by Mary Campisi
“I want them there. And Dad and Maggie.” When he raised a brow, she said, “I think she’s secretly in love with him.”
“Speaking of, what are the odds on those two?” He pointed to Roxie and an oddly excited Rhyder. Was the man actually beaming?
“I’d say 99 to 1.”
“Which way?” He’d bet against them.
“They end up together.”
“Really?”
“You’ll see.”
Rhyder dragged Roxie by the arm and stopped in front of Max and C.C. “Finally, we can stop the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Congratulations to both of you. I’ll be happy to be the best man.”
“And the godfather,” Max said.
“What?” Rhyder’s gaze honed in on C.C.’s belly.
“We’re going to have a baby,” C.C. said.
“You did it! My charts worked, didn’t they?”
“Rhyder—”
“I told you they would.”
“Rhyder!”
“What charts?” Roxie eyed Rhyder like she wanted to pounce on him.
“Nothing,” Rhyder said. “Just some analytical projections. So. Roxie and I had a deal and I met my terms. Now it’s time for her to make good on hers.” He cleared his throat and announced, “She’s going to introduce me to her cousin, Roberta.”
“Roxie—”
“No, C.C., a deal’s a deal.”
Max tried to hide a smile. Maybe Rhyder had met his match.
“Are you ready?”
Rhyder straightened his perfect tie and adjusted his glasses. “Ready. Where is she? I didn’t see anyone who looked like Roberta.”
“How would you know? Have you ever seen her?” Roxie ruffled her spiked hair and smiled.
“Well, no, but I’m quite certain I could pick her out anywhere.”
“Actually, you flunk on that one. You’ve seen her several times and not once did you spot her.”
“Impossible.”
Roxie laughed. “It’s true.” She took a step closer and stood on tiptoe so she was eye to eye with him. “You big oaf, know-it-all, I’m Roberta Revito.” She growled that revelation at him and stalked away. It took Rhyder a few seconds before he sputtered, something he never did, and went after her.
Max pulled C.C. into his arms. “I think your stats were a little off. Anybody who can make Rhyder unravel like that has my vote. I’ll say there’s a one hundred percent chance those two end up together.”
C.C. snuggled against his chest and let out one of those breathy sighs he loved.
“They’re starting off the same way we did and look how we ended up.”
Max kissed the top of her head and nuzzled her hair contentedly. “Who would have guessed such a bad deal would turn into the sweetest one yet?”
About the Author
Mary Campisi should have known she’d become a writer when, at age thirteen, she began changing the endings to all the books she read. It took several years and a number of jobs—including registered nurse, receptionist in a swanky hair salon, accounts payable clerk and practice manager in an OB/GYN office—for her to rediscover writing. Enter a mouse-less computer, a floppy disk and a dream large enough to fill a zip drive. The rest of the story lives on in every book she writes.
When she’s not working on her craft or following the lives of five young adult children, Mary’s digging in the dirt with her flowers and herbs, cooking, reading, walking her rescue lab mix, Cooper, or, on the perfect day, riding off into the sunset with her very own “hero” husband on his Electra Glide Classic.
Mary is also the author of Not Your Everyday Housewife, A Family Affair, The Butterfly Garden, Simple Riches, Paradise Found, and Innocent Betrayal.
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ISBN: 978-1-4268-9053-6
Copyright © 2010 by Mary Campisi
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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