A Pinch of Cool

A Pinch of Cool
Mary Leo

A pinch of cool.A dash of sass.A cup of lust.Mix, stir and repeat.When trend-spotter and supreme-style-guru Mya Strano is called in to rescue her mother's cooking show from ratings oblivion, what she has in mind is a little seasoning to heighten the taste. That's the plan. Until she discovers that it's her childhood nemesis, Eric Baldini, whom she's up against. He's got a few ideas of his own that sound like a recipe for disaster in her expert opinion. And the two of them in the same kitchen? Never!Still, she's noticed that for someone who really works at being anti-hip, this guy has a way of making her divinely hot. Which makes him so cool that this fashionista is actually toying with the idea of trading in her designer gear for oven mitts and an apron…. Ouch!

Dear Reader,

There are times when everything seems to be going well.

Don’t be frightened. It won’t last.

I got the idea for this story during one of those rare moments when I arrogantly thought I could accomplish one of my goals. It was at that exact moment of total self-satisfaction when life stepped in and slapped me with a ripe tomato…thank you very much.

I like to think I can roll with the punches, but most of the time it’s more of a heavyweight championship. When goals come too easily, it makes me uncomfortable. I tend to crave the challenge, or else, what’s the point?

That’s why I brought Mya and Eric together. It seemed only right that they should battle it out and come to the only reasonable conclusion…well, I can’t tell you that conclusion here. You’ll simply have to read the book.

Please come visit me at www.maryleo.net. We’ll talk more.

Enjoy the tomatoes.

Best,

Mary Leo

So there they stood, arms locked around each other like they were old friends, buddies, soul mates, or even lovers.

To the world they were just another kissing couple at the airport.

However, Mya had a different take on the whole thing. Hers was more of the startled variety. Such as, when out of a crowd of people, a stranger calls your name and you try your best to recognize this person.

Okay, it wasn’t quite like that, but it should have been for all the contact she’d had with Eric over the years. Let’s see, the last real memory Mya had of him was when they were seven years old and he had just thrown a huge bucket of water over her sand castle. Of course, she had retaliated by wrecking his sand castle by bulldozing it with her sweet little feet.

She had seen pictures of him at various stages of growth and accomplishment, but who can keep up with all that changing? She was too busy with her own life to worry about Eric’s—he had just been the boy who tormented her and whom she loved to torment back.

Now Mya didn’t know what to say—which absolutely, positively never happened to her. Yet here she was in the arms of Eric Baldini, who, for some odd reason, made her pulse quicken and, for a brief moment, seemed enormously sexy.

A Pinch Of Cool

Mary Leo

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A Pinch of Cool is Mary Leo’s third novel. She’s had careers as a salesgirl in Chicago, a cocktail waitress and Keno runner in Las Vegas, a bartender in Silicon Valley and a production assistant in Hollywood. She has recently given up her career as an IC Layout Engineer to pursue her constant passion: writing romance.

Mary now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and new puppy.

I’ve been blessed to have known

quite a few extraordinary women in my life,

but none of them have impressed me more, been

as plucky, made me laugh, guided me, inspired

me, shown as much courage, and ultimately been

as cool as Katina Resann. This book,

my flamboyant friend, is dedicated to you.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

1

“MOM, DON’T CRY . I hate it when you cry,” Mya Strano said into the phone. Her mother had called bright and early on a Monday morning in April, just to chat, but there had been very little chatting. Just that silent thing mixed in with heavy sighing and runny-nose sounds, which only meant one thing. Tears.