Read Online No Time Like Mardi Gras by Kimberly Lang - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kimberly Lang
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was doing her own nails, yet here she was. “Proving Joey Wrong” was a large category, but she was chipping away at it bit by bit.
Kelsey was in the recliner, eyes on her laptop and ears covered by a set of large black headphones, so Jamie let the Law & Order marathon drone on without much guilt. She was debating another coat of polish when Kelsey took her headphones off.
“Hey, Jamie, do you know anything about the Zephyrs?”
The question came so far out of left field that Jamie nearly dropped the polish bottle she was holding between her knees. She didn’t really know much about Kelsey, but she hadn’t mentioned baseball at all until this moment. And since Kelsey didn’t know about her past—just that she’d come out of a long-term relationship, but not with whom or why—it was an odd question, indeed. “Um, they’re the triple-A affiliate for the Marlins, they’ve got some good players... Why?”
“If I got tickets, would you want to go?”
“God, no.” She’d been the perfect athlete girlfriend, always in her spot at every game, cheering as loudly as she could, but the honest truth was that she abhorred everything about baseball. She’d rather watch paint dry. Breaking up with Joey had meant she’d never have to spend another minute of her life at the ball field, and that knowledge had helped buoy her through the worst of it. Belatedly realizing how her refusal might be considered rude—assuming Kelsey was trying to broach new avenues of friendship or shared interests—she tried to soften it. “I mean, thanks, but I’m not really a fan.”
Kelsey nodded. A second later, she asked, “Are you double-jointed?”
What the hell? Did Kelsey have some kind of weird disorder? Wonder if the hospital knows. “Yeah, my elbows. Why?”
Over the top of the computer screen, Kelsey smiled. “Just wondering. By the way, do you know what time it is?”
Time for me to be looking for a different place to live? The girl had a computer on her lap and a cell phone balanced on the arm of her chair, and she was asking Jamie what time it was? “Sorry, no. Maybe a little after ten?”
“No watch, huh?”
“I lost mine.”
“I see. How interesting.”
If Kelsey was crazy, better to find out now. “How is that interesting?”
Kelsey closed the laptop. “I know you’re new in town, but have you heard of The Ex Factor? ”
“The TV show? Of course.”
Kelsey shook her head. “No. Ex as in ex-boyfriend.”
“Then no, I haven’t.”
“It’s an online column run by a local girl who does wedding planning. She and her ex-boyfriend do a little thing a few times a month where they give different perspectives on an issue or a question that’s sent in. It’s hugely popular, and the kind of thing that everyone will be talking about at work the next day.”
And? “It sounds cute. I’ll have to check it out one day.”
Kelsey passed the laptop her way. “Actually, you might want to check it out now.”
Carefully, so as not to mess up her nails, Jamie took the computer and flipped it open. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be looking at, but it seemed like a basic website, with a cartoon drawing of a man and a woman back to back and a The Ex Factor banner between them.
The headline, in a very large font, read, A Real Cinderella Story, and the paragraph beneath started, “Once upon a time, in the French Quarter on Fat Tuesday...”
No.
Something akin to dread settled into her chest.
By the end of the first paragraph, the pieces fell into place. Adrenaline surged through her veins. “Oh, my sweet God.”
The horror only got worse as she scanned the article. While thankfully rather skinny on the details, there was the story of what, until this moment, had seemed like the best day of her life. Something she could think back on fondly and relish the memory.
It had been a private, happy story, one she hadn’t shared with anyone simply because she’d wanted to keep it to herself. But it
Kelsey was in the recliner, eyes on her laptop and ears covered by a set of large black headphones, so Jamie let the Law & Order marathon drone on without much guilt. She was debating another coat of polish when Kelsey took her headphones off.
“Hey, Jamie, do you know anything about the Zephyrs?”
The question came so far out of left field that Jamie nearly dropped the polish bottle she was holding between her knees. She didn’t really know much about Kelsey, but she hadn’t mentioned baseball at all until this moment. And since Kelsey didn’t know about her past—just that she’d come out of a long-term relationship, but not with whom or why—it was an odd question, indeed. “Um, they’re the triple-A affiliate for the Marlins, they’ve got some good players... Why?”
“If I got tickets, would you want to go?”
“God, no.” She’d been the perfect athlete girlfriend, always in her spot at every game, cheering as loudly as she could, but the honest truth was that she abhorred everything about baseball. She’d rather watch paint dry. Breaking up with Joey had meant she’d never have to spend another minute of her life at the ball field, and that knowledge had helped buoy her through the worst of it. Belatedly realizing how her refusal might be considered rude—assuming Kelsey was trying to broach new avenues of friendship or shared interests—she tried to soften it. “I mean, thanks, but I’m not really a fan.”
Kelsey nodded. A second later, she asked, “Are you double-jointed?”
What the hell? Did Kelsey have some kind of weird disorder? Wonder if the hospital knows. “Yeah, my elbows. Why?”
Over the top of the computer screen, Kelsey smiled. “Just wondering. By the way, do you know what time it is?”
Time for me to be looking for a different place to live? The girl had a computer on her lap and a cell phone balanced on the arm of her chair, and she was asking Jamie what time it was? “Sorry, no. Maybe a little after ten?”
“No watch, huh?”
“I lost mine.”
“I see. How interesting.”
If Kelsey was crazy, better to find out now. “How is that interesting?”
Kelsey closed the laptop. “I know you’re new in town, but have you heard of The Ex Factor? ”
“The TV show? Of course.”
Kelsey shook her head. “No. Ex as in ex-boyfriend.”
“Then no, I haven’t.”
“It’s an online column run by a local girl who does wedding planning. She and her ex-boyfriend do a little thing a few times a month where they give different perspectives on an issue or a question that’s sent in. It’s hugely popular, and the kind of thing that everyone will be talking about at work the next day.”
And? “It sounds cute. I’ll have to check it out one day.”
Kelsey passed the laptop her way. “Actually, you might want to check it out now.”
Carefully, so as not to mess up her nails, Jamie took the computer and flipped it open. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be looking at, but it seemed like a basic website, with a cartoon drawing of a man and a woman back to back and a The Ex Factor banner between them.
The headline, in a very large font, read, A Real Cinderella Story, and the paragraph beneath started, “Once upon a time, in the French Quarter on Fat Tuesday...”
No.
Something akin to dread settled into her chest.
By the end of the first paragraph, the pieces fell into place. Adrenaline surged through her veins. “Oh, my sweet God.”
The horror only got worse as she scanned the article. While thankfully rather skinny on the details, there was the story of what, until this moment, had seemed like the best day of her life. Something she could think back on fondly and relish the memory.
It had been a private, happy story, one she hadn’t shared with anyone simply because she’d wanted to keep it to herself. But it
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