Kiss and Tell Read Online Free Page B

nodded.
    “I’ll be right back,” he mouthed, rather than try to shout over the loud music. “Don’t go anywhere.”
    Leila tried to protest. She opened her own mouth to ask him to take off his mask, but he’d already been swallowed up by the crowd.
    He didn’t leave a shoe behind.

    “You’re always trying to convince me that along with being six years older than I am, you’re also six years wiser.” Leila and her brother sat on the deck overlooking the ocean, watching the sunrise.
    As always, Simon was there for her. He was her brother, but he was also her friend—he had been for as long as Leila could remember. He’d never talked down to her. He’d always treated her as if she were a peer. Which, now that they were both in their thirties, she was.
    But her friendship with her brother hadn’t always been perfect. Back when Leila was younger, Marsh’s visits to the island had brought discord to the otherwise harmonious relationship between the Hunt siblings. As a child, Leila had been jealous of Marsh and Simon’s friendship. Jealous and a little awed. The two boys had as strong a bond as Leila and her best friend, Frankie, yet Marsh only lived on Sunrise Key during his vacations.
    On the other side of the house, several of the more stalwart partygoers were still dancing. The music sounded ghostly as it was carried across the lawn and around the house by the wind.
    Leila fingered the gossamer fabric of her Cinderella gown. “So tell me, oh wise one.” She looked up to find Simon watching her over the rim of his coffee cup. “What the heck is wrong with me, that I would kiss a total stranger as if the world were coming to an end?”
    Simon sat forward, pushing the brim of his hat back to see her better in the predawn light. “You mean, like, tongues?”
    “Totally. This man now knows the inside of my mouth better than my dentist.”
    Simon laughed. “Wow. How unlike you.”
    “No kidding,” Leila said morosely. “I’ve kissed exactly five men in my entire life. And before I kissed them, I knew their complete background and history. I knew how many parking tickets they’d ever received and whether or not they paid them on time. I knew the names of their kindergarten teachers. I knew their SAT scores and their GMATs. I knew their favorite flavor of ice cream and whether they liked sugar cones or those other icky waffle ones. It was ludicrous. I kissed this guy and actually saw fireworks.”
    “There
were
fireworks,” Simon pointed out.
    “It’s crazy.” Leila ignored him. “I lost my balance. He swept me off my feet.”
    “Maybe you had too much champagne,” Simon suggested.
    “Two dinky glasses? That can’t be it.”
    “Who is he?” Simon asked, taking a sip of coffee.
    “That’s my point here, Si. I honestly don’t know. His beeper went off, and he went dashing out of here. He said don’t go anywhere. He said he’d be right back. But he vanished. I spent the rest of the night looking for him.” Leila stared out at the water, watching it reflect the glow of light in the east. “God, am I stupid, or what?”
    “You don’t even have a clue?”
    Leila exhaled in exasperation. “All I know is that he’s taller than I am. How much taller I can’t tell you. He’s male, he’s strong, he wears a beeper, and he looks good in black. How many men did you invite to this party? A hundred? That description should fit, oh, ninety-five of ’em.”
    “What kind of costume was he wearing?” Simon asked. “Maybe I know who he was.”
    “Ninja,” Leila said. “He was a ninja.”
    “Hmmm.” Simon took another pensive sip of coffee. “That’s a tough one. I don’t think I talked to a single ninja all night. I saw at least four of them, but I wasn’t sure who they were. You know, the mask and everything.”
    “My point exactly.”
    “So what does this mean?” Simon stretched his long legs and rested his cowboy-booted feet on the deck railing. “You’re frenching it with some