False Start Fairy Tale by Kelly St-Laurent
Publication date: June 9th, 2020
Synopsis (according to Goodreads):
Adele Villeneuve is attempting the impossible. At twenty-four she's opened an events company in her small French village, which at last count has a population of 1501. Even her parents tried to stop her. But Adele has a plan. Or, at least she did.
Then the Reniers returned to town.
Aside from the dilapidated chateau that's sat in ruin for the past forty years, Saint-Germain is known for one other thing: a bitter feud between the Reniers and the Villeneuves that has gone on for so long no one remembers how it started. It's practically folklore, a hatred so deep it ended with the Reniers leaving France back in the eighties, never to be seen or heard from again.
Until now.
With the feud reignited, Adele's quiet life is upended. Even more so when she finds out that the Reniers are not only refurbishing the chateau but also opening a competing events company. When Finn Renier, the alluring son of her father's enemy, offers her a truce that could save her business, she makes a decision that goes against her family, a choice that changes everything.
As she finds herself falling for the one person she's not supposed to, secrets and lies become entangled, a dangerous truth threatening to be revealed.
Because Finn isn't all that he seems.
And the Reniers didn't just return to Saint-Germain for a fresh start.
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Excerpt
"What were you doing out for a drive at seven o'clock in the morning?" she asks, bringing the coffees over to the table.
"I like driving," I say, joining her on the sofa. My dream floods my brain, the memories haunting me like a nightmare.
"Are you okay?" she asks, watching me closely.
"Yeah." I force a smile. "So how are you feeling about tonight?"
She leans heavily against the sofa. "I'm nervous. I mean, usually I get anxious before events, but today, knowing I have to take part, it has my stomach tied in knots."
"What are you nervous about?"
She looks at me like I'm missing a key point. "I have to take part."
"You'll be great," I say, meaning it.
Her laughter is light but uneasy. "I don't do well with strangers."
"Isn't event management all about meeting strangers?"
"That's different," she says. "I'm okay with clients. I know this business and I'm good at what I do. But a table of singles, all there to size each other up, that is not something I'm comfortable with."
There's a vulnerability in her words, and I can tell there's more to this than she's letting on. "Well, you won't be alone," I tell her. "I'll be there."
She gives me the smallest smile. "Somehow I think you'll do fine tonight all on your own."
"Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"Well, you're..." She motions toward me as though that answers my question.
"I'm what?"
Her cheeks flush, and I enjoy it far too much.
"You're..."
"I'm...?"
"You're actually going to make me say it, aren't you?"
"I have no idea what you're trying to say," I tell her, even though I do.
"For goodness' sake, Finn, you know you're handsome."
I can't stop myself from smiling. "You think I'm handsome?"
She groans in frustration. "As if you don't stand in front of the mirror every day thinking that same thought."
"Well, yeah," I say, making her laugh. "But that doesn't mean I don't like hearing other people say it."
"That's narcissistic." She takes a sip of her coffee.
"There's nothing wrong with liking the way you look. And besides"--I take a sip of mine--"you're the one who brought it up."
For a moment, we don't talk, the silence between us comfortable, as though we've done this a thousand times. Me sitting on her couch, drinking coffee, asking about her day. When her phone buzzes, she picks it up off the table, her nose scrunching slightly.
"Serena's on her way. You probably shouldn't be here when she arrives."
"Are we hiding our friendship from Serena too?"
Adele looks at me with something in her eyes I can't make sense of. "I think it might be easier, for now, if we keep this to ourselves."
I finish my espresso and get up from the sofa. "Well, secret friend, thank you for the coffee."
She stands, and I notice she seems nervous. "Thank you for your help."
I make my way to the door and stop, turning back to face her. "Don't worry about tonight," I say. "The men won't be able to keep their eyes off of you."
I take my leave, not daring to look back at her, not daring to let her know that I'll be one of them.
"I like driving," I say, joining her on the sofa. My dream floods my brain, the memories haunting me like a nightmare.
"Are you okay?" she asks, watching me closely.
"Yeah." I force a smile. "So how are you feeling about tonight?"
She leans heavily against the sofa. "I'm nervous. I mean, usually I get anxious before events, but today, knowing I have to take part, it has my stomach tied in knots."
"What are you nervous about?"
She looks at me like I'm missing a key point. "I have to take part."
"You'll be great," I say, meaning it.
Her laughter is light but uneasy. "I don't do well with strangers."
"Isn't event management all about meeting strangers?"
"That's different," she says. "I'm okay with clients. I know this business and I'm good at what I do. But a table of singles, all there to size each other up, that is not something I'm comfortable with."
There's a vulnerability in her words, and I can tell there's more to this than she's letting on. "Well, you won't be alone," I tell her. "I'll be there."
She gives me the smallest smile. "Somehow I think you'll do fine tonight all on your own."
"Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"Well, you're..." She motions toward me as though that answers my question.
"I'm what?"
Her cheeks flush, and I enjoy it far too much.
"You're..."
"I'm...?"
"You're actually going to make me say it, aren't you?"
"I have no idea what you're trying to say," I tell her, even though I do.
"For goodness' sake, Finn, you know you're handsome."
I can't stop myself from smiling. "You think I'm handsome?"
She groans in frustration. "As if you don't stand in front of the mirror every day thinking that same thought."
"Well, yeah," I say, making her laugh. "But that doesn't mean I don't like hearing other people say it."
"That's narcissistic." She takes a sip of her coffee.
"There's nothing wrong with liking the way you look. And besides"--I take a sip of mine--"you're the one who brought it up."
For a moment, we don't talk, the silence between us comfortable, as though we've done this a thousand times. Me sitting on her couch, drinking coffee, asking about her day. When her phone buzzes, she picks it up off the table, her nose scrunching slightly.
"Serena's on her way. You probably shouldn't be here when she arrives."
"Are we hiding our friendship from Serena too?"
Adele looks at me with something in her eyes I can't make sense of. "I think it might be easier, for now, if we keep this to ourselves."
I finish my espresso and get up from the sofa. "Well, secret friend, thank you for the coffee."
She stands, and I notice she seems nervous. "Thank you for your help."
I make my way to the door and stop, turning back to face her. "Don't worry about tonight," I say. "The men won't be able to keep their eyes off of you."
I take my leave, not daring to look back at her, not daring to let her know that I'll be one of them.
About the Author:
From the moment when she believed that the worlds inside the television were real, Kelly St-Laurent has run away with her imagination.
Born in one of the most beautiful corners of the planet, she spent her childhood inspired by the mountains and oceans of New Zealand, constantly wondering about the places beyond the horizon. At age nineteen she decided to find out and hopped a plane to Canada. And, so began her love affair with the Great White North, that has come to be her second home.
Prior to writing her first novel in 2016, Kelly worked as a production coordinator in visual effects where she got to help bring fairies, dragons and monsters to life.
Kelly currently lives in Montreal with her husband Alex and their Shetland Sheepdog Bucky. When she isn't writing, she's often found re-watching her favorite films with a wine in hand.
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