by Lori Avocato
Without any choice, they were kinda thrown together. Almost molded into one. Twins had special bonds, but these two were something very different. Their parents had messed them up good by treating them like clones.
It seemed as if they were going to make a go of TLC once they’d inherited it, but that’s when Buzz, who’d apparently trained as an EMT just to get the job, came back into their lives with his plan for revenge and money. Probably Buzz had lived away from Hope Valley but came back when he saw the big news about them inheriting TLC. Pansy had felt guilty and hired him, but wouldn’t let him live with her. Thus the housekeeper “mommy.”
I wondered if Buzz’s clumsy behavior was phony, but Sky assured me the guy couldn’t fake all that had happened to him. He just drew problems to himself. And these last ones were doozies.
Sky had insisted that he really did love Pansy, and it wasn’t just an affair. She’d always presented herself as asexual, which she had been after she and Payne had conceived Buzz. But Sky’d gotten her to open her heart just a bit… then it was too late. Sheepishly he’d admitted he’d gotten her what I called the “sex chair” on a trip he’d taken over to Europe-and it had helped-so they designed the room for…themselves.
Jagger suddenly tugged at my arm. We’d landed at Saint Greg’s. Sky, who would be fine, was taken off the copter by the staff, and we flew back to TLC.
When the helicopter set down, I got up and stepped out. ER Dano stood by the helipad, waiting. The police must have called him. I felt something touch my back.
A gentle nudge from…Jagger.
At first a thread of disappointment spread throughout me. He had pushed me forward. Jagger had actually pushed me toward Dano.
But in a heartbeat I found my way into Dano’s arms.
He held me tightly and over his shoulder I could see Jagger standing there… and, in that moment, that horrible moment, I realized he hadn’t nudged me forward at all…
Epilogue
I stood in the back of the park where the ceremony was about to begin-and sighed.
Damn, but life took interesting twists and turns. After Fabio had given me my well-deserved bonus for case #6 of my newfound career, I realized that my life had really changed.
And for the better.
No longer was I the newbie Fabio had once called me. Nope. I had managed to solve a case or two on my very own. A feeling of pride surged through me, and then I looked up at the “altar.”
Wow.
Nothing could have prepared me for the sight I now faced.
In the distance, a mere fifty feet away, stood the man who had brought me to this point in my life. The gentle summer’s breeze tousled his dark hair. Occasionally, he’d run a hand through it, and I’d sigh again. Damn, would I ever stop reacting to him this way?
Guess he really had a great influence on me-and my libido. Then again, no. It really wasn’t true. He hadn’t brought me here, to this point in my life, at all. Watching him. Feeling my insides flutter as usual and trying to think rationally, I finally realized-it was all my doing.
If nothing else, I had managed to switch from a very successful, yet truly stressful nursing career, to become a top-notch investigator for Scarpello and Tonelli insurance company. All right. All right. Top-notch might be a bit overboard, but I had grown and learned over the past six months.
The small all-guy quartet, suited in white tuxedos, started to play and my eyes began to tear up. Nothing like a wedding to bring out all the emotions of our lives.
Watching from nearby, sat my parents.
Daddy remained very stoic in his black tux, which Goldie and Miles had helped rent for him. Daddy could only have looked more handsome at his own wedding. I caught his gaze, and he winked at me.
Enough to make me want to break out in tears.
Stella Sokol had already married off four of her five children, so a wedding was nothing to her. Actually, no gala event that involved food was too much for her. Yet, right now, she couldn’t have looked more full of pride in her yellow “mother of the bride” gown, which Goldie himself had designed, and had assisted in every aspect of its creation. Mother looked proud, pleased, and probably thankful all at the same time.
While the quartet played something I’m sure was by Beethoven, I wiped a few tears from my cheeks, hoping I wasn’t painting raccoon eyes with my mascara, and scanned the crowd.
Small, yet personal. Friends each and every one, all decked out in their finest rose, yellow or white outfits-per the wedding planner’s suggestion. What a cool idea, I thought, as I decided that the entire setting could have been the centerfold for Bride magazine.
Lilla, in low-cut rose, and her mom, Adele, in skintight white with matching gloves, sat near the front next to, of all people, Nick Caruso, my first mentor on the job. Damn but he still looked good and I made a mental note to ask why he hadn’t taken a case lately.
Despite the special day, even Fabio had been seated near them. Thank goodness he didn’t wear brown polyester and was not smoking a cigar at the moment.
Oh, well, guess I had to be charitable for the special day.
My dearest uncle Walt had forgone his brown suit, too, to don a handsome black tuxedo. A “lady friend” of his, who sat next to him in her yellow dress, nudged him to look up at the sky.
Every floral arrangement boasted the same color palette as the guests, while the trellis on the “altar” had been painted white and yellow with matching roses (my Saint Theresa was never far away). Flocks of white doves seemed to hover in the air as if waiting for their cue.
Even I felt as if this day would never come, never have been able to come, if fate hadn’t shoved me out of my nursing career and into the insurance investigative field.
I actually giggled. Geez. So very unlike me, but when I looked up to see my buddy, Goldie, I had to smile.
For this very special day, Goldie had relinquished his oh-so-stylish penchant for lace and crinoline and had chosen instead what I assumed was Armani-pants-men’s. There was no doubt that the black tuxedo fit Gold to a tee and made him look more handsome than even I could have pictured. A boyish look on his face, yet a deeply loving look, added an extra zing to my Gold. Our gazes met, and we both let out a chuckle of friendship and best wishes.
No better friends could there be except for Miles being thrown into the equation. He, too, wore a dark black tux, but a different cut that made my dear friend look exactly as if I would have pictured him.
While the music slowed, I looked ahead through the center aisle, set off by white wooden chairs, to notice Jagger in his tux.
I can’t even explain how delicious he looked; I smiled at him and nodded to Miles, who stood nearby.
Finally!
On this perfect midsummer’s day, the lives of two people would be joined forever in heart, soul and legal union.
When I sniffled, I felt a hand on mine and looked down to see Goldie’s perfectly manicured hand resting, no, squeezing mine. “Hey,” was all I could say.
“Suga.” Now he sniffled. “I never thought this day would come.”
“You and I both. Or is it me and you?” We both laughed, held tighter, and suddenly paused.
The music had transitioned in tune. Something I called “the wedding march” in my head filled the park, the air and my heart.
Both of my parents soon stood next to me. I linked my arm in my father’s on one side, Goldie’s on the other, and as planned, my mother walked next to my dad.
And my heart soared in the ambiance of the fantastic occasion.
When we reached the end of the aisle, my parents walked to their seats, I proceeded to the center and stood next to Jagger. Ah.
Goldie stood next to Miles, and the ceremony, the real thing, the life-changing moment, began.
As if from a distance, yet only a few feet away, I heard, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, in this most lovely setting, I might add…”
Through teary eyes I looked at Jagger-and felt my heart sw
ell.
“…In the presence of these witnesses…” The officiate waved his hands in the air to encompass the entire crowd. “To join…”
I’d never stood in this situation before and realized it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Truly one I would treasure forever.
The officiate cleared his throat. “To join in holy matrimony…Goldie Perlman and Miles Scarpello…”
And I thought…someday…someday…
Acknowledgments
It’s a scary thing to be taken as a patient in an ambulance. Scary too, to send off a loved one in an ambulance. I know. I’ve been on both sides of the fence, along with riding with patients on helicopters and ambulances as a nurse in the Air Force.
So, to all those folks I dedicate this novel, in hopes that all turned out perfect and this story, Pauline’s story, can add some humor to your lives. All of our lives. Nothing is better or healthier than a laugh (except, of course, maybe chocolate).
To all my readers: Thank you so much! Needless to say, without you all, there would be no Pauline Sokol Mystery series, and what would poor Goldie do without the gang?
To my fantastic agent, Caren Johnson, who has more energy than I had at her age-no, at any age-thanks so much!
To May Chen, my wonderful editor, whose input keeps making my work better and better: I’m thrilled to be on your team.
And thanks go to all the workers at Avon who weave their magic to produce fabulous, eye-catching covers and book-selling blurbs, and to the copy editors, who more than likely have a good laugh when I write locks for lox. Yes, I’ve done it…er…a few times.
To Cecile H. Custer, RN, real-life fraud investigator who has given me ideas along with helping with my research and being a dedicated fan: Thanks, Cecile!
And thanks to my family-Greg and Mario, my kids, who make life worth living and even hang posters of their author mom in their dorm rooms. Have you guys no shame?!
And a blanket thanks to anyone I’ve forgotten. You know who you are, or at least can claim to.
About the Author
After serving in the Air Force as a registered nurse, LORI AVOCATO decided to switch careers and now writes a humorous mystery series for Avon Books. She lives in New England and is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, The Author’s Guild, and Sisters in Crime.
Lori believes that we all need a great entertaining read, and humor always helps. Her Pauline Sokol Mystery Series, in which a burned-out nurse becomes a medical-insurance fraud investigator, is a perfect medium for Lori’s quick wit and amusing, believable character. Her experience as a former Air Force nurse allows her to infuse her fast-paced plots with authentic medical details.
Lori’s first book of the series, A Dose of Murder, has made the best-selling suspense/thriller list on Amazon and placed second in the Reviewers International Organizations award of excellence for debut novel. Publishers Weekly has described these side-splitting novels as “delightful.”
You can visit Lori’s website at www.loriavocato.com, where you can drop her a note and read excerpts from this hilarious series.
Lori Avocato
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