Read Online What If... All the Rumors Were True by Liz Ruckdeschel - Free Book Online Page A

girls,” Spencer said, kissing Coco passionately on the cheek as he nearly swept her off her stilettos. He bent down to give Haley a peck hello too, but she dodged him.
    â€œHello, Spencer,” she said, giving him a friendly wave instead. The last thing she wanted to do was provoke Coco’s notorious jealous streak.
    â€œHow can Mother lose with such beautiful campaign workers flogging her noble cause?” Spencer asked, grabbing a plump grape from a passing fruit tray and popping it into his mouth.
    â€œI am not here to flog your mother’s cause,” Haley said emphatically. She wanted to make sure Coco understood this too. Haley’s Berkeley-minded parents would never vote for a rich conservative like Mrs. Eton, and they’d have an absolute fit if they thought Haley had become a cadet in her army of supporters. Haley was here only because Coco had invited her to the club for a much-needed study break post–SAT prep class, not mentioning of course that a campaign stop was part of the deal. It was such a beautiful Saturday, and after a morning spent cramming vocabulary words into her head, it was heaven to be outside in the fresh air.
    â€œOf course she’s going to help,” Coco said, glaring pointedly at Haley. “You’re late, darling,” she added to Spencer, but fondly, not in her usual snippy way, much to Haley’s surprise. “The election is only a month away, and Mother Eton has been losing steam in the polls.” Coco was the picture of Waspy elegance in her yellow cashmere sweater and triple strand of creamy white pearls, her chestnut hair pinned up to make her look older and more responsible and trustworthy. In her arms was a basket of
Vote Eleanor
campaign buttons in a buttery yellow that nearly matched her sweater, and a stack of leaflets promoting Mrs. Eton’s run for governor of New Jersey.
    â€œAre you kidding? Mother’s got it sewn up,” Spencer replied in his usual cocky manner. He spotted Whitney, in a tweed pencil skirt of her own design and a tight ruffled blouse, standing by the bar. “Can I get you ladies a drink? Haley? Cocomo?”
    â€œWe’ll have two Arnold Palmers,” Coco ordered. Spencer brushed his hand through hers as he left for the bar, letting their fingers linger together a second longer than they needed to. Haley saw a warm gleam in Coco’s usually chilly eyes.
Has Spencer finally been tamed?
Haley wondered, marveling at the change that had recently come over Hillsdale High’s resident bad boy.
    â€œHe’s whipped!” Haley announced to Coco, risking incurring her friend’s wrath. She braced herself for the reaction. However, no wrath seemed to be coming.
    â€œHe’s an old family friend, as you know,” Coco said, mustering all her Grace Kelly restraint. “But yes, things have heated up a bit since my…sister finally left for Yale.” Coco was the type of girl who wanted every boy to want her, but she’d always had a soft spot for Spencer. They seemed to be made for each other. Unfortunately, Alison De Clerq had maintained a long-standing and avid flirtation with her sister’s beau. Even though the relationship had never been consummated, Coco felt that Ali—among others—stood in the way. Now, it seemed as if Coco might have been right.
    The queen bee, finally restored to her throne, smoothed her hair and stood at attention as Mrs. Eton fluttered over to greet the girls. “Thank goodness, another pair of hands,” Spencer’s mother said, plopping a load of buttons and flyers into Haley’s arms. “Here you are, dear. Well, what are you waiting for? Get to work.” Mrs. Eton then hurried over to the bar for a photo op with her handsome offspring. She had a beaming maternal grin plastered all over her nipped-and-tucked face.
    â€œI’ll take those off your hands,” Whitney offered, setting down her Arnold Palmer.