Emma, whose laughter brightens every day. I love you more than you know. Don’t ever stop laughing.
Special thanks to Melinda Curtis and Anna J. Stewart for answering every plotting SOS whether it was a late-night text, early morning email or last-minute Skype session. And thanks to my husband and family for their continuous encouragement and inspiration.
Contents