Grady Castillo isn’t the biggest fan of
Mayor Maggie Sullivan and when he sees she’s up for reelection, he can’t help
but throw a wrench into her plans. However, as the race heats up and unwanted
feelings arise, Grady begins to realize there’s more to Maggie than meets the
eye. Readers who love small-town romances will devour Rival Hearts by W.
Million, a slow-burn, friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance.
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Coveting
my brother’s girlfriend is one thing, but acting on it is a step too far. It’s
too bad it’s a step I’ve already taken.
The
first time I met Maggie Sullivan, she was my brother’s guest at Sunday dinner.
That should have been enough to keep me away. It wasn’t.
The
night I lost control and gave into my passion was also the night of my
brother’s arrest for selling drugs—a business I was sure Maggie must have had a
hand in.
Overwhelmed
with guilt, I seized a chance to try out for Center Stage, a televised singing
competition. Winning changed my life.
Now,
years later, I’ve returned to Little Falls to reconnect with my family, and
Maggie Sullivan has somehow managed to become mayor.
With
only twenty-four hours until she’s reelected uncontested, I decide to throw a
wrench into her perfect life.
When
the race heats up, and old, unwanted feelings surface, I start to realize that
Maggie might not fit the box I’ve shoved her into all these years.
Soon,
I’m wondering if I want to steal the election, or if the real victory lies in
winning Maggie’s heart.
Excerpt
Copyright 2024, W. Million
My body was a traitor. I’d spent the last hour staring at
the center of his chest instead of his stupid chiseled face, not giving him the
satisfaction of making eye contact. What would I see in Grady’s eyes when I
glanced up? Twelve years ago, we’d been this close, closer, and those eyes
stole a piece of my soul. I couldn’t afford to give any more away.
With a deep breath, I stepped back and stared at him. He
was stupidly tall and broad. I couldn’t remember exactly how tall. Six foot
five, maybe? Enough to hurt my neck if I was too close, barefoot, and looked up
for too long. I squared my shoulders and gave him a sugary smile. “You must be
thirsty.” My tone was so sweet it dripped syrup. “All that singing would be
hell on your voice. No need to speak.” I held up a hand in the direction of his
face. “I wouldn’t want you to strain your precious vocal cords.”
Grady’s brown eyes scanned me, and I tried to decipher
the emotion behind them. Amusement and something else I couldn’t place. He
chuckled and raised his bottle of water. “No need to worry, Maggie May. I don’t
make a living off my voice anymore, so I can let it get as rough as it needs to
be.”
The familiar timbre sent an unexpected jolt through me. I
hadn’t heard his voice in person since that night. Goose bumps rose on my arms,
and I yanked my sweater tighter. “My middle name isn’t May.”
His lips quirked up, unrepentant, and he didn’t respond.
Someone tried to get his attention. He shook his head and gave them an
apologetic smile, gesturing toward me. “We’re catching up.” The crowd around
him thinned back.
“No, we’re not,” I muttered.
His lips quirked again, but he didn’t say anything.
“You’re back in town, then? Trying to make something of
your life?” I jutted out my chin and crossed my arms. Any sense of playing nice
disappeared. The goose bumps on my skin were from disgust, nothing else. I
hated him.
He scanned the crowded bar. “Seems to be a few people who
think I’ve already made something of myself.” He shrugged. “But they’re
probably easily impressed—give them a glossy surface and they’ll root for
anyone.” He directed his pointed gaze at me and sipped his bottle of water. “I
heard you’d graduated from ruining one man’s life to taking down a whole town.
Little Falls still standing, or have you demolished it as well?”
His mother lived in Little Falls on the opposite side of
town to my family. Penny Castillo had put my sign on her lawn during the
previous election. Of all the conflicts I had helped to settle over the last
four years as mayor, none of them caused my blood to boil like Grady was doing
right now. He knew nothing about anything.
Leaning forward on my toes, I said, “I’ve spent the last
four years looking after the people you abandoned while you chased fame and
fortune.” I raised my eyebrows in a challenge. I’d been the one to help Penny
Castillo fix her garage when a windstorm had taken off half the roof; I’d been
the one who picked up Trent from jail when he was finally released; I’d been
the one to find his brother a job a few towns over when no one else wanted to
hire him. What had Grady done? Won a singing contest and disappeared.
“Only four years?” His intensity drilled into me. “What
was Trent’s sentence again?”
I hated the heat creeping into my face.
Rage.
The heat was from rage and not humiliation. “It’ll be me
looking after them for another four years twenty-four hours from now.”
“What are you talking about?” His sharp gaze turned
curious, thoughtful.
My jaw ached from holding back the diatribe threatening
to explode out. “I’m running uncontested for another term as mayor of Little
Falls.”
Grady pinched the bridge of his nose and then looked
toward the ceiling. “Uncontested?”
“That’s right. Uncontested,” Lila said, appearing out of
nowhere to throw her arm around my shoulders. Her words were slurred, but I was
so glad for the backup, her level of drunkenness didn’t matter. “It’s because
she’s the best fucking mayor in any town anywhere.”
Throwing back his head, Grady laughed. “In any town
anywhere?”
With a frown, Lila used one finger and pressed it into
his broad chest. “Yes! God. Why do you have to be such a hot prick?”
I clamped my hand over Lila’s mouth. In the morning, Lila
would regret those words. “She meant the prick part. The hot part is the Jell-O
shots talking. Everyone in this bar is hot to her right now.”
“What makes you so sure no one is going to run against
you at the last minute?” Grady’s eyebrows lifted, and he raised his bottle to
his lips again.
Lila laughed through my hand and removed it from her
face. “Because they’d have to own property in town, get enough supporters or
file as an independent, and they’d have to think they could beat Maggie. No one
is that dumb or that desperate.” Considering how drunk Lila appeared to be, I
was impressed with how smoothly her little speech spilled out of her. “And,”
Lila added, holding up her finger, “we know everyone who fits the criteria, and
they’re not running.” She cocked an eyebrow at Grady and flicked out a hip.
“Maggie’s got it in the bag.”
On instinct, I wanted to correct Lila, but the expression
on Grady’s face made me hold my tongue. Technically, Lila wasn’t wrong, but I
didn’t like the way Grady’s gaze turned calculating as it dragged across us. He
chuckled to himself, and a hint of amusement lit his face.
A Hispanic woman I didn’t recognize appeared at the edge
of our circle. “Sorry to bother you, Mr. Castillo. But we were hoping to get a
selfie and an autograph? You’re like the biggest celebrity around here.”
“Sure.” Grady half turned toward his fan. The smile on
his face had faded at the request. “Ladies.” Grady pointed his water bottle at
us. “I’ll be seeing you around. I bought some prime real estate in Little
Falls. Looks like we’ll be neighbors.”
About
W. Million
W. Million is an award-winning author whose contemporary romances about
strong women and troubled men have captivated her loyal readers. She is the
author of the Bellerive Royals series
and the Tucker Family Billionaires series. Writing as Wendy
Million, she is the author of the contemporary second chance romances, When Stars Fall and Miss Matched.
When not writing, Wendy enjoys spending time in or around the water.
She lives in Ontario, Canada with two beautiful daughters, two cute pooches,
and one handsome husband (who is grateful she doesn’t need two of those).
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