Mollie Molay

The Groom Came C.o.d.


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the first steps on the road to disaster? she wondered as she stepped up her pace.

      It wasn’t as if she hadn’t come close to marriage once before. But the “something” that had stopped her from making a final commitment had been the same “something” vibes that had brought her back to the small town of Ojai to check on her aunt.

      Instead of finding her aunt despondent over her financial affairs, Melinda had discovered the once-thriving shop had become more than a mere business to Bertie. It hadn’t taken Melinda long to gather that her aunt’s apparent mission was to send countless brides happily into the future without financial hardship.

      In retrospect, coming home to Ojai single and alone had been a good thing for both her and her aunt.

      “Melinda! Hold up there!”

      Ben Howard’s voice was the last voice she wanted to hear. She glanced over her shoulder to see him jogging after her. In casual khaki slacks and white knit shirt, he still resembled the boy she’d silently admired in high school. A little older and more mature, sure, but every bit a man who sent her hormones humming. Her heartbeat, already pounding from the exercise, pounded faster.

      She picked up her pace.

      She didn’t have a chance. Not when he ran beside her as if he could run forever. She took a deep breath and tried to get her second wind. “What’s up?”

      He cleared his throat. “I was driving by and decided to join you.”

      “You want to go jogging?” She didn’t believe it for a minute.

      “Actually, I stopped by to see if you’ve taken my photograph off the dating Web site.”

      She shook her head. “No time,” she puffed. “Can’t seem to get away from the telephone.”

      “Ditto. But I wanted to talk to you.”

      She didn’t like the way he sounded. Ben had something on his mind. Well, so did she. And she wasn’t betting on a good reaction.

      “No one answered your doorbell,” he went on before she started in, “so when I saw you here I figured I’d join you. So, are you getting anywhere?”

      Melinda swallowed a groan. A reminder of his photograph on the Internet was the last thing she needed to worry about when she was so preoccupied with her doubts about marrying him. Even jogging wasn’t helping.

      “No, and Rome wasn’t built in a day, either. I didn’t put it on the Internet, and I’m not sure how to get it off. You’ll just have to wait.”

      His stride paced hers. “You have no idea how many people have congratulated me over this marriage. Nor how many strange looks I got at work today. Everyone probably knows about that damn photograph. When I find out who put it there, someone’s going to pay.”

      Melinda briefly thought of Bertie, then shrugged away the thought. Her aunt had a sixth sense, but surely she didn’t have that kind of power. As for knowing about an Internet Web site, her aunt didn’t even have a nodding acquaintance with a computer.

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