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Authors: Janet Evanovich & Charlotte Hughes
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face.
“Frankie will be thrilled to see you,” Dee Dee said in her Betty Boop voice that gave the former beauty queen a childlike quality most people found endearing.
“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Jamie said, and then wished she had used a singular pronoun. She didn’t want anyone, least of all Max, to think she was his date for the evening. “You look gorgeous as always,” she told the woman quickly, hoping no one had caught the slip. Dee Dee seemed to sparkle. Well into her forties, she passed for thirty, thanks to a plastic surgeon in Hilton Head that she kept on call.
“Where is Frankie?” Max asked.
Dee Dee giggled. Coming from anyone else, it would have sounded silly, but Dee Dee’s little-girl quality and naïveté made people, especially her husband, want to take care of her. “He and several of his old wrestling buddies are at the bar. Snakeman, Big John, Choker, and Dirty Deed Dan flew in to celebrate with us.”
Jamie recognized some of the names as Frankie’s old wrestling buddies. Snakeman had toured with a twenty-foot boa during his wrestling days. “Is there a snake in residence?” Jamie asked, hoping that wasn’t the case.
Another giggle from Dee Dee. “No, the snake died a while back, and Snakeman decided not to replace him because it made traveling difficult. The snake was just part of the show.”
Jamie tried to hide her sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was something wrapping itself around one of her ankles.
Dee Dee offered them a conspiratorial grin. “Wait till you see the cake I ordered.”
Beenie rolled his eyes and tapped his fingers against his lips. “It’s designed to look like a naked woman. It starts at the shoulders and ends at her navel, and get this, she’s wearing a nipple ring. Tacky, tacky, tacky.”
Dee Dee pretended to pout, something else she pulled off very well. “You didn’t think the one that looked like a man’s buns was tacky.”
Beenie struck a pose. “Now that was a work of art.” He shrugged. “Besides, I like men’s buns.” He went on. “Anyway, as I told Dee Dee, this is not the time or place for such decadence. We have visiting dignitaries, and they will probably be offended. I would have chosen something elegant but simple. Less is always more.”
The waiter came by. Jamie grabbed another glass of wine. Max grinned.
“Oh, Beenie, stop acting like an old maid and loosen up a bit,” Dee Dee said. “It’s not going to kill you to have a little fun now and then.”
Jamie couldn’t help but smile as Dee Dee and Beenie continued to fuss. Dee Dee had hired Beenie away from an exclusive spa in Hilton Head. They were inseparable, but they tended to argue like brother and sister.
“And guess what else we ordered from the bakery?” Dee Dee said in a conspiratorial whisper. “Aphrodisiac-laced brownies. Everybody in town is shocked that Lyle Betts is making them, but he claims he can’t bake them fast enough. Isn’t that a scream?”
Jamie wasn’t about to tell her she had already tried them. “Oh, here’s the birthday boy now,” she said as Frankie joined them. Standing well over six and a half feet, with a barrel of a chest, Frankie Fontana struck an imposing figure. Jamie had not known Frankie in his wrestling days, but as a teenager, Max had seen him in the ring a number of times and assured her he had been quite formidable. Now, having been retired more than ten years, Frankie wore a good-natured smile and easygoing attitude that made him appear as harmless as a kitten.
“Glad you could come,” Frankie said, pumping Max’s arm enthusiastically and giving him a hearty slap on the back. He hugged Jamie lightly as though realizing his own strength.
“Happy birthday,” Jamie said and Max seconded it.
Frankie grinned from ear to ear, looking much like an overgrown kid despite his graying temples. “I guess Dee Dee told you about the cake. Snakeman is going to remove the nipple ring with his
“Frankie will be thrilled to see you,” Dee Dee said in her Betty Boop voice that gave the former beauty queen a childlike quality most people found endearing.
“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Jamie said, and then wished she had used a singular pronoun. She didn’t want anyone, least of all Max, to think she was his date for the evening. “You look gorgeous as always,” she told the woman quickly, hoping no one had caught the slip. Dee Dee seemed to sparkle. Well into her forties, she passed for thirty, thanks to a plastic surgeon in Hilton Head that she kept on call.
“Where is Frankie?” Max asked.
Dee Dee giggled. Coming from anyone else, it would have sounded silly, but Dee Dee’s little-girl quality and naïveté made people, especially her husband, want to take care of her. “He and several of his old wrestling buddies are at the bar. Snakeman, Big John, Choker, and Dirty Deed Dan flew in to celebrate with us.”
Jamie recognized some of the names as Frankie’s old wrestling buddies. Snakeman had toured with a twenty-foot boa during his wrestling days. “Is there a snake in residence?” Jamie asked, hoping that wasn’t the case.
Another giggle from Dee Dee. “No, the snake died a while back, and Snakeman decided not to replace him because it made traveling difficult. The snake was just part of the show.”
Jamie tried to hide her sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was something wrapping itself around one of her ankles.
Dee Dee offered them a conspiratorial grin. “Wait till you see the cake I ordered.”
Beenie rolled his eyes and tapped his fingers against his lips. “It’s designed to look like a naked woman. It starts at the shoulders and ends at her navel, and get this, she’s wearing a nipple ring. Tacky, tacky, tacky.”
Dee Dee pretended to pout, something else she pulled off very well. “You didn’t think the one that looked like a man’s buns was tacky.”
Beenie struck a pose. “Now that was a work of art.” He shrugged. “Besides, I like men’s buns.” He went on. “Anyway, as I told Dee Dee, this is not the time or place for such decadence. We have visiting dignitaries, and they will probably be offended. I would have chosen something elegant but simple. Less is always more.”
The waiter came by. Jamie grabbed another glass of wine. Max grinned.
“Oh, Beenie, stop acting like an old maid and loosen up a bit,” Dee Dee said. “It’s not going to kill you to have a little fun now and then.”
Jamie couldn’t help but smile as Dee Dee and Beenie continued to fuss. Dee Dee had hired Beenie away from an exclusive spa in Hilton Head. They were inseparable, but they tended to argue like brother and sister.
“And guess what else we ordered from the bakery?” Dee Dee said in a conspiratorial whisper. “Aphrodisiac-laced brownies. Everybody in town is shocked that Lyle Betts is making them, but he claims he can’t bake them fast enough. Isn’t that a scream?”
Jamie wasn’t about to tell her she had already tried them. “Oh, here’s the birthday boy now,” she said as Frankie joined them. Standing well over six and a half feet, with a barrel of a chest, Frankie Fontana struck an imposing figure. Jamie had not known Frankie in his wrestling days, but as a teenager, Max had seen him in the ring a number of times and assured her he had been quite formidable. Now, having been retired more than ten years, Frankie wore a good-natured smile and easygoing attitude that made him appear as harmless as a kitten.
“Glad you could come,” Frankie said, pumping Max’s arm enthusiastically and giving him a hearty slap on the back. He hugged Jamie lightly as though realizing his own strength.
“Happy birthday,” Jamie said and Max seconded it.
Frankie grinned from ear to ear, looking much like an overgrown kid despite his graying temples. “I guess Dee Dee told you about the cake. Snakeman is going to remove the nipple ring with his
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