This Christmas
Page 35
“Oh! I forgot I had the Hopster with me!” I stuck the frog on my index finger and proceeded to do a little vaudeville routine that delighted Pepper, but frankly seemed to spook August a little. She wound herself more tightly around her mom’s leg.
When we left the nursery, Pepper was all praise for my clunky kid technique. “You are so great with August! You wouldn’t believe the people who’ve been through here. Some of them have obviously never even been around kids before, and yesterday some girl came here with a whole set of Disney DVDs to bribe her with! Can you imagine? Of course August loved her.”
Damn. I didn’t even know how to bribe a three-year-old. Talk about inept. Finger puppets? What did I think this was, 1972?
Not that I wanted this job. I absolutely didn’t.
The strange thing was, Pepper was acting as if it were a given that I had it, when before, when we were going up to August’s suite, she had been treating me more like a visitor than a potential employee. Maybe this was just an old-school-chum courtesy, to let me think that the decision was up to me. When we both knew what the decision would be.
As we walked back downstairs, she started giving me instructions. “Now, we always call her August. No nicknames. Spencer’s parents are always calling her Augie and it just drives me insane.” She flicked me a look that spoke volumes about the state of in-law relations in the Smith household. “They know I don’t like it, too. You can be sure of that.”
“August is such a great name,” I said.
“I think so. Of course we named her that before the world and its wife started naming their kids August,” she added bitterly.
“I didn’t know.” I tried to think of kids I’d known with the name of August and came up with…none.
“Puh-leez!” She rolled her eyes. “Of course, the way people are popping out kids these days, no name’s safe anymore.”
At the door, she gave me another of those weightless hugs of hers. “I’m so glad you showed up!”
“Well, I have to…”
She waved away my mumbled hesitation. “I know. Think it over. Of course you do! I’ll give you a buzz tomorrow. How about that?”
“Sure thing.”
“It was just great to see you Al.”
“Just great to see you, too, Pepper.”
I got out of there as fast as I could without actually running.
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2005 by Kensington Publishing Corp.
“Vacation” copyright © 2005 by Jane Green
“The Second Wife of Reilly” copyright © 2005 by Jennifer Coburn
“Mistletoe and Holly” copyright © 2005 Elizabeth Bass
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ISBN: 0-7582-4932-2
Table of Contents
Cover
Praise
Books by Jane Green
Title Page
CONTENTS
Vacation Jane Green
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
The Second Wife of Reilly Jennifer Coburn
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Mistletoe and Holly Liz Ireland
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Copyright