Her hopes plummeted. Alex stared at her best friend, Maggie Ryan, and gave a scowl. "You were supposed to be a man."
Maggie snorted and walked in. She waved a hand in the air, flashing perfectly manicured cherry red nails, and flopped down on the sofa. "Yeah, keep dreaming. You scared your last date half to death. I won't be setting you up again. What happened here?"
"I can't tell you. What do you mean I scared him to death? I thought he was going to attack me."
Maggie raised one arched brow. "He leaned in to give you a good-night kiss. You stumbled back and fell on your ass, making him feel like an idiot. People kiss after a date, Al. It's a ritual thing."
Alex tossed the remaining trash into a bag and scooped up the bucket. "He had tons of garlic at dinner and I didn't want him near me," she said.
Maggie grabbed the wine glass and swigged a healthy swallow. She stretched out long legs clad in black leather, and hooked her high heeled boots over the edge of the battered table. "Remind me again why you haven't had sex in the last decade?"
"Witch."
"Celibate."
Alex gave up and laughed. "Okay, you win. Why are you gracing me with your presence on a Saturday night? You look good."
"Thanks. I'm meeting someone for drinks at eleven. Wanna come?"
"On your date?"
Megan made a face and drained the rest of the glass. "You'll be better company. He's a bore."
"Why are you going out with him?"
"He looks good."
Alex dropped next to her on the couch and sighed. "I wish I could be like you, Maggie. Why do I have so many hang-ups?"
"Why don't I have any? So, what's the deal with the fire?"
Alex sighed and confessed."I was creating a love spell. To get a man."
Her friend threw back her head and laughed. "Okay. Give me the whole story. What were you doing with the bucket?"
"I made a fire to honor the Earth mother."
"Oh, my God."
"Shut up and hear me out. I'm desperate. I still haven't met Mr. Right and another small problem came up I need to solve, so I combined both my needs into one list."
"What kind of list?"
"One of my customers told me she bought this book on love spells, and when she made a list of all the qualities she looked for in a man, he showed up."
Now, Maggie looked interested. "A man appeared in her life with all the things she wanted?"
"Yep. The list has to be specific. It can't be too general, or supposedly the universe gets confused with your desires and sends nothing. She said if you follow the spell, the right man will appear."
Maggie's cat green eyes gleamed. "Let me see the book."
Alex tossed her the little fabric covered book. Suddenly, she felt less like an idiot. Nothing like another single female to make you feel better about the quest for a man, she thought to herself. She waited for Maggie's opinion.
"Pretty cool. Show me your list."
Alex waved off her request. "I burned it."
"I know you have another copy under your bed. Forget it, I'll get the thing myself." Her friend stalked off toward the canary yellow futon and stuck her hand under the cushions. Within seconds, her list was held triumphantly between bright red fingernails, and Maggie licked her lips as if she was about to dive into a lusty romance novel. Alex collapsed on the carpet. The humiliation was about to begin.
"Number one," her friend recited. "A Mets fan."
Alex stared at the table. She braced herself for the explosion about to come.
"Baseball!" Maggie shrieked. She waved the paper back and forth in the air for dramatic effect. "Damnit, how can you make your number one priority baseball? They haven't made it to the World Series in years! It's a fact in New York there are more Yankees fans than Mets, and that wipes out half the male population."
Alexandria glared. "The Mets have heart and character, and I need a man who can root for the underdog. I refuse to sleep with a Yankee fan."
"You're hopeless. I give up." Maggie continued. "Number two, loves books, art and poetry." She paused to think about it, then shrugged. "You own a bookstore and you write poetry. I accept. Three, believes in monogamy. Very important to the list. Number four, wants children."Maggie looked up. "How many?"
Alex smiled at the thought. "I'd like three. And if I can't have children, I want to adopt. Should I have specified adoption in the list?"
"No, Earth Mother will get it."
Maggie continued. "Number five, knows how to communicate with a woman. Good one. I'm sick of reading books about Venus and Mars. I've gone through the whole series and I still don't have clue. Number six, loves animals." Maggie groaned. "That's as bad as the Mets!"
Alex scooted around on the carpet to face her. "Is not! If he hates dogs, how can I continue my volunteer program at the shelter? And what if he's a hunter? God, what a nightmare! I'd wake up in the middle of the night and find a dead deer staring at me from over the mantelpiece."
"You're so dramatic."
"The shelters are overcrowded and they try not to destroy. If volunteers take the extras for a few nights, more dogs are saved. They need as much help as possible."
"I've heard the speech before, and no, I'm not volunteering. Dogs cramp my style."
"But--"
"Number seven. Has a moral code of ethics and believes in honesty. Should've been number one on the list, but what the hell, I'm not a Mets fan. Number eight, a good lover." She waggled her eyebrow with interest. "That would be number two on my list. But I'm proud the item even shows up. Maybe you're not as hopeless as I thought."
"Keep going."
"Number nine, has a strong sense of family. Makes sense - you guys remind me of the frikkin Waltons. Okay number ten..." she trailed off. Alex swallowed hard and waited. The clock ticked. She knew her friend read the item again to confirm the validity of the request. "Alex, I think I'm reading number ten wrong."
Alex sighed. "Probably not."
Maggie recited the last request. "Needs $150,000 available cash." She looked up. "I need more details."
Alex met her friend's gaze dead on. "I need a man I can love, with an extra $150,000 thrown in. And I need him fast."
Maggie shook her head like she surfaced from underwater. "For what?"
"To save Tara."
Maggie blinked. "Tara?"
"Yeah, my mother's home. You know, like in the movie, Gone with the Wind? Remember how my mom used to joke about needing more cotton to pay the bills? I haven't told you how bad it's gotten, Mags. Mom wants to sell and I can't let her. My whole family lives there, and they'll have nowhere to go. I'll do anything to help, even marry. Just like Scarlett."
Maggie moaned and grabbed her purse. She ripped out her phone and punched in some numbers.
"What are you doing?" Alex asked.
"Canceling my date. Somehow, I think this new item needs to be discussed. Then I'm calling my therapist. She's very good, discreet, and she takes midnight appointments."
Alex laughed. "You're such a good friend, Maggie."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
The Start of Something Good
Stay, Book 1
By Jennifer Probst Coming June 5, 2018
Click here to purchase
Discover the brand new STAY series!
War changed him. Betrayal wounded her. But everyone's heart deserves a second chance.
When Ethan Bishop returns to the Hudson Valley, his body and spirit are a little worse for wear. As a former Special Forces paratrooper, he saw his fair share of conflict, and he came home with wounds, inside and out. At his sisters' B & B and farm, he can keep all his pain at a safe distance. But quiet time isn't easy when a fiery woman explodes into his life...
It's business--not pleasure--that brings Manhattan PR agent Mia Thrush reluctantly to the farm. Tightly wound and quick tempered, Mia clashes immediately with the brooding Ethan. Everything about him is irritating--from his lean muscles and piercing blue eyes to his scent of
sweat and musk.
But as the summer unfolds and temperatures rise, Ethan and Mia discover how much they have in common: their guarded histories, an uncontrollable desire, and a passion for the future that could heal two broken hearts. But will their pasts threaten their fragile chance at a brand-new future?
On behalf of 1001 Dark Nights,
Liz Berry and M.J. Rose would like to thank ~
Steve Berry
Doug Scofield
Kim Guidroz
Jillian Stein
InkSlinger PR
Dan Slater
Asha Hossain
Chris Graham
Fedora Chen
Kasi Alexander
Jessica Johns
Dylan Stockton
Richard Blake
and Simon Lipskar
Table of Contents
Book Description
Prologue
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
Epilogue
The Marriage Arrangement Page 14