Page 68 of This Heart Of Mine (Chicago Stars 5)

“I did, but the money kept hanging over me. I hadn’t earned a penny of it. Maybe if it had come from someone other than Bert Somerville, I wouldn’t have had such a hard time with it, but it felt as if he’d poked his nasty head back in my life, and I didn’t like it. Finally I decided to set up a foundation and give it all away. And if you tell anybody, I swear I’ll make you regret it.”

“You gave away all of it?”

“Every penny.”

“How much?”

She fiddled with the drawstring on her shorts. “I don’t want to tell you. You already think I’m nuts.”

“It’s going to be so easy for me to return those sandals.”

“Fifteen million, all right!”

He looked as if he’d been face-masked. “You gave away fifteen million dollars!”

She nodded.

He threw back his head and laughed. “You are nuts!”

She remembered the somersault dive she’d made off the cliff. “Probably. But I haven’t regretted it for a moment.” Although now she wouldn’t mind having some of it back so she could keep paying her mortgage.

“You really don’t miss it?”

“No. Except for the clothes, which I believe I already mentioned. And thank you for the sandals, by the way. I love them.”

“My pleasure. Matter of fact, I’ve enjoyed your story so much, I’ll add a new outfit the next time you’re in town.”

“Done!”

“God, it’s heartbreaking to see a woman fight so hard to hang tough.”

She laughed.

“Kevin! Hello!”

Molly heard a distinctly Germanic accent and looked up to see a willowy blonde hurrying toward them with a small white box in her hand. The woman wore a blue-and-white-striped apron over black slacks and a V-neck top. She was pretty. Lots of hair, brown eyes, good makeup. She was probably a couple of years older than Molly, nearer Kevin’s age.

“Hey, there, Christina.” Kevin gave the woman a smile that was way too sexy as he rose to greet her.

She extended the white cardboard box, and Molly spotted a blue seal on the side with say fudge embossed on it. “You seemed to enjoy the fudge last night, ja? This is a small present to welcome you to Wind Lake. Our sample box.”

“Thanks a lot.” He looked so pleased that Molly wanted to remind him it was just candy, not a Super Bowl ring! “Christina, this is Molly. Christina owns that fudge shop over there. I met her yesterday when I came into town to grab a burger.”

Christina was more slender than a woman who owned a fudge shop should be. That struck Molly as a crime against nature.

“Pleasure to meet you, Molly.”

“Nice meeting you, too.” Molly could have ignored the curiosity in her expression, but she wasn’t that good a person. “I’m Kevin’s wife.”

“Oh.” Her disappointment was just as blatant as her mission with the fudge box.

“Estranged wife,” Kevin cut in. “Molly writes children’s books.”

“Ach so? I’ve always wanted to write a children’s book. Maybe you could give me a few suggestions sometime.”

Molly kept her expression pleasant but noncommittal.

Just once she’d like to meet someone who didn’t want to write a children’s book. People assumed they were easy to write because they were short. They had no idea what went into writing a successful book, one that children genuinely enjoyed and learned from, not just something adults had decided a child should enjoy.

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