Book excerpt: Ruby's Soul Food Cafe, a neighborhood diner, has been hot spot their whole lives, so it's only fitting that Ruby's is where three best friends meet monthly to do what girlfriends do-- eat, drink and offer unsolicited advice on life and love. Debra Has it All, the perfect life that her friends envy- but she's hiding a secret that could end her career and her marriage. Maxine is a self-made woman on a constant quest for Mr. Right. When she wants someone, she lets him know, but handsome Malcolm Brooks only has eyes for Renee. Renee is in limbo, stuck between the good life she left back in Philly - lucrative job, sexy boyfriend- and the life she is living in Atlanta, caring for her father who is slowly forgetting his past and bringing family owned Gladwell Books back to life. Brunch at Ruby's is a funny and inspiring story about lifelong friends, the bond that holds them together and the test to see how far that bond will bend before it breaks.