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prepared,” Linda said primly. “Besides, the client specifically requested you.”
    “Me?” Kate’s eyes went round.
    “Apparently you recommended me to him.” Linda flashed her a grin. “Nothing new there. Half the clients I’ve landed in the last year were referrals from you, for which I will be forever in your debt.”
    “Passing out a few business cards isn’t exactly a strain,” Kate pointed out.
    “Maybe not, but when this guy called this morning and mentioned you, I said I wished I could talk you into working for me. He said he’d like to hire my service, but would prefer dealing with you since he already knew you.”
    “So, what’s his name?”
    Linda glanced at her notes. “Michael Cameron. Lives over in Lakeway,” she added, referring to the resort community that seemed like a separate world from the hodgepodge neighborhood where they lived.
    “Michael Cameron.” Kate tested the name. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”
    “Well, he’s expecting you today at one o’clock.”
     “Linda, I can’t go today. Not with Dylan home sick.”
    “Hogwash. I’ll watch Dylan, and it won’t be any trouble at all since I plan to spend the day catching up on paperwork. I can bring my laptop down here and work. So, no excuses. Just go.” She held out the note.
    Taking it, Kate glanced at the address and raised a brow. Lakeway alone was exclusive enough, but this was one of the streets on which the real money lived. “Challenger Drive, eh? Pretty fancy digs for a bachelor.”
    “Honey, in this business, wealthy bachelors are a dream come true. So go get ‘em.”

Chapter 4
     
    THE
moment Kate drove through the main entrance to Lakeway, nostalgia washed over her. The neighborhood reminded her so much of Barton Creek, where she and Edward had lived. Professionally landscaped lawns surrounded custom-built homes, herds of deer roamed along the golf-cart paths, and turtles sunned themselves on the banks of a picturesque pond.
    But what tugged most at her heart were the basketball hoops and bicycles left in driveways. Those were the things she missed about her life with Edward, even more than the beautiful house, the designer clothes, and her spiffy red Miata. She missed the sense of safeness that came from living in an upper-class community, the feeling of raising her child in the American dream.
    She’d lost all that in the divorce.
    Regret settled in her stomach, not for loosing Edward, but for her inability to give Dylan the kind of life he deserved. As much as she loved being Dear Cupid, the job didn’t pay enough for her to raise Dylan the way she wanted.
    That, however, was about to change. The more she thought about working for Linda, the more she liked the idea. After all, Wife for Hire had introduced Linda to all kinds of interesting people. Who knew what doors it might open for her? Maybe some opportunity would present itself that would enable her to become the independent, self-sufficient woman she’d always dreamed of being.
    Her spirits lifted further as she topped a hill and there before her lay the wide expanse of Lake Travis. Its royal-blue water sparkled in the sunlight as its inlets stretched out among the rolling green hills. A lone sailboat drifted over the surface with the spring breeze filling its sails. Perched on the cliffs between her and the water, the million-dollar homes of Challenger Drive offered their owners a breathtaking view. With a jumble of pastel stucco and white stone with terracotta tile roofs, the houses looked as if a slice of the Riviera had been dropped down in the middle of the Texas Hill Country.
    Finding the address Linda had given her, Kate parked her battered Ford Escort on the street, which was level with the roof of the house. Getting out, she ran a hasty hand over her apricot silk pants suit and wondered if she’d overdressed. Life at the lake tended to be far more casual than her life as a society wife in Austin. Unfortunately, her clothes—like everything