Wendy Markham

A tale of two Mikesand the one that got away

Once upon a time in the 1980s, a girl named Beau was torn between two Mikes: did she prefer her high–school sweetheart or the sexy stranger she'd picked up in an airport bar? One she eventually married, the other she left behind (and forgot all about, or tried to, anyway).

But which Mike did she choose? And was it the right one?

Years later, living in the suburbs with a childbirth–traumatised body and an increasingly distant husband, Beau's forced to confront her decisionfor out of the blue she receives a flirty e–mail from 'the other Mike' and suddenly finds herself back to square one

This delightful tale by the bestselling author of Slightly Single and Slightly Settled alternates between the story of Beau's 'summer of Mikes' and the outcome fifteen years later

There are a lot of things worse than being SLIGHTLY ENGAGED…being entirely broke, completely alone and wholly perplexed.

It's been a year and a half since Tracey and Jack moved in together, and everything's totally perfect–well, okay, almost perfect. There's still Tracey's mom, who says they're "living in sin," and her friends, who are all smug, married and totally sure that there would already be a ring on Tracey's finger if she hadn't been in such a rush to cosign a lease. Even Tracey is beginning to wonder whether Jack really is looking for a permanent relationship, or whether she's just renting space in his heart.

But just when Tracey's doubts are seriously raging out of control, Jack's mom lets her in on a secret--he's just taken an heirloom diamond out of the family's safe-deposit box, which must mean that he's going to propose any day now.

Okay, any week now…

Any month now?

After two years, the man who bought a lifetime subscription to TiVo without trying it finally committed to a lifetime subscription to Tracey Spadolini.

All Tracey wants is to get hitched without a hitch–but as the calendar marches toward her late-October wedding date, suddenly she and her fiancé can't agree on anything. From where to get married (New York City or Buffalo?) to how many attendants they're going to have (she's already asked eight; he was thinking of just a best man). Meanwhile, Tracey's friends are caught up in their own dramas. There's newlywed Raphael, who just had his gay wedding; newly pregnant Kate, who is trying to adjust to impending motherhood; and Buckley, who is acting inexplicably strange. When Buckley unexpectedly breaks off his own engagement, all but leaving his fiancée at the altar, Tracey is stunned to learn that he might be in love with her.

With plenty of snafus to keep them distracted, is being Slightly Married the road to happily ever after, after all?

Whoever thought settling down could be so complicated?

Top two don'ts for the office party:

Don't dress in a revealing manner. (Translation: don't wear the sexy scarlet, size–eight dress you couldn't fit into three months ago. The one that flaunts your firmed–up cleavage and newly discovered collarbones.)

Don't make a spectacle of yourself. (Translation: Don't get drunk and make out with a really cute stranger for the whole company to see; he could turn out to be your boss's roommate.)

I didn't follow those tips, and here I am with a hot new man in my life, Jack. But my friends are asking if I really want to bump into my boss in his boxers in the hallway of their apartment. After all, I am aiming for a promotion.

And now, not only does my ex want me back, but the guy I used to think was Mr. Right just kissed me!

Three months ago I couldn't hold on to one guy. Now three want me. When did my life become so complicated?

For every girl who's ever endured a long, hot urban summer on her own, Slightly Single is the summer breeze you've been waiting for!A heat wave in Manhattan is enough to drive a girl crazy, and for Tracey Spadolini, a 24–year–old New York transplant w

It seemed exciting at first, but after two and a half years in New York, Tracey has to admit her life well, sucks. Sure, she makes a decent living as a copywriter, but Blaire Barnett Advertising is a cutthroat world that basically swallows her life. If she does manage to get home before nine, she's usually greeted by husband Jack's best bud, an almost permanent fixture in their tiny, unaffordable apartment. Add the circus freaks stomping around upstairs, and Tracey decides it's time to move.

After quitting her job, she and Jack take the plunge into the nearby suburbs of Westchester and quickly discover they're in way over their heads. Their fixer–upper is unfixable, the stay–at–home yoga moms are a bore and Tracey yearns for her old friends she even misses work!

So which life