Janet Evanovich

There was no need for him to speak—his crack‍­ling blue eyes told her he had won this round and was openly gloat‍­ing over his vic‍­tory.

her daugh‍­ter’s or‍­ange curls

freshly washed hair. She re‍­cog‍­nized the lemon-​and-lilac scent

She had al‍­ways ima‍­gined that her mar‍­riage would be long and happy—like her par‍­ents’—a col‍­lec‍­tion of shared in‍­timacies, com‍­mun‍­al goals, lov‍­ing memor‍­ies. She had jumped at the first man who’d come along be‍­cause she’d wanted all those things so badly. And she’d ended up with noth‍­ing.

Be‍­cause he was slick and hand‍­some and too good to be true; an‍­oth‍­er Prince Charm‍­ing. A Steven Black clone.

This is the second time I’ve had spaghetti today,” Lucy announced. “We had spaghetti for lunch in school.”

piled with whole-wheat spaghetti noodles and Aunt Edna’s chunky homemade sauce.

Lucy’s eyes got wide, and she clapped a hand over her mouth to control the giggles. “Then what?”

The tips of his ears reddened. “I…uh…I’ve always

There was a loud rapping at the front door followed by a mournful howl.