Puzzle Pieces (Second Chance Romance) Read online

  Puzzle Pieces

  Rachael Bloome

  Secret Garden Press

  Copyright © 2019 by Rachael Bloome

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  To my husband,

  I would choose you a million times over.

  Chapter One

  Elle Montgomery wanted nothing more than a cozy night in. Unfortunately, what she wanted usually had nothing to do with how things turned out.

  Snuggled on the couch beneath a sherpa-lined blanket, she cupped a steaming mug of sage tea in one hand and snagged a magazine off of the coffee table with the other—one of Lacey’s “professional women’s” magazines, where every cover featured a stick-thin, yet somehow buxom woman wearing a different version of the same designer suit. Not to mention a blouse inexplicably missing several key buttons. How someone could command a board meeting while keeping their décolletage from escaping their shirt, Elle would never know. Her business attire consisted of worn denim and whatever top wasn’t crumpled on the floor by the foot of her bed.

  The featured article’s headline read “Let Your Gut Be Your Guide.” Assuming it would be yet another ode to probiotic foods like sauerkraut and kombucha, she flipped to page eighty-four. Her stomach had been out of sorts lately. Not due to the nightly Chinese take-out she and Lacey had delivered to the office. Or the constant knot of stress inhabiting her stomach ever since their start-up company, Puzzle Inc., began its nosedive into oblivion. No, the continuous cramps most definitely stemmed from a shortage of Lactobacillus acidophilus.

  Elle propped the magazine on her knees, eager to discover the solution to her stomach woes. But sadly, the “gut" mentioned in the article was more intuition than digestion. The sub-header read “How to Merge Heart and Mind to Harness Success.”

  Rolling her eyes, Elle tossed the magazine on the coffee table. Unless the article could tell her how to make her dating app relevant again, she wasn’t interested. In a matter of three months, they’d dropped from the number one spot on Mashable.com's Top Ten Dating Apps all the way to ninth place. The mere thought of their record-breaking demise made her stomach twist.

  Maybe she could find inspiration in a cheesy Hallmark movie? If nothing else, it might cheer her up.

  She reached for the TV remote but got a face full of a cotton-wool blend instead.

  “Put that on.” Lacey crossed her arms in front of her chest, signaling she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

  Elle yanked the sweater dress off of her head sending her thick chestnut-brown hair into a mess of frizz. “It’s February. I’ll freeze to death in this.”

  A pair of black leggings landed in her lap.

  Elle groaned.

  Lacey Clark, Elle’s best friend and business partner, made her bossy aunt Margaret look like a docile kitten. Ever since they’d added roommate to the list, her controlling tendencies had only found another outlet.

  As usual, moving in together had been Lacey’s idea. When their dating app, Puzzle, rocketed to success shortly after its release nearly a year earlier, Lacey eagerly nabbed an upstairs apartment in a Victorian home turned duplex in Pacific Heights. Pros: exquisite crown molding and a stunning view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Cons: creaky floorboards and a roommate more commanding than an army general. To be fair, Elle took indecisive to a whole new level, preferring to go with the flow rather than rock the boat. Even if the boat was headed toward Niagara Falls.

  “Do I have to?” Elle moaned.

  “Yes! I won’t let you spend another night alone in this apartment watching My Fake Fiancé Who Happens to be a Prince.”

  “Remind me never to let you name any of our future apps,” Elle grumbled, throwing back the blanket and dragging herself off of the couch.

  “Let’s keep this one from tanking first.” Lacey’s flippant remark dripped with bitterness. “Sorry, I don’t mean to keep bringing it up. But I wish I knew what went wrong. One minute, we’re being downloaded by every single person with a smart phone. Then, the next…” She trailed off, finishing with a heavy sigh.

  “Hey, we’ll figure it out.” Elle slipped an arm around Lacey’s shoulders and gave a reassuring squeeze. “We’re meeting with the marketing guru tomorrow, right?”

  Lacey nodded, perking up slightly. “Yes. And he’s a genius. I can’t wait to hear his ideas.”

  “See, it’ll be fine. And if we go from being the number one dating app in the country to out of business in less than a year, at least you got Rob out of the deal.”

  Elle meant the words as a lighthearted joke, but they were also true. Sure, when she designed Puzzle, she’d intended to help thousands of people find their perfect puzzle piece, not just her best friend. But knowing Lacey met Rob through the app made all the late nights coding while eating day-old chicken chow mein completely worth it.

  “True.” Lacey beamed, but her smile quickly faded. “I just wish it had worked for you, too.”

  Elle shrugged and turned to collect Lacey’s ensemble off the coffee table where she’d dumped it. “I’m not worried about it.”

  The truth was, she’d never intended the app to work for herself.

  That would be impossible.

  “Maybe you’ll meet someone tonight!” Bolstered by optimism, Lacey shooed Elle off to her room to change.

  The nights they weren’t eating Chinese takeout they spent dining at Tiny, a tapas restaurant in the Mission district where Lacey’s boyfriend, Rob Powell, claimed the title of head chef. Like many places in the Mission, the decor could best be described as quirky and eclectic. The seating, lighting, and tableware exuded high-end vibes, but the music and mood were laid-back. Besides the creative and mouth-watering appetizers, the restaurant became known for its endless walls of shelves and shadow boxes overflowing with miniatures of everything from pocket-sized cable cars to mini skyscrapers. Elle liked the tiny model of a Commodore 64 the best. The clunky computer had sparked her love affair with all things tech.

  Elle and Lacey preferred to sit at the crescent-shaped bar, which faced the back wall and offered a modicum of privacy. While they weren’t Mark Zuckerberg famous, as young, attractive female entrepreneurs, they frequently found themselves on celebrity gossip sites. And most of the time, the headlines weren’t flattering. Or factual.

  “How are my two favorite customers?” Dressed in head-to-toe white, Rob emerged from the kitchen like an angelic vision, minus the golden halo.

  “The new flatbread is delicious! Are those capers?” Lacey slid from the barstool and looped both arms around his thick waist.

  “That’s my girl.” He planted a kiss on her forehead before pulling her into his arms.

  Elle’s heart warmed as she watched her friend disappear into Rob’s hulking physique. They really were the perfect couple. Both so tall, blonde, and gorgeous, their future children would probably pop out straight into a Pampers ad. But more than their auspicious genes, they represented the perfect balance, highlighting each other’s strengths while encouraging one another to grow. Exactly what Elle wanted for every individual who used her dating app. Which is why s
he’d worked so hard on her algorithms, creating a filter so tight, only a perfect match could get through.

  Rob and Lacey continued to canoodle, and Elle looked away to give them privacy. Not that they cared. Love truly was blind! Mostly to the people nearby who were grossed out by their excessive PDA.

  To their right, another couple looked equally enraptured with one another. And to the left, Elle saw two women in their early twenties bent over a Michael Kors clutch, while a server stood awkwardly off to the side.

  “I’m so sorry,” the taller of the girls stammered, her cheeks bright red. “I thought I had a second card in here. I can’t believe my Visa was declined. Can you try again?”

  The server glanced over his shoulder and shifted his feet, clearly uncomfortable.

  Catching his eye, Elle smiled and reached inside her wallet.

  Relieved, the server plucked the MasterCard from her hand before making his escape.

  The tall blonde shook her head, swishing her shiny ponytail from side to side. “Oh, no! I can’t let you do that!”

  Elle snapped her wallet shut. “Please, don’t worry about it. It’s happened to me plenty of times.” Okay, so not precisely true, but she wanted to make the girl feel at ease. She offered her warmest smile, and the blonde’s blue eyes widened in recognition.

  “Wait! You’re Elle Montgomery, aren’t you?” She nudged her dinner companion on the shoulder. “Kylie, you’ll never believe it! We’re sitting next to Elle Montgomery! Creator of Puzzle!”

  “No. Way.” Both girls sprang from their barstools and swarmed around Elle, twittering in excitement.

  “I love your app!”

  “I met my boyfriend on there!”

  “Me, too!”

  The commotion roused Rob and Lacey from the land of Smitten.

  “What’s going on?” Lacey asked, shooting Elle a look that said, give me the codeword, and we’ll rescue you.

  One of the girls—Elle couldn’t tell which one—squealed when she recognized Lacey.

  The taller, more vocal one pressed both hands to her heart as she effused, “You’re Lacey Clark! Business mastermind and bestie to Elle Montgomery. You’re one of my idols.”

  Lacey slipped on her most patient smile. “That’s so sweet.”

  For the first time, Elle noticed Lacey also wore her long blond hair in a high, pin-straight ponytail. The fangirl could be her Mini-Me.

  At five-six, with dark hair and eyes, Elle suddenly felt out of place.

  “You guys are way cuter than Prince Harry and Meghan Markle,” the girl announced to Rob and Lacey with an air of authority. Then she pounced on Elle. “Where’s your boyfriend? Aren’t you dating a tennis player? Oh, what’s his name?” She turned to her friend for help.

  “You mean the one who got kicked off the reality show for stuffing his roommate’s mattress full of smelly heese?” the other girl offered.

  Elle restrained a groan. If she had a gigabyte for every time she heard that…

  “Actually, I’m not—“ Elle began before Lacey cut her off.

  “Her boyfriend lives out of state. They like to keep a low profile.”

  “Ooh, who is he?” Lacey’s doppelgänger asked, her thickly-lined blue eyes widening with an unhealthy level of curiosity. “We’re dying to know!”

  Yeah, me too. Elle bit her lip, shooting Lacey a questioning look.

  * * *

  Graham Dalton’s grip on his luggage handle tightened as he focused on taking one deep breath after another.

  This time, landing at SFO felt different. He wasn’t merely coming home for a visit. Or to be the best man in his older brother’s wedding. He was coming home to decide if San Francisco would be the next location to expand his thriving business, Dalton Metal Designs.

  This homecoming could change his entire life.

  “Hey, bro!” Dean wrangled him into a headlock before Graham had a chance to say hello.

  Oh, brotherly love. Some things never changed.

  Landing a quick hammer fist to his thigh, Graham ducked from under Dean’s arm, chuckling as his brother doubled over and cried out in protest.

  “You were two inches from the jewels, man,” Dean grumbled.

  “Next time I won’t miss.” Graham hoisted his backpack over his shoulder with a grin.

  “Okay, Bruce Lee. You’ve been practicing karate or something?”

  “Krav Maga, actually,” he said, trying not to gloat. But it wasn’t often he bested his older brother at something.

  “Message received. Good thing I’m marrying a doctor. I think you broke something.” Dean hobbled forward with an exaggerated limp.

  “Don’t be a baby.” Wheeling his suitcase, Graham followed Dean across the airport parking lot to his brother’s SUV. “How did you land a doctor, anyway? Clearly, not with your combat skills.”

  “My killer good looks, obviously.” Dean flung open the car door and tossed Graham’s suitcase into the back seat.

  Dean, being the handsome jock in the family, never did have any trouble with the ladies. In fact, in high school, he could have any girl he wanted. Something Graham never envied, until he was rejected by the one and only girl he ever cared about.

  “Thanks for coming home for the wedding. I know work’s been crazy.” Dean kept his eyes on the road, but Graham could hear the gratefulness in his brother’s voice.

  “It’s been nuts, but I’d never miss your wedding.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  “I can’t miss the part where the preacher asks if anyone objects. Someone has to save Jess from a lifetime of your bad jokes and concerning obsession with the Golden Girls.”

  “That show’s a classic!” Dean slugged Graham’s shoulder, jerking the steering wheel in the process.

  “Hey! Watch it!” Graham shouted. “Jess may be a doctor, but I doubt she’ll appreciate having to drag you down the aisle in a full-body cast.”

  “Speaking of Jess… she needs an answer about your plus-one. If you think driving with me is scary, wait until she has to redo the seating chart two weeks before the wedding.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Graham mumbled.

  “What are you waiting for? Your mail-order bride to arrive?”

  “See, that’s a perfect example of one of those bad jokes I was talking about,” Graham chuckled. “I have someone in mind. And I plan on asking her tomorrow night.”

  “Really?” Dean raised an eyebrow. “Mom mentioned you were meeting up with someone from high school, but she didn’t say who.”

  Because Graham hadn’t told her. Frankly, he got enough needling back in high school, he didn’t need it as a twenty-nine-year-old adult.

  “So…” Dean prodded. “Who is she?”

  “None of your business.”

  Dean rolled his eyes. “Sorry, but I doubt Jess will put None of Your Business on the place card. She’ll need an actual name.”

  Graham kept his mouth shut and stared out the window. In reality, Dean should already know her name. There had only been one girl for Graham since he sat next to her in the third grade.

  Elle Montgomery.

  Chapter Two

  Elle wasn’t sure what she expected when Jason Holt strode into their conference room the following morning, but it certainly wasn’t a cover model for GQ.

  His jaw appeared cut from stone, and the body beneath his tailored, charcoal-gray suit looked equally solid.

  While Lacey introduced herself, Elle’s mind wandered to how soft and springy his dark curls would feel if she ran her fingers through them. Then, she bit her tongue, forcing the thought aside. This was business. Nothing more.

  “And you must be the artist behind the app,” Jason said, addressing Elle with an appraising smile.

  Blushing, Elle extended her hand. “I prefer the term nerd over artist.”

  Jason held on with a firm grip. “If the nerds at my high school looked like you, I would have spent more time in the computer lab.”

  Flustered, Elle withdrew her h
and to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

  Lacey cleared her throat.

  “So.” Jason set his briefcase on the conference table. “Let’s get straight to the point, shall we? Your company is in trouble.”

  He removed a thick packet of papers. “Since you’ve given me access to your programming department for the last several weeks, I’ve been monitoring customer acquisition and retention. Let’s just say, things don’t look good.”

  “We know that,” Lacey snapped, sounding more than a little defensive.

  Jason smiled coolly, completely unfazed. “Right. Which is why our first plan of action will be increasing revenue.”

  “How, exactly?” Lacey asked.

  “By offering in-app purchases. Purchases we will convince your current users are necessary to find a soulmate.”

  Elle’s stomach tightened. “Like what?”

  “We’ll go over the details in due time.” He set the packet on the table and slid it toward her. “First, sign the contract. I’ve already gone over some of my ideas with your programmers, but I’ll need your consent to implement the changes.” He snapped his briefcase shut.

  “Just like that?” Lacey asked. “What about a presentation?”

  Jason paused a moment before offering an indulgent smile. “I think my previous work speaks for itself. After all, you contacted me, didn’t you? Because I’m the best at what I do. Trust me, ladies. I’ll turn your company around in a matter of days.” His eyes lit up. “In fact, your big one-year anniversary party is this Saturday, isn’t it?”

  “Valentine’s Day,” Lacey said.

  “I’ll tell you what. You sign the contract right now, I guarantee you’ll see your numbers increase by the time you celebrate your first year in business.”