Spoiled Read Online Free Page A

electric car, like Cameron Diaz, and a butler like in
Batman
. I’d never empty the dishwasher again. You’re so lucky.”
    Then Charmaine caught herself: “Oh, God, obviously, I don’t mean—”
    “It’s okay,” Molly said. “I know what you meant.”
    She sat down again on the bed.
    “What do I
do
?” she asked. “Like, what do I say to him?”
    “You say, ‘Papa, open your arms and let me in,’ ” Charmaine instructed.
    “I can’t quote one of his own movies at him!” Molly laughed. “Especially not
Diaper Andy
.”
    “Maybe you should ask him if you can have your own wing of the Bavarian castle he just bought from Nicolas Cage.”
    “Good idea. Or I can ask for a job aboard his new seaworthy replica of the ship from
Pirates of the Caribbean
,” Molly said.
    “That one actually might be true,” Charmaine said. “It was in the same
In Touch
where they said he insured his abs for seven figures, and that
definitely
sounds real.”
    “I just don’t want to look like an idiot, you know?”
    “You’re going to be fine, I promise,” Charmaine said. “Brick is going to be so stoked to have you there, he won’t even notice
what
you say. He seems really nice every time I’ve seen him on Letterman.”
    Molly’s few conversations with Brick
had
been nice, if bizarre. The first time, he’d seemed gutted about Laurel’s death, offered Molly his condolences and then his
     home, and sniffled through a strange digression about the merits of Krav Maga versus karate. Molly had been too numb to say
     much, and she didn’t feel emotionally able to make decisions about anything other than which jeans to put on in the morning.
     But she’d been tempted. Moving meantescaping the ghost of Laurel that haunted her in West Cairo, where everyone knew and loved her as a happy extension of her
     mother. And when the doctors announced that Laurel’s chemo had failed, Molly had overheard a whispered conversation between
     Ginger and Miltie in which they agreed not to take the round-the-world trip they’d saved for all their lives, in favor of
     helping with Molly’s expenses. So after two months of people walking up to her in the street and hugging her unbidden, and
     watching Ginger absently caress her hopeful collection of guidebooks when she thought no one was looking, Molly had called
     back and accepted Brick’s offer. Her grandparents needed to escape, and so did she. For his part, Brick’s glee reverberated
     through the phone line so loudly that she’d had to put down the receiver for a few seconds. She’d never heard anyone whoop
     before.
    “Do you think famous people hang out at his house all the time?” Charmaine wondered, absently rolling up pairs of socks and
     shoving them into Molly’s shoes. “Like, are you going to come down for breakfast, and there’s Samuel L. Jackson, eating a
     bagel?”
    “Like Brick gets within ten feet of a carbohydrate.”
    “Of course he does,” scoffed Charmaine. “Those biceps need fuel. I bet he has a chef. And a Bowflex machine.”
    “Awesome! I’ll be buff in no time.”
    “You know, you’re going to need that positive attitude when Brick’s other kid tries to turn you into a Scientologist.”
    “I’m sure she won’t be that bad…?”
    Molly couldn’t keep the question out of her voice. BrookeBerlin was the most mysterious variable in this entire scenario. Laurel had known nothing about her, and in the few short
     chats Molly had with Brick to discuss logistics, all he’d said was that Brooke asked for a sister for Christmas when she was
     eight.
    “Her Wikipedia page was hilarious,” Charmaine said. “But that had to be accidental.”
    “You mean, ‘Brooke Ophelia Mayflower Berlin is the regal daughter of one of Hollywood’s most cherished actor-directors, known
     throughout the city for her tiny ankles and tremendous talent’?” Molly recited from memory.
    “You’d think anyone who allowed the Internet to say that about her