What's Cooking? Read Online Free

She doubted Ashley had filled Melanie in about Rick. Ashley would never betray a confidence, but she would rally the troops to make sure that Melanie was looking after Maggie and providing a shoulder to cry on if Maggie decided she needed it.
    In addition, her presence here alone was probably enough to alert Melanie that something wasn't right. Maggie was a city girl through and through, and lovely as the scenery was around this part of Virginia, there was nothing close by that fit Maggie's definition of civilization.
    She poured the wine for her sister and her brother-in-law, then poured another full-to-the-brim glass for herself. She found the bag she'd brought from home with a few of Melanie's favorite Boston treats and hauled everything outside, hoping the gifts would distract her sister for a while.
    The tactic worked, too, for about five minutes. Then
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    Melanie shot a pointed glance at Mike, who immediately took the hint and led Jessie a discreet distance away.
    "Okay, talk," Melanie ordered.
    "About?"
    "Why you're here. What are you running away from? Or should I ask whom?"
    "Maybe I was just overdue fpr a vacation," Maggie retorted evasively.
    "When you take a vacation, which you rarely do, you go to cooking school in Tujscany, you don't come down here."
    "You did," Maggie replied testily.
    "/ was running away," Melanie reminded her. "Which is why I recognize the j ymptoms."
    "Oh, for pity's sake, isn't it p ossible to have any secrets in this family?"
    "No."
    Maggie laughed, but even she could hear the edge of hysteria in her voice.
    "Talk to me," Melanie repeated. Her patient expression suggested they would be here a very long time if Maggie didn't open up.
    "I thought for sure you were the one sister who wouldn't pester me for details."
    "You must have me confused with someone who wasn't born a D'Angelo," Melanie retorted. "Talk."
    "Okay, here's the condensed version, and it's all you're getting. I met a man," Maggie revealed finally. "The wrong man, but at least this time I recognized it and got the hell out of Dodge."
    Melanie regarded her with amusement. "So, how's running away working for you?"
    24 24WHAT'S COOKING?
    "I've only been here a few hours. It hasn't had time to work."
    "Want to tell me about him?"
    "No," Maggie said flatly. Talking about Rick would only keep him front and center in her mind. She needed to bury all thoughts of him.
    Melanie looked disappointed. "Not even a little hint?"
    "Nothing," Maggie insisted.
    "Want Mike to go beat him up?"
    Maggie bit back a grin. "If I'd wanted someone to beat him up, I'd have told Dad. Besides, he didn't do anything wrong. This is about me, about the way I turn everything into some major big deal, even when it's evident that it's nothing more than a fling."
    "Who said that's all it was? You or him?"
    "Nobody had to say it," Maggie replied. "It was obvious."
    "Really? How is it obvious if nobody says it?"
    "It just is," Maggie said stubbornly.
    Melanie rolled her eyes. "You know what they say about making assumptions about what somebody else is thinking, don't you?"
    Maggie frowned. "That only applies if the evidence isn't plain as day."
    "Really? What evidence is that?"
    "Past history."
    "Whose?"
    "His. Mine."
    "Maybe one or both of you have learned from your mistakes," Melanie suggested.
    Maggie wanted to believe that she had. That's why she was here and not in Rick's bed with his hands all over her.
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    As for Rick, why would he have learned anything? She doubted he considered his past behavior to be a mistake. He was probably perfectly content with the revolving door his love life had become.
    "Look, the point is that it's my decision to cut my losses. I don't need you to question it," Maggie told her sister irritably. "Not when you don't know what you're talking about."
    "Because you won't tell me," Melanie countered. "I give really good advice when I know what I'm dealing with."
    "I'm telling you this is the way it has to be.