Lani Diane Rich - A Little Ray of Sunshine

t

A Little

Ray of Sunshine

Lani Diane Rich

new american library

Praise for THE FOR TUNE QUILT

Quick humor.

Booklist

A beguiling twist on a well-tested plot.

Kirkus Reviews

This vibrant novel from Rich shows that chick lit can deal intelligently with fate, family issues, and romantic relationships. Publishers Weekly

Mystical quilts, a hunchback toad, and a wisecracking heroine... what else could you ask for from a book?

Whitney

Gaskell

Funny and completely involving. Carly is the rare character who is both appealing and confused enough to actually fit in with the rest of your friends.

Jane Espenson

... And for the other novels of

of Lani Diane Rich

I love Lani Diane Richs thirtysomething heroine.... Fast, funny, and always true to herself, Wanda is one of those heroines you want to have lunch with.

Jennifer Crusie

A sparkling debut, full of punch, pace, and wonderfully tender moments.

Sue Margolis

Terrific and absolutely hilarious... with a thoroughly delightful and original heroine.

Melissa Senate

continued...

This effervescent debut novel will strike a chord with every woman who has ever been tempted to give her life an extreme makeover. Wendy

Markham

A warm and funny story. A perfect read for a rainy afternoon.

Or any afternoon.

Karen Brichoux

Rich has managed to skillfully blend serious topics with humor, and readers will love her for it.

Booklist

Sprightly dialogue.... A fast, fun read, especially for those who enjoy the quirky characters of authors like Jennifer Crusie and Eileen Rendahl.

Library Journal

Wacky characters, nonstop action, riotous dialogue... the merriment keeps the pages turning.

Publishers Weekly

novels by lani diane rich

The Fortune Quilt

t

A Little

Ray of Sunshine

Lani Diane Rich

new american library

New American Library

Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

First published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Copyright Lani Diane Rich, 2008

All rights reserved

NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

library of congress cataloging-in-publication data: Rich, Lani Diane.

A little ray of sunshine / Lani Diane Rich.

p. cm.

ISBN: 1-4362-0928-5

1. Single womenFiction. 2. AngelsFiction. 3. Reconciliation

Fiction. 4. Domestic fiction. I. Title.

PS3618.I333L58 2008

813'.6dc22

2007029763

Set in Janson Text Designed by Elke Sigal Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

publishers note

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors rights is appreciated.

For Sweetness and Light, my own little angels Acknowledgments

I loved writing this book. Usually, at some point during every book, I want to find a blunt object and beat myself to death with it just to end the misery of my swift and certain failure. Then everything turns out okay. (Writers. Drama queens, each and every one of us, Im telling you.) This book was different, though. I loved every minute. Because of that, Im hoping its special, so my first debt of gratitude is to you, its reader. Thanks so much for completing this process with me. I hope its as much fun for you as it was for me. Or, at any rate, worth whatever you shelled out for it.

To Samantha Graves, Robin La Fevers, Alesia Holliday, Michelle Cunnah, Whitney Gaskell, Eileen Rendahl, Beth Kendrick, Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, Cate Diede, and Rebecca RohanI cant imagine a funnier, sharper, more supportive group of women to have by my side through all the insanity. I must have done something very good in a past life to deserve you, because its for damn sure I havent done anything near good enough in this one.

To the Glindas, for suffering through many revi-sions of the awful duck jokeIm forever in your debt.

x Acknowledgments

To Stephanie Kip Rostan, the Best Agent Ever, for being the Best Agent Ever. You are the Ella Fitzgerald of agents, and dont you forget it.

To Kara Cesare, Editor Extraordinaire, for loving this book as much as I did, for being so damn good at what you do, and for being so delightful as you do it. Its the lucky author that gets you for an editor.

To Fish, Sweetness, and Light, who sacrifice hot meals and a clean house so I can do what I love, theres no expression of gratitude that even comes close to what I owe you. Except maybe cooking and cleaningbut the truth is, although I do like to blame it on the writing, I probably wouldnt have cooked and cleaned anyway. So really its a wash.

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A Little

Ray of Sunshine

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The night the angel found me

was pretty much like every other night at the Quik n Go. The air smelled like moist cardboard beer boxes, lemon-scented Lysol, and cinnamon-tainted coffee; the National Enquirer I attempted to read under the humming fluorescent lights was full of crap and yet, still oddly fascinating; and the customers were few, far between, and uncharacteristically inclined to talk to me.

Case in point: Middle Eastern Guy, who I blame for starting this whole thing, because it was he who jerked his head toward the plate-glass window and asked, Are you going to go help her or what?

I flipped down one corner of my National Enquirer to find him raising an expectant eyebrow at me. This was highly unusual behavior for Middle Eastern Guy 2 Lani Diane Rich

(midthirties, five foot eleven, short dark hair, light blue windbreaker jacket; you work in a convenience store for a while, you start to see people in police description

ese), who had never spoken to me directly before, and I wasnt a fan of the sudden switch. His eyes flickered toward the front window, then landed back on me.