For Lucy Greco Cavanaugh, life is a dream come true. She has it all. The perfect family. The perfect husband. The perfect marriage. What more could she wish for? Other than the chance to do it all again. To experience once more the agony and ecstasy of falling in love with the man of her dreams. To recapture the joy and uncertainty that comes with starting over.
As far as Dan Cavanaugh is concerned, his life has become a nightmare. His storybook marriage is on the line when Deirdre Shelton-Cooper, the runaway daughter of a former girlfriend arrives in Oberon intent on proving Dan is her father. Even though he’s convinced the girl’s claims are false, he decides his only chance to keep from losing everything lies in keeping her very existence a secret from his wife and family.
But, sometimes, what you don’t know can hurt you--and those you love. When Deirdre, masquerading as a surfer girl named Monica, accidentally hooks up with their son, Seth, Lucy and Dan are left to wonder: has their perfect, fairy-tale romance, turned into a classic Greek tragedy?
Sometimes you get exactly what you wish for. And it’s more than you’d ever dreamed.
Cavanaugh Family Nursery, Oberon, California
Seven months ago
“Nick...what is all this stuff?” Dan Cavanaugh leafed through the folder his wife’s cousin had thrown at him--a folder full of photos and surveillance reports and investigator’s notes, over a decade’s worth of confidential information--all of it pertaining to him. He looked over at the other man, feeling nauseous and disoriented. The sky above was just as brightly blue as it had been a couple of moments earlier, the late September sun was still shining, and the multitude of green plants that surrounded the two men radiated with life, but Dan’s world had gone suddenly dead cold and gray.
“Dunno. I was hoping you could tell me,” Nick Greco answered. Dan glanced at him sharply. His shrug seemed just a little too casual. And he was using his cop voice, too—never a good sign. “We found it in Paige’s apartment.”
Paige Delaney. Dan swore silently. Yeah, that figured. Hadn’t he always known she was trouble? Small wonder that someone had finally decided to kill her. “Jesus. That woman was nuts. So, what’re you saying--she was stalking me?”
“Could be.” Nick eyed him curiously. “You really didn’t know anything about this?”
Dan stared at the photos again. “Hell, no. And I tell you, it’s a damn good thing Lucy never got wind of it, either.” He could just imagine what his wife would have done had she known. It scared the shit out of him.
“There’s still something else you gotta see,” Nick said quietly.
Dan rifled through the rest of the papers, wondering what could make Nick look so grim, and then stopped when he found it. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph. This is some kind of joke, right?”
He stared in disbelief at the birth certificate in his hands and sixteen years dissolved in an instant—
“You’ll have to marry me now, Dan,” Paige had insisted, all those years ago. “I’m pregnant.”
Dan remembered how he’d laughed. How often did a man get to hear that twice in one night? He wondered whether she really was pregnant, at all. Not that it mattered, of course; because even if she were, it wasn’t his child she was carrying. He had no doubts on that count. Not possible.
“Jesus Christ, Paige,” he said, trying to joke, “How many pregnant women do you think I can marry at the same time?”
“But, Dan—” she protested, before he cut her off, laughing again, this time at the thwarted expression on her face.
“Ah, c’mon, Paige, knock it off, already. You don’t really expect me to fall for that fairy tale, do you? I mean, I think I’d have known it, if I’d actually gone and knocked someone up. Now, d’you mind? I have to finish packing. I’ve got a plane to catch.”
He’d tried to stay civil, but his good humor had faded quickly in the face of her threats to go to Lucy with her news. He’d gotten angry then, and issued a few threats of his own. Shortly afterwards, she’d left his apartment. For sixteen years he hadn’t heard another word about this supposed child of theirs. Until right now.
“It’s no joke. I checked.” Nick paused to light a cigarette. “It’s a certificate of live birth, sure enough.”
“And she really went ahead and listed me as the father?” Dan felt his mind balk as it tried to wrap itself around the concept. “I don’t freakin’ believe this!”
“So, you’re saying you’re not the father?” Nick’s voice was a little too cool, a little too non-comittal, as he tossed the match aside. “But you knew she was pregnant, right?”
Synopsis
For Lucy Greco Cavanaugh, life is a dream come true. She has it all. The perfect family. The perfect husband. The perfect marriage. What more could she wish for? Other than the chance to do it all again. Sometimes you get exactly what you wish for… and it’s more than you ever dreamed.
Book 4 of the Oberon series
Reviews
Carrie White, Erotic Author...
A Taste of Honey was a joy to read and it had me hooked right from the start. It had an excellent storyline which, over time, knitted together perfectly. Everything that you read had a purpose; nothing was surplus to requirements. This is a novel which is part of an ongoing series but it does well on its own. One thing, though, I wish I’d read more of the series beforehand. Not because I felt this novel needed that to be understood. Far from it! It’s because, now that I’ve read A Taste of Honey, I’ve missed out on so much by not reading the first initial books.
There was something I read within A Taste of Honey that was familiar to me and it didn’t take me long to figure out where I’d seen it before. But I won’t spoil that little surprise for you! See if you can work it out.
I loved this novel so much that I hope I get the chance to read new additions to the series. It’s by far one of the best works of fiction I’ve read in a long time.
About the Author
PG Forte was born on the wrong coast; a mistake she corrected as soon as she was able. And one she avoided making with her children, both of whom were born in Santa Monica, California within sight (on a clear day, and at a height of several stories) of the Pacific Ocean.
She has spent most of the last seventeen years living in various locations throughout The Golden State—North, South and even, as King Arthur might have phrased it ‘for one brief shining moment’ in that Camelot of California, The Central Coast.
The idea for the series came to her, appropriately enough, while she was enjoying a latte at an outdoor café in the company of friends. In many ways, Oberon is a celebration of everything weird, wacky and wonderful about her adopted home state.
Besides books on Oberon, Ms. Forte has also written several documentary film scripts, and a children’s book on safety.
