Free Secret Ingredient: Love by Teresa Southwick Page B

for a little while.”
    “Did you come by to check up on one of your brothers?”
    “In a manner of speaking.” Rosie shrugged. “I was just wondering how you and Alex are getting along.”
    “I guess my tirade answered that question loud and clear. ’Nuff said.”
    “Yes.” Rosie nodded, smiling enthusiastically. “You two are right on schedule.”
    “Actually, we’re ahead of schedule. The test tasting wasn’t supposed to happen for another four to six weeks,” Fran clarified.
    “That’s not what I meant. I knew you were the perfect woman for him. And I was referring to the romantic agenda.”
    “You’re not still matchmaking!” Fran accused. She put her hands on her hips and glared at Alex’s sister.
    “Still? You mean he saw through me?” she asked, dark eyes twinkling.
    “Like clear-paned glass. He told me so the first night he came to my apartment, using the flimsy excuse of returning the baby food jars.”
    “He’s smarter than I thought.”
    Fran could have told her that. But she wanted to know more about the “schedule.” “What did you mean about Alex and me being right on schedule?”
    “You wanted to brain him. Passionately,” she added, raising one dark eyebrow suggestively.
    Fran shook her head so hard that her hair loosened and fell, tumbling around her shoulders. She pulled out the clip. “That’s not funny, Rosie. There is nothing of a personal nature between Alex and me. For goodness’ sake, you saw me talking to myself when you walked in. About him,” she added.
    “I know,” Rosie said, nodding enthusiastically. “It’s a sure sign that things are progressing nicely. You always want to clobber them before you kiss them.”
    “The thought of kissing your brother has never entered my mind,” she said, crossing her fingers behind her back to nullify the lie.
    “Methinks she doth protest too much.” Rosie held up her hand. “Never mind. Forget I said anything. It’s enough that I know the seed is planted and starting to sprout. Time will tell if my efforts bear fruit.”
    Fran feigned a sympathetic look as she patted the other woman’s hand. “I’m glad you came to see me, Mother Earth. You need to get out of the bookstore more often. In fact, you need to branch out from the romance section to mysteries. I can tell from this nonsense about Alex and me that you’ve already been dabbling in science fiction.”
    “Very funny, Fran.”
    “I hate to say you’re wrong, but when the shoe fits…” She shrugged. “I’m not the perfect woman, not for any man. And especially not for Alex. He told me about Beth.” She couldn’t help asking, “What was she like?”
    Rosie hesitated several moments before saying, “She was a good person and very solicitous of Alex.”
    Fran nodded knowingly. “So he had his shot at love. He’ll never feel that way again.”
    “Time will tell,” Rosie said as she walked to the doorway. She grinned wickedly. “I still believe I’m right. And when you and Alex wind up together, I can say I told you so. Only I won’t. Not only am I above that, I’ll be too overjoyed to finally see my brother happy.”
    Before she could retort, Rosie was gone. Fran had to admit Alex was tempting. She’d worked with him a month now, and instead of waning, her attraction was more acute. She smiled, recalling the first time they’d talked. She had to admit Alex looked twice as cute as when she had first laid eyes on him. And the glow he’d put in her heart then now threatened to erupt into a full-blown fire. The only thing that had saved her from herself was his disinterest. He’d made no move, given her no indication that he found her the least bit attractive.
    And she was relieved, she told herself. With time, effort, several cold showers a day and a stroll into the walk-in freezer, she might even convince herself of that. But it was for the best that he wasn’t interested in her. Not only was she philosophically opposed to being anyone’s