Daring Brides (16 page)

And here are the excerpts…

NORA ROBERTS LAND

Meredith Hale scanned the bookstore window. There it was-the new Nora Roberts book-the cover a bold, powerful landscape of sky and water.

Her superhero alter ego, Divorcée Woman, couldn't override the rash of goosebumps on her arms or her knotted stomach. Meredith patted the red lace La Perla bustier hidden under her black suit jacket and took one hesitant step closer to the glass, her breath hitching as she scanned Nora's prominent display. She imagined Divorcée Woman telling her to suck it up. It was only a bookstore after all. It wasn't like she had to take a bullet for the president or anything.

She'd gone cold turkey on Nora's books a year ago, when her ex-husband, Rick-the-Dick, threw Black Hills at the wall, snarling that her favorite author had given her an unrealistic view of love. “Our marital problems are her fault,” he said. “She's made you believe in happily ever after-something any adult knows is a myth. Grow up.” Then he packed his custom-tailored suits and slammed out the door of their swanky Manhattan apartment.

At first she'd thought maybe he was right. But she missed Nora's books. And not reading them hadn't made the whole divorce thing any easier on her. It hadn't made the panic attacks go away.

She wanted her Nora Roberts back, dammit. It was time to reclaim her life.

Unfortunately, just looking at the cover had her hovering on the edge of a panic attack. Her hands grew clammy. She wiped them on her black suit and dug into her matching purse for her cell phone. Her sister would be able to talk her into going into the store. After all, Jill could talk anyone into anything.

“Hey, Mere,” Jill greeted, the ever-present sound of her favorite band, Abba, in the background. Jill wanted to live life like a dancing queen.

“Hey,” she said, making sure to sound calmer than she was. “How's business at the coffee shop?”

“Well, after a regional dairy salesman tried to talk me into changing my store's name from Don't Soy With Me to Don't Milk Me, I'm about ready to bash my head against the espresso machine. He was so dense. I tried to explain it's a play on words, but he just blinked like one of those dairy cows and went, 'Oh.'”

Meredith's panic slowly eased. Jill and her stories were always a comfort. “Being in New York, I don't run into too many milk salesmen. Does he wear a special outfit?”

“No, thank God. Speaking of milk, did you get my present?”

Ducking closer to the store window so she wouldn't be mowed down by a rush of pedestrians, Meredith said, “You mean the coffee mug with the line, 'You're My Udder One'?”

“Yes. I tried to appease the milk guy by telling him I'd put those mugs out for display, but he wouldn't leave. He even offered to teach me how to milk a cow. I think he was hitting on me.”

As Meredith muffled her laughter, a passing banker gave her a disapproving stare. His shoes, belt, and briefcase matched-the Wall Street uniform. “And I thought my love life was pathetic.”

“What love life?”

“Funny. Speaking of which, I'm outside a bookstore. I woke up this morning and decided I want to read.”

“Oh, honey, I didn't know you were illiterate.”

“Hah.” She eyed the rush of people heading in and out of the bookstore on 82nd and Broadway.

“Okay, take a deep yoga breath. Jeez, Mere, you sound like Great Aunt Helen when she put down her oxygen to steal a swig of Grandpa's scotch at Christmas.”

“Right. Breathe.” Was her vision blurring? “I'm taking a step.”

“Oh, baby, I wish mom and I were there to see it.”

Her sister's wicked humor cut through the fogginess in her head. Meredith wasn't sure she was in her body anymore, but it moved when she walked. Her hand managed to open the door. She walked in on legs wobbling like an untangled yoyo.

“Are you inside yet?”

She squeezed into a book aisle as people cruised by. “Yes.”

“Welcome back to the land of the reading.”

Was there anything more comforting? “Thank you. I'm standing by the thriller and suspense section. Makes me think of Grandpa. He's convinced there's some sort of conspiracy going on at the university. I'm researching the college drug trade for him on the side. Maybe I should buy him a John Grisham book instead.”

“I know! He keeps pumping me for information about the parties I've gone to. I told him people drink too much and puke. End of story.”

“Tell that to his infernal journalism gut.” Not that she could point fingers. Hale DNA had given her one too.

“I know the fam's grateful you've been helping out with the paper after Dad's heart attack,” her sister said, “But Dad's still working too hard. He loves that paper like it's a child-just like Grandpa.”

“I know, Jill.” Suddenly guilt pressed down on her, its force almost as strong as the panic. She was helping, but she wished she could do more. Sometimes being long-distance sucked.

Her sister cleared her throat. “I don't know how to say this, but you need to know. Sorry the timing's not great with the whole one-year-divorce anniversary thing, but…” Her sister's breathing went a little ragged on the line. “The doctor's concerned about dad's progress and wants him to take some time off. Mom hasn't wanted to ask you, but someone needs to help Grandpa. I know he can run circles around us all, but he's in his seventies. Is there any way you can come home to help out for a few months? I'd do it, but I have zero journalistic instincts. Plus, I have Don't Soy with Me to run.”

“Come home?” She bumped into a book display, and a whole parade of James Patterson hardcovers slid to the floor. Her lungs seemed to stop at the thought. “I can't breathe...and I really want to.” She gulped in air.

“Go to the coffee shop and sit down. Put your head between your knees.”

She wobbled over to a chair and caught sight of the romance section. The tightness between her ribs could have competed with a boa constrictor as it killed its victim. She didn't care what people thought. She put her head between her legs when she saw red.

Her phone buzzed in her clenched hand, signaling another call. She ignored it, breathing deeply. When her equilibrium returned, she took deep breaths until she was sure she'd inhaled all the circulated air in Manhattan. She put the phone to her ear again.

“You still there?”

“Yep. You okay?”

Question of the year. “I didn't pass out, but it was close.”

“Meredith, your husband cheated on you, and then blamed it on you-and Nora's books. You've been through an emotional wringer. Give yourself a break. I keep telling Jemma that too.”

Jill's best friend had just been dumped by her childhood sweetheart. “You're pretty good at giving advice.”

“Practice. Jemma's devastated.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Her eyes burned, and she pinched the bridge of her nose. “I can't stand another night in my apartment. I miss my Tribeca place and eating out in restaurants and visiting gallery openings. I don't miss Rick-the-Dick, but I do miss being part of that jam-packed world.”

“You have the Power Couple Blues, Mere. Maybe coming home to help the paper will give you a new perspective. You don't have any family there. Most of your friends changed when you got divorced.”

True, she had become intimately familiar with the term “fair weather friend” over the past year. “I miss you guys.” But going home? She'd been in New York since starting at Colombia. “Let me grab a coffee.”

“I wish I was there to make your favorite. Then I'd give you a ginormous hug and tell you about Paige Lorton snorting whipped cream up her nose and old man Perkins giving her the Heimlich.”

Her laughter popped out like the final popcorn kernels in the microwave. “Oh, Jillie, I love you.”

“I love you too. You're my big sis. I miss you, Mere.”

Holding the phone away from her face for a moment, she walked up to the counter and gave her coffee order-a tall, no foam latte-before shuffling back to her chair. She slumped against the metal back, returning the phone to her ear. “Let me think about coming home.”

“Surely Karen knows how hard you've worked after joining her paper. You've been there for a year now. Plus, it's Rick-the-Dick's rival paper. That's gotta be extra bonus points.”

Her coffee magically appeared in front of her. She looked up to see a petite barista with flat-ironed hair. “You look like you needed me to bring it over.”

Kindness didn't happen often in New York. In her hometown of Dare Valley, Colorado, it happened more times than she could count. “Thank you.” A wave of homesickness hit her. “Maybe you're right, Jill. It would be nice to be around people who know me.”

“Good! So think about it. Talk to Karen. Now, drink your latte, and then we'll talk you into the romance section. Nora Roberts Land awaits.”

A smile tugged at Meredith's lips. “I forgot how mom always used to call Nora's books that. She'd point her finger at dad and say she was taking a few hours to visit Nora Roberts Land, and then she'd seal herself off in the bedroom. Like it was an adult version of Disneyland. Dad never got it.”

“Yeah, but at least he didn't blame divorce on Nora's books. Rick-the-Dick's the kind of man who can't take responsibility for his cheating, so he blamed it on you-and fiction. Isn't that the most pathetic thing ever? It's like blaming teen suicide on Romeo and Juliet. It's asinine.”

“Actually, I think that's been done.” She took the last drink of her latte and stood. Tested her balance. “Okay, I'm ready.”

“So strut your stuff over to the romance section.”

Enjoy NORA ROBERTS LAND now.

FRENCH ROAST

Jill realized she'd do pretty much anything for this man. Hike the Continental Divide in the snow. Darn holes in socks. Cripes, she needed to get a clue. Or a life.

“No…I thought I'd drop by and see if you wanted to come to dinner tonight. I'll cook.”

Her head darted back. They'd been spending time together over the past few months, but cooking…from scratch. This was new.

“Like a real date?” she asked. Dammit, maybe the whole fire truck ride had infused her with life-and-death energy, but she wanted to be clear.

“Ah, sure. If you want to call it that.” He jiggled change in his pocket, ducking his head, hitching his shoulder up like he did when he was nervous. “I want to cook for you.”

He did? Her heart warmed like she was holding a puppy. “That'd be awesome! I'd love that. I mean…” Overdone, she realized. “Great, simply great.” Shut up, Jill.

“Why don't you pop by at seven?”

“Can I bring something?”

“Just yourself.”

And the way he said it made her knees quiver, actually quiver.

“Great!” she breathed out and ground her teeth. Maybe she should study the dictionary so she could learn to form cohesive sentences.

“Okay.” He edged back. Then, he rushed forward to kiss her cheek. “See ya then.” He turned, bumped into the table, and cruised out, not looking back.

Jill righted the paper cup he'd knocked over, fighting the urge to touch her cheek. The patrons' muffled chuckles only made her lovesick grin grow wider.

She wasn't the only one off her rocker. Brian was making a real move.

It was about damn time.

Enjoy FRENCH ROAST now.

THE GRAND OPENING

They were about four blocks from Jill's when the moose halted, stomped its feet like a flamenco dancer, and lowered its head. She could almost hear it yell Charge! Its pounding hooves echoed in her ears.

“Run, Keith, run! Don't stop! Get Uncle Tanner.” Her brother would know what to do. He always did.

She stopped and turned around, clutching the pie. Maybe she could use it as a shield. Right.

The moose stopped when she did, watching her. Its floppy ears curled back. The grunts issuing from its mouth made her think of the deranged sex offender she'd arrested last year.

She braced her legs, prepared to spring to the side at the last minute if it charged.

A car revved, racing down the street. She was in the middle of the road. God, what a choice-she could be hit by a car or a moose.

A red Ferrari screeched to a halt between them. The beast tossed its head and charged, hitting the car with a resounding thunk. Glass cracked. Metal bent like Superman had put his fists through it.

Shock rolled through her at the sheer destructive power of the thing. The passenger side door swung open as the moose ambled around the side dazedly. “Get in, Peg.”

Magically, miraculously, it was Mac Maven, staring at her with his stoplight green eyes, which always made her think of a traffic light telling her, Yes, go, nothing's stopping you. She darted for the vehicle as the moose headed her way.

Keith stopped halfway up the block. “Mommy!”

“Run! Get Tanner!”

She jumped into the car and slammed the door, watching Keith run off. Thank God.

The moose circled back and hit Maven's side again, shaking them like clothes in a dryer. Metal whined with the impact. Glass splintered into spider webs.