Kiss and Tell Read Online Free

past the due date.”
    “I heard that, too,” Leila said. “And let’s see, what else? Preston Seaholm is back in town.”
    “I saw his Rolls out front. I think he’s here, somewhere, tonight.” Frankie looked around at the crowd.
    “…without his wife,” Leila said. “What’s the scoop on
that?
”
    “Apparently the new Mrs. Seaholm didn’t marry Pres merely for his money. Turns out she was using him as a stepping-stone. He knows a bunch of movie producers based in Orlando, and one of ’em liked Mrs. S. enough to screen-test her and she landed a supporting role in a movie. Pres wasn’t keen on spending eight months in Orlando, so he moved back here. Word has it, the divorce papers arrived in the mail less than a week after he was back. One thing’s certain—you can bet Pres is thanking God and his attorneys for that prenupt he had her sign.”
    “So he’s single now.” Leila traded her empty glass for a full one, wishing the wine would heal the blisters that were starting to form on her feet. Plastic shoes were the pits. Did Cinderella have this much pain from her glass slippers? Probably. Leila bet those fairy tales were written by a man. “Why don’t you go out with him?”
    Frankie laughed. “Oh, I am exactly Preston Seaholm’s type…not! Good grief, Lei, the man’s a billionaire, and I don’t even have a hundred bucks in my checking account.”
    “So?”
    “So, get real. He collects real estate for a living,” Frankie said. “
I
dig through dumpsters.”
    “Simon told me there’s another new guy in town. A lifeguard or something?”
    “Hayden Young,” Frankie told her. “Oh, baby. He can save my life
any
time. He’s got the three essential
B
s.”
    “Which are…?”
    “Blond hair, blue eyes, and big biceps. Not to mention his various other muscles.”
    “Gee, and I thought one of those
B
s would stand for
brain,
” Leila said wryly.
    “Believe it or not, I think he’s got one of them, too. He’s working on getting a Ph.D. in—get this—philosophy. He took this lifeguard job as a way to earn money while he sits around and thinks about his dissertation.”
    “He sounds perfect. Maybe he even watches foreign movies. Ask him out.”
    “I’d have to take a number and stand in line,” Frankie said. “Every woman over the age of fourteen and under the age of one hundred is going to the beach and batting her eyelashes at the guy.”
    “Bummer.”
    “Yeah,” Frankie agreed.
    “Speaking of bummers, my feet are killing me.”
    “So take the shoes off. Be an authentic Cinderella, and drop one somewhere. It’s almost midnight anyway. I don’t know about you, but I want to grab a lounge chair so I can see Simon’s fireworks without straining my neck.”
    “I’ll catch up with you in a sec.” Leila leaned down and pulled off her shoes. Oh, Lord, that was much better. She straightened up, then jumped back, alarmed. One of the ninjas was standing directly in front of her.
    He was dressed all in black. Black sweat pants, black shirt, black sash around his waist, black shoes, and a black mask that covered his hair and all of his face, except for his mouth and chin. His eyes glittered colorlessly from two holes cut into the mask.
    He wasn’t really a ninja, Leila had to remind herself. He was only dressed like one. Still, he looked awfully mysterious.
    Without warning, the lights dimmed even further, and the music kicked up in volume.
    “Three minutes till countdown!” Simon’s voice boomed over the p.a. system. “Three minutes left in the old year!”
    “Dance with me,” the ninja said. She couldn’t hear him over the music, she could only read his lips.
    She shook her head. Who was he? She couldn’t identify him with that costume on. But he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He took her hand and led her to the crowded dance floor.
    The song was an old, slow, romantic tune, something about night and day, day and night. The ninja pulled Leila close, holding her against