Mad Bad and Blonde Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  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

  Chapter Eighteen

  Teaser chapter

  Praise for the novels of Cathie Linz

  Smart Girls Think Twice

  “Spirited, sexy, sensational.”

  —Jayne Ann Krentz

  “The brainy girl and hunky guy have never been so much fun. No need to think twice about grabbing this book when you’re looking for pure entertainment.”

  —Susan Wiggs

  “This simple yet timely novel is sure to keep you hooked until the end.”

  —Romantic Times (4 stars)

  “Readers will be captivated as they watch the introverted academic get in touch with her inner warrior and realize her true potential. Funny and poignant by turns, Linz’s latest is sure to charm.”

  —Booklist (starred review)

  “Cathie Linz keeps her delightful contemporary romance amusing . . . Smart subgenre fans will not have to think twice about reading this humorous opposites-attract romance.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “A prim heroine with a fiery core and a haunted, searching hero who thrives on the rush of adrenaline join with an abundance of quirky characters to drive the classic plot of this funny, spicy romance to a satisfying conclusion. With her typical sense of humor, Linz has given readers another joyful, laughter-filled story to savor—and another view into the charming Pennsylvania town she has created.”

  —Library Journal

  “A worthy addition.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “A fresh romance that has both snap and sass . . . May Cathie Linz continue to write such wonderfully smart romance!”

  —We Write Romance

  Big Girls Don’t Cry

  “The characters spring to life, and readers will be thrilled to find that individuals from Linz’s earlier novels pop in and out like old friends. And kudos to Linz for creating a heroine who looks and acts like a real woman.”

  —Booklist (starred review)

  “[A] sweetly charming, splendidly funny, and supremely satisfying contemporary romance.”

  —Chicago Tribune

  “Another winner.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “Another keeper.”

  —Contemporary Romance Writers

  “A must-read. Top pick!”

  —Romance Reader at Heart

  “Definitely one for the keeper shelf.”

  —Genre Fluent

  Bad Girls Don’t

  A humorous tale . . . The secondary characters are comical

  and outrageous . . . You won’t want to miss Bad Girls

  Don’t.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “Cathie Linz gives her beautifully matched protagonists lots of sexy chemistry and some delightfully snappy dialogue, and the quirky cast of secondary characters gives Bad Girls Don’t its irresistible charm.”

  —Chicago Tribune

  “Linz, known for her fast-paced, snappy romantic comedies, once again sparkles in this heartwarming, funny tale. And her secondary characters . . . make an already excellent story exceptional.”

  —Booklist (starred review)

  “Linz’s characterizations are absolutely wonderful. I fell in love with the protagonists from the first page of this book . . . We’ve watched Ms. Linz’s writing develop and grow over the years. It has always been a pleasure to read her books, but I must say that this one is a fantastic novel!”

  —Rendezvous

  “Totally delightful.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  Good Girls Do

  “Humor and warmth . . . Readers are going to love this!”

  —Susan Elizabeth Phillips

  “Cathie Linz is the author that readers of romantic comedy have been waiting for. She knows how to do it—characters with depth, sharp dialogue, and a compelling story. The result is a charming, offbeat world, one you’ll hate to leave.”

  —Jayne Ann Krentz

  “Sometimes even good girls need to take a walk on the wild side. Linz deftly seasons her writing with her usual delectable wit, and the book’s quirky cast of endearing secondary characters adds another measure of humor to this sweetly sexy, fabulously fun contemporary romance.”

  —Booklist (starred review)

  “Sexy, sassy, and graced with exceptional dialogue, this fast-paced story is both hilarious and heartwarming, featuring wonderfully wacky secondary characters and well-developed protagonists you will come to love.”

  —Library Journal

  “Lively and fun, and you won’t be able to put it down.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “A fun contemporary romance . . . Fans of You Can’t Take It with You who like romantic romps will enjoy this funny family tale.”

  —The Best Reviews

  Berkley Sensation Titles by Cathie Linz

  GOOD GIRLS DO

  BAD GIRLS DON’T

  BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY

  SMART GIRLS THINK TWICE

  MAD, BAD AND BLONDE

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada

  (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

  Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)

  Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia

  (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)

  Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India

  Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand

  (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196,

  South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  MAD, BAD AND BLONDE

  A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author

  PRINTING HISTORY

  Berkley Sensation mass-market edition / March 2010

  Copyright © 2010 by Cathie L. Baumgardner

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hud
son Street, New York, New York 10014.

  eISBN : 978-1-101-18555-1

  BERKLEY® SENSATION

  Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  BERKLEY® SENSATION is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to the many incredible librarians in my life starting with Joyce Saricks, who became my mentor and good friend. To John Charles, who rates a 21 out of 10; Shelley Mosley, who always makes me smile; Kristin Rams-dell, who is priceless; and Mary K. Chelton, who is so smart and has attitude. I could say so much more but won’t, because I know you’re all blushing.

  There are many other librarians who have been so supportive—from all over the country as well as close to home. I wish I could thank you all personally. But please know you all rock! And you have my sincere gratitude. If I could send you all chocolate, I would. Please come visit me on Facebook.

  Special thanks to children’s librarian Stacey Freedman for her help, to Susan Frank for the Marine Corps input and to “Linzie” Andrea Markell for the baseball info. Any mistakes aren’t theirs . . . or mine, because this is fiction . More gratitude goes to Techno-buddy Liz Verrill and BlackBerry Goddess Lynne Yulish for their support and the push to get me on Facebook. Thanks to Chilibabes Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Lindsay Longford, Suzette Vann and Margaret Watson for their brilliant brainstorming. And hugs to Jayne Ann Krentz for the years of friendship.

  This book is also dedicated to the many Marines who are serving our country and to their families who give up so much. Semper fi!

  Chapter One

  It was the perfect day for a wedding. Too bad the groom didn’t show up.

  Faith West shivered in the beam of May sunlight streaming through a small window in the bridal anteroom of the historical Chicago Gold Coast church. Fingering the rich white satin skirt of her wedding dress, she sat very still, unable to believe this was really happening to her. Alan Anderson, the man she’d agreed to marry, was late for his own wedding.

  There had to be a reasonable explanation for Alan’s absence: car trouble, a dead cell phone, maybe even an accident, heaven forbid.

  Faith caught sight of herself in the large mirror on the opposite wall. A few wisps of her brown hair had escaped the confines of her upswept hairstyle, and her blue eyes appeared haunted despite her perfect makeup. Did she look like the kind of woman a man would leave at the altar? Possibly. She was certainly no raving beauty. She was just a librarian. A librarian with a rich private investigator father.

  Faith’s family flitted around her like a skittish school of fish, coming and going—offering help, offering suggestions, offering vodka. She remained calm in the center of all the chaos, strangely distant from her surroundings. The reality was she was probably going into shock and should accept the offer of alcohol purely for medicinal purposes.

  The question was: What would Jane Austen do in this situation? Whenever Faith was in trouble, she looked to her favorite author for the solution. And Faith was armpit deep in trouble at the moment.

  “I bet you scared the poor man away,” Faith’s pain-in-the-butt Aunt Lorraine interrupted Faith’s racing thoughts to declare. “A children’s librarian whose father taught her how to shoot a gun. A big mistake.”

  Aunt Lorraine, also known as the Duchess of Grimness, was the bane of the West family’s existence. With her demonlike black hair and Hellboy eyes, she was scarier than anything written by Stephen King. Not exactly the model wedding guest, but Faith’s mom had insisted on inviting her.

  For a wild second Faith wondered if Alan had stayed away because he was afraid of Aunt Lorraine, having met her for the first time at the rehearsal dinner the night before. Maybe she was the reason he hadn’t shown up. Could Faith really blame him for wanting to avoid Aunt Lorraine’s stinging barbs?

  Hell yes, she could blame him! How could Alan leave her sitting here wondering what had happened to him? How could he be so cruel? How could anyone, aside from Aunt Lorraine, be that cruel?

  Alan wasn’t just anyone. He was her fiancé, a reliable and respectable investment banker she’d known for two years. They’d been engaged for the past eleven months. They were perfectly suited for each other, sharing the same interests, values and aspirations. Neither one of them was blinded by passion or prone to wild behavior.

  That’s not to say that the sex between them hadn’t been good; it had been. Not great but good. She loved him. He loved her. Or so he’d said last night before kissing her.

  Faith looked around. Someone had led Aunt Lorraine away. She was replaced by Alan’s shamefaced best man. “Alan just sent you a text message.”

  “Where is he? Is he okay?”

  Instead of answering her anxious questions, the best man hightailed it out of the room, heading for the nearest exit and no doubt the nearest bar.

  “Where’s my BlackBerry?” Faith asked her maid of honor, her cousin Megan, who was like a sister to her. Faith and Megan were born two days apart, grew up within a few blocks of each other, and had been known to complete each other’s sentences. Their dads were brothers. Faith had only had one bridal attendant, and of course that was Megan.

  “I’m sure Alan has a good reason for being late.” Megan had always been the optimist in the family. “Maybe he was in an accident. Your dad is still checking the area emergency rooms.”

  Faith’s uber-workaholic father owned the most successful investigative firm in Chicago. If Alan wasn’t in an emergency room, then her father would be tempted to put him in one.

  “Where’s my BlackBerry?” Faith heard the edge of hysteria in her voice but couldn’t do anything to stop it.

  “Here. It’s right next to you.” Megan handed it to her. Sure enough, there was a text message from Alan that had been sent two minutes ago.

  “thought i wanted marriage. i don’t. i need to find who i really am. I want adventure and excitement. Don’t want u. Sorry.”

  Alan hadn’t left her because she could shoot a gun. He’d left because he didn’t think she was exciting enough. She’d scared him away by boring him to death.

  “What did he say?” Megan demanded.

  Her cousin was her best friend, but even so, Faith was too humiliated to show her what Alan had written. Instead she turned the BlackBerry off with trembling fingers. “I’ve been dumped in a text message,” she said unsteadily. “And not just dumped, but left at the altar.”

  “We never actually walked down the aisle.”

  “Close enough.” Faith angrily wiped away the tears that were starting to stream down her face. “There are people waiting out there. Lots of them. And they’re all expecting a wedding.”

  “They’ll all be on your side.”

  That was cold comfort at this point. Faith welcomed the anger starting to surge through her. It kept the pain and humiliation at bay.

  So much for her happy ending. Faith had continued to believe in her fairy-tale wedding even when Alan hadn’t shown up for the preceremony photographs, even when his best man had refused to look her in the eye, even when the minister had approached her privately to ask if she wanted to delay the proceedings.

  “He’ll show up,” Faith kept saying. “You’ll see. He’ll show up. And he’ll have the lamest excuse for being late.”

  Her belief in Alan and her faith in a positive outcome had lasted longer than it should have and was now as tattered as the lace handkerchief she’d nervously shredded with her beautifully manicured fingers.

  Last night he’d claimed he loved her, yet today he didn’t want her. How did that work? Did Alan love her like he loved fine wine and the Cubs instead of the way you loved the person you were supposed to marry? Weren’t Cub fans supposed to be the most loyal guys on t
he planet?

  Faith was having a hard time thinking coherently, and she felt cold enough to get frostbite. The man she loved didn’t want her. She couldn’t think about that, or she’d dissolve into a sobbing mess. But she could think of nothing else.

  Her parents burst into the anteroom. “I finally tracked him down,” Jeff West said. His usually smooth brown hair was messed from his running impatient fingers through it. “The bastard took a flight to Bali an hour ago. One-way.”

  Alan has gone to Bali searching for adventure and excitement, because he couldn’t fi nd any with me. So much for love and commitment. I guess those things don’t matter to him. I don’t matter to him.

  What had she done to make him change his mind about marrying her? He couldn’t have thought she was boring when he’d proposed. So what had changed?

  Would Alan have stayed if he’d known she was a crack shot with a gun? Her dad had taken her to the firing range and taught her himself when she was ten. Faith had never told Alan about her weapons training because she didn’t like to brag about the marksmanship awards she’d won. Maybe she should have. Maybe then he’d have thought twice about dumping her. Maybe then he’d have thought she was more exciting. A children’s librarian who had a gun and knew how to use it. Yeah, that ranked right up there on the excitement scale with . . . what?