Tags:
Literary,
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Saga,
Sagas,
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plain jane,
against the odds,
heart of montana,
katy regnery
No. No! I copied those photos and put
them in a separate file! She sat up, swinging her legs over the
bed.
“I don’t…” She raced to the table, opened
her laptop and clicked on her e-mail program. She scrolled through
the pictures, and her heart dropped when she saw the two re-titled
pictures of Lars included at the end of the location shots. Her
shoulders caved in, and she sat down in the closest chair. Even
though she put copies in the separate folder, she’d forgotten to
delete the originals from the master file she’d sent to her
cousin.
“Who is he, Janie?” Samara was using the
sing-song coquette voice that she used to get what she wanted.
“Local tour operator.”
“He’s hot.”
“Hmm.”
“Scalding.”
“Well…”
“Well nothing. Might be a spot for him in my
shoot…if he’s nice to me.”
Jane shut her eyes tightly, holding her
breath.
“Definitely a spot for him in my bed, if you
know what I mean.”
Yeah, I know what you mean . Jane was
silent.
“Samara wants.”
Jane lowered the phone, holding it in her
lap, clenching her jaw until it actually ached. She could hear
Samara still making her insane demands, even with the phone two
feet from her ear. “…Jane? Jane! Did you hear me? I want him. Make
it happen!”
You make it happen. I’m not your
pimp . Jane ignored her cousin, putting the phone back up to her
ear. “Samara, you sent me boob pics last night.”
“Yeah, so? I can do what I want.”
“Just making sure…you didn’t send them to
anyone else, did you?”
“I’m not stupid , Jane. I know I’m a
public figure. When I want to send boob pics, I only send them to
you, so they’re going to nobody.”
How nice. She bit her lip remembering
Lars’s words on the drive to Gardiner from the airport when they
first met. Means you’re somebody, I guess. Her heart twisted
thinking of him.
“Sebastian’s picking you up in the morning,
Sara. You’re—”
“ SAMARA , Jane.”
“Of course, Samara . You’re going to
be ready at eight, right? Do you want me to call you to wake
you—?”
“I hate traveling with Sebastian,” she
pouted. “He’s so annoying.”
“Well, Ray will be with you too.”
“Whatever. Ray hates me. Gay Ray. He’s your friend.”
Ray Cartier was only Samara’s make-up
artist because he was the best, which was the only reason
Samara put up with his subtle digs. Jane adored Ray.
“I want my Laney,” she whined. “The rest of
you are no fun. This sucks.”
“Your whole team wants the best for you. I’m
sure Laney will be better by the time you get home.”
“Don’t try to change the subject, Jane. I
want the cowboy.”
“Do you what you want, Samara.” You
always do.
“Jaaaanie…I know you didn’t mean to
send me those pictures. They were re-titled. ‘Lars’ and ‘Lars
Smiles.’ I know you, Jane. I know your type and he’s it. I’m
sure you’ve been making an ass out of yourself following him
around.” She paused, chuckling lightly. “But we both know…Sun’s
coming out tomorrow, Plain Jane. You know what they say about the
sun.”
Ben’s words returned to Jane, and she
winced. I’m blinded to anything but the sun…
“Travel safe, Samara. See you tomorrow.” She
managed to whisper the words before pressing the red end button on
her phone. She threw it across the room and watched it bounce twice
on the bed before clunking onto the carpeted floor. She curled up
in the chair where she was sitting next to her laptop, feeling the
heaviness, the oppressive dread, return.
Tomorrow he will belong to her.
Her stomach was empty, but the thought of
Lars with Samara made her stomach muscles contract and she retched
bile into her mouth.
I’ll quit , she thought frantically,
wincing as she swallowed back the acid. I’ll call her back and
quit and tell her to shove this crap job up her million-dollar ass.
I’ll catch the next flight out of here. I’ll go back to San
Francisco and take pictures. I’ll…
Plato
Nat Burns
Amelia Jeanroy
Skye Melki-Wegner
Lisa Graff
Kate Noble
Lindsay Buroker
Sam Masters
Susan Carroll
Mary Campisi