Under the Dogwood Tree by Kari Wirth

Author:Kari Wirth [Wirth, Kari]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Published: 2023-08-30T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

Once the media ran with the news about the imminent gala, ticket sales soared and generous proprietors offered services to offset the costs. The owner of a vintage warehouse had waived the thousand-dollar rental fee to hold the gala there. A rental company had committed to supplying chairs, tables, lighting, and decorations. Also at no charge. Thanks to John Lombardo’s connections, Pittsburgh’s most renowned catering company had agreed to feed five hundred guests in exchange for free advertising on every piece of promotional material from now until the big night.

Joey owned the story on the center’s quest to remain open, becoming one of the Hilton Herald’s rising journalists as his articles on the facility’s history and Paula Crowe’s years of drug addiction graced the front page.

As Paula updated Ronnie on a weekly basis regarding gala business, it wasn’t long before their joint effort to save the center grew into a friendship. She had called Ronnie at the station one afternoon with new donations to add to the auction block while weaving Tony’s name into the conversation.

“Uh, what’s the story with you and Officer Lombardo?” Paula asked, her tone eager for the dirt.

“There isn’t one,” Ronnie answered, as if her seven-year marriage to Tony had never existed. “I’m his boss.”

Paula laughed. “Not so fast. I got eyes; I see how he looks at you.”

“Really, Dr. Phil. How does Tony look at me?”

“Like he wants to rip off your uniform and throw you onto the desk.”

What was funnier about Paula’s speculation was that it was most likely true. Ronnie knew all she had to do was give her ex-husband the okay and they’d be back together faster than a sprinting jackrabbit.

“Come on, girlfriend. Any secret office fling you want to divulge? I won’t say a word to anyone. I promise.”

The director was bound to find out Ronnie and Tony were once Mr. and Mrs. Lombardo. It was better for Ronnie to spill the beans than for Paula to hear it from Tony.

“Brace yourself, Paula.”

“Sounds juicy. Are we talking like a trashy romance novel?”

“Sorry to disappoint you.” Ronnie paused. “Tony’s my ex-husband.”

Silence stretched on Paula’s end, making Ronnie think she had dropped the phone. “You’re pulling my leg.”

“Nope. Married seven years. Divorced for eleven.”

“You’d never know it. You two act as if you like each other.”

“We do. We’re friends. We agreed to put the past behind us.”

“If I had to work with my ex, I’d kill him.” Paula laughed so hard she snorted. “Crap. I just made a death threat to a cop.”

“I’ll let it slide this time.”

“Ronnie, why on earth did you let Tony go? He’s delicious. I’d have no problem waking up next to that every morning.”

Neither had Ronnie. She remembered him wearing a Steelers T-shirt and striped boxers to bed and how his ice-cold feet tucked against her legs. The man had refused to wear socks, but she didn’t care. It was an excuse to get as close to her as possible.

She broke away from the memory. “Paula, there’s more to marriage than looks and sex.

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