“Have I told you yet that I don’t like you?” She pointed at his feet. “You dropped your jacket, by the way.”“Looks like I did.” He stooped to pick it up. “From when you fell on me.”“Because you weren’t smart enough to get out of the way.”“As I said, that was deliberate. You would have landed on the gate otherwise.”“And what? I would have broken my arm? A leg? My God, you’ve saved me from certain death.”He smiled at her and tilted his head at a subtle angle he knew would anger her... more“Have I told you yet that I don’t like you?” She pointed at his feet. “You dropped your jacket, by the way.”“Looks like I did.” He stooped to pick it up. “From when you fell on me.”“Because you weren’t smart enough to get out of the way.”“As I said, that was deliberate. You would have landed on the gate otherwise.”“And what? I would have broken my arm? A leg? My God, you’ve saved me from certain death.”He smiled at her and tilted his head at a subtle angle he knew would anger her. “There’s no need to be so defensive. If you’re overcompensating in lieu of an apology or gratitude, you can rest easy. I don’t need -““You are so full of yourself. Do you even know how to talk to people, or are you genuinely this pompous all the time?”--------------------------When Harley Trapp helps rescue a puppy abandoned by a dumpster, she has no idea it'll have her crossing paths with the grandson of America's most eccentric billionaire. She also has no idea that from the very same day, she'll be butting heads with him in a fierce battle to keep the town of Blue Gap from turning into another one of his gentrified tourist traps.Meanwhile, Alistair Locke is trying to save this run-down town that's home to the cryptic gift his grandfather's given him, a tiny, ugly animal shelter that really should be put out of its misery. And he's going to do exactly that - to the whole place: he's ready to transform Blue Gap into the most famous, and more importantly, most profitable destination in all of Virginia. It's a win-win for everybody, he thinks, until the great-niece of the local mayor plants herself in his path and tells him otherwise. And demands one of his shelter's puppies for herself, no less.She wants him to leave. He wants her to see sense. There's no way they can compromise, and only one of them is going to get what they want. Between instant enmity, opposing visions, and one lost puppy that always seems to draw them together, the lazy town of Blue Gap might not be ready for a clash like this. less
