Dreaming Of You Read Online Free Page B

her parked car to the porch of her friend’s condo. Thankfully, Melissa didn’t live too far from the city limits. When Katelyn reached the door, she pounded on the hard wood, not caring if her knuckles turned red from the supreme effort. After rapping a couple more times, she waited and listened for any movement on the other side of the door, but only detected her own quick nervous breaths.
    “Come on, Melissa, wake up,” Katelyn muttered impatiently, and knocked again.
    Shuffling of feet and a loud curse came from inside before her friend opened the door. Melissa stood in her white bathrobe, her short dyed-blonde hair in disarray with a newly awakened expression on her forty-five-year-old face. The sight was laughable, but Katelyn refrained from grinning. Not today, and definitely not after what happened at the pancake house.
    Melissa blinked as if trying to focus and Katelyn waited for recognition to strike. Her friend’s eyes widened, and then just as quickly her brows creased.
    “What’re you doing here this early in the morning?” she grumbled.
    Katelyn pushed past her friend and entered the expensively decorated apartment. “It’s nine o’clock in the morning, which isn’t early at all.” She moved to the dinette table, pulled out a chair and plopped down.
    Melissa closed the door and crept into the room, taking the chair across from her. “For your information, the party lasted until two in the morning. That’s why I was still asleep. So now tell me, what was so all-fired important to see me this early?”
    Katelyn frowned. “I need your help and I can’t wait a moment longer.” She sighed, covering her face with her hands as she dropped her head to the table. “I’m in trouble, and I don’t know how to write myself out of this one.”
    “What?” Melissa shrieked, which made Katelyn jerk her head up and look at her. “How can you be in trouble?” Melissa continued, “For as long as I’ve known you, trouble isn’t even part of your vocabulary. You, my dear friend, are the one person I know who never gets into difficult situations.”
    Confusion clouded Katelyn’s mind for only a second, then she forced a sharp laugh. Her friend knew her well. “Well, this time I’m in deeper than I ever thought possible.” She shook her head and leaned forward, grasping Melissa’s hands. “I’m having problems only a writer can have.”
    Melissa tilted her head, her face still lined with confusion. “But I thought you were going to finish the novel last night. You told me on the phone—”
    “I’ve finished the book.”
    “Then what’s wrong?”
    Katelyn stared at her friend for a few moments in silence, trying to think of the right words, but there was no way to say it gently. “Before I tell you, I need to know something.” She paused briefly, not really waiting for a response, just time for a deep breath. “We are friends, right?”
    “Of course we’re friends.” Melissa narrowed her gaze. “Sweetie? What’s wrong?”
    Katelyn pushed away from the table and walked to the window. She adjusted the blinds until a small amount of sun shone through. The large pool filled with water was void of swimmers, and the tennis courts not too far from it remained empty, as well. It didn’t surprise Katelyn that nobody wanted to be outside today in this blustery weather. Already, the weather this year had been much cooler than normal.
    “I met Shane Hunter this morning.” She peeked over her shoulder at her friend.
    Melissa’s expression wavered slightly. “Shane Hunter… Shane Hunter…” Her eyes widened with recognition. “Shane Hunter, the hero in your first book?”
    “Yes.”
    “I don’t understand. I know you daydream quite a bit, but to actually meet one of your heroes in real life. That doesn’t make sense.”
    Katelyn ran her fingers through her ratty ponytail and took a breath for courage. “Seven years ago, before I had envisioned the plot for Ladies’ Man, I was in college,