Suddenly Sexy(4)

"I know what you're thinking," Maddie said, "and don't. That guy is not my type."

Linda sighed. "Not this again. When are you going to give up on this perfect man theory?"

"It's not a theory, it's my standard. Every woman should have a standard."

"Maybe you shouldn't set yours so high."

Maddie bit back a retort about setting it too low. She liked Pete, she really did, it's just that she wouldn't have married him.

"My criteria aren't that tough."

Linda snorted. "Tough enough that no man can meet them."

"Is it my problem there aren't any intelligent, honest, interesting and sensitive men out there?"

"There's plenty. You just add too many other ingredients to the recipe. Like neatness, has to get on with Mum and likes kids. If I were you, I'd give up on the liking Mum part. That's asking a bit much. And neatness is over-rated. All you can expect from a man is that he doesn't wear the same pair of underwear more than once before he puts it in the laundry basket and he takes the rubbish out. Not necessarily in that order."

Maddie rolled her eyes so far back she saw stars. "I'm not living with a slob."

Linda waved a spoon in the air. "You're thirty now, Sis. Tick tock."

Maddie couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd thought her sister was on her side. "I've got plenty of time to settle down and start a family."

"Nice try, Mad, but I know you don't really think that."

She hated when Linda read her mind.

"I know about your Plan," her sister went on.

The Plan. Ever since she'd turned thirty it had hung over her head like a guillotine. The timetable for her life, along with the criteria for a perfect husband, had been devised in Cynthia Bolowski's tree house eighteen years ago. According to the Plan, Maddie should be happily married with one child and another on the way by now. Cynthia was married with two kids and a dog. Maddie had a university degree and a good job but neither of those things had made it onto the Plan. They just hadn’t seemed all that important when she was twelve.

Linda piled broccoli onto four of her best china plates and two plastic ones. "Let's look at this logically. Say you meet a guy today. You'll want to date for two years before you marry, then you should be married for a couple of years before you start a family. Two years between each kid will make you," she tapped each finger on the bench, counting out loud, "nearly forty by the time you have the fourth. Jeez, Mad, you better get started."

"I don't want four, I want two. Two's perfect. Three creates middle child syndrome and four means a bigger car. Two's ideal. As to the rest, who's to say I won't fall instantly in love and get married within six months?"

"I know you, that's what makes me say it. You'll need two years just to organize the damn wedding. Besides, it'll take you that long to find every quirk in his personality."

Maddie sniffed. "Well, whatever his assets, I am not interested in Sam Hennessy."

"Why not? If I recall, Mum used to like him."

"I don't care what Mum thinks! This has got nothing to do with my criteria." She plucked imaginary fluff off her tailored pants. The criteria, along with the Plan and her last tube of Clearasil, had long been relegated to the bin.

Linda smacked her hand lightly. "Stop fussing and tell me what the problem is. What's wrong with Sam Hennessy?"

"Okay." She took a deep breath. She'd never told anyone this before. She'd bottled it up inside since she was fifteen and had forgotten how much it had hurt until Sam turned up looking more gorgeous than ever. Well, here goes...





CHAPTER 2




"He called me a nerd."

Linda gasped and placed a hand to her breast in mock horror. "He called my little sister a nerd? How dare he! I mean, it's not like you were or anything."

"Shut up, Linda. He hurt my feelings. And I don't know if I can forgive him."

"Pete used to call you a nerd back then too, but you forgave him."

"Pete's different. He's always been like a brother, and I expect that sort of behavior from a brother. Not from a—"

"Hunky guy you secretly wished had noticed you when you were fifteen?"

Linda was like the little devil that sat on Maddie's shoulder, reminding her of all the embarrassing things she'd ever done. Except she couldn't make Linda shut up by thinking about food.

"He might be cute but I don't have a crush on him anymore. You know the sort of guys I date. He doesn't fit."

Linda sighed. "I suppose. He's not a doctor, scientist or computer programmer."

"And he drives a Porsche."

"Oh NO!" Linda poured gravy over the roast without splashing the bench. Maddie watched, impressed. "So what's wrong with a Porsche?"