What's Cooking? Read Online Free Page A

End of story. I don't want or need your advice. I just need your company from time to time to keen from going stir-crazy."
    Melanie looked as if she mighl argue, but instead she cupped her hand under Maggie's chin and looked into her eyes. "I'm here if you need me, okay?"
    Tears stung Maggie's eyes. "Thanks, sis."
    'That's what the D'Angelo sisters do," Melanie reminded her. "We stick together."
    'Through thick and thin," Maggie agreed. She slid a sly glance toward her sister and asked the one question bound to get Melanie off on a safer tangent. "How's married life treating you?"
    ,.? A dreamy expression immediately crossed Melanie's face, and her gaze sought out her husband. She sighed in obvious contentment. "Better than I expected."
    "And Jessie? I know you've both had your share of problems with keeping her behavior in check."
    "It's like she's a different little girl," Melanie said. "Not that she's perfect, far from it, but she hasn't been out of control in weeks and weeks now."
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    "Must be your mellowing influence," Maggie teased, nudging her sister in the ribs. They both knew Melanie had a temper of her own, though she kept it in check ninety percent of the time.
    "I think it's just knowing that I'm not going anywhere," Melanie corrected. "I think Mike's finally gotten that through his thick head, too."
    "I hope so. He married you, after all."
    "But I think he still had doubts. You should have seen the way he watched me the first time we had a huge argument. I think he was convinced I'd take off."
    "But you stayed."
    "I love him. Of course I stayed." It was Melanie's turn to give her sister a sly look. "Unlike some people I know, who run at the first sign of trouble."
    Maggie groaned. "I thought we'd stopped talking about me."
    Melanie laughed. "Nope. Just took a break."
    Maggie stood up. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."
    "It's not even eight o'clock."
    "I had an exhausting day. It's a long drive from Boston."
    "And you're a night owl. Maybe I'll send Mike and Jessie home, and you and I can have an old-fashioned slumber party. We can talk about men."
    "I've done all the talking about men I intend to do," Maggie said emphatically. "Change the subject or go home."
    "Ungrateful wretch."
    "Nosy witch."
    They laughed at the familiar bickering.
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    "I've missed this," Melanie said. "I hope you stay a long, long time."
    "It's just a vacation," Maggie warned her.
    Melanie's smile spread. "Yeah, that's what I said when I came down here last March."
    "It's a vacation," Maggie repeated.
    She had a hunch she was going to need to keep reminding herself?reminding botjh of them?of that. That was the trouble with running away from home. Sometimes it was very hard not to let pride and fear stand in the way of going back. That was especially true since the man she was running from was likely to be right there when she got back.. .maybe not waiting for her, but still too damn close for cbmfort.
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    On Melanie's recommendation, Maggie found the cafe in Irvington that served a decent latte and settled at one of the outdoor tables with a stack of regional magazines. Studying the competition always provided a great distraction. She usually knew what to expect from the publications she saw regularly, but she'd found some new ones this morning. With any luck those would be intriguing enough to keep her mind off Rick. Of course, there was no denying that was a tall order.
    In fact, she'd deliberately left her cell phone back at the cottage, since the blasted thing had been ringing every five minutes all morning long. She'd finally shut it off, but since she didn't entirely trust herself not to check for messages, she'd decided to put some distance between herself and that possible link to the man she was so determined to avoid.
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    Did Rick know by now that she was gone? Did he even care? Veronica had sent an e-mail earlier to let Maggie know that his photos were in and that they were spectacular. The e-mail hadn't