Kendall leaned against the counter, looking around the store. Hardly anyone was there since it was the middle of the week during the day. Kendall kept her eye on a group of young girls, which she was sure had skipped school that day. They huddled around the crystal display, oohing and aahing over the various stones. She didn’t get any negativity from their direction, so she kept half of her attention on them. Once they brought their purchases to the counter and paid, they left. Kendall looked around the store once more. No one remained. “Well, no time like the present for a little practice,” she said, pulling out her Tarot cards from under the counter. “Well, cards,” she said as she shuffled them. “What messages do you have for me today?” Flipping over the first card, she frowned. “Well, that doesn’t look good,” she said. “If I remember correctly, that’s a warning.” She flipped over another card, and her eyes grew wide. “I think that means a broken heart,” she whisp
A few days after Addy decided to contact various stores to see if they would sell her designs, Brooklyn headed for the library. She needed to research her latest article and also wanted to check out the latest books. Since it was one of those rare warm fall days where the sun was shining, she wore a plaid skirt, sleeveless top, and a sweater over top of it. She felt like a student as she walked into the library and giggled at the thought. Heading toward the upper floor where the research materials were located, she noticed the library was nearly empty. “One of the perks of coming early in the morning,” she whispered while waiting for the elevator. The doors opened, and she stepped inside, pushing the button for the top floor. She turned around and looked out of the glass as the elevator ascended. Her eyes narrowed as she thought she saw a familiar figure, but her view was blocked as the elevator rose higher. “No, it couldn’t be,” she whispered, shaking her head. The do
After Addy and Lewis left the apartment, Shea put down her magazine and frowned. “Fine,” she muttered. “Don’t talk around me.” She stood up and walked toward the kitchen to pour herself a glass of milk. As she drank, her phone beeped, letting her know she’d received a text. Her eyes widened as she looked at her phone, and she put the glass down. “Ooh! It’s from Bradford,” she said when she saw the text. “Hey, gorgeous lady,” the text read. “I wanted to say how much I’m missing you right now. Are you free for dinner tonight?” She danced around the kitchen, grinning madly, before replying, “Hey, handsome! I’m missing you, too. As luck would have it, I am free for dinner tonight. What did you have in mind?” “I wanted to take you to that Italian restaurant across town,” he texted back. “I remembered you said how much you loved their chicken parm.” “He remembered!” Shea squealed as she shimmied in glee. “Ooh! That sounds divine!” she responded. “Great!” he texted. “I
“Do you want to go somewhere else?” Brooklyn asked in a worried voice. Cort shook his head and said, “No, it’s time I faced her head-on.” “Do you think she’s dangerous?” Brooklyn asked, chewing on her lower lip. Shrugging, Cort said, “I can handle her.” He turned toward her and grinned, adding, “Besides, I’ll have you there as backup.” Brooklyn’s eyes widened, and she asked, “You don’t think she’ll come after me, do you?” “Don’t worry,” he said, putting his finger under her chin, so she would look up at him. “If she does, I’ll be here to protect you.” She looked at him before smiling and saying, “My knight in shining armor?” “If that’s what you want to think of me, then sure,” he said, staring down into her eyes. They stayed like that for a few moments, then Brooklyn’s phone buzzed, causing her to jump back from him. Scrambling for her phone, she looked at it, then frowned. “Bad news?” he asked. “Just my editor, asking about my article,” she said. “Am I k
“Do you think Cort and Brooklyn are okay?” Shea asked as they rode in the cab toward the restaurant. “I’m sure they are,” Bradford said, patting Shea’s hand. She smiled at him and said, “I can’t help worrying about them. Who knows what that crazy woman is capable of?” “She does have crazy eyes, that’s for sure,” Bradford said, nodding. “Have you seen her up close?” Shea asked, looking at him with wide eyes. He nodded and said, “I made the mistake of answering the door one time when she knocked. Blimey! She was scary!” They pulled up to the restaurant, and Bradford told her, “No more talk about the crazy stalker. This is our night, and I don’t want her to ruin it for us.” Smiling, she nodded and slid out of the car. Bradford paid the driver and held his arm out for her to lead her into the restaurant. He let the host know he had a reservation, and she led them to a table toward the back of the room. “This is nice,” Shea said, looking around the darkened room. “Co
Once they had discussed the costume ideas, Lewis cleared his throat and said, “I also wanted to ask your opinion on something.” Addy tucked her sketchpad into her purse and turned back to him, clasping her hands in front of her. “What’s up?” she asked. He cleared his throat and glanced around the room before speaking. “I want to do something special for Kendall at the festival, but I don’t know what to do,” he said sheepishly. She smiled at him and said, “That sounds wonderful! I bet she’d love that!” Smiling at her, he said, “I sure hope so. I want to show everyone how special she is, but I haven’t got the foggiest idea on how to do it.” Addy thought for a moment, tapping her lips as she thought. “Do you do anything before they show your film?” she asked. He nodded and said, “The filmmakers usually give a short speech.” Addy’s face lit up, and she said, “How about adding something about her in your speech?” Lewis’s face lit up at the suggestion. “That’s a
“Boy, am I beat!” Brooklyn said as she entered her apartment. “Addy! Shea! I’m home!” she called out to her two best friends and roommates as she hung her purse on the coat rack by the door and pulled the hair tie out of her hair, causing her long blonde hair to flow down her back. She shook her head to loosen her hair, kicked off her shoes, and took out her phone to check her texts as she walked over to the couch and flopped down on it, stretching out and putting her feet up on the cushions. “At least you take your shoes off before you put your feet on the couch.” Brooklyn looked up from her phone to see Shea coming out of her room. Her friend and roommate wore a blue striped halter top, which matched her blue eyes, with a denim miniskirt. She had pulled her curly light brown hair up into a high ponytail but left a few strands hanging out to frame her face. Her light brown skin glistened with a golden hue from the sparkly lotion her friend liked to use when she was going out
The three friends got out of the cab in front of a club where people already stood in line to get in. “I can’t believe you talked me into coming here,” Addy said, looking at everyone in line. “What?” Shea asked, turning back to look at her friend. “It’s not that bad. It has… an atmosphere about it.” “Yeah, a ‘I’m gonna get killed if I’m not careful’ atmosphere about it,” Addy muttered to Brooklyn, who giggled. “Besides, the guys said they could get us into this club ahead of the line,” Shea continued, ignoring the other two as she searched the crowd. Spotting three men standing near the bouncer, she grinned and waved at them, standing on her tiptoes so they could see her better. The guy in the middle spotted her and grinned back. Waving his arm at the other two to follow him, the trio made their way over to the three friends. Shea rushed over to the guy in the lead and flung herself into his arms, giving him a huge kiss. Brooklyn and Addy looked at each other with wide e