Real estate agent Joanne McConnell has had her fair share of bad relationships. Her last girlfriend complained she spent too many long hours working and didn’t focus enough on them. Now single again, Joanne still keeps too busy a schedule to meet someone new. That all changes when she’s babysitting for her brother and meets Edie, the contractor he’s hired to fix up his home. There’s no denying the instant attraction between the two women, and Joanne is more than ready to take a chance on someone new. But Edie Davis, sole proprietor of Davis Contractors, was so badly burned by her last girlfriend that she’s sworn off dating altogether. Edie won’t let anything -- or anyone -- distract her from growing her business. She isn’t lonely, she isn’t, so she’s more than surprised when she finds herself falling for Joanne. Joanne’s offer of a business lunch turns into a date on Friday night, the first in months for either of them. Things seem to be going so well for both ladies. Can Edie let herself trust another again? Or will her past relationships screw up any chance of a future with Joanne?

Renovated Heart

Joanne held out the tickets. “We’re here for the show.” As he took them and disappeared again, she half-turned to Edie and, leaning closer so she didn’t have to yell, joked with a nod in his direction, “Looks like it’s starting a bit earlier than I thought.”


Edie glanced at the server’s get-up and grinned. “That’s what all the cool kids are wearing nowadays, didn’t you know?”


Joanne turned back around as the server returned, thick menus in his hands. “Right this way, if you please,” he said with a smile of his own. “I have a nice table with a great view of the band that we cleared away for you two.”


Without thinking, Joanne reached behind her and, a moment later, Edie’s hand curled into hers. Together they followed the server through the crowd towards the promised table and the night ahead.


Chapter 18