Falling for Gracie » (Reprint)

Susan Mallery is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 100 romance novels, including her acclaimed Marcelli series, her Buchanan family series, and most recently, her first foray into women's fiction, Sunset Bay. The winner of the National Readers Choice Award, she has a Masters degree in Writing Popular Fiction. Susan makes her home in Washington with her husband and an assortment of pets. Visit her website at www.SusanMallery.com.

First comes love, then comes marriage…

At least, that was Gracie’s plan at the ripe old age of fourteen. She loved eighteen-year-old heartthrob Riley with a desperation that made her a town legend. Even now that she’s all grown up, the locals in sleepy Los Lobos won’t let her forget her youthful crush.

And how can she, when she’s face-to-face with Riley at every turn? The onetime bad boy has come back to town seeking respectability — but the sparks that fly between them are anything but respectable! Gracie’s determined to keep her distance, but when someone sets out to ruin both their reputations, the two discover that first love is sometimes better the second time around.

“More than a romance, Mallery has crafted a fine tale of small-town life, family relationships, and forgiveness.” —Booklist on Falling for Gracie

Publishers Weekly

In this diverting contemporary romance from Mallery (Someone Like You), wedding cake designer Gracie Landon was shipped off at age 14 to live with relatives when her obsessive crush on 18-year-old Riley Whitefield became a local media item and an embarrassment to her family. Now, 14 years later, she's back in Los Lobos, Calif., to create a cake for her younger sister's wedding while aching to be part of the family that turned her out. Her mother is as unloving and judgmental as ever, and both her sisters are self-absorbed drama queens. Despite her family's selfish demands, Gracie, with all her eagerness to please, bends over backwards to accommodate their requests; sister Vivian demands a fabulous wedding cake that will take weeks of preparation, while sister Alexis insists that Gracie trail her husband, Zeke, whom she believes is having an affair. Since Zeke is Riley's campaign manager in his race for mayor of Los Lobos, prowling around Riley's house seems the right place for Gracie to start, but her snooping only puts her and Riley on the front page of the local press. While dirty politics, a vengeful ex-wife and a lot of backstory drama plump up the story line, some readers may find themselves wishing for a heroine who's less of a doormat. Agent, Irene Goodman Literary Agency. (Mar.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.