Free The Girl Most Likely To... by Susan Donovan

muffins?
    After a moment of nothing but more kitchen noise, Madeline cleared her throat. Please don't tell me you're still sitting out there. Did you sleep in your car? Because if you did, /that's/ fixation.
    Does it matter? I'd camp out on the polar ice cap if Riley asked me to.
    Uh, Carrie? The sound of dishes knocking around in the sink nearly drowned out Madeline's comments. I hate to point this out, but Riley is not technically your fiancй anymore. He hasn't been for over a year. And he didn't ask you to pull an all-nighter in your Volvo. Besides, don't you have to be at work soon?
    Carrie could not believe what she'd just heard. After all she'd done for that woman! Apparently, Madeline Bowman had gotten a little taste of sweet success and had turned huffy on her. Carrie switched the cell phone to her other ear and smirked. So how's it working out with Matt?
    What do you mean?
    What I mean is, are you enjoying dating the second hottest man in all of Randolph County? And have you forgotten who got your business where it is today?
    Hold on a second.
    Carrie heard rustling, a door closing, and then silence. Madeline began hissing a loud whisper. God, Carrie! It's not my place to stop Riley from doing whatever he wants to do. He's a grown man and I'm just a B and B owner, not a prison guard!
    Carrie looked heavenward, summoning patience. She was beginning to regret ever booking this ungrateful cow's inn for the last year's rural health luncheon.
    And I know you encouraged Matt to ask me out after my divorce, but really, it's not like you introduced usour mothers did that at the sandbox when we were toddlers!
    Carrie gazed out the windshield at the row of adorable little craftsman-style houses, all built before the depression, when the coal mine was in full swing. It was admirable the way the owners had meticulously restored the homes and fixed up the yards.
    Besides, Matt hasn't asked me out in months. He's moved on.
    That's too bad. Carrie had grown tired of this conversation. Where are you right now, Madeline?
    In the pantry. The couple staying in the Silver Birch minisuite is already in the dining room, waiting like hyenas for me to finish setting up for breakfast. I didn't want them to hear me.
    I see.
    Can we finish this conversation later?
    Carrie's mouth fell open at what she was seeing. Her breath began to come fast and hard. Unbelievable! The teen sleaze queen herself had just bounced out of Cherry Hill's front doors, sporting a pair of black yoga pants, a very chic little jacket, and a postcoital grin. Oh, it was Kat Cavanaugh, all right. Carrie had seen pictures of the junior jezebel in Riley's old photo albums. She must have stumbled into money somewhere.
    Maybe she was a call girl. Carrie made a mental note to warn Riley that he was in the clutches of a professional.
    Carrie?
    What?
    I really have to go.
    Did I tell you that I'm setting up a regional health-care conference for the spring? I plan to present my study results at the new clinic's community center.
    Really?
    Yes.
    That's nice, I guess. I'll talk to you after As always, you are failing to see the bigger picture, Maddie. The conference will go an entire week. As Carrie spoke into the cell phone, she watched Kat Cavanaugh turn the corner. She was pretty. She had a nice body and a quality haircut. Carrie hated her. She wanted her dead.
    A whole week?
    Every room in your place will be booked every night. Carrie allowed her target to get a half a block up Main Street, then put the car in drive to follow her, making sure to pull to the curb every couple blocks to stay inconspicuous. I have guest speakers coming in from all over the East Coast. You could get some valuable exposure.
    Carrie checked her watch. She would have to call Alice and let her know that she wouldn't be in until after lunch, and that they needed to look into the possibility of throwing together some kind of small conference around the time her study results were released.
    All right,