The Man She Married. Ann DeFee

      “Honey, are you ready for bed?” Maizie channeled her inner seductress as she struck a pose in the door.

      No response.

      “Clayton. Did you hear me?”

      “Sure,” he answered, but didn’t take his eyes off the T.V. screen. “Let me catch the rest of the news and I’ll be right with you.”

      The moron would rather watch the weather than make love? If that didn’t beat all! She counted to ten and decided to give him one more chance.

      All Southern belles had an arsenal of tricks, and Maizie was no exception. She treated her oblivious husband to a little swish, a more pronounced sashay and a coup de grâce—a naughty hip grind—all done right in front of him for maximum effect.

      Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This was war. Clay didn’t know it yet, but he was going to live to rue this day.

      Dear Reader,

      Have you ever thought about spicing up your love life? After more than twenty years of marriage, Mary Stuart “Maizie” Walker is ready for a little rockin’ and rollin,’ and that’s when she comes up with the perfect plan. She’s going to make her hubby jealous by flirting with the handsome tennis pro. However, that scheme, like the best-laid plans of mice and Southern belles, backfires—big-time.

      Welcome back to Magnolia Bluffs, the hometown of Maizie and her cohorts in mischief—Liza and Kenni. There’s never a dull moment when the Steel Magnolias are up to their antics, and this time Mama and the aunts get involved. The Man She Married is fun, it’s funky and I hope it makes you laugh out loud.

      Ann

      Here’s a great snack for football parties.

      Georgia Munchies

      6 cups popped popcorn

      1 (6-ounce) bag corn chips

      2 cups bite-size pretzels

      1 (3-ounce) can Chinese noodles

      1 stick margarine

      2 teaspoons Worcestershire

      1 teaspoon Tabasco

      1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

      Combine popcorn, chips, pretzels and noodles. Melt margarine; stir in sauces and garlic. Pour over popcorn mix and toss to coat. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes. Cool and store in airtight containers. Yields 12 cups.

      The Man She Married

      Ann DeFee

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Ann DeFee’s debut novel, A Texas State of Mind (Harlequin American Romance), was a double finalist in the 2006 Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA^® Awards.

      Drawing on her background as a fifth-generation Texan, Ann loves to take her readers into the sassy and sometimes wacky world of a small Southern community. As an air force wife with twenty-three moves under her belt, she’s now settled in her tree house in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, their golden retriever and two very spoiled cats. When she’s not writing, you can probably find her on the tennis court or in the park with her walking group.

      Ann loves to hear from her readers, so please visit her Web site at www.ann-defee.com. Or contact her by snail mail at P.O. Box 97313, Tacoma, WA 98497.

      This book is dedicated to the terrific folks at

       Harlequin who make our books a reality, with special kudos to Megan Long, Paula Eykelhof and Kathleen Scheibling. And a special thanks to my good friends Geri Krotow and Debbie Macomber.

      Without the help and support of these extraordinary

       ladies I’d probably still be writing comprehensive plans. And this is a whole lot more fun!

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Chapter Seventeen

      Chapter Eighteen

      Chapter Nineteen

      Chapter Twenty

      Chapter Twenty-One

      Chapter Twenty-Two

      Chapter Twenty-Three

      Chapter Twenty-Four

      Chapter Twenty-Five

      Chapter Twenty-Six

      Chapter Twenty-Seven

      Chapter Twenty-Eight

      Chapter Twenty-Nine

      Chapter Thirty

      Chapter Thirty-One

      Chapter Thirty-Two

      Chapter Thirty-Three

      Chapter Thirty-Four

      Chapter Thirty-Five

      Chapter Thirty-Six

      Chapter One

      “Do these jeans make my butt look fat?” Mary Stuart “Maizie” Walker realized she was asking a no-win question. And she knew she was being unfair—honestly she did—but the devil on her shoulder kept poking her.

      Clay, her husband of twenty-two years, glanced up from the paper. The expression on his was face was classic “deer in the headlights.” It was so typical it was almost humorous, and that partially explained why Maizie was going out of her way to shake up their “we’ve been married forever” life. She was determined to inject some rockin’ and rollin’ into their intimacy.

      Intellectually she recognized she was in the middle of an empty-nest crisis. Hannah, her baby, was a freshman at Emory University in Atlanta. And although the school was only fifty miles from Magnolia Bluffs, she was missing her daughter like crazy. Okay, she wasn’t being rational, but who could blame her?

      “Uh, well, uh.” Clay threw up his hands. “What do you want me to say? Lately, I can’t seem to get it right. I feel like I’ve walked into the middle of a pop quiz and I didn’t even know I was in school.”

      Poor Clay. Maizie had loved him her entire adult life, and a good portion of her adolescence. That love hadn’t changed, so why was she being such a shrew? Lord love a duck, was she going into early menopause? Or was she merely losing her mind? For months there had been this pervasive sense of dissatisfaction that she couldn’t seem to shake.

      Stop it right this minute! She had a wonderful life and it was time to get a grip.

      “No answer?” Clay asked before giving her the same sexy wink she’d fallen for in the sixth grade.

      “No,” Maizie admitted. She sat on his lap and put her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry. I’m just feeling funky.”

      Clay nestled her against his chest. “I know, baby. I know.”

      And he probably did. Over