Beauty & the Biker Read Free Page A

back.”
    “Only because he’s not used to losing.” And with that Bella swung out of the car, determined not to bad mouth Carson. She was partially to blame for their botched affair. She’d led him on and for that she was sorry.
    “Call me if you need me,” Georgie said, before peeling back on to the road with a scrape and a grind.
    Bella crooked a gentle smile. God, she loved her friends.
    Her smile broadened as she focused on giving the universe a shove.
    She blew into her parent’s house and up the stairs deflecting the uncertainty and gloom that had smacked her in the face as soon as she crossed the threshold. A lifetime of beautiful memories overshadowed by months of mourning.
    “Mom would be royally peeved.”
    Laura Mooney had been a vibrant and influential force, not only within the family, but for the whole of Nowhere. She’d never been one to whine or wallow. When it came to problem solving, she’d exhausted every possibility, rarely giving up or giving in.
    Where there’s a will there’s a way .
    There had to be a way for Bella to turn the tide. To spark good fortune. For her and for her dad.
    Topping the stairs, she zipped into her bedroom, looped her messenger bag over her desk chair, and fired up her laptop. Plainly put, the Mooneys were in a rut and Archie—who’d bombed as a car salesman in less than a week—was sinking lower by the day. Booze bingeing aside, there were also mounting bills. Although she’d eased his financial burden by contributing to the household expenses, her personal funds were limited. Selling one of her stories to a publisher would help. At least it was a productive place to start. That meant researching houses that hadn’t already rejected her work or writing new stories and submitting those. But that meant reconnecting with her muse.
    Knotting her long curls into a sloppy ponytail, Bella sat at her desk and took a deep breath. Staring at her whimsical computer background, she channeled her mom’s determination.
    “Time to escape the bog of misfortune.”
    She needed to believe in miracles. To reinforce her faith in happily-ever-afters. For Archie Mooney. For the Inseparables. She’d start with herself.
    Fingers flying, she typed “Children’s Storybook Publisher” into the search engine then hit enter. Maybe she’d find hope and inspiration in a new list of viable publishers. There was also the matter of strengthening her already existing manuscripts, so maybe a critique service was in order. In addition, she couldn’t shake the feeling that her stories would benefit from breathtaking illustrations. Yes, she’d been advised to submit her tales without artwork, but that guideline wasn’t written in stone. And besides, she’d already taken the conventional route.
    “Time to shake things up.”
    Thoughts flew from her brain to her fingers as she exhausted several deep desires.
    Dream Editor
    Dream Illustrator
    Dream Publisher
    The words blurred as she scrolled search results.
    “Talk about overwhelming.”
    Miracles happen every day .
    “Right. Thanks, mom.”
    Bella focused on the screen, spirits lifting as she spied a fanciful company and its promising tagline.

    ImpossibleDream.com
    “Making magic since 1956”

    Serendipity ?
    Bella clicked on the home page, devouring the information relayed on the sparse but visually appealing website. Impossible Dream was a matchmaking service. Not the kind that paired you with a possible life partner, although surely that was an option, but a boutique company that specialized in providing applicants with viable opportunities to achieve the seemingly impossible.
    Yearning for the dream job? Dream vacation? Dream home? Our data analysts and researchers pride themselves on working magic.
    Her skin tingled with giddy anticipation. And something else. Déjà vu. She’d never been to this site. Never heard of this site. Yet something about the concept struck a familiar chord. Although, duh, the whimsy factor resonated