Kathie said finally.
“No, it doesn’t,” Sharon agreed.
“Not at all,” Joanna said.
“No, but I’m glad to do it,” Meg said. In fact, she’d been counting the days. She needed a change of scenery, time to think. “It’ll be fun.
And Rebecca needs me.”
“Really, Meg,” Kathie said dryly. “One of these days you’re going to have to live a more sedate life.”
Meg stuck out her tongue and the girls laughed. Then the bell rang. They groaned and gathered the remnants of their lunch.
“Do you ever have the feeling that your life revolves around bells?” Meg asked.
Kathie frowned. “I hear that darn thing in my sleep.”
Meg sighed as they walked out into the clattering hall, once again gripped by a quiet fear she couldn’t put her finger on. Miles of battered lockers, acres of scuffed floors, the din of hundreds of little voices, the lingering odor of paper and paste. Was this really where she belonged?
“Depressing, isn’t it?” Kathie asked, taking in the same scene.
“No,” Meg said too quickly. “I love my job.”
“I love my job, too,” Kathie said with a wry smile. “But I can’t say that I love the fact that all the men in my life are Cub Scouts.”
“You could date if you wanted to,” Meg said. “What about your neighbor, the doctor?”
“Oh, right—I’ve seen the man twice. The first time he said hello, I closed my hand in the car door. The second time, I walked into the mailbox. I think I’ve burned my bridges where he’s concerned—even a doctor doesn’t have that much insurance.” She sighed dramatically. “No, I’ve resigned myself to spinsterhood.”
“We’re only twenty-seven, Kathie. We won’t be spinsters for at least another three years.” Three short years…
She smirked. “So what’s the real reason you didn’t say yes to Trey? Having second thoughts?”
“No, I told you—”
“You’re making him pay.” Kathie shook her head. “I don’t buy it, Meg. You don’t have a vindictive bone in your body.”
Meg sunk her teeth into her bottom lip, surprised at Kathie’s sudden gravity.
Then her friend sighed. “Whatever the reason, make sure you take as long as you need to decide whether or not Trey is the man for you.”
At a loss for words, Meg simply nodded.
Then her friend grinned again, and elbowed her in the ribs. “I still can’t believe you’ve got an entire week away from this place, and you’re going to spend it working.”
“I won’t be working the entire time,” Meg protested. “I’ll have my evenings free, and two Sundays.”
Her friend wagged her eyebrows. “Oooh, maybe I should come with you to keep you out of trouble.”
Even Meg had to laugh—she’d never been in trouble in her life. “Have fun at the fan festival—I hope you find that naughty dress you’re looking for.”
“Shhhh!” Kathie looked around, then moved in close. “If Principal O’Banion even hears the word ‘naughty,’ she’ll start digging into my personal life.”
Meg scoffed. “You’re exaggerating.”
“Tell that to Amanda Rollins.”
“The art teacher? What about her?”
“Well, no one is supposed to know this yet, but she was fired yesterday.”
“What? Why?”
“Apparently someone saw her renting an X-rated movie at a local video store.”
Meg’s jaw dropped. “Can they fire her for that?”
“They did. She was ‘supposedly’ violating the ‘moral behavior’ code of our employment contract.”
“That’s a pretty loose interpretation.”
Kathie shrugged. “But it’s the school board’s interpretation to make. Me, I get my X-rated movies through the mail.”
Meg blinked.
“I’m kidding,” Kathie said.
Meg shook her head. “Poor Amanda. The kids love her.”
“That kind of scrutiny comes with the territory. Not that you have anything to worry about, Miss Teacher of the Year.” She gave Meg a nudge.
Meg managed a smile despite the tightness in her chest. It was supposed to be a compliment—the honor, the title—but honestly, some days she felt like an Osmond.
Her friend patted her arm. “Hey, if I don’t talk to you before you leave, have a great time in Chicago. And if you see anyone famous, get their autograph for me?”
Kathie covered every angle. “Okay, but the only celebrity I’ve ever met was a distant Kennedy relation at one of Trey’s father’s fundraisers.”
“Keep your eyes open. And try to cut loose a little, okay? Enjoy what may be your last week as an unfettered woman.”
Meg wet her lips, but the bell rang again, so she simply manufactured a little smile that matched her expression in those Teacher of the Year posters plastered everywhere. “I’m just looking forward to not hearing a bell ring for an entire week.”
And to a few days where nobody knew how perfect she was.
2
“SHE WON’T OPEN THE DOOR,” the hairdresser said, his hands jammed on his slim hips. “Do something.”
Jarett Miller closed his eyes and counted to ten. If only he could open them and be somewhere other than Los Angeles, in the ostentatious home of the most spoiled woman in the world. He opened his eyes, but the irate hairdresser still stood there, his toe tapping.
“I’ll see what I can do.” Jarett tossed aside the tabloid that featured the latest exploits of his charge, then dragged himself up from the overstuffed, overpriced sofa. His chest filled with dread with each step he took across the great room, through the hall, and up the sweeping stairs—red-carpeted, of course. Nothing less for Taylor Gee, the toast of Tinseltown, sex kitten of the hour.
As his hand slid over the garish gold-tone banister, he marveled at the differences between the lavish home she’d bought for herself and the modest home Taylor Jean Gumm had grown up in in rural West Virginia. “Bought” was a generous term, since she’d mortgaged herself into old age for the monstrosity, against his advice. But then, Taylor didn’t take advice well when it meant she couldn’t have everything she wanted.
Rosie, Taylor’s personal assistant, stood in front of the door to Taylor’s suite, hopping from foot to foot. “Please, Miss Gee, unlock the door!”
Rosie was a little round-faced woman who had plenty of nervous energy to do Taylor’s bidding. She reminded Jarett of a small dog that had gotten its tail stepped on so many times, it remained in perpetual motion. She moved aside as Jarett approached, visibly shaking. “Oh, good. She’s been asking for you.”
“Is she high?” he asked.
Rosie sighed. “I don’t think so, just depressed.”
Jarett bit down on the inside of his cheek. Taylor was beautiful, famous, and rich—from where he was standing, she had little to be depressed about. But what did he know? He was just a country boy, trapped in a town he hated as a result of a promise he’d made.
He