Title:  It’s In His Smile
Series:  Red River Valley #3
Author:  Shelly Alexander
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  June 14, 2016
Publisher:  Montlake Romance
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Miranda Cruz isn’t just the best darned waitress in town anymore; she’s Red River’s newest innkeeper. But first, she has to find the contractor who’s disappeared with her life savings so she can start renovations. Not so easy for a woman who never depends on anyone, especially a man. And when a gorgeous old flame shows up, the fire between them is reignited and threatens to send her dreams up in smoke.

Acclaimed environmental architect Talmadge Oaks returns home to Red River on family business. He plans to get in and get out quickly because a professional catastrophe is waiting back in Washington. When an unforeseen snag keeps him in Red River longer than expected, he finds himself entangled in the renovations of his late grandmother’s Victorian inn. Handy with a hammer, he offers to help the beautiful new owner, but his motives aren’t completely selfless. Will his secret demolish everything they are building? Or can their undeniable passion keep them together?

Read on for my thoughts on It’s In His Smile.  No true spoilers, promise.

Miranda has almost reached her dream, so close she can almost hear the Inn’s visitors as they walk up the old Victorian’s steps… until one nasty contractor makes off with her hard earned savings  She has worked as a waitress in this small town with a long memory since she was old enough to bus a table.  She’s kept her head down and her nose to the grindstone in order to avoid her mother’s reputation slinking off onto her own.  And now when she has the Inn and the funds to start much needed repairs some jerk walks away with her dream – which now has nightmare written all over it.  Her mood isn’t improved by the recent death of the woman who would have helped her learn how to run this business, how to be the best innkeeper possible.  Bea had been her mentor, her supporter but most of all her friend.  Now she wasn’t sure how she’d make those dreams of hers come true, but she wasn’t giving up.  No how, no way.

It didn’t help that he was back in town – Bea’s grandson, Talmadge.  The man she’d lost her heart to, and given her body to seven years ago.  She knew he’d be back, he’d loved his grandmother, even if he had abandoned them both in recent years to take off for his highfalutin green architect job.  So, he wold be here for a couple days and then he’d disappear again – she could handle that, just barely.

Except – life doesn’t always play out nice and neatly like we plan.  Bea was a shrewd lady, she knew what these two young people meant to each other and in a ploy as old as time tied up her grandson’s inheritance with some stipulations in her will.  She might not be there to do the matchmaking herself, but she certainly could make it very difficult for Talmadge to leave town or Miranda without spending some quality time with the town’s new innkeeper – and the woman he had never stopped loving, even when he denied it.

I enjoyed coming back to Read River Valley once again.  I have to admit that I wasn’t all that impressed with Talmadge at first.  Oh sure he might be some super famous green architect but the mighty can fall very quickly in any business and he’s about to realize that fact firsthand.  Yet he slowly grew on me until finally he became worthy of Miranda (in my opinion – *grin*).  Now, Miranda I adored.  I grew up in a small town, so I know those nuances quite well.  She is strong, dependable, stubborn and can give back as good as is dished out to her when needed.  If you have never held down a wait job then you have no idea of the strength and fortitude of those hard working folks who put up with so much.

Bea’s will gave Talmadge and Miranda the reason, or maybe the excuse to be in the same spot together a lot.  What they did with that second chance was up to them, Bea could only do so much.  Riding along with this couple as they sorted out their past, came to terms with the  differences between them and watching them fall in love, deep and strong this time was a joy.

Any of the Red River Valley stories can be read as stand alone novels, and It’s In His Smile is no exception.  But they are such good stories that you’ll probably want to go back and enjoy this series from the start.

*I received an e-ARC of It’s In His Smile from the publisher, Montlake Romance and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  That does not change what I think of this novel.*

Available in paperback, audio and for the Kindle