It Should Happen To You. Kathleen O'Reilly

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      “You like your astronomy,” Dominic observed

      Mickey took a step away from him. She’d been so close that his breathing had his chest brushing against her back.

      “It keeps things in perspective.”

      “Something like the ‘you’re just a grain of sand on the beach of humanity’ theory?”

      “No,” she replied. “There are constants and there are subtle shifts that are always evolving. The universe expands, time slows or increases, but it doesn’t matter. The rotation about the sun, the orbit of the moon—those don’t change. It’s a great fusion of dynamic and static forces all working together in concert.”

      He had no idea what she was talking about, but he was willing to listen to her voice forever. Their discussion didn’t involve drugs or penny-ante larceny, or even who was winning at the races. Her words were the closest thing to a normal conversation he’d had in two years of undercover work, and he realized how much he missed it. “A philosopher as well as an astronomer,” he murmured.

      “That’s not philosophy—that’s physics.”

      “Who are you?” he asked, no longer able to continue with the game they were playing.

      “Are you really sure you want to know?” She raised her brows as she asked.

      And he was a goner.

      Dear Reader,

      Okay, if you’re a geek please raise your hand. Yes, I was a geek, too. It wasn’t fun, mostly awkward and painful. However, all awkward and painful things must come to an end, and eventually I realized how lucky I was to be blessed with geekiness. As such, Mickey holds a special place in my heart because she’s the heroine of THE BACHELORETTE PACT whose character is closest to my own. When I was creating the story, I knew I wanted to give her a special hero—a man living in a different world, but who was as isolated as she was in hers. And so Dominic flashed to mind, and instantly I was in love.

      Next month is Beth’s story, and do I ever have a surprise in store for you! But I won’t spoil it…you’ll just have to read to find out.

      I love hearing from my readers. Please let me know what you think. Visit my Web site at www.kathleenoreilly.com or drop me a line at P.O. Box 312, Nyack, NY 10960.

      Kathleen O’Reilly

      Books by Kathleen O’Reilly

      HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION

      889—JUST KISS ME

      927—ONCE UPON A MATTRESS

      *967—PILLOW TALK

      HARLEQUIN DUETS

      66—A CHRISTMAS CAROL

      It Should Happen to You

      Kathleen O'Reilly

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Contents

       Chapter 1

       Chapter 2

       Chapter 3

       Chapter 4

       Chapter 5

       Chapter 6

       Chapter 7

       Chapter 8

       Chapter 9

       Chapter 10

       Chapter 11

       Chapter 12

       Chapter 13

       Chapter 14

      1

      BY ALL RIGHTS, it should have been a glorious day in Chicago. After all, it’s not every day your best friend gets married. It’s not every day that your maid of honor dress actually looks good and—as an even bigger bonus—fits you well enough that you might actually want to wear it again. Mickey Coleman forced a smile.

      It’s not every day that you’re videotaped having sex.

      She allowed herself one quick shudder. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. And that from a woman who was decidedly not religious.

      She looked across the church’s small dressing room where Jessica, in blissful ignorance, was adjusting her veil. Jessica, who’d never been videotaped having sex in her entire life.

      Mickey spent all of two minutes debating whether to dump on her best friend on her wedding day. Eventually, guilt prevailed and she realized that not even Mickey the Idiot was that stupid.

      “Anything wrong?” Beth asked, coming up beside her. “You look a little pale.” Beth, sweet, innocent Beth, blinked her huge baby blues.

      Mickey pulled off her glasses and wiped the lenses, as if that was the problem. “It’s the dress. The color is a little off for me.”

      “I think it looks great on you.”

      Mickey’s mouth twisted into a pale imitation of a smile. “Yeah, I do, too.”

      This stupid dress was more than half of the problem. They had Jessica’s bachelorette party right after the last fitting. Oh, Mickey, you should wear it out. You look fab!

      Mickey didn’t wear dresses that showed more than the requisite one-third of her breasts. And she didn’t normally drink more than four beers in one night. And she didn’t normally have one-night stands with horny college interns who threaten blackmail.

      The panic attack started all over again.

      “Are you sure you’re okay?” Beth asked.

      “I think I just need to sit down.” Mickey managed to choke the words out, and then collapsed onto a nearby folding chair.

      “Want some water?”

      “Yeah, that’ll help. Thanks.”

      Beth came back with a paper cup and handed it over. “I know this has been hard for you.”

      Mickey stared in confusion. How did she know? “What?”

      Beth tilted her head in Jessica’s direction. “Jessica. Adam. The wedding. You know, you’re not losing a best friend. You’re gaining a whole new conduit to eligible bachelors.”

      The sad thing was, Beth was completely serious. “I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Mickey said, completely honest.

      “I know we kinda made this bachelorette pact promise, but we were kidding, right?” Beth blinked hopefully.

      The Bachelorette Pact. Almost twelve months ago the four college friends had made a promise to revel in their single status. Free of men, free to do whatever they wanted. Oh, yeah, paradise. Right now the