Mommy in Training

Mommy in Training
Shelley Galloway

Matt Madigan's back in town… And Minnie Clark's furious.Not only does she have her hands full being a new mother to her young niece, she has to face her high school crush again…and he's building a megastore that could put her struggling gift shop out of business! Ten years ago Minnie was head over heels for Matt Madigan. Of course, the star football player never noticed. Minnie had to sit on the sidelines and watch as he dated her more popular, prettier sister.Now she has a constant reminder of those painful days–he's her new neighbor! But she's not going to let him waltz back into their Texas hometown full of big plans, just to break her heart all over again….

“What about me? Aren’t you worried about disappointing me?”

Minnie glanced at his lips. Wondered what it would feel like to kiss him. Really kiss him.

He grinned.

Suddenly it hit her. Matt knew exactly what he was doing. He knew she had a weak spot for him that had everything to do with a crush that didn’t have the decency to go away.

She fought to remain aloof. To remember that his company was about to put her store out of business. “Not particularly. After all, you are my competition.”

He stepped back. “Minnie Clark, I can’t help it if you don’t like my job. Don’t be mad at me forever.”

Dear Reader,

Thanks for picking up Mommy in Training! While some books have seemed to come together pretty quickly, this one sure didn’t. Over the past eight years I’ve written and rewritten Matt and Minnie’s story. The only things that stayed the same were Matt and Minnie’s characters and my belief that their romance was worth sharing. I couldn’t be more pleased with how the story turned out.

I enjoyed writing Mommy in Training because it allowed me to think about Texas and remember everything I love about the Lone Star State. I grew up in Houston, and my husband and I spent the first five years of our marriage in a little town north of Dallas. Through Matt and Minnie, I got to go back to places where everyone knows each other, heat and humidity are nothing to take lightly and where a trip to the grocery store means putting on a fresh coat of lipstick.

So, though it’s cold outside, I hope you’ll take a little break with Matt and Minnie. Sip some tea. Imagine it being as hot as July, and remember that sometimes the best things just take a while to happen. But when they do, they’re certainly worth waiting for.

If you get a moment, I hope you’ll join me at my Web site, www.shelleygalloway.com, or at the Harlequin American Writers’ blog: www.harauthors.blogspot.com.

Happy reading!

Shelley

Mommy in Training

Shelley Galloway

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shelley Galloway loves to get up early, drink too much coffee and write books. These pastimes come in handy during her day-to-day life in southern Ohio. Most days she can be found driving her teenagers to their various activities, writing romances in her basement or trying to find a way to get ahead of her pile of laundry. She’s also been known to talk to her miniature dachshund, Suzy, as if she actually has opinions about books.

Shelley is the proud recipient of a Romantic Times BOOKreviews Reviewer’s Choice Award for her 2006 release, Simple Gifts. Shelley attends several conferences every year and loves to meet readers. She also spends a lot of time online. Please visit her at eHarlequin.com or at www.shelleygalloway.com.

To my editor Johanna Raisanen,

who was instrumental in making

Matt and Minnie’s story come alive.

And of course to Tom, who one day introduced me

to a man named Matt—and, well, the rest is history.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four