Nicky Slater is not your average spoiled little rich girl
She is determined to make a name for herself in the world of haute cuisine courtesy of her own efforts, and without the power of her family's name. So when the opportunity to gain internship experience falls into her lap she seizes it with characteristic decision-making pizzazz.
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE
Mark Runyon sprinted up the steps of the modernized brownstone in Chicago's Jefferson Park and pulled open the grill-reinforced door. He stepped inside and grinned at Jack Delaney, the supervisor, through the long glass window of his office in Tivoli Terrace Apartments.
He glanced at the elevator briefly and shook his head. No, not the easy way up today. He'd been in meetings all day the last few days, and had had no time for his usual tennis game. Better take the stairs. He could handle four flights, no problem.
He loosened his tie and started climbing. In his briefcase, he carried the graphical representations of the new senior citizens' condominium he wanted to look over. David Roth, an associate, had commended Mark on the new advertising slant for REA Inc."You'll Know You're Home." The words sang in his mind like a jingle. It reminded him of the company's mission statement of putting the client first. This new project was his baby and he had had a special person in mind when he developed this idea.
Mark caught his breath as he remembered something. He hadn't been able to make the Children's Heart Foundation fundraiser the other evening, and now he'd never hear the end of it from Gran. Dear, lovable Gran. What was it she'd mentioned? That she had found a new housekeeper to replace dragon lady, Mrs. Babbitt. Good, he could stop ordering Chinese takeout from now on.
Footsteps slowing, Mark climbed on. He reached the fourth floor, unlocked the door, and walked into a large apartment bathed in the late afternoon sun. He stashed his briefcase on the side table in the hall and pulled off the tie that felt like a choke chain better used in dog obedience classes.
Suddenly, something appeared strangely wrong. Things were in place all rightthe expensive oil paintings in their silver-bracketed frames in the hall, and the living room billowing out at the far end with its soft chamois leather upholstery furniture. The vases were filled with flowers, Mark's standing request to the cleaning temp.
Then why did he feel like the three bears walking in on Goldilocks? At the end of the hall, he spied two suitcases partly hidden by the wall, and a sneaker tumbled against it nearby. Alert to the last nerve, he followed the signs as a nature lover might follow markings in the woods.
On the sprawling living room sofa, a small, blonde, tousle-haired waif lay curled with an arm resting on a rounded cheek, her sneaker-clad foot dangling over the edge of the sofa. Her blue jeans were molded over eye-catching curves as she lay fast asleep, breathing evenly.
MAID TO ORDER
Book Reviews
REVIEWS FOR HIS HARBOR GIRL
Leanna was shocked to see Bryce standing in her shop. She hasn’t seen him since she’d left college and come back home to help her dying mother and to have her baby. When she hears that he’s here to study the wolves, Leanna has to decide how or when she’s going to tell him about her daughter, Kai. Taking the job Bryce has advertised for, Leanna starts seeing things about Bryce that opens her heart again, but she knows he’s going to leave as soon as his study is done. Can they find the road back to each other when she tells him the truth about Kai?
Bryce never knew why Leanna had left him, she was just gone one day. Now he’s here in Pelican Harbor and he wants answers, if only she would talk to him instead of telling him he knew all he needs to. The one questions she won’t answer is about Kai. Bryce figures it’s because she’d gotten pregnant by another man and that’s why she left him. He knows that if Kai was his, Leanna would tell him, wouldn’t she?
Ms. Ambardar’s novel is about second chances and opening up to love once again. Readers will enjoy reading about the paths these two strong and independent people have taken. The scene that pulls it together for me is when Bryce has Leanna come with him and his crew to trap and radio collar the wolves, because it shows she is finally seeing him in a different light.
Five years after she last saw him, Bryce appears in the door of The Tug, the little store that Leanna owns. Her feelings at the sight of him are mixed; back in college she had loved him more than life itself but had to share her love with his workvery heavy competition to a woman in such a state. She had, at that time, finally given up the struggle for his attention, and left him to return to her home. The five years had been long and hard, losing her mother and attempting to make the business succeed. She is also shocked to see him; there is the matter of a small secret that he doesnt know about.
Bryce is in the area to study wolves, on a neighbouring island. Leanna doesnt realize that he wanted to see her, hoping she would be in the area, when this research project was planned. He still doesnt understand why she left him as she did, but he plans on finding out what caused her to leave all those years ago, without an explanation.
I really liked the description of the little shop The Tug. I could envision that being such an eye catcher, and what a creative idea. This story is written so lifelike and with such likable characters, and that Bryce takes matters into his own hands and makes Leanna come clean not only about why she left him, is so heart warming. A delightful story for true romantics.
Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Sweet
Reviewer: Glenda K. Bauerle, The Romance Studio
HIS HARBOR GIRL has received it's highest rating - five roses!
Even though Leanna Reed loved animal researcher Bryce Robertson, it hadn’t stopped her from leaving him five years ago. Bryce, in her opinion, was a workaholic who had no idea of the definition of the word commitment.
When Leanna and Bryce meet next, Leanna has continued her life with a few changes. She’s now the mother of a beautiful young child, Kai, and she’s also an entrepreneur who has made a success out of her Pelican Harbor gift shop. Bryce is still the same man, traveling across the globe studying wolves. It’s enough for him or so his heart is able to lie until he sees Leanna again and realizes the feelings he had for her in the past have only grown stronger.
Despite her misgivings about Bryce, Leanna is unwilling to tell her heart no again and eventually gives in to her feelings. But when Bryce learns Kai is his daughter, will he forgive Leanna for such a huge betrayal?
The story of a man and a woman ending a relationship and then having a second chance at love only to have it placed in jeopardy by either an incident or the presence of a certain person is a typical romance plot and one, which is often told. Although His Harbor Girl follows along this same storyline, it is far from being an everyday, typical romance novel.
Thanks to Ambardar’s engaging storytelling and a cast of lovable characters, His Harbor Girl is a delightful standout among a sea of romance novels. It’s a simple romance that is so beautiful in its simplicity that the reading of the last page occurs simultaneously with a sigh of joy.
His Harbor Girl will make a splendid addition to any book collection.
Reviewed by Natasha, A Romance Review.
It has been five years since Leanna Reed moved back home to Pelican Harbor, Michigan. When Leanna found out she was pregnant she tried to get Bryce to make a commitment, but Bryce Robertson was married to his work and he had no room in his life for anyone else. So Leanna left him and went back home, without telling Bryce she was going to have his child.
Leanna was content with her life, she had her daughter Kai, friends and family around to help her out, and she even had her own gift shop called The Tug. It was built inside a tug boat that her father used to be the captain of. The only thing missing was the one man that still held her heart, Bryce. Imagine Leanna’s surprise when she was working in her shop and in walks Bryce.
For five years Bryce has been wondering why Leanna left, without even saying good-bye. When Bryce is offered a job to study the wolves on Benedict Island, right by Pelican Harbor, he figures now was his chance to find out exactly why Leanna left him. Bryce was not prepared for the feelings that surfaced when he saw Leanna, or for the beautiful little girl that called her mommy.
Leanna knew that she had to tell Bryce about his daughter, but she was determined to do it when she was ready. The only problem is Bryce seems determined to get Leanna back into his life. How can Leanna keep Bryce from finding out about Kai until she is ready to tell him, and what will he say when she does tell him?
HIS HARBOR GIRL may be a fast read, but it is also a very fulfilling story. All the characters in HIS HARBOR GIRL touched my heart in one way or another. Rekha Ambardar has written such a sweet story that it will keep the reader turning page after page, and ending just as a romance should, with a smile on your face and warmth in your heart.
Review from Romance Junkies
HIS HARBOR GIRL is a sweet contemporary novel and well written for Ms. Ambardar's debut novel. There's just enough good dialogue and complexity to make it a wonderful read. The characters are well developed. I would classify it as a keeper.
Submitted by Weta Nichols--author of SECOND CHANCES and HONEY'S LOVE
"I found in His Harbor Girl: Bryce's occupation as a scientist and wolf researcher, the authentic sense of community and descriptive details of lakeside living the author has incorporated into the storyline, the bittersweet joys of reunion and the lingering heartaches of the past...Rekha Ambardar makes all of these elements sing oh-so sweetly and entertains readers with the romantic tangles (and the dizzying ups and downs) of Leanna and Bryce's relationship. We may not get to know Bryce very well, but Leanna is a stronger personality and a more forceful part of the plot. Ms. Ambardar is still a developing talent, but her progression as a writer is bound to be a satisfying process to observe."
Reviewed by Cheryl Jeffries
Heartstrings Review
REVIEWS FOR MAID TO ORDER
Mark Runyon needs a new housekeeper and his grandmother is leading the search. Too bad the woman she hires is not exactly what Mark is expecting. Finding the new housekeeper asleep in his home is something Mark is not expecting either. Nikki does not look old enough or strong enough to handle the job but Mark gives her the job anyway. Mark has been hurt in the past and does not easily give his trust to a woman. Mark is attracted to Nikki, even as he is unable to explain the reasons for his attraction. Will Mark be able to open his mind and heart and see how special Nikki is or will Nikki’s secret drive them apart?
Nikki is determined that she will achieve her dream of owning and running a catering business. Working as a housekeeper is only temporary – she needs a place to stay, and working for Mark provides free room and board. Having heard much about Mark from his grandmother, Nikki is surprised by the emotional and physical connections she feels to him. Even as she grows closer to Mark, Nikki fears what will happen when he learns her secret.
Maid to Order is a charming story will not soon be forgotten; the author has brought together two lonely hearts in this tale. Hurts from the past threaten to derail their relationship, but love wins in the end. Having to overcome parents' emotional abandonment and money-hungry people, the couple is able to form a lasting relationship.
The Matchmaker:
Angela Calminetti, mother of five, New Age practitioner and gifted psychic and telepath, is proud of her family ties and does everything she can to make sure that all of her younger siblings are as happy in love and marriage
