The Devil Served Desire by Shirley Jump

is totally wrong for me."
    "Why? Does he have a criminal background?" Rebecca asked.
    "No."
    "A wife?"
    "No."
    "A husband?"
    Maria laughed. "No, definitely not that."
    "Then what?"
    Maria let out a sigh. "He's a chef."
    "Perfect!"
    Maria danced her unsatisfying, bland, low-calorie shake back and forth. "Maybe in twenty-five pounds, but I can't date a guy who smells like Alfredo sauce. I'll end up cheating just by kissing him."
    "What's so bad about that?" Rebecca asked. "I think you look great exactly the way you are."
    "That's what Dante said. I disagree." She finished the can and tossed it into the trash. "I'm really sticking to my diet this time. I joined..." she paused, then lurched the words out "a support group."
    "That's great!" Candace said. "One of our customers was just talking about a group like that. She said Mary Louise Zipparetto—"
    "I know all about Mary Louise," Maria said. "She had great success with the Chubby Chums."
    "Chubby Chums?" Rebecca bit back a laugh.
    Maria nodded. "The group is more than a little strange, and they say these stupid phrases all the time, but I think it might help to have people to report in to, know what I mean?" Maria plopped onto one of the stools behind the counter and rested her chin on her hands. "And they seem to really care, in a weird kind of way."
    "Are we talking tender group hugs here?" Candace asked.
    "I haven't had that pleasure yet." Maria laughed.
    Rebecca's eyes narrowed. "So where did you meet Dante?"
    "After the meeting. He talked me into an antipasto at his restaurant. You know me, I'm a weak woman when it comes to Italian food. I left, though, before things got too crazy. Well, except for a quick dance in the street with him. Then I left." For now, she left out the details about his visit to her mother's house yesterday.
    Rebecca shook her head. "You got it bad, girl."
    "What do you mean?"
    "I have never seen you run away from a man before."
    "I didn't run away. I..." Maria thought then realized she'd done exactly that. "Okay, maybe I did leave too fast But—" She cut herself off when she noticed the perfectly matched Chanel getting out of a limo parked along the sidewalk outside the shop. "Oh-oh. It's Monica."
    "Again? She was just here on Thursday to change her wedding theme from Elvis to Cher," Candace said. "She wanted peacock feathers in the chocolate centerpieces, for God's sake."
    Monica Thurgood had changed her mind seventeen times about her wedding decor, ordering all new desserts, dresses and decorations each time. Last month, she'd had a "vision" of a Cinderella wedding, complete with chocolate mice. This past week, she'd talked about an Elvis-themed wedding, with the bridesmaids wearing blue suede shoes and polyester suits.
    "Well, she's got a new idea now. She called me first thing this morning to warn us she'd be stopping by. Now, don't laugh when she tells you," Rebecca warned, biting her lip and suppressing a grin. "She's talking... trains."
    "Trains?"
    Rebecca nodded. "She said her fiancé has this thing for anything railroad. He likes pretending he's the engineer and she's the wayward caboose, and they—"
    "Don't!" Candace put up a palm. "I just ate breakfast.''
    "Have you met her groom?" Maria asked. "He's got the coordination of a cow. All I can see him doing is derailing her."
    The bell over the front of the door jangled, interrupting them. Monica Thurgood waltzed in, complete with her Chihuahua child.
    "Come along, Aphrodite," she said to the little dog, tugging on a Swarovski crystal-embedded leash. "We need to talk about Mommy's wedding."
    Across the room, Candace's three-legged dog Trifecta barely lifted his head in acknowledgment of the diminutive canine companion.
    "Monica, how nice to see you again," Rebecca said.
    Monica laid her Coach purse on the counter and ran a hand down the front of her cream Chanel suit. "I know it's only been four days since I was here, but I had an absolutely brilliant idea when I was at the spa this