LITMIR.BIZ

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pregnant you know.”

      Cameron groaned, doing the manly thing of hiding his happiness for his friend. “Great. Another pregnant woman. You win.”

      “I’m planning on it.” Lee shot him a satisfied smile that told Cameron he was in trouble. “Shall we discuss the terms?”

      Cameron’s stomach plummeted. From Lee’s tone, and the history between the two men, he knew his friend wasn’t referring to Julie’s baby.

      “Let’s see,” Lee mused aloud. “What shall we say? One thousand this time? Oh, and a really nice baby gift for my wife. Maybe one of those really expensive strollers that the rich and famous have. You live in New York. I’m sure you could find out what they are.”

      Darn, Cameron thought. No way to back out now. Of course, how many of their bets had he actually lost? Not many. He was ahead on Lee probably five to one. “You’re cocky. My new purchase must be paying you too much if you can afford losing this big. What are the terms?”

      “I want you to turn the person of my choosing into the cream of society. And I don’t just mean dressing her up in fancy clothes or working on her speech. It’ll be like Pretty Woman and My Fair Lady all rolled into one.”

      Cameron couldn’t miss the opportunity to jerk Lee’s chain. “You’re hiring me a hooker? What will Julie think?”

      “Get the concierge in that fancy hotel of yours to find the My Fair Lady video. Sit down and watch it. And no, you aren’t getting a hooker. I’ll pick someone that I feel is suitable.”

      “Will she still look like Julia Roberts?”

      “One day I’m going to have to teach you how to settle things out back.”

      With well-manicured fingers, Cameron thumbed his empty glass. His mouth still burned from the fiery concoction, and now even the ice in his glass was gone. “The service in this place is unreal. Where did she go anyway?”

      “So are we agreed?”

      Cameron scanned the room for their terrible waitress. “Yeah, why not? You’re gonna lose, you know. Just do me a favor and don’t get me a real dog.”

      Lee looked extremely smug. “Oh, don’t worry.”

      Right. Cameron had heard that enough times. Even the flour bomb Lee had insisted they make in college had backfired. They’d been the ones doused in white powder, not the annoying people on the balcony of the apartment above.

      Cameron stilled his tapping finger. “So how will I know I’ve succeeded?”

      “She passes two tests.”

      Because of Lee’s now very wide grin, Cameron immediately became wary. Suspicion laced his tone. “What are they?”

      “She spends a week in New York, with you and everything it entails. The society pages, the whole works. If she can retain her poise through that, well, she passes the first test. But she has to stay for the full week. No less.”

      Cameron shrugged. “Easy enough. What’s the other one?”

      “The ultimate test,” Lee paused for dramatic effect, “will be your father and your sister. They have to adore her, and you know how difficult that is.”

      Cameron’s gut clenched. He hoped it was from eating Grandpa Joe’s food. He steadied his voice and tried to appear nonchalant at Lee’s upping of the stakes. “Yeah, right, Lee. As if they’d be a good litmus test. Despite their wish to see me wed, they run off anyone unsuitable. If I bring someone suitable home they’ll book the church before I even get in the door.”

      “You don’t have to marry her, just prove her suitable. Then just subtly tell her it’s over.”

      Cameron shrugged; bravado returned. He could do that. He was an expert at worming his way gracefully out of entanglements. He’d been doing it for years.

      “Refill?”

      Hearing the female voice, Cameron jumped and his head shot around. How long had the waitress been standing there? He gaped at her. There she stood, frowning at him. Was that venom in her blue eyes? She certainly disapproved of something.

      He bristled at her vicious glare. What had he ever done to her? He couldn’t help it that she looked as if she could have stepped right out of a fifties diner. A white frilly apron covered her candy-pink dress. Of course, both were splattered with grease.

      Still, he had to admit the overall effect was interesting, especially the way her bosom peeked over the scooped neckline. In this case less was more. She had another point in her favor. He blinked, finding himself rather surprised that he’d been checking her out.

      And she sure didn’t look too pleased to be standing next to him.

      He gave her his trademark grin, the one that melted hearts for miles. Her expression didn’t change; in fact, she now appeared even more ticked off. Sensing Lee’s glee at his obvious failure to charm the waitress, Cameron decided to try again. He couldn’t let this situation end in failure unless he wanted to give Lee more ammunition to use at a future date.

      Just what did the locals call soda in St. Louis? People in Indiana and Michigan called it pop, while people in the southern states called everything Coke and then specified what flavor. He stuck with the Midwest guess. “I’d like more pop.”

      By the look on her face, he’d guessed wrong.

      “Pop? In St. Louis it’s called soda.” She reached forward and grabbed his glass. Cameron had the direct impression that she now thought him some sort of a country bumpkin. “I’ll be right back with a refill of soda.” She emphasized the last word and walked off, having still not cleared away the pile of napkins.

      “Of all the insolent…” Cameron began, but he stopped upon seeing the laugh lines etching Lee’s face.

      “I think I’ve found your girl.”

      Cameron bristled, and his knuckles whitened. “Absolutely not. I’m not taking some girl from a diner, who can’t even get a decent job, and making her into a pillar of society.”

      Lee grinned. “Yeah, I think you are. She’s absolutely perfect.”

      Cameron turned, studying the waitress behind the counter. She looked up from the soda machine and sent him a hostile glare. He shuddered and turned back to face Lee.

      “Julie’s going to love the stroller,” was all his friend said.

      Chapter Two

      “Ugh!” Darci jerked her hand back as soda cascaded over the edge of the cup. “Of all the snobby jerks.”

      “Calm down, girl. It’s only a glass.”

      Darci wiped up the cola mess on the counter. “I wasn’t talking about the machine, Val. I meant that guy over there. Do you see him?” She pressed on, not waiting for the older woman to take a peek. “Do you know who he is? He’s Cameron O’Brien. You know, the one who just bought the Monitor?”

      Val was unabashed in her stare. “Ooh. Look at that blond hair. And those forearms. Yum. Hey, wasn’t he named one of America’s Most Eligible Bachelors?”

      Darci gritted her teeth. “I don’t know. Was he?”

      “You should know. It was that magazine with all those beautiful bachelors. You bought it yesterday ’cuz the sexy firefighter was in it.”

      “Oh, all right. So he’s good-looking. But he’s a snob with no redeemable qualities. You should hear what they’re talking about. They’re taking some poor girl and making her into a society brat. Like in My Fair Lady.”

      “I’d be his fair lady.”

      Darci wanted to pull her hair out, but that would mean removing her cap, a violation of Grandpa Joe’s sanitation

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