Still The One
Page 17
"You've really given this some thought," Amber said, sounding impressed.
"Sure have. I'm looking for Mr. Felicia Banks number three."
"Number three!" Amber looked stunned. "I think I'd give up if I were a two-time loser in matrimony." As soon as the words were out, she clapped her hand over her mouth. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded, Felicia."
"Hey, don't worry about it. And, no, you wouldn't give up either," Felicia replied, not seeming offended at all by Amber's less than flattering remark. "I don't mind telling you my number one contender for Number Three will be here this weekend."
"Who might that be?" Jane asked, amused by her friend's refreshing honesty.
"Why, who else but the richest man that ever hailed from Vernon, Louisiana?" Felicia replied smugly.
Amber jumped to her feet. "Janie, I need to go to the restroom. Why don't you come with me?"
"Who do you mean?" Jane asked, alarmed.
"Let's go now, Janie." Amber tugged Jane's arm.
"My goodness, Jane Louise, haven't you heard? Morgan Sherwood's going to be here. Along with his entourage I expect."
Jane felt as if the breath had been knocked out of her body. She turned accusing eyes on Amber.
"Did I forget to tell you, Janie?" Amber asked, twisting her fingers in distress.
"Yes, as a matter of fact you did." Jane tried to keep her voice calm. She'd make some kind of excuse and leave, she thought. No way would she spend three days, and nights, in the company of Morgan Sherwood! She felt faint at the thought.
Somewhere in the room, she heard something heavy slam to the floor. A muffled exclamation and hurried footsteps penetrated her shock, but she couldn't turn to see what the commotion was.
"I guess we don't have to flip a coin to see who gets Morgan then?" Felicia asked.
"Certainly not. You're welcome to the man," Jane said icily. She would die before she'd allow anyone to think she had ever been smitten with the class genius. "In fact, I hope his money makes up for his looks because he certainly wasn't much in high school. I doubt that's changed."
"Jane Louise!" Amber said sharply. "You shouldn't say things like that."
"I shouldn't? I'm just speaking the truth?" Jane's voice rose, unaware that the room had fallen silent.
Bent on making sure no one thought she was manhunting, or less than happy with her life, as implied by the stupid name tag, she continued. "I'm not looking for a husband. I'm perfectly happy in my unmarried state, and I wish everyone in this town would realize that. I have the freedom to come and go as I please without answering to a man. And I support myself. I don't need a husband for that. So why would I want one? You can have the milk without buying the cow, if you get my drift. Men knew that for years before we women discovered that fact."
Felicia looked at her rather oddly. "So you don't think Morgan is a good catch?"
Jane forced a laugh. "I was not impressed by him ten years ago so why should I change my mind just because he's acquired a few bucks in the bank."
"Actually, that's ten million in stocks, bonds, precious metals, and bucks in the bank," a deep voice behind her corrected.
Jane whirled and came face to face with a dark-haired man who towered over her. His mouth stretched in a smile that revealed dazzling white teeth. A silly thought flitted through her stunned brain.
The better to eat you with, my dear.
Jane suppressed the hysterical giggle that bubbled upward. He wasn't the big bad wolf, but she felt a lot like Little Red Riding Hood at the moment. She stared into his intensely blue eyes. Eyes as unfathomable and as cold as the north Atlantic.
"Morgan!" Jane's voice was a whisper, yet, in the suddenly silent auditorium, it rang out. Two things about Morgan Sherwood hadn't changed. His voice and his eyes.
"Hello, Jane." His eyes looked intently into hers.
Make that three things that hadn't changed, she thought, with the way she felt when he said her name being the third. She shivered and remained silent.
Morgan's smile widened, making her think again of the wolf that devoured Grandma. It wasn't a smile, Jane thought dizzily. It was a smirk. A smug, macho smirk aimed at her. He looked pointedly at her name tag.
"Jane I'm still single Jones," he read. "With a personality like yours, that's understandable."
Jane I'm-Still-Single Jones by Joan Reeves
Coming Soon To Ebooks
Amusing Book and Author Trivia
I'm a trivia collector. Once, I had file folders bursting with amusing items about authors, writing, and books. Of course, that meant I occasionally had to clean out the clutter. The cleaning-out always took a while since I would have to read and chuckle as I de-cluttered.
Now, with computer files, I never have to throw away the odd tidbit since no physical clutter exists. The digital world is wonderful for us pack rats. We can save everything until our hard drives explode.
Here are a few facts I thought you readers might enjoy. Some could probably be listed under the sub-heading: strange but true!
* * *
In the last seven years of his life, Thomas Hardy took no baths. (Yuk! I imagine everyone wanted him Far from the Madding Crowd!)
John Grisham received twenty-eight rejections for A Time to Kill.
Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, went a full year without speaking to anyone.
David Cornwell is the real name of spy novelist John Le Carre.
Lord Byron set his hair in curlers at night. (And he was a great lover!)
Mary Higgins Clark had her first short story rejected forty times. (Of course that means there were at least forty markets for short fiction then! Now, ebook publishing has breathed new life into short fiction.)
Charles Dickens detested being called Grandpa.
William Golding received twenty-one rejections for Lord of the Flies.
Frank was the real first name of Mickey Spillane. (Did he think Mickey sounded like a tough guy?)
Pearl Buck received 14 rejections on the Good Earth.
George Bernard Shaw had his first five novels rejected.
Teodor Josef Konrad Korzeniowski is the real name of Joseph Conrad, author of Heart of Darkness among others. (A name like that would lead to serious writer's cramp at book signings!)
L. M. Olenhewitz is Jules Verne.
Marguerite Johnson is Maya Angelou.
Then there is the admiration authors have for other authors.
Harold Robbins on Ernest Hemingway: "Hemingway is a jerk."
Tolstoy on Nietzsche: "Nietzsche was stupid and abnormal."
Truman Capote had less than admiration for just about everyone so I won't single out an individual for his caustic comments.
I'll finish up with Kurt Vonnegut on himself: "I'd rather have written Cheers than anything I've written."
The End
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
Meet Joan Reeves
Excerpt, The Trouble With Love by Joan Reeves
Excerpt, Video Vixen by Elaine Raco Chase
Excerpt, In the Garden of Seduction by Cynthia Wicklund
Excerpt, Jane I'm-Still-Single Jones by Joan Reeves
Amusing Book and Author Trivia
-moz-filter: grayscale(100%); -o-filter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share