The 10-Year Reunion

by Susan Wiggs

  “What do you mean, everybody else?”

  Julie offered a sullen shrug. “Just…never mind.”

  Camille reached over and very gently brushed back a lock of Julie’s hair. Her daughter was smack in the middle of prepubescent awkwardness, the epitome of a late bloomer. All her friends had made it through puberty, yet Julie had just barely begun. In the past year, she’d gained weight and was so self-conscious about her body that she draped herself in baggy jeans and t-shirts.

  “Maybe I do need to let go,” Camille said. “But not all at once, and certainly not by putting you in harm’s way.”

  “It’s called surf rescue for a reason. We’re learning to be safe in the water. You know this, Mom. Jeez.”

  Camille slowly let out her breath, put the car in Drive and pulled back out onto the road. “Doing something underhanded is not the way to win my trust.”

  “Fine. Tell me how to win your trust so I can take the course.”

  Camille kept her eyes on the road, the familiar landmarks sliding past the car windows. There was the pond where she and her friends had once swung a rope swing. On the water side was Sutton Cove–a kiteboarding destination for those willing to brave the wind and currents. After a day of kiteboarding with Jace nearly sixteen years before, she’d emerged from the sand and surf to find him down on one knee, proffering an engagement ring. So many adventures around every corner.

  “We’ll talk about it,” she said at last.

  “Meaning we won’t.”

  “Meaning we’re both going to try to do better. I’m sorry I’ve been so buried in work, and–” A horrid thought crash-landed into the moment.

  “What?” Julie asked.

  “A work thing.” She glanced over at her daughter. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal.” Her stomach clenched as she thought about the project she’d been working on for Professor Finnemore. The moment the ER had called, Camille had dropped everything and burst out of the darkness–thus ruining her client’s rare, found film forever.

  Great. The one-of-a-kind negatives, which might have offered never before seen images nearly half a century old, were completely destroyed.

  Professor Finnemore was not going to be happy.

  “Susan Wiggs paints the details of human relationships with the finesse of a master.”

  —#1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult

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  “Susan Wiggs writes with bright assurance, humor and compassion.”

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  ISBN-13: 9781488023958

  THE 10-YEAR REUNION by Susan Wiggs

  Revised text edition © 2017

  First published as HUSBAND FOR HIRE by Harlequin Heart of the West in 1999

  Copyright © 1999 by Susan Wiggs

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

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