Title: His Princess
Series: House of Payne World Novella
Author: Stacy Gail
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 13, 2020
When Joelle Fielding attends a function for Chicago’s society elites, she’s stunned to find herself swept off her feet by a man who believes that not only is she a princess, but that she’s HIS princess. Falling in love at first sight isn’t a part of her career-oriented life goals, but with the sexy Gus Bloch insisting she’s meant for him, those life goals might be changing.
By fourteen, Gus had been on his own on the Southside’s mean streets. When life had been at its bleakest, he’d dreamed of his future and the kind of woman he would someday share his life with. One look at Joelle, and he knows he’s finally found her. Nothing will stop him from convincing her that he’s the man for her—not even Joelle herself.
Joelle has never wanted anyone like she wants Gus, but all too soon insta-love and the demands of reality find themselves on a collision course. Is Gus really the man for her when he’s forced to see she’s no one’s princess?
36,000 words
***This novella is a standalone prequel to the novel, HOUSE OF PAYNE: LOKI. Because of that, this novella has only a small epilogue (sorry!). There are no love triangles, cheating, or cliffhangers. HEA guaranteed. Due to adult language and sexual content, this novella is not intended for people under the age of eighteen.***
A slow smile curled his mouth, and to Joelle’s surprise she found she couldn’t look away from the two perfect dimples that appeared in his lean, clean-shaven cheeks. Had there ever been a more perfectly symmetrical face, with sculpted cheekbones, squared-off jaw and, heaven above, dimples? The more she saw of him, the more she realized that perfection could exist. “The moment I saw you, everything about you became my business.”
“Oh, really?” Wildly her heart bounced around in her chest like one of those bouncy balls she’d loved as a child. “How do you figure that?”
“It’s pretty simple.” He shifted a shoulder, like freaking Atlas shrugging. “I saw you standing there, and something inside me clicked into place. I’m not fighting that, and neither should you. It won’t do you any good.”
“My goodness.” It took all her strength not to pearl-clutch, but damn, it was hard. This man came on like a freight train, and for a wayward moment she could only wonder what he was like in bed… “I think there’s a song like that.”
“I guess this could be called an enchanted evening, now that I think about it. It’s not every day you meet the one that stops you in your tracks and makes you think of things like forever.”
Okay, pearl-clutching was a necessity when a man said things like that. “Anyone ever tell you that you have a tendency to overwhelm?”
“Not my fault. I’ve lost one helluva lot of time with you, so I need to catch up.”
“Catch up? We just met.”
“Yeah, but I’ve been looking for you my whole damn life. Got a shit-ton of catching up to do.”
“Oh, really?” Wildly her heart bounced around in her chest like one of those bouncy balls she’d loved as a child. “How do you figure that?”
“It’s pretty simple.” He shifted a shoulder, like freaking Atlas shrugging. “I saw you standing there, and something inside me clicked into place. I’m not fighting that, and neither should you. It won’t do you any good.”
“My goodness.” It took all her strength not to pearl-clutch, but damn, it was hard. This man came on like a freight train, and for a wayward moment she could only wonder what he was like in bed… “I think there’s a song like that.”
“I guess this could be called an enchanted evening, now that I think about it. It’s not every day you meet the one that stops you in your tracks and makes you think of things like forever.”
Okay, pearl-clutching was a necessity when a man said things like that. “Anyone ever tell you that you have a tendency to overwhelm?”
“Not my fault. I’ve lost one helluva lot of time with you, so I need to catch up.”
“Catch up? We just met.”
“Yeah, but I’ve been looking for you my whole damn life. Got a shit-ton of catching up to do.”
A competitive figure skater from the age of eight, Stacy Gail began writing stories in between events to pass the time. By fourteen, she told her parents she was either going to be a figure skating coach who was also a published romance author, or a romance author who was also a figure skating pro. Now, with a day job of playing on the ice with her students, and writing everything from steampunk to cyberpunk, contemporary to paranormal at night, both dreams have come true.