On Any Given Sundae Read Free Page A

here,”
she said.
    “Well, great,” he said, looking relieved.
“Hey, I mean, if you think you can handle all of the organizing,
get trustworthy people to take the over shifts and all, you can
count on me to chip in with other things. Funding their salaries
for the month. Doing all the stock ordering. Sending out publicity
notices. Anything you need, just so I can be back in Chicago
soon.”
    She winced. She’d been especially dreading
relaying this part of Pauly’s parting message. Although she didn’t
know the precise reason, she sensed Rob wouldn’t like the news.
“Y-You can’t l-leave.”
    “Why not?” he said, but the uneasiness in his
tone convinced her he wasn’t surprised there might be a
complication.
    “P-Pauly called your m-m-mother. T-Told her
to expect you for Sunday d-d-dinner tonight. And every
n-night.”
    “Oh, hell.”
    She pushed her long, unruly hair out of her
eyes and blinked at him. Funny, she’d never before seen the Golden
Boy’s rugged olive complexion look quite so peaked.
    “Lizzy,” he said, setting her carefully
constructed schedule back on the counter. “You’re looking at a dead
man.”
    And with that, he collapsed into a six-foot
heap of hunky male onto the floor.
     

CHAPTER TWO
     
    Rob lay on the ground after his pratfall,
eyes closed and enjoying the coolness of the parlor’s tiles against
his neck and his arms. Everywhere, actually, that the thick fabric
of his shirt couldn’t protect.
    He might as well stay here.
    With his uncle and his mother conspiring
together, he’d have a better chance of surviving a month in
Wisconsin if he were eyelevel with the native fauna. Badgers might
have a vicious streak, but they were good burrowers. They knew how
to hide when necessary.
    He heard the sound of rapid footsteps
crossing the room and a worried “R-Rob?” coming from somewhere
above him.
    He bit his lower lip. Frizzy Lizzy.
Imagine seeing her again after all this time . She looked
different, not like the quiet teen he remembered, but the aura she
projected was the same. Too damn competent. Women like that scared
the bejesus out of him. They always did.
    Of course, her impressions of him couldn’t be
much to brag about. He opened his eyes to see her peering down at
him with a look of pure horror from above the countertop. She must
think he’d turned into a nutcase.
    “I’m fine,” he told her. “Just resting.
Trying to gather my strength.” Which was the truth. He loved his
mother, but he knew he’d need more than familial affection to get
him through the next four weeks of The Matriarch Dinner
Inquisition. He’d need something he didn’t have and didn’t want: A
serious girlfriend.
    “Oh, okay,” she said, her big green eyes
squinty with confusion. This was the first time she hadn’t
stuttered since he’d gotten there. Must be a sign that she wasn’t
scared of him anymore…just annoyed.
    He pushed himself to his feet and faced her,
the barrier of the counter the only object between them. She was
fiddling with her schedule. He slid the paper aside and lightly
rested his hands atop hers, deciding that making amends was always
done best when done right away.
    “Hey, I apologize,” he said. “I didn’t mean
to freak you out a minute ago or let my frustrations loose on you
when I got here. But this whole thing came as kind of a shock, and
I’m still trying to get readjusted. The schedule you did looks good
and—” He stopped. Her green eyes had grown so enormous they became
the only feature on her face he could see. “You okay, Lizzy?”
    She didn’t answer. She just pulled her hands
out from under his and buried them in that long, frizzling hair of
hers. Lovely reddish-brown strands, come to think of it.
    “Um, Lizzy?”
    “E-E-Eliz-zab-b-beth.”
    “Oh, right. Sorry. Elizabeth, are you
okay?”
    She shook her head. “I n-n—” She squeezed her
eyes shut, her face flushing a deep pink. “I n-need to g-g-go.” She
thrust the schedule and