LITMIR.BIZ

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either in the developing or marketing phase.

      Tony used to wonder how Sofia could listen to his father blather about the Next Big Thing. He never understood why she’d cheerfully supported them while his father had dreamed away his days.

      Tony rubbed at his forehead, trying to banish the memories.

      “Sofia. I’m ho…here,” he called.

      “You don’t have to break my eardrums, dear. I’m right here.”

      Sofia was descending the staircase dressed in a short-sleeved red sweater that complemented her Mediterranean coloring. She’d combed out her thick black hair so that it framed her face, added lip gloss to her naturally red lips and mascara to her already dark lashes. High heels worn under black slacks added inches to her height. The clothes were obviously new.

      He whistled long and low. “Did I miss something? Do you have a date tonight?”

      “No date.” She spread her hands. “I’m running an errand, is all.”

      “Well, you look terrific. Like ten-million bucks.”

      She smiled at him and descended the rest of the stairs. Stopping in front of the mirror in the foyer, she fluffed her hair. “Charmer. Where have you been?”

      He had no intention of causing her more heartache by telling her about the Connie who hadn’t showed up at the restaurant. “Errands. Same as you.”

      “Mine won’t take more than an hour. Then I’m coming straight home to cook you that special dinner.”

      “With the fortune you won, you should hire a cook.”

      She settled her hands on her hips and cocked her dark head. “I thought you didn’t want me to spend my money.”

      “I don’t want you to spend too much of your money on other people. I never said anything about not spending it on yourself.”

      “But I don’t need much, Tony. I certainly don’t need someone to cook for me, especially because I’m no longer working at the restaurant. Then what would I do?”

      “Relax? Enjoy yourself?” he suggested.

      “I’ll relax tonight—while I’m cooking,” she said and headed for the door.

      “Sofia, wait.”

      She turned an inquisitive look on him.

      “Do you know why the Medfords’ house isn’t for rent any longer?”

      “Why, yes.” She seemed surprised that he’d asked. “They found someone to rent it this morning. Why?”

      He hesitated, then figured there was no harm in telling her. “I met a single mother and her son today and told her I’d help her find a place to live.”

      “Is she anybody I know?”

      “She’s new in town.”

      Sofia tilted her head to the side as she regarded him. Her forefinger tapped her bottom lip. “Is she pretty?”

      He squirmed under her scrutiny. “I didn’t notice.”

      She pointed at him. “You, my son, are a terrible liar.”

      “Okay. Yes, she’s very attractive. But it’s not like that. I already have a girlfriend.”

      “A girlfriend, not a wife.”

      “Ellen could be my wife some day.”

      Sofia pinned him with her gaze. “I didn’t realize you were serious about her.”

      “We’ve been dating for almost a year.”

      “Time doesn’t mean anything. I once knew a man who dated the same woman for sixteen years. Then he got stuck in the elevator with a woman who worked in his office building. He broke up with his girlfriend the next day. Three months later, he was married.”

      “Why are you telling me this?”

      “If you’re having second thoughts about Ellen, it’s not too late to do something about it.”

      “You wouldn’t say that if you’d met Ellen. She’s perfect. Smart, beautiful, talented, successful. Everything I could want in a wife.”

      “Then why do you have a date with another woman tomorrow night?”

      “I already told you. She doesn’t know anybody in town, so…” His voice trailed off. “How do you know I asked Kaylee to dinner? I told you I was going to help her find a house, not take her out.”

      She patted him on the cheek. “A mother knows what a mother knows, Tony.”

      He frowned, not liking the conclusion she’d reached. Even in high school, he’d never dated two girls at the same time. His buddy Will had made that mistake when they were in the eleventh grade and wound up with a black eye, courtesy of the first girl. The second girl had convinced all her friends to give him the silent treatment.

      But Tony couldn’t deny there had been a moment in the street when he’d wanted to kiss Kaylee. He blotted out the memory.

      “I’m only being friendly, Sofia. Kaylee’s new in town. She and her son don’t know anybody. I thought she could use some help, maybe somebody to talk to.”

      Tony certainly had questions that he’d love to get answered. Why had she arrived in McIntosh with neither a job nor a place to stay? What did Joe’s father think of her relocating his son? What made her tick?

      “Whatever you say,” Sofia said, but in a way that told him she didn’t believe his motives were as innocent as he’d portrayed them.

      “So do you know of another place that might be for rent or not?”

      “Not off the top of my head, but I do know the editor of the newspaper. The real estate classifieds don’t come out until Sunday, but I bet he’ll give me an advance copy.”

      Tony bent down to kiss her soft cheek. She smelled like perfume and his childhood.

      “Thank you,” he said. “I’m a lucky guy to have you as a mother.”

      Even if she had put doubts in his mind about exactly why he wanted to hang out with Kaylee.

      SOFIA DONATELLI sat behind the steering wheel of her Volvo in a parking spot on Main Street with a view of Sandusky’s, too distracted to enjoy the new-car smell.

      She wouldn’t have noticed Gertrude Skendrovich passing by on the sidewalk tightly clutching a bag from Baked Delights in one of her pudgy hands if Gertie hadn’t waved enthusiastically.

      Sofia waved back, sorry that the sleek blue Volvo made her so easy to spot. She couldn’t regret splurging on the car. It performed splendidly in crash tests, a consideration of great importance for someone who’d lost her father in a car crash before she’d ever known him.

      Gertie’s smile widened, as though delighted Sofia had acknowledged her.

      Sofia was neither naive nor foolish. She hadn’t changed so much as the world around her had. There was no escaping that her life B.L., before the lottery, was different than it was A.L.

      B.L., the curmudgeonly Gertie wouldn’t have raised her head let alone her hand. A.L., she was probably trying to ingratiate herself with Sofia so she could ask for money.

      Word had already gotten out that Sofia was an easy mark. Maybe that’s why none of the letters the television station had forwarded from the Connies had sounded legitimate.

      Tony had followed up on one of the more promising leads this afternoon, although he didn’t know she was aware of that. But why not let her stepson screen the phonies? If he’d interceded before she’d met the sweet little bleached-blond impostor, she might not have cried herself to sleep last night.

      She wiped away a tear, one of many

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