THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

baby as if he were his own, with never so much as a word that he wasn’t.” A thoughtful smile curved her mouth. “We were the kind of couple that never had to say a word to know what the other was thinking. Nick gave my life meaning.”
    “You were lucky.” Cody’s voice was gentle. “Smart to recognize such a rare blessing and hang on.”
    She turned to him. A look of sadness passed over his features. “That sounds like experience talking.”
    His brow wrinkled. “I’ve made some mistakes in the past. Left some pretty special people behind in my pursuit of a music career.”
    “Sounds like you didn’t leave the memory behind.”
    “Memories.” The beginning of a smile tipped the corners of his mouth. “They won’t keep you warm at night.”
    “You got that right.” Her reborn zest for life comforted her. “They say people come in and out of your life for a reason. Thank you for being here for me now.”
    “It works both ways,” he said. Their eyes locked, but neither of them moved. Cody reached up and clicked off the overhead light. “We better get some rest. Tomorrow’s another big day.” He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
    She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
    This man, who shouldn’t have a burden in the world, was helping carry hers.
    An angel. A guardian angel. I pray Jake has one, too.
     
    New York City whooped it up big with the country band. Who would have thought a bunch of city folks could get down country-style? But they did. Since the band wasn’t leaving town that night for the next show, they treated the sold-out crowd to a good old-fashioned jam session as the encore. Kasey wasn’t sure who was having more fun, the band or the fans.
    The band was in good spirits from the impromptu jam, and Annette was thrilled that Cody had come to her about doing a couple extra guest spots while they were in town—something he rarely did. He wasn’t big on self-promotion, preferring his music to stand on its own. Yet he seemed to think that helping Kasey was a worthwhile way to use his celebrity. He did all three morning shows for the networks, and even two late night shows.
     
    The next morning, Kasey sat across from Cody watching for his reaction to the latest set of proofs.
    “You gonna get that?” he asked.
    “Oh. It’s me?” She dug in her purse for the phone. “I never get calls in the morning.” Kasey’s heart pumped as she flipped open the phone.
    “Hello?” Please be a lead , she prayed.
    “Your grandmother is in a hell of a tizzy.” Jeremy spit out the words like pellets. “You better call and explain to her soon, else I’m liable to just leave. She’s driving me crazy.”
    “What’s going on?”
    “Nothing, until your grandmother picked up those gossip papers at the grocery store. There you were, right on the cover.”
    “Me?”
    “Well, you all tucked down in the arms of that rock star.”
    “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Oh. My. God. She mouthed to Cody.
    “The picture was bad enough, but the article all but has you cheating on Nick while you were married, and offing Jake to be with Cody Tuggle.”
    Blood pounded in her temples. Was this Grem just trying to get attention again? “You better be kidding, and if you are your joke is not funny.”
    “You haven’t seen it?” His tone made it clear that he wasn’t kidding.
    “Which one?” Her jaw tensed.
    Cody’s eyebrows rose.
    Kasey pressed the speaker button on her cell and held the phone so Cody could hear.
    The sound of papers shuffling came from the other end, then Jeremy said, “The one I have here is The Insider . She has another one in the other room. Does it matter?”
    “If The Insider is running the story, everyone else will have it by the end of the week.” Kasey’s temper rose, and Cody’s nostrils flared with fury to match. “Tell Grem to quit reading that trash. You know none of it is true.”
    “Yeah, like that will happen,” Jeremy said. “You know how she loves that celebrity gossip.”
    He was right. “Tell her the story’s not true. I’ll call her when I cool down. I appreciate the heads-up.” She threw the phone in her purse and dropped her head into her hands.
    She glanced up at Cody. His lips were thin with anger. They exchanged a knowing look, a been-there-done-that-and-this-t-shirt-sucks kind of look.
    Kasey said, “Houston, we have a problem.”
     

 
    Chapter Twelve
     
    “What should we do?” Kasey hoped Cody would have