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She's Got the Look
Leslie Kelly
Newly divorced and back in her hometown, Melody Tanner is ready to change her life for the better. Her girlfriends think it's the perfect time to revisit the lists they came up with as a joke at Melody's bachelorette party–a list of five men they could sleep with no matter what.But when Melody looks at her list, she discovers two of the men are already dead. Worse, the homicide detective she contacts just happens to be her #1, former marine Nick Walker.Nick isn't taking the coincidental deaths too seriously, until the other two men on the list die suspiciously. Melody thinks the only way to keep Nick alive is to let him go. But Nick's willing to take the risk. Besides, if he does have to check out, there's no place he'd rather do it than in Melody's arms….
Great reviews for she drives me crazy
“Good ole boy attitudes and laid back charm make this splendid tale a local delicacy. Author Leslie Kelly brings wit, humor and exuberance to this story of one woman’s reluctant attempt to go home again.”
—Romantic Times
“I know this is only a March release but I think I’ve already found my favorite book of the year in Leslie Kelly’s She Drives Me Crazy. This is such an outstanding book on so many levels that it’s hard to mention them without giving away one of the many surprises found between the pages. A Recommended Read.”
—Fallen Angel Reviews
“Spend an evening of pleasure and fun, and treat yourself to an intensely emotional, funny, spine-tingling, and well-written book. A Perfect 10!”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Sexy, funny and a little outrageous, is a must read!”
—New York Times bestselling author Carly Phillips
“Leslie Kelly’s books are the perfect blend of sass and class. Her cheeky style makes her one of the strongest voices in romance today.”
—New York Times bestselling author
Vicki Lewis Thompson “Leslie Kelly is a future star of romance.”
—New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber to Publishers Weekly
More rave reviews for the books of Leslie Kelly!
“Ms. Kelly never fails to deliver a captivating story.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Top Pick! Leslie Kelly introduces characters you’ll
love spending time with; explores soulmates
you’ll dream about; and a hero to die for.”
—Romantic Times on Naturally Naughty
“Entertaining is just too tame a word.
This is pure reading pleasure.”
—The Romance Reader on Night Whispers
“Leslie Kelly writes with a matchless combination
of sexiness and sassiness that makes
every story a keeper.”
—Fallen Angel Reviews
“Kelly tells a high-energy story and
delivers a satisfying read.”
—All About Romance on Killing Time
“Leslie Kelly writes hot, steamy stories with lots
of humor and tons of romance thrown in.”
—Romance and Friends
She’s Got the Look
Leslie Kelly
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To my cousin, Louis Smith, and all his pals from the
1
Marine Expeditionary Force…you’re all heroes.
To my girlfriends, past and present, who’ve always
been there for the laughing, griping, celebrating,
crying, plotting, whining and wine. Most especially
Jill, Brenda, Julie, Karen, Janelle, Camille and
Roxanne. Life wouldn’t be the same without you.
And to my hubby, Bruce…you’ll always be number
one on my list. Just above Hugh Jackman.
SHE’S GOT THE LOOK
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE
Six Years Ago
“EVERY WOMAN NEEDS a list of men she’ll have sex with, no questions asked, if she ever gets the chance.”
Amazingly, despite her friend’s outrageous comment, Melody Tanner managed to avoid spewing the mouthful of margarita she’d just sipped. She stared at Tanya Williams, one of her bridesmaids, who cocked an unrepentant brow. The two additional women at the table—her other closest friends—snorted and laughed.
Since they were sitting in a crowded Mexican restaurant, and since Tanya was such an attention getter, anyway, with her beautiful ebony skin, striking features and imposing height, she didn’t figure there was much chance the comment had gone unheard by those around them. But she cast a quick glance anyway.
Nope. Definitely not unheard. The pudgy guy at the next table looked like he’d swallowed a lemon. The owner of the place, who always watched them, was keeping an extra close eye, as well.
Oblivious to the attention, Tanya added, “Married, single, in a relationship or not, a woman’s gotta have a go-for-it list.” She narrowed her eyes. “Especially if she’s stupid enough to get married at twenty-one.”
“Lovely idea,” said Rosemary, her maid of honor. “A get-out-of-adultery-free card.” Rosemary’s lyrical Southern accent could make anything sound elegant. Even a sex list.
“You’re both high,” Melody muttered before taking another sip of her drink, not taking offense at Tanya’s comment about her age. Her friend had made her opinion very clear on that matter. As had everyone else.
“Come on,” Tanya said. “You’re not married yet. Be honest, there have got to be at least five guys you’d leap on if you had the chance.”
Paige, her final bridesmaid, interrupted. “She probably doesn’t need a sex list.” Paige made up for her lack of height by speaking about three decibels louder than anyone else, so they were almost certainly being overheard now. “Face it, Mel’s probably on the lists of half the men in this country.”
Melody wrinkled her nose. “The blond twit in the swimsuit edition might be. But I’m not her anymore, remember?”
No, she wasn’t. She’d gotten as far away from her former career as she could in the two years since she’d shocked everyone—especially her mother—and quit modeling. She’d stopped coloring her reddish-brown hair blond, stopped starving herself to keep slim, stopped constantly traveling with no friends close by, no family.
No family…well, you couldn’t really miss what you’d never had, could you? Her mother had been family in only the most technical sense and she had no idea who her father was. So, to her, family was a fairly loosely defined word.
The three other women sitting around this table with her had been her real family—her chosen family—for a very long time. Rosemary, Tanya and Paige were the sisters she’d never had, the ones who’d supported her when she’d walked away from the job her mother had thrust on her as a baby.
Her mother, on the other hand, had stuck around just long enough to make sure Melody wouldn’t change her mind. Once she’d accepted that—and realized the money that had supported them was going to stop rolling in—she’d married a foreign designer and moved to England.
She’d sent a Crock-Pot for Mel’s upcoming wedding. It had a European plug. That pretty much summed up Mother.
But it was okay. Melody had been dealing with her mother’s less-than-maternal instincts for years. Melody had her friends. She had a normal life. She was finally going to pursue the passion she’d never gotten to explore since she’d always been in front of a camera: she planned to work behind one.
And tomorrow, to make things perfect, she’d have another new member of her chosen family. A husband. Her marriage to a nice, smart, nonglamorous dentist would be the dot on the exclamation point as she renounced the first two decades of her life.
“Well, if you’re making a Men Most Wanted list, I want to make one, too,” said Paige. She bent under the table to dig into her purse, until all Mel could see of her were the puffy, light brown curls on the top of her head. When she came back up, she was holding a pen and a small notebook. “Now, Mel goes first since she’s the one getting married. Tonight’s her last night to do this…since it’d be tacky to make a list of men you want to have sex with after you’re married, right?” She glanced at her friends, looking for confirmation.
At the table next to them, the pudgy old man began choking on a tortilla chip. Or his tongue.
“Turn the volume down, girl,” Tanya said. “And let me do it, your writing’s awful.” Grabbing the notebook, Tanya looked at Mel. “Okay, let’s do your sex list. Tell us everything. After all, who can you share your deepest fantasies with if not us?”
Melody glanced around the room. “Uh, half of Savannah?”
Tanya leaned in. “We won’t tell. We’re your best friends.”
“Yes, you are,” she murmured, silently thanking them for their support. For being here when they all thought she was making a mistake. For loving her as much as she loved them.
The four of them were an unlikely group—Rosemary, an elegant blonde and a member of one of Savannah’s wealthiest families. Paige, the loud, giggly one who discarded jobs like some people discarded tissues. Tanya, the nearly six-feet-tall African-American who was such a perfect foil to Rosemary’s spoiled Southern belle act.
Then there was Melody, whose face had been plastered on baby-food jars as an infant, whose famous diaper commercials had become a pop-culture reference. The one who’d hammed it up on a bunch of kiddie TV shows, and whose teenage butt had filled out the curves of designer jeans. The one who smiled to show sparkling teeth and cried to sell booboo medicine and who’d landed a spot in a swimsuit issue at seventeen.
Most importantly, Mel realized, she was the one who’d kept her most valued friendships alive by winning one battle against her mother: she’d insisted they have a real home in Savannah. Which was why Paige, Tanya and Rosemary had been there for every major event in her life. Like the one tomorrow. Her wedding. To nice, handsome, considerate Dr. Bill Todd of Atlanta.
The only man she’d ever have sex with again.
Grabbing for her margarita, she drained the glass. Then she reached for the pitcher, suddenly wondering if twenty-one really was too young to give up sex with every man in the world but one. Almost without thinking about it, she mumbled, “Brad Pitt.”
Tanya snorted. “Oh, please, be a little original. If that man had sex with every woman who wanted him, he’d have to be on an intravenous Viagra drip with Spanish fly on the side.”
