Diamond in the Ruff: A Novel - Softcover

Carmichael, Emily

 
9780553582833: Diamond in the Ruff: A Novel
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0553582836 ISBN 13: 9780553582833
Verlag: Bantam, 2001

Inhaltsangabe

Can a pup with a nose for trouble collar two lovers who need a miracle?

Lydia Keane figured she’d be heading for heaven after finding her best friend, Amy, the perfect husband. But instead the reluctant angel’s still stuck here on earth, trapped in the chubby body of a corgi named Piggy — and blackmailed into another matchmaking mission!

This time the job means manufacturing a little mischief before any marital vows are exchanged — an assignment that lets her hound every human within sniffing distance....

Wedding consultant Joey DeMato knows firsthand how hard it is to find true love. So when it comes to romance, Joey is all business — until Alicia, an old friend from college, becomes Joey’s latest client.

Alicia is rushing into a marriage with a hero cop who saved her life. But as Joey tries to stay on the sidelines, the gorgeous groom gets under her skin — with more than a little help from a conniving canine!

Piggy’s scheme includes nixing the planned nuptials in favor of Joey and the handsome lawman — but Piggy’s not the only one who wants the bride out of the way. Now, with just days until the wedding, can one devilish dog put the bite on a mysterious stalker and still find time to play canine Cupid?

Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Emily Carmichael, award-winning author of twenty-one novels and novellas, has won praise for both her historical and contemporary romances. She currently lives in her native state of Arizona with her husband and a houseful of dogs.

Aus dem Klappentext

th a nose for trouble collar two lovers who need a miracle?

Lydia Keane figured she d be heading for heaven after finding her best friend, Amy, the perfect husband. But instead the reluctant angel s still stuck here on earth, trapped in the chubby body of a corgi named Piggy and blackmailed into another matchmaking mission!

This time the job means manufacturing a little mischief before any marital vows are exchanged an assignment that lets her hound every human within sniffing distance....

Wedding consultant Joey DeMato knows firsthand how hard it is to find true love. So when it comes to romance, Joey is all business until Alicia, an old friend from college, becomes Joey s latest client.

Alicia is rushing into a marriage with a hero cop who saved her life. But as Joey tries to stay on the sidelines, the gorgeous groom gets under her skin with more than a little help from a conniving canine!

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

“I think there’s a natural law,” Josephine DeMato grumbled to Samantha Cole, whose sturdy frame barely fit into the passenger seat of Joey’s classic Triumph TR-6. “Freeway traffic increases in direct proportion to a person’s need to get somewhere in a hurry.”

Samantha glanced at her watch. “We have twenty-five minutes if you want to be there by ten.”

Joey made a face. “You’d think that would be enough time to get from north Denver to Boulder, wouldn’t you? Really, wouldn’t you? But look at this!” She waved a hand toward the clogged highway. “I can understand Interstate 25 being a parking lot on weekdays, but this is Saturday, for cripes’ sake.”

“Twenty-three minutes.”

Joey sent her passenger a sharp look. “What are you, Mission Control?”

Samantha grinned. “Houston, we have a problem.”

“Funny.”

“I was teasing, boss lady. It’s the duty of a good assistant to keep the boss apprised of schedule difficulties. And also to help the boss to lighten up. Don’t worry. It’s the bride and groom who are supposed to be nervous, not the wedding consultant. Marcia and Donald are not going to panic because you’re fifteen minutes late. It’s their wedding day. They’re both numb.”

“I hate it when things don’t go as planned.”

“In your six years of doing this, when has anything gone exactly as planned?”

Joey rolled her eyes. “Pretty much never.”

“So stop worrying. You always manage to make things look perfect, no matter what goes wrong.”

“Sometimes things stay closer to the plan than other times. This is going to be one of those times when miracles are called for. I feel it in my bones. I can’t believe the photographer double-booked. It’s a good thing I called him before we left.”

“So that was the ear-blistering I heard you delivering.”

“You bet. I give that man over fifteen thousand dollars of business every year in referrals. I told him if he made a scheduling mistake, he’d better find a way to be in two places at the same time, or his business was going to dry up faster than a puddle in Death Valley. I wish Amy Cameron was available. She’s a better photographer.”

“You mean Amy Berenger.”

“Berenger, right. She married that hunky veterinarian in one of the weirdest weddings I’ve ever seen. Oh good!” She punched the accelerator and darted into an almost imaginary space between traffic in the next lane. The pickup truck behind her honked. She flashed him an apologetic smile in her rearview mirror, but his responding gesture was anything but forgiving. Joey shrugged. “Usually the smile works.”

Ten long minutes passed between the I-70 interchange and the exit to the Boulder Turnpike, but once on the turnpike, they cruised along on a much more open road. “This is more like it,” Joey declared as the scenery began to fly by.

Samantha continued the countdown. “Twelve minutes.”

“We’ll be late, but not that late.”

They were just past Sheridan Boulevard when blue lights started flashing in the rearview mirror.

“Uh-oh,” Samantha said. “Denver’s finest.”

“Damn! What else can go wrong?” Joey glanced down at the speedometer and grimaced. “The sneaky so-and-so. Where do these guys hide, anyway?” She pulled to a stop on the shoulder and endured the smirks of passing motorists. This was really, really not turning out to be a good day.

The officer who peered down at her as she lowered her window looked as if he didn’t give a damn what kind of day she was having. The obligatory sunglasses hid his eyes, but his face was set in grim lines of constabulary displeasure. It was a face neither old nor young, but it might have passed for handsome if its expression hadn’t been reminiscent of a grizzly bear on the prowl. The square jaw was set and downright combative, the mouth a grim line etched from granite. In defiance of police dress code, he wore no hat, and short black hair ruffled in the February breeze. The thin line of a scar nicked his chin — probably the legacy of a teed-off motorist, Joey thought peevishly.

“Good morning, Officer.” She smiled and did her best to look charming. Sometimes it worked.

He didn’t sound at all charmed. “Ma’am, do you know how fast you were driving?”

“Sixty?”

“Eighty.”

“Oh dear,” she said innocently. “My speedometer must be wrong.”

The grim mouth slanted upward. “Like I haven’t heard that one before, Flash.”

Joey’s eyes narrowed. Not only grim, but sarcastic as well. “Aren’t you people supposed to be at least polite?”

“I am being polite. May I please see your registration, driver’s license, and insurance card?”

“Just a minute.” Opening the glove compartment without bruising Samantha’s knees was a feat, but finally they managed it. Then Joey began digging through the confetti of gas receipts, owner’s manual, stereo manual, a jumble of tape cassettes, a sewing kit, maps, and a hairbrush in search of the required documents.

“Today would be good,” the cop commented.

“Just hold your horses,” Joey snapped, bent over Samantha’s lap to paw through the glove box. “They’re here somewhere.”

“Joey!” Samantha whispered a warning. “Be polite to the cop!”

“This is a very cheeky cop!” she hissed back.

“Just don’t be cheeky back!”

“That would take the fun out of getting a ticket,” Joey growled sotto voce. “Here it is,” she said finally, struggling back upright and shoving the documents out the window. “There! Anything else?”

The officer raised a brow at her driver’s license.

“Yes, that is me,” Joey assured him. “Contact lenses and a haircut,” she said coldly, reaching out to take the license from his hand. He held it firmly, not letting it go while he peered down at her.

“Hair color change?”

She sighed impatiently. “Yes. Officer, women change their hair all the time without criminal intentions.”

He gave her a look. She gritted her teeth. “Could we hurry this along, please? I’m late for an appointment.”

“Is that so?”

The Neanderthal was enjoying this. Joey could tell from the beginnings of his smirky smile. “Yes,” she snapped. “That’s so. If I’m late, I might lose business. And if I lose business, maybe I can’t pay my taxes. The taxes that pay your salary.”

Above the mask of his shades, one brow arched upward. “If I miss my next paycheck, I’ll know who to blame.” He looked from the license to the registration. “This car isn’t registered to you, Ms. DeMato. The owner is Harvey Jordan?”

“No. It’s my car. I bought it a couple of weeks ago, but I haven’t had time to change over the registration.”

“I need to see the bill of sale, then.”

Joey’s heart dropped. “Bill of sale?”

“Yes, the bill of sale.”

“Well, I have the bill of sale, of course, and the title certificate as well, but they’re back at my house.”

He sighed....

„Über diesen Titel“ kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Verlag
Bantam
Erscheinungsdatum
2001
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0553582836
ISBN 13 
9780553582833
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
416
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Nicht verfügbar

Weitere beliebte Ausgaben desselben Titels

9781417716258: Diamond in the Ruff

Vorgestellte Ausgabe

ISBN 10:  1417716258 ISBN 13:  9781417716258
Hardcover