Cure for Insomnia Read online

  Table of Contents

  Synopsis

  Praise for the works of Laina Villeneuve

  Other Bella Books by Laina Villeneuve

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Bella Books

  Synopsis

  According to her family, Karla Hernandez spends far too many hours working in the lab. A dedicated research scientist, she has contributed to a drug that could vastly improve the quality of life in diabetic patients. Her quality of life, however, could use some help.

  She thought she would sleep better when she finished grad school or her post-doc, but launching a cutting-edge clinical trial isn’t helping. So when her eleven-year-old niece approaches her about participating in a school science project about insomnia, Karla agrees. Finding a girlfriend was not the conclusion she had anticipated, but Karla is not one to deviate from protocol—especially not when the judge at the science fair has some ideas about helping to cure her insomnia.

  All research requires troubleshooting, but Karla isn’t prepared for the complications that threaten to shut down more than her love life. Does she need to find a new project or dig in deeper to her professional work? Or will putting faith in her niece’s research project be the key to her ever elusive sleep?

  www.BellaBooks.com

  When you shop at Bella, more of your dollars reach the women who write and produce the books you love. Thanks from all of the authors & staff at Bella!

  Blog: Bella Media Channel

  Facebook: BellaBooks

  Twitter: @bellabooks

  Instagram: TheBellaBooks

  Praise for the works of Laina Villeneuve

  Cowgirl 101

  Cowgirl 101 is a slow-burn romance between two very different personalities set in the beautiful High Sierras of California in summer. The story is well rounded with good conflict, and a lot of interesting information about guided mule trips in the wilderness of High Sierras trails. I was very happy with this book and could easily recommend it.

  -Pin’s Reviews, goodreads

  I really enjoyed Cowgirl 101 by Laina Villeneuve. This book has all the elements of an exceptional modern Western romance with two unique and individual main characters. The setting, of course, is gorgeous. The romance is kind of an enemies-to-lovers tale and definitely a slow-burn romance, but sweet and satisfying. This is the first novel I’ve read by this author, and I’m definitely going to be looking for more of her work. If you love modern-day Western romance with distinctive and engaging characters set in a stunningly beautiful land, then I can recommend this novel for you.

  -Betty H., NetGalley

  This is a gorgeous book. Everything about it is gorgeous, from the setting to the writing style. Her writing is so readable, so beautiful and lyrical, that it makes the story flow even better. The first half was very slow for me, but I knew that this was a deliberate choice. We needed all that background, all that time to pass, to understand how Daisy and Jo would fit together.

  -Karen R., NetGalley

  The Right Thing Easy

  The Right Thing Easy is a well written romance. The writing is clean, the characters are charming, and the story keeps you entertained. Villeneuve wrote the characters with a finesse and grace that I enjoyed, especially when they were struggling with tough choices. Laina Villeneuve writes nicely. The thoughts and feelings the characters had were real…I could not help but understand what they were going though.

  -The Lesbian Review

  Kat’s Nine Lives

  …is a friends-to-lovers romance about putting in the time and energy to figure out who you are rather than accept what others think you should be. …Villeneuve does a superb job with the pacing of this story. It is clearly a romance novel, but there are elements to it that made me feel like I was reading a mystery. She reveals clues about Kat’s past bit by bit. As each new piece of information was revealed I was surprised over and over again. All of these tidbits lead up to a better understanding of Kat’s fears and understandings.

  -The Lesbian Review

  Such Happiness as This

  The novel describes Robyn’s journey from grief and disappointment, through the joy of new friendships and the uncertainty of potential love. Characters are skillfully drawn, and interweave in a plot with enough realistic problems, local references, and surprising twists to satisfy.

  -The L-Word

  Other Bella Books by Laina Villeneuve

  Cowgirl 101

  Kat’s Nine Lives

  Return to Paradise

  The Right Thing Easy

  Such Happiness as This

  Take Only Pictures

  About the Author

  Laina Villeneuve leaves all things science to her wife of sixteen years. They live in Southern California with three children and are very grateful to the professionals who help build educational plans for their autistic son, dyslexic daughter, and ADHD son.

  Copyright © 2021 by Laina Villeneuve

  Bella Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 10543

  Tallahassee, FL 32302

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  First Bella Books Edition 2021

  Editor: Cath Walker

  Cover Designer: Kayla Mancuso

  ISBN: 978-1-64247-201-1

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Acknowledgments

  This book has not been the easiest to wrangle, and I have so many Bella women who helped me along the way. I am beyond grateful that Jessica said no to the first draft. I’m also grateful for Linda suggesting I talk to KG MacGregor about the problems with that book and for all her brainstorming to help me understand the structure needed to weave intrigue into the plot. (With apologies for sucking up her time for ideas I didn’t end up using!)

  Thanks to Becky Harmon for reminding me I write romance. While I was still trying to figure out how to keep the intrigue plot, I t
hought I could make two books out of this story, separate ones for each character. I am so glad I listened to Jaime Clevenger’s argument that Karla and Remi were meant to be together. (She deserves an award for reading through that first awful draft!) Many thanks both to her and my friends Heather and Samantha Coughlin for slogging through multiple drafts and offering encouragement as I chopped and added and rearranged and added and changed POVs and resurrected old scenes.

  Thank you, Rae Rae for tracking down what I hope are the last pesky pronouns and for the enthusiastic texts from you and Paul about the content.

  Thank you to the ladies who helped my own romance with Louisa blossom and thus brought science to my humanities-driven world. Margaret and Valerie, my characters are smarter and more grounded because of your presence in my life.

  I thought my editor would be of help making my Aussie character more authentic, but as it turned out, her expertise in research and clinical trials has made this a much better story.

  And Louisa, my own scientist, is proof that an intelligent lady in a lab coat is hot as hell. Eighteen years, and I still love listening to you talk about your work.

  Dedication

  For Dr. Rosa

  In gratitude for all you have taught me about patience

  Chapter One

  Not one more second to spare, I saved my updated file for our lab’s application to the FDA to fast track the drug we had developed. As I shrugged out of my lab coat, the reddest lips I’d ever seen caught my attention. The way she’d penciled the perimeter mesmerized me. Rosa’s voice whispered that could be her, the answer to your sleeping problem! I cringed and extinguished her idea with a loud internal WAY TOO young!

  Wanting very much to encourage my niece Rosa’s interest in science, I’d allowed myself to become her research subject for the middle-school science fair, her goal to cure my insomnia. The eleven-year-old’s conclusion? That I needed a girlfriend. The oh-so young woman was peering into the real-time thermocycler, making me anxious that she didn’t know how to use it. Relief swept through me when she walked away from equipment so expensive our lab had to share it with the neighboring one. I grabbed my bag from the drawer and said a prayer that our Principal Investigator was at lunch or deeply absorbed in her work. I needed to get over to Rosa’s science fair, now.

  Passing through the lab benches, I saw Red Lips return to the machine. Scowling at it again, she started to lean forward with her lips pursed as if she was about to blow out birthday candles.

  “Stop! Stop! Stop!” I hollered, startling the woman as she let loose a puff of air projecting all sorts of contaminants toward a machine that cost in the tens of thousands of dollars. “No more blowing!” I said, hustling around the bench. “What the hell are you doing?” Up close, I could see a fine sheen of sweat on her forehead.

  “The tray got stuck, and when I opened it…” She looked away.

  “What?”

  “The cap on one of the tubes came off. I was trying to get it out.”

  “By blowing in there?” The younger woman cringed. Young. Inexperienced. I took a breath to calm myself. “Ask for help.”

  “Sorry! I couldn’t find the postdoc who asked me to run the samples.”

  “Look harder! Use your eyes, not your mouth. And for heaven’s sake, find gloves for those,” I said, pointing to the woman’s hands.

  Red Lips nodded vigorously.

  “Now!”

  Fear in her eyes, the woman spun around and ran toward Dr. Bautista’s lab. Burning with frustration that they had left someone so green unsupervised at the bench, I considered following to make sure that a staff member would come back to assist her with the thermocycler, but I was already late. I turned, only to spot my boss, Dr. Judy Vogelsang talking to a research scientist just inside our lab. My heartrate spiked as it always did. Was it because of how intimidating she was? Attractive? No, it was definitely how intimidating she was. There was no way to slip by unnoticed, so I said a prayer, held my breath and hoped that she was so involved that she wouldn’t interrupt her conversation. Hand on the doorknob, I was practically free when my boss’s voice froze me in my tracks.

  “Karla! Are you finished with the report?”

  “I will have it finished tonight,” I said.

  “Something is keeping you from it at the moment? It is essential for the meeting I have with the sponsors tomorrow morning.”

  “I will have it finished…” I wanted to leave it at that, but the air in my lungs puffed out of my chest when I realized I had to explain my errand. Knowing I would be gone longer than it would take to grab a late lunch, I had to admit where I was going. “I’m on my way to the county science fair.”

  “Are you a judge?”

  The idea had not even occurred to me, but I quickly saw how I could run with it. “Not this year because I was my niece’s research subject. It’s something I’d like to do, though.”

  “The Miracle Center sponsors the Innovation Award. See what sort of projects the students are doing these days. Talk to the judges. It wouldn’t hurt for them to see us out in the community.”

  “I’ll make sure to find them.” Relieved the exchange had gone so well, I pushed the door, but Judy’s voice caught me once more.

  “Good. I’m in the clinic seeing patients this afternoon. I’m hoping to recruit some volunteers. Check back with me when you return as I may have some samples for you to process.”

  I froze. I had promised my family that I would join them for the celebration dinner following the fair. I’d been in the lab hours before anyone else that morning since I hadn’t planned on coming back. I’d hoped to finish the report at home, but I couldn’t do that if Judy did collect samples. “I’ll check with you when I’m back. It may not be until this evening.”

  “It’s no matter,” Judy answered. “I’ll be here.”

  Stuck again, I agreed and jogged down the stairs.

  It took me twenty minutes to cross town and ten more to park and walk to the fair site. The room was swarming with teachers, parents, and students. I impatiently navigated through the displays until I found my family.

  Antonia glared when she saw me. “So happy you could make it, Dr. Hernandez,” she whispered. Rosa was running through her project with someone, her expression anxious. I felt terrible when Rosa saw me and visibly relaxed.

  “Hi. I’m the research subject,” I said, in case the man was a judge. I didn’t know if they made themselves known or tried to blend into the crowd. As Rosa continued explaining her experimental method, I leaned toward my sister. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here when it started. I ran into all sorts of problems trying to get away from work.”

  Antonia waved off my excuse which was somehow worse than the punctuality lecture I usually received from our mother. “This is the first person to ask questions,” she said.

  “Judge?” I whispered.

  “What do I know?” Familiar taunting edged her tone.

  “What would you do differently next time?” the man asked. He was tall and lanky and wore running shoes with his loose-fitting suit.

  From what I’d researched about how the judging worked, the question positively identified the man as one of assessors. A knot of anxiety formed in my belly, but I was impressed with Rosa’s poise as she discussed trying multiple methods to cure my insomnia. Rosa concluded that she either needed more time to gather data or needed to omit one of her experimental arms, so she could dedicate a week to trying two of the potential remedies paired.

  I knew from my own poster presentations how hard it was to keep it succinct and as clear as possible when the curious wanted to know more about my work. It had taken me a while to learn to keep my mouth shut, thereby masking my insecurity and making me appear confident and collected. All of this seemed to come naturally to Rosa, who appeared at ease with the man now offering his thanks. After he left, I swept her up in a hug.

  “That was a judge, wasn’t it?” Rosa asked.

  “Probably, and I’m so, so
impressed with how you answered all his questions. Keep doing that, and you’re going to knock their socks off!”

  A group of students stopped to ask questions, taking Rosa’s attention again. As she explained her project to cluster after cluster of attendees, I realized how little she needed me. I scanned the nearby projects, listening in on some of the students. The boy to the right clearly had no idea what his parents had done for his effects-of-an-oil-spill project. His setup with a huge tray of water with oil floating on top amid coated bath toys looked great, but he had trouble discussing both his method and the relevance of his project. When asked about recent oil spills, the kid’s silence and his parents’ tension spoke volumes about who actually had the investment in marine wildlife.

  I could see myself being a judge for the event sometime. I itched to walk around the hall and see more projects and hear the young scientists talk about their work.

  Across the aisle, a gorgeous woman in a tailored suit and heels caught my attention. My body zinged with the probability that she was a judge. Her attire made her stand out as loudly as her actions. She took a seat in the student’s chair, putting her at eye level with him, and listened as if the child was the only person in the auditorium. I appreciated the length she went to make the student comfortable. To be honest, I appreciated a lot more. Every aspect of her screamed professional. Her wedge-cut black hair accentuated her slender neck and flawless jawline. Her features were delicate but her expression sure and strong. When she reached out to shake the student’s hand, I felt the urge to offer my own.

  The woman stood and turned, reading the projects on Rosa’s side of the aisle. I watched as the woman’s gaze went from the flawless project next to us to Rosa’s project before stopping on me. Caught staring, I should have looked away, but I couldn’t. Warmth flooded my chest as if I knew the woman, yet I was sure I’d never seen her before. She moved in my direction, every step accelerating my heartrate. Only when she was directly in front of me did the woman’s gaze drop to Rosa. A wide smile graced her face as she gestured to Rosa’s chair.