Secrets and Ink Read Online Free Page A

eyes was that maybe this day would be when my curse broke. Life would be calm and uneventful, and I’d relax, until misfortune smacked me in the face again. This morning I had no doubt the jinx was still going strong. The previous night’s memory assaulted me on waves of nausea. The worst part hadn’t even been the humiliation, but that I’d really liked Nick. I considered going back to bed and staying there for the rest of the day.
    Alas, my phone rang. I picked it up and squinted at the screen—my sister. If I didn’t answer, she would just come by to check on me.
    “Morning, Charly,” I grumbled into the phone.
    “Jem, how are you? Have you had breakfast yet?”
    As always, her natural buoyancy lifted my spirits too, but I was reluctant to let go of my funk. “Dammit, Charly, how the hell can you be so chipper at dawn?”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s almost ten.”
    “Exactly. No, I haven’t had breakfast yet, but I’m not hungry.”
    I suspected she’d suggest meeting up somewhere. She lived in Pasadena and I in Burbank—not a great distance, with plenty of diners and restaurants in between, but I didn’t feel like driving.
    “Not a problem. I’m in your neck of the woods already, standing in line at Porto’s. What do you want?”
    Hearing the name of my favorite Cuban bakery opened my mind to the idea of food. “Mmm…a breakfast sandwich would be nice. Or maybe a butter croissant. You know what? I leave it up to you. But definitely get some potato balls.”
    She laughed. “That’s a given.”
    By the time Charly knocked on my door twenty minutes later, I’d gotten myself washed and dressed, and the aroma of fresh coffee filled the apartment.
    She stepped inside carrying an FTP canvas bag I’d given her, stuffed full of bakery boxes. “Unpack this while I get the plates.” The women in my family always bossed the menfolk around. We were used to it and accepted that it was for our own good.
    Charly was my closest friend, but it hadn’t always been so. When she was a toddler, I’d tried to sell her to a couple at the park. Hey, they’d commented on her cuteness and I’d been only five. Twenty bucks and an ice-cream cone had seemed like a fair price. They’d laughed and called me funny. I’d been dead serious.
    In hindsight, I’d realized I’d resented her for taking my place as the baby of the family and sending me on an identity crisis. Stuck between an ever-so-responsible big brother and an adorable baby sister, it was no wonder I’d became the troublemaker.
    Then a building collapsed on me, and I had to learn to walk and talk again. People I’d considered my closest friends vanished into thin air, but my little sis, who’d just gotten into the nursing school at USC, postponed her studies for a year to look after me. So yeah, she could boss me around all she wanted.
    I moved a stack of books from the coffee table to the entertainment center, and then opened the boxes and laid them out. Charly, who knew her way around my kitchen, brought out plates and napkins and cups of coffee. I poured myself a glass of carrot-orange juice, and we sat down around the coffee table.
    After the first bite of my medianoche sandwich, I realized I had plenty of appetite after all. Charly appeared similarly famished, and for a while, munching and slurping were the only noises to be heard. However, Charly kept surveying me over her sandwich. At the time of my convalescence, she’d appointed herself as my personal caretaker and hadn’t been able to completely give it up since. With a concerned expression, she put her plate down. “You look pale. Are you taking care of yourself?”
    “You sound like Mom. I’m fine.” She had a knack for making me feel like a kid, even though she was four years younger.
    She eyed me skeptically. “Are you sure?”
    “Just tired. Went out last night.”
    Her face lit up. “Oh really? Hot date?” Charly was far too interested in my love life. She’d kept hoping