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Overview
Widow Traci Evans happily sits in on meetings with the lovely ladies of the Invincible Sisterhood solely because they reached out to her first. A loner, Traci feels for the first time she belongs. All of the official members are sweet older women who have lost the love of their lives, their husbands. Unknown to them, Traci is more angry than she is grief-stricken because her husband died in the midst of cheating on her with another woman.
Her husband's deception has hardened Traci's heart so much that even close friend and next door neighbor Maureen can't convince her to open it again. But when a playful kiss with Maureen's gorgeous son Ryan turns passionate, Traci starts to rethink everything she knows about love.
Her husband's deception has hardened Traci's heart so much that even close friend and next door neighbor Maureen can't convince her to open it again. But when a playful kiss with Maureen's gorgeous son Ryan turns passionate, Traci starts to rethink everything she knows about love.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780312948177 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | St. Martin's Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 01/22/2008 |
| Series: | Invincible Women Series , #4 |
| Edition description: | First Edition |
| Pages: | 320 |
| Sales rank: | 995,674 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.72(d) |
About the Author
Francis Ray is the New York Times bestselling author of the Grayson novels, the Falcon books, the Taggart Brothers, and Twice the Tempation, among many other romances. Her novel Incognito was made into a movie aired on BET. A native Texan, she is a graduate of Texas Woman's University and has a degree in nursing. Besides a writer, she is a school nurse practitioner with the Dallas Independent School District. She lives in Dallas.
Read an Excerpt
Not Even If You Begged
By Ray, Francis St. Martin's Griffin Copyright © 2008 Ray, Francis
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780312948177
No matter how Maureen wanted to convince herself that the meeting she had called to help her neighborhood and the Sisterhood better protect themselves against burglaries, as she watched Simon stride up the sidewalk, her racing heart told her she’d lied to herself.
Her breath fluttered over her slightly parted lips. My. My. What a man.
Today he was dressed casually in a lightweight wheat-colored sports jacket, white shirt with an open collar, creased jeans that caressed his muscular thighs. His jet black hair gleamed in the afternoon sun. His skin was the color of rich chocolate. She couldn’t see a spare ounce of fat on his muscular frame, and she was looking hard.
Her hand fluttered to her stomach. She was in good shape herself. For a woman her age. Reality hit her just at the doorbell rang. She jumped away from the curtained window. Yesterday the spa had been invigorating, but she remained fifty-nine.
The chine came again. Stop being silly, she admonished herself and started for the door. He’s just a man. No big deal. She opened the door. Simon, who had been looking around, turned and smiled at her causing her body to throb, her throat todry. He might be just a man, but what a man.
“Good evening, Mrs. Gilmore.”
She felt old. “Lieutenant Dunlap, please come in and please call me Maureen.”
He entered and waited until she closed the door. “I guess Ashley is out.”
She flushed, then smiled because he was. “Thank you for not mentioning we’d met before Sunday night.”
His smile faded. “How have you been? Did you sleep all right? “I did. Ryan and I took your suggestion,” she told him.
“I’m glad.”
She caught herself smiling and gazing at him, the same way he was smiling and gazing at her. Perhaps Traci was right. Perhaps he would ask her out again. “This way to the terrace.” She started though the foyer and great room.
“You have a beautiful home,” he said.
“Thank you. My late husband and I moved in when Ryan was nine months old,” she told him, a subtle reminder to both of them.
“Then this house must hold a lot of fond memories for you,” he said, stepping ahead of her to open the French doors leading to the terrace.
Pleased that he understood and hadn’t choked at the mention of her late husband, she stopped. “It does. Ryan and I made more after we changed the bedding. We looked at family films and pictures. Played cards. He let me win.”
“Your smile is as beautiful as you are,” Simon said, still holding the latch. “To have stolen that would have been a travesty.”
Pleasure went through her before she could stop the reaction. She simply stared at him.
“Simon, right on time.” Ryan strode toward his frat brother, extending his hand.
Simon turned to shake hands with Ryan when what he really wished was that he could send everyone away and be alone with Maureen. Soon, he promised himself. “I didn’t expect you here.”
“Mother might not want to follow through on your suggestions.” Ryan looked at his mother. “I plan to make sure she does.”
“I’m quite capable of taking care of myself and following though with Lieutenant Dunlap’s recommendations, Ryan.”
Her son kissed her on the cheek. “Never said you weren’t.”
“Would you like something to drink or do you want me to introduce you to everyone and get started?” she asked Simon.
“Why don’t you introduce me?” Simon suggested, wondering if Ryan had caught his mother’s brief annoyance. Women hated being made to feel as if they were incompetent or stupid, and he couldn’t blame them. They were as smart as men. Sometimes smarter. “I can talk to them and see how I need to gear the discussion. A woman living alone needs will be different than a couple.”
“That sounds good. This way,” Maureen said
***
He was watching her. Again.
Every time Traci looked at Ryan, he was looking at her…which meant she was watching him as much as he was watching her. Annoyed with both of them she went to the kitchen for another tray of food. With the attentive way Maureen was listening to Simon it wasn’t likely she was going to get it. Traci supposed she couldn’t blame her. If she hadn’t known of their history she might not have paid any attention to all the time Simon looked at Maureen. Since she was sitting with the Sisterhood, he could have been looking at any of them.
Tracy knew better.
Simon hadn’t been boring. In fact, he was a hit. The Sisterhood liked him even before he volunteered to inspect each of their homes to improve safety. Simon was proving to be a nice guy.
In the kitchen, Traci opened the side-by-side refrigerator and bent to take out the covered meat and cheese tray. Picking up the tray she bumped the door closed with her hip and turned, almost dropping the tray on seeing Ryan. It ran through her mind that he had seen her use her wide hips, bringing more attention to them. Her temper spiked.
“Why are you sneaking up on me?”
“Sorry.” Ryan glanced over his shoulder. “I wanted to get you alone.”
Her pulse sped up. Her hands clenched on the tray.
“I need your help to plan Mother’s birthday party,” he whispered, coming closer.
Traci blinked. “What?”
“Let me have that.” Ryan took the tray out of her hands and set it on the island. “I’m not sure if she wants a large to-do at the country club or a girl’s night out with you and the Sisterhood. Maybe a private pampering spa thing.”
Traci was having trouble taking it in. “You want help planning her party?”
“It’s more involved than that,” Ryan folded his arms and leaned back against the island. “I could hire a party planner, but I want it to be special. After the break-in Sunday night, a special night is even more important.”
Surprised and oddly annoyed, Traci didn’t know what to say. How could she have been so wrong?
“I hate to throw this on you, but I’ve been trying to catch your attention for weeks. The Sisterhood is a great group and, no offense, but I thought since mother is younger and you two are such great friends, you might have a better idea on what she wants.”
He didn’t want her body: he wanted her mind. She could really hate Ryan Gilmore.
“I’ll take this. It will throw Mother off if she saw me come after you.” He picked up the tray. “We better get back before she misses us. Do you think you might be able to get away one night this week to have dinner and discuss things?”
She had let a man fool her again and, although it wasn’t in a sexual way, she wanted to disappear. How could she have read him so wrong? She had almost made a complete fool of herself. How could she have been so blind, so stupid? She knew the type of women he dated and they certainly didn’t resemble her.
His smile faded. “You aren’t going to refuse are you?”
Not if she ever hoped to be able to look him in the face again and, since he was Maureen’s son, there was no way she could ever get around that. “No, I was just thinking of where we could meet,” she lied and suggested the first place that entered her mind. “Circa 1897.”
“Great. It’s quite enough so we can plan and talk,” he said. “Is eight tomorrow night all right? There shouldn’t be any danger in Mother seeing me. I’ll make reservations.”
The restaurant was quiet all right, and very intimate, but it was done. “Why don’t I meet you there?”
He shook his head. “If I pick you up we’ll have more time to talk.” He turned away, then turned back. “Thanks. See you tomorrow night at eight sharp. This is going to be great.”
Traci watched his leave, her pride in tatters, but she had done it to herself. She should have known Ryan wasn’t interested in her. It took all of her courage to go back to the patio where all the guests were converged.
She was in time to see Celeste, the single daughter of the couple at end of the block, slide up to Ryan. Celeste was in her late twenties, a college drop-out, and still trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life while living at home. From the way she was curled against Ryan, she had found one thing she was interested in. Ryan, just like a man, was grinning from ear to ear at the attractive brunette.
Traci took a seat and gave her attention to Simon, who was discussing how outdoor lighting served the duel purpose of beautifying your home and keeping burglars away. Too bad there wasn’t something that kept men faithful. Their conscience and morality certainly never got in the way.
Celeste could have Ryan. Traci wasn’t interested in being cheated on again. Copyright © 2008 by Francis Ray. All rights reserved.
Continues...
Excerpted from Not Even If You Begged by Ray, Francis Copyright © 2008 by Ray, Francis. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Reading Group Guide
Widow Traci Evans happily sits in on meetings with the lovely ladies of the Invincible Sisterhood solely because they reached out to her first. A loner, Traci feels for the first time she belongs. All of the official members are sweet older women who have lost the love of their lives, their husbands. Unknown to them, Traci is more angry than she is grief-stricken because her husband died in the midst of cheating on her with another woman.
Her husband's deception has hardened Traci's heart so much that even close friend and next door neighbor Maureen can't convince her to open it again. But when a playful kiss with Maureen's gorgeous son Ryan turns passionate, Traci starts to rethink everything she knows about love.
1. Has anyone ever asked you out and you thought, "not even if you begged"? Did you remain firm or did you later go out with the person? What happened?
2. Traci let her deceased husband influence her attitude about men. How do you get over a bad relationship and open your heart to love again?
3. Maureen wanted the deep bond of love again, but thought she was too old for Simon. Can you be "too old" to want love and companionship? Why or why not?
4. Simon was ten years younger than Maureen. Should age matter in a relationship? Does it matter if the man or woman is younger/older?
5. Traci was confident about her full figure until a teasing word caused her to doubt herself. Why is that a man can make a woman second-guess herself?
6. Maureen and Traci had an argument that almost cost them their friendship when Maureen said things that Traci told her in confidence. Has a friend ever betrayed you? Answer this silently. Did you lose your friend?
7. Ryan didn't take his mother dating very well. Why is that males are often overprotective of their mothers? Are they being selfish or are they just concerned?
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