Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection Read Online Free

sound of rapid footsteps crossing the room and a worried “R-Rob?” coming from somewhere above him.
    He bit his lower lip. Frizzy Lizzy. Imagine seeing her again after all this time . She looked different, not like the quiet teen he remembered, but the aura she projected was the same. Too damn competent. Women like that scared the bejesus out of him. They always did.
    Of course, her impressions of him couldn’t be much to brag about. He opened his eyes to see her peering down at him with a look of pure horror from above the countertop. She must think he’d turned into a nutcase.
    “I’m fine,” he told her. “Just resting. Trying to gather my strength.” Which was the truth. He loved his mother, but he knew he’d need more than familial affection to get him through the next four weeks of The Matriarch Dinner Inquisition. He’d need something he didn’t have and didn’t want: A serious girlfriend.
    “Oh, okay,” she said, her big green eyes squinty with confusion. This was the first time she hadn’t stuttered since he’d gotten there. Must be a sign that she wasn’t scared of him anymore…just annoyed.
    He pushed himself to his feet and faced her, the barrier of the counter the only object between them. She was fiddling with her schedule. He slid the paper aside and lightly rested his hands atop hers, deciding that making amends was always done best when done right away.
    “Hey, I apologize,” he said. “I didn’t mean to freak you out a minute ago or let my frustrations loose on you when I got here. But this whole thing came as kind of a shock, and I’m still trying to get readjusted. The schedule you did looks good and—” He stopped. Her green eyes had grown so enormous they became the only feature on her face he could see. “You okay, Lizzy?”
    She didn’t answer. She just pulled her hands out from under his and buried them in that long, frizzling hair of hers. Lovely reddish-brown strands, come to think of it.
    “Um, Lizzy?”
    “E-E-Eliz-zab-b-beth.”
    “Oh, right. Sorry. Elizabeth, are you okay?”
    She shook her head. “I n-n—” She squeezed her eyes shut, her face flushing a deep pink. “I n-need to g-g-go.” She thrust the schedule and some keys at him. Then, waving a lightning-fast farewell, she sprinted out the door before he could even say, So long, now .
    Women. Wasn’t that just the way they operated?
    Well, an enforced vacation in Wilmington Bay hardly lived up to his dream of a relaxing beachside resort—the Virgin Islands was more his speed—but a Gabinarri had to do what a Gabinarri had to do.
    With a sigh, he grabbed his cell phone and punched in The Playbook’s landline.
    “Miguel? Yep, I’m here and, nope, I didn’t bring up nearly enough clothing. I could use some of my casual wear. Any chance you could go to my condo and FedEx up a few of my favorites tomorrow?”
    Miguel, good man that he was, said he could, and that he’d throw in a few cheery surprises as well. “Where do you want it sent, Boss Man?”
    Rob pinched his chin and rubbed the pad of his finger over the day-old stubble. He recited his brother Tony’s address. He’d square this with Tony and Maria-Louisa soon, but he had to at least have the appearance of a man who knew what he was doing and where he was going before sitting down to dinner with Mama tonight. Twenty-eight years of experience told him no one got away with being wishy-washy around Mama.
    “Thanks, Miguel. Keep an eye on my restaurant for me, will you? I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
    “Will do. Oh!” Rob heard the unmistakable sound of diabolical laughter on the line.
    “What?”
    Miguel kept laughing even as he spoke. “The new menus. Guess you’ll have to trust me on the design of those now, huh?”
    Rob groaned. It wasn’t that he was worried at the final look. Miguel excelled at anything having to do with artistic photography, décor and style. It was just that Rob wasn’t fond of losing his place at the center