Married for a Month

About the Author © ANNIE BRADY SUSAN MALLERY is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of novels about the relationships that define women’s lives—family, friendship, romance. Library Journal says, “Mallery is the master of blending emotionally believable characters in realistic situations,” and readers seem to agree—40 million copies of her books have sold worldwide. Her warm, humorous stories make the world a happier place to live. Susan grew up in California and now lives in Seattle with her husband. She’s passionate about animal welfare, especially those of the ragdoll cat and adorable poodle who think of her as Mom. Find her online at SusanMallery.com. FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR:SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Susan-Mallery SimonandSchuster.com We have a surprise for you, Taylor,” Katrina Melon said in her oh-so-perky voice. Taylor McGuire blinked at the fifty-something TV host and forced herself to speak, despite the fact that her throat was closing tight enough to snap steel. “No,” she managed, then licked dry lips. “No surprises.” Katrina, in her too-pink Chanel suit, with her styled white-blond hair and perfectly made-up, taut features, leaned forward and patted her hand. “You’ll be fine,” she murmured soothingly. Oh, yeah, right, Taylor thought, desperately searching for the humor in the situation. Her palms regularly went from damp to dripping, while her legs trembled—even though she was sitting down. If this was fine, she couldn’t wait to experience anxious or even panicked. The good news was she could now say she’d had a near-death moment and survived. The bad news was that she was seconds away from making a complete fool of herself in front of millions of viewers, including her friends and family back home in Texas. Katrina put down her notes and smiled again, sort of—with her tight skin it was hard to tell. “All set?” Taylor didn’t answer. What was the point? The plastic princess would dismiss any protests she made. Instead she concentrated on her breathing, trying to ignore the fact that Psychology in the News was a well-respected national show produced in New York. Professionally produced, not badly done by strange people on shaky handheld cameras. Actual doctors and professors and cutting-edge psychologists watched the show, participated in the debates and wrote papers about subjects discussed. Taylor herself rarely missed the weekly broadcast. Katrina’s features relaxed slightly into an expression of sympathy. “I know we were going to bring you on the last two minutes of the show and talk about your theory. What was the title of your thesis again?” “Compatibility as the Key to a Successful Marriage,” she managed through clenched teeth. “Right. But with Dr. Bill getting food poisoning last night and our show being live, we had to make some changes.” Katrina patted her hand. “Think of the exposure. Maybe now you’ll get a book contract.” “Maybe,” Taylor murmured, thinking she would rather go home. Dreams of fame and fortune were way overrated, anyway. Right? A man standing just outside the bright lights yelled something about ten seconds back to air. Exposure for her theory, she reminded herself, repeating the phrase like a mantra. Exposure meant interest. Interest could mean a sale. A sale meant a lot of things—like the potential of financial stability, validation, and a chance to feel she’d accomplished her goals. She’d been doing her darnedest to sell her book on compatibility, but so far no one had made an offer. Part of the problem was her lack of expertise. She was a single mom from a small town no one had ever heard of. Her doctorate was so new that in human terms, it was still a zygote and her entire publishing history consisted of exactly two professional articles. Hardly a body of work impressive enough to inspire excitement in the publishing world. Or on television, she thought, wondering how she was supposed to fill thirty minutes of live TV. “Five, four, three—” Suddenly the lights got much brighter and Katrina turned her smooth face toward an invisible audience. “We’re back with Dr. Taylor McGuire, whose thesis, ‘Compatibility as the Key to a Successful Marriage,’ is stirring interest in the world of psychology. Tell us about your ideas, Dr. McGuire.” Taylor tried to remember the only yoga class she’d ever attended. She’d been unable to walk for nearly a week after because her body just plain didn’t bend that way, but she did recall how wonderful the deep breathing had been. That was what she needed to do now. Keep breathing. “I have a private practice,” she said, hoping her voice wasn’t shaking as badly as she feared. “Over the past few years the emphasis has been on marriage counseling and premarital seminars. I began to notice a pattern in successful relationships—not just marriages. From my observations I realized that the more people had in common, the more easily they could get along.” Katrina nodded. “You realize that there are those who don’t agree with you.” “Of course.” Taylor thought about saying they were wrong. “One such person is a frequent and popular guest here on Psychology in the News. Dr. Jonathan Kirby. Dr. Kirby, as we all know, believes that opposites attract and make for the most exciting marriages. In fact, he’s written several books on the subject. He’s here now and I’m hoping that he and Dr. McGuire can enter into a spirited discussion on the matter.” The room might have been blurring before, but now it was positively spinning. Jonathan Kirby here? Now? It wasn’t possible. No trick of fate could be that unkind. Oh, but it could, she realized a heartbeat later when a tall, dark-haired man strolled out onto the set. He had a lean, yet powerful body, and moved with the grace of someone comfortable in front of a television camera. Or naked. Jonathan had always been completely unselfconscious in the buff. It was just one of oh, fifty million factoids that zipped through her brain. They flew through in a nanosecond, accompanied by a screaming voice reminding her that seventeen years