The Devil You Know. Laurie Paige
“Remember our agreement,” Adam said. “We want a clean break when the time comes.”
“That’s what you want,” Roni said.
Now he frowned openly. Leaning close, he asked, “So what do you want?”
“We made vows, Adam. For better, for worse, through sickness and health. We promised to love, honor and cherish. Then we sealed those vows with a kiss. Did you have your fingers crossed all that time?”
Again she had that odd rush of tears. Again she forced it at bay. Adam would hate it if she showed pity for him.
She dropped her hands to her lap. “Sometimes, life won’t let you take a ‘time-out’ from living,” she told him very gently. “We are truly married, whether you want to be or not.”
Dear Reader,
It’s October, the time of year when crisper temperatures and waning daylight turns our attention to more indoor pursuits—such as reading! And we at Silhouette Special Edition are happy to supply you with the material. We begin with Marrying Molly, the next in bestselling author Christine Rimmer’s BRAVO FAMILY TIES series. A small-town mayor who swore she’d break the family tradition of becoming a mother before she becomes a wife finds herself nonetheless in the very same predicament. And the father-to-be? The very man who’s out to get her job….
THE PARKS EMPIRE series continues with Lois Faye Dyer’s The Prince’s Bride, in which a wedding planner called on to plan the wedding of an exotic prince learns that she’s the bride-to-be! Next, in The Devil You Know, Laurie Paige continues her popular SEVEN DEVILS miniseries with the story of a woman determined to turn her marriage of convenience into the real thing. Patricia Kay begins her miniseries THE HATHAWAYS OF MORGAN CREEK, the story of a Texas baking dynasty (that’s right, baking!), with Nanny in Hiding, in which a young mother on the run from her abusive ex seeks shelter in the home of Bryce Hathaway—and finds so much more. In Wrong Twin, Right Man by Laurie Campbell, a man who feels he failed his late wife terribly gets another chance to make it up—to her twin sister. At least he thinks she’s her twin…. And in Wendy Warren’s Making Babies, a newly divorced woman whose ex-husband denied her the baby she always wanted, finds a willing candidate—in the guilt-ridden lawyer who represented the creep in his divorce!
Enjoy all six of these reads, and come back again next month to see what’s up in Silhouette Special Edition.
Take care,
Gail Chasan
Senior Editor
The Devil You Know
Laurie Paige
To T., who is serving her country.
Thanks for writing, Laurie.
LAURIE PAIGE
Laurie has been a NASA engineer, a past president of the Romance Writers of America, a mother and a grandmother. She was twice a Romance Writers of America RITA® Award finalist for Best Traditional Romance and has won awards from Romantic Times for Best Silhouette Special Edition and Best Silhouette in addition to appearing on the USA TODAY bestseller list. Recently resettled in Northern California, Laurie is looking forward to whatever experiences her next novel will send her on.
Contents
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
Chapter One
V eronica Dalton glanced at her watch and wrinkled her nose in mock despair. “Gotta punch the time clock,” she declared. She counted out enough money to cover her part of the check and tip.
Her best friend, Patricia Upjohn, rolled her eyes at the totally false statement. “Roni, Roni,” she scolded. “Count your blessings. Others should be so lucky as to have your hours. And your boss.”
With a degree in computer science, Roni worked at home, writing computer learning games for children. Her actual working hours were up to her.
And Patricia was right about the boss. Besides being nice, a great guy and all that, he was a hunk. A woman with any sense would go for him in a heartbeat.
Roni tried to look contrite. “I agree. You bankers pay the price for serving humanity.”
“We do our best,” Patricia said humbly.
This time it was Roni who rolled her eyes. “Same time next week?” she asked, standing.
“Right.”
She bid her friend goodbye and threaded her way through the luncheon crowd. The Friday crunch was getting worse, it seemed to her. They might have to select another day for their weekly lunch. Maybe she could talk her boss into changing their Friday morning meetings to Monday.
No, bad idea. People tended to be grouchy first thing on Mondays. Tuesdays would work, though. Or Wednesdays.
Contemplating what other day of the week would be better for Patricia, she detoured past a group who were still saying their farewells and blocking the narrow space around their table. At that moment, one of the departing men stepped backward without looking. He crashed into Roni, sending her careening to the right…and facedown onto the next table.
At nose level—she wasn’t quite lying prone on the white cloth—she observed as water glasses and coffee cups jostled wildly while dinner plates skidded dangerously near the edge. She had a split second to be grateful the plates were mostly empty and that she hadn’t landed on one.
The larger and older of the two men took the brunt of the accident as hot and cold liquids sloshed onto his lap.
“I’m so sorry,” she managed to say as the man leaped from his chair and gave her an indignant glare as he brushed droplets from his clothing. Luckily his napkin had absorbed most of the damage.
“Oh, sorry,” muttered the coward who’d bumped her. He hurried away, leaving her to face the wrath of the drenched diner alone.
“Use this,” a masculine baritone advised.
A clean napkin was thrust into her hand. She carefully blotted drops off the other man’s tie. “Blot, don’t swipe,” she told the furious diner. “That way, you won’t push the stain into the material.”
Having grown up in an all male household—two older brothers, three older cousins, plus Uncle Nick, who’d raised all six orphans—she’d learned early how to manage most household tasks. Finished, she surveyed the man. “There, not a stain in sight,” she said in relief.
“A good thing for you,” the man snarled.
“It wasn’t her fault,” his companion said. “The other man knocked her off her feet. Are you okay?” he asked her.
Roni swung her head around in shock as recognition flashed through her. A jolt went all the way to her toes as she met the cool gray gaze of the man who’d handed her the napkin. “Adam!” she said, then couldn’t think of another word, she was