Babysitting for her hard-to-please sister-in-law, Eve, is making life difficult for Hazel. So is the landscaper who broke Eve's garden gnome. Still, Jeremy has a certain mischievous charm that Hazel can't quite ignore, and he manages to boost her confidence when it's at its lowest point. Will love bloom this spring?
Katie Fitzgerald is the author of over 50 published pieces of short fiction, most of which are clean contemporary romance. Her short stories and flash fiction appear online at Havok Publishing, Syncopation Literary Journal, Painted Pebble Lit Mag, Spillwords.com, Spark Flash Fiction and Micromance Magazine. Her serial romance, "The Plus One Pact" appears quarterly in Clean Fiction. She has also been published in Woman's World. Her stand-alone ebook short romances and anthologies including her work can be found on Amazon.
She is a 2024 Sparkie Award recipient for Best Romantic Suspense, a 2024 nominee for the Pushcart Prize, and was a finalist in three categories of the 2025 Cupid Prize. She was also the winner of Spark Flash Fiction's 2025 contest. A graduate of Vassar College and a trained librarian, Katie resides in Maryland with her family.
This is such a cute, quick story. I really felt for Hazel trying to live up to impossible standards. And i really despised her sister-in-law Eve with all her demands! She made me mad! Ugh. But hurray for Jeremy the landscaper for building Hazel’s confidence. I listened to this on my way home from work via my phone app and it made a mundane drive much more entertaining!
An absolutely adorable short story. I love the way Katie writes and I’m always amazed at how much depth and romantic tension she can pack into her stories. This sweet romance is sure to put a smile on your face and you can read it over your morning coffee! I absolutely recommend it, five stars!
This was a really short story but still thought it was a cute one. I loved how Jeremy was able to help Hazel see herself for the good person she was and benefited her relationship with her brother's family in the end for the better
A sweet, short read about Jeremy, a landscaper / gardener and a child minder/nanny, Hazel. Their first meeting was a bit dramatic with Jeremy damaging a garden gnome while cutting the grass at Hazel's brother's house The main characters were likeable and this was an endearing story.
I really enjoyed this sweet romance featuring a down-on-herself nanny named Hazel and a gardener named Jeremy who sees the good qualities in his new crush.
I read an early copy of this story and adored it! The MMC is so charming, and I loved the way he helped the protagonist see herself more clearly. A classic Katie Fitzgerald romance!