I Need Your Help!

I’m almost ready to publish the next book in the SweetHart’s Cafe series, but I need a title. Must have the word “Unexpected” or some form of the word “Expect”

While there is a hint at a mystery, I don’t want that to be the focus. I want the romance between Paige and Josh to be the focus. Here’s chapter one. Hopefully it will spark an idea for you.

Here’s what it’s about:

Paige Rodrigez, a widow with a young daughter, moves back to Miracle, Texas. The only thing she’s grieving is she hadn’t served him the divorce papers before he was killed. She’s not ready to trust again.

Joshua Brown is the town’s Barney Fife. His good heart, and handsome looks still haven’t landed him a wife, even though many matchmakers around town have tried to set him up. Not until he sees his old high school flame, does he take the village gossips’ advice and pursue her.

Will Paige be able to let go of emotional pain to trust Josh’s heart?

Paige Fuller Rodriguez and Joshua Brown – Miracle’s newest and cutest couple!Chapter 1

Paige closed the door to her apartment, its soft click signifying the end of the worst chapter in her twenty-four years on this planet and the last five of her broken marriage. The only good thing to come out of the whole mess was her daughter, Brinley, who stood beside Paige’s mama. 

Mama pulled the handle upward on the last of the suitcases and took Brinley’s hand in her other. She didn’t need to ask if Paige was ready. 

Her mother was right; Paige should have never left Miracle, Texas in the first place. Tell that to any young, impressionable twenty-year-old when a handsome man swoops in, sweeps her off her feet with his good looks and smooth talk. She won’t listen, just like Paige hadn’t when Victor Rodriguez had waltzed into town. His city-slicker boots without a trace of cow manure on them, his low-slung, wide brimmed hat had lent a mystery to his dark Hispanic eyes. As much as she’d gotten lost in the depths of his gaze, she’d fallen for his smile. How could teeth sit so perfectly white against his delicious, brown skin?  

She pinched her lips together. What an idiot she’d been. Why hadn’t she seen through his shallow character before she figured out that ugly runs deep. Thankfully, he had lived long enough to reek any more havoc on Paige’s life. 

Shaking herself out of the miserable memory, Paige turned to her mother. “I just need to drop off the key to the landlord, then I’ll meet you and Daddy downstairs.” 

Mama released the handle for a moment and patted Paige’s shoulder. “Coming home is for the best. We’ll figure out what to do from there.” 

Paige reached up and squeezed Mama’s hand before she bent and picked up the last box of her belongings and headed to the leasing office. 

Mr. Hernandez nodded at her when she entered. “I’m so sorry about your husband.” 

Paige forced a smile. For the one-hundredth time since Victor’s funeral, she kept the trite response to herself as she set the key on his desk. “I’ve already forwarded all my mail, so the new tenant shouldn’t have to worry about it. Anything else is junk which can go in the trash. The utilities are set to go off on Tuesday.” 

“You seem to have taken care of everything.” He pushed a form to her. “If you’ll jot down your new address, I’ll see that your husband’s deposit is mailed to you.” 

Paige picked up the paper, folded it in fourths and slipped it into the box with her last remaining items. “I’ll let you know since I’m not sure where I’m going to finally settle.” Did she really want anyone from around here knowing where she was? Not that she’d made a whole lot of friends in the five years they’d lived in Houston. Any acquaintances she knew were all Victor’s. And they were as creepy as Kudzu. 

Mr. Hernandez smiled. “Good luck wherever you land.” 

Once she reached her parent’s car, Mama had already buckled Brinley into her booster seat. She bent over the four-year-old with a baggie full of goodies. “This one is for Bepah.” She poked a rainbow goldfish into the child’s mouth. 

“This one is for Mommy.” Brinley chomped down on another fishy before turning to Paige and held up a purple one. “Grammy got my favorite snacks.” 

“I see that.” Paige set the box on the seat beside Brinley, dumped her purse on top it, and settled into the back seat. 

Daddy slung his arm over the seat and patted Paige’s knee. “Best advice I can give you… cry when you feel like it; laugh when you feel like, and get on with your life.” 

Paige clenched her jaw. What was her life now? She had no marketable skills, no savings, except for the deposit Mr. Hernandez offered to refund her. She moved her purse and withdrew the paper and read over the legal terms. Between the cleaning fee and the redecorating fee, he’d probably not send her anything if he didn’t find the apartment exactly to his approval. It didn’t matter. She’d find a job. 

She folded the paper and slipped it back in the box. It slid between two of her most valued possessions. A jewelry box with every necklace, ring, and bracelet ever given to her, not that any of it was expensive. And the other precious item was the antique mantle clock her own nana had given her when she was Brinley’s age. How she’d grieved over it when it stopped working a couple of days before Victor died. She hated the coincidence that it should have chosen that same moment to quit working on the day that Paige had told her husband she was going to file for divorce. Was Nana trying to tell her she was making a mistake, or just a reminder that she should have never married him in the first place?