Designer Genes (23 page)

What’s wrong with you? You can talk to cars, you
can talk to cats, you can talk to babies, but you can’t talk to the man you
love when he’s asking you to marry him?

“Yes,” she
said.

A buzz ran
through the plane. “What did she say?” “Yes!” “They’re getting married?” “Yes!”

Carter slid
the ring into place. It was so large, he had to hold her finger to prevent the
thing falling off. From up and down the aisle, she heard the click of phone
cameras capturing the moment.

“You’ve made
me the happiest man on this flight,” he said. “When we land, I’ll be the
happiest man on earth.”

“This is for
real, right?” said Buffy.

“I’ll prove it
to you.” Still on his knees, he leaned close and kissed her.

More clicking,
and a scattering of applause. To her embarrassment, someone began humming “Here
Comes the Bride,” and the whole planeload took it up.

“Okay,
everybody.” It was the flight attendant, pushing a cart of drinks. “Mr.
Murchison, would you pick up the peanuts like you promised? We’re running
late.”

Buffy was
grateful when the humming faded and passengers scrambled to help him collect
bags of peanuts. “Marry Me” disappeared, but not entirely; several people
requested her email address and promised to send pictures.

Buffy went
through her twisting and edging performance again to reach the window, and
allowed Carter to regain his seat. They sat there beaming at each other over
the baby’s head.

Carter poured
two plastic tumblers of wine and handed her one. “Pretend this is champagne.”

She held up
her glass. From the loose ring on her finger dangled a tag that read, We Insure
A Happy Future.

“To freedom,”
she said. “May mine last about twenty-four hours after the divorce becomes
final.”

“Less, if we
can arrange it with Pastor O’Rourke,” he said, and took a sip.

Buffy sank
back with a sense of profound contentment. Outside, the clouds parted to reveal
the Texas landscape fleeting beneath them.

For a woman
who loved the glamour of big city life, she was heading for Nowhere, fast. And
she couldn’t have been happier about it.

If you enjoyed this book, posting a review on Amazon,
Goodreads and/or other sites will help other readers find it. You’d be
surprised how much difference additional reviews make, even if there are
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My friend and fellow
author Charlotte Lobb, writing as Charlotte Maclay, gets the credit for
dreaming up the name Nowhere Junction, which we used in linked books (two
apiece) for the former Harlequin Duets line. The name put me in mind of the
small town where I was born--Menard, Texas—from which I drew a few details,
such as the golf course as it existed during my childhood.

Charlotte and
I had previously worked together on a Harlequin American Romance miniseries,
The
Brides Of Grazer’s Corners
, with Mindy Neff. This time, based on our
previous brainstorming experience, Charlotte and I were ready to swing into
action.

We played
hooky during a workshop at the Orange County chapter of Romance Writers of
America and met in a restaurant. There we devised the town’s layout and such
kooky characters as Mazeppa the Bag Lady and Horace Popsworthy, the blowhard
mayoral candidate.

Because
Designer
Genes
and Charlotte’s sequel,
Two for One
, were packaged together,
we created some continuing plotlines, never envisioning that the books might
someday be separated. Rather than leave you hanging as to the fate of the
school, I’m here to report that Mazeppa turns out to be the widow of an oil
multi-millionaire. Disgusted with the way her children fought over their
inheritance, she moved out and posed as a homeless woman. Later she reconciles
with her quarrelsome children and donates the money to build Nowhere Junction’s
new school. She’s become fond of the town’s babies and wants to ensure them a
good education.

I’m sorry to
report that Charlotte died of cancer shortly before I reissued
Designer
Genes.
I miss her very much.

Such is the
passage of time…you may have noticed that I dedicated this book to my longtime
mechanics, Ed and Keith. Sadly, Keith has also passed away. Ed is still my
mechanic.

Best-selling
author Jacqueline Diamond has sold more than 95 novels, including romantic
comedy, romantic suspense, fantasy, mystery and Regency historical romance, to
a range of publishers.
A two-time finalist for the Rita Award, Jackie
received a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times and is a former
reporter and TV columnist for the Associated Press. She also writes the Safe
Harbor Medical miniseries for Harlequin American Romance. To learn more about
Jackie and her monthly ebook specials, please visit
www.jacquelinediamond.com
(where
you can sign up for her mailing list), or, on Facebook,
JacquelineDiamondAuthor. Say hello to her on Twitter at @Jacquediamond.

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