Match Me if You Can

Match Me If You Can

Susan Elizabeth Phillips

TO OUR SONS…
AND THE WOMEN THEY LOVE

Contents

One

If Annabelle hadn’t found a body lying under “Sherman,” she…

Two

Dean Robillard entered the club like a frigging movie star…

Three

The midnight blue Jaguar crept around the corner of Hoyne…

Four

The deep male voice rumbled its displeasure into the phone.

Five

Bodie readjusted the treadmill speed, slowing the pace.

Six

Someone took the seat next to Heath in the first-class…

Seven

That woman doesn’t know a damn thing about running a…

Eight

Moths swarmed in the caged lights over the doors. The…

Nine

Heath was furious. He didn’t like looking foolish under any…

Ten

Annabelle collected a few more paper plates, even though Phoebe…

Eleven

Only two boxes of thin mint cookies this year, girls,”…

Twelve

Annabelle and Heath left Chicago Friday afternoon. The Wind Lake…

Thirteen

Annabelle heard Heath’s sigh. That kiss…She’d known he’d be…

Fourteen

When Annabelle returned to the cottage shortly after midnight, her…

Fifteen

As Annabelle approached the gazebo, she saw Ron and Sharon…

Sixteen

Portia hit the Enter key on her office computer to sort…

Seventeen

The week after the disastrous Wind Lake retreat, Annabelle immersed…

Eighteen

Two weeks passed. Between getting ready for her wine and…

Nineteen

Annabelle had trouble finding a parking spot for Sherman, but…

Twenty

Construction had clogged Denver’s midday traffic, dampening Heath’s already…

Twenty-one

Ever since the day Annabelle had walked into Heath’s office,…

Twenty-two

Annabelle rushed into the deserted hallway. Soft music played through…

Twenty-three

Portia fell into Bodie’s arms. Just fell. He wasn’t expecting…

Twenty-four

Heath reached the Wind Lake Campground a little before midnight.

Epilogue

Pippi lifted the tape recorder to her lips and shouted.

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Also by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Credits

Cover

Copyright

About the Publisher

Chapter One

If Annabelle hadn’t found a body lying under “Sherman,” she wouldn’t have been late for her appointment with the Python. But dirty bare feet stuck out from beneath her nana’s ancient Crown Victoria. One extremely cautious glance under the car revealed they were attached to a homeless man known only as Mouse, who was famous in her Wicker Park neighborhood for his lack of personal hygiene and fondness for cheap wine. An empty screw-top bottle lay near his chest, which rose and fell with the sounds of his wet snorts. It testified to the importance of her appointment with the Python that she momentarily considered trying to maneuver the car around the body. But her alley parking space was too tight.

She’d allowed plenty of time to get dressed and make the trip downtown for her 11 A.M. appointment. Unfortunately, obstacles kept creeping up, beginning with Mr. Bronicki, who’d caught her at the front door and refused to leave until he’d had his say. Still, this wasn’t an emergency yet. All she had to do was get Mouse out from under Sherman.

She gingerly prodded his ankle with her foot, noting as she did that the emergency mixture of Hershey’s chocolate syrup and Elmer’s glue she’d applied to a scuff mark on the heel of her favorite pair of strappy sandals hadn’t entirely camouflaged the damage. “Mouse?”