Twice as Hot by Gena Showalter

sense of
happiness and thereby her strength, dash her “greatest desire” and ruin our
friendship forever.
    What
a freaking mess.
    Was Lexis right this
time, though? Maybe her future-seeing ability was on the fritz. I mean, I still
couldn’t picture another man winning my heart. Or me marrying said man.
    Those
thoughts led to the flowers. Did the sender truly admire me or was it some kind
of joke? Maybe even a Trojan horse. Like maybe there was a camera in the vase,
so the bad guys would know when to attack.
    See!
This was what being a superhero did to a person. Made them question everything.
Even flowers. And Sherridan wanted that?
    Muttering
under my breath, I stumbled into the kitchen, grabbed the vase, stumbled
outside and chucked it, flowers and all, into the garbage. I went back to bed
but once again, my mind was too active to allow me to sleep.
    Finally
sunlight pushed its way into my room. I lumbered from the cocoon of covers,
showered and dressed in Rome’s second-favorite outfit of mine: a pair of
stone-washed jeans and an emerald-green cotton shirt that buttoned all the way
to the hem. He liked to undo the buttons, one at a time. Sometimes at different
times throughout the day, as though it was a prolonged peep show.
    I
couldn’t wear his number-one favorite: skin and a smile. Not to work, at least.
So I made do with second string. I only hoped he’d appreciate it.
    Once
I was dressed, I anchored my hair into a ponytail and went in search of Tanner
and Sherridan. Before I found them, my cell phone rang and I rushed back into
my room to swipe it off the dresser, where I’d thrown it last night. Hoping…
    “Hello,”
I said, huffing for oxygen.
    “Belle
Jamison, please,” a pleasant feminine voice said.
    My
heart sank. “This is she. Her. Me.” I could never remember what was correct.
“I’m Belle.”
    “Oh,
good. I’m Martha Hobbs from Let’s Get Together and I’m calling about your
upcoming wedding. We’ve got you scheduled to come in today at noon to look over
our invitation selection, and I just wanted to confirm with you.”
    I
closed my eyes and rubbed my temples with my free hand. “I’m sorry. I forgot,
and something’s come up.”
    “All
right. Twenty-four hours’ notice would have been appreciated, but we can work
with this.” Professional that she obviously was, there was only the slightest
hint of irritation in her voice. “Would you like to reschedule?”
    I
wish. “I’ll have to call you back. I really am sorry. My fiancé, he’s—well,
things are up in the air right now.”
    “Oh.
I’m sorry. I do understand.” And she did, it seemed. Her tone had gentled. “I
hope you’ll call us if things…work out.”
    “Sure.
Yes.” I gulped, hung up, threw the cell on my bed and jumped back into my
search for my friends before I burst into tears. This was the first time I’d
voiced out loud that the wedding might not happen, and well, it hurt. Like that
damn knife was back in my chest, twisting.
    I
found Tanner in the living room, lounging on the couch. There was no sign of
Sherridan. Most likely, she still lazed in bed, avoiding me. She knew I wanted
to talk to her about the power thing. Last night I’d tried to find out what
kind of ability she wanted, what she thought she’d gain from it and if she was
willing to be chased by bad guys for the rest of her life, but she’d made her
announcement and then popped open a celebratory bottle of champagne. Only, she
had the bottle pressed to her mouth before Tanner could grab a glass. Always a
quick and easy drunk, she’d been a goner five minutes later, none of my
questions answered.
    Tanner
groaned when he spotted me. “Not the button-up shirt.”
    Perhaps
I wore it a little too much. But damn it, I liked when Rome unbuttoned me.
    “If
I know Lexis, and unfortunately, I do,” Tanner said drily, pushing to his feet,
“she’ll be wearing a dress. A sexy, I-want-your-hands-all-over-me dress. Your
jeans and T-shirt won’t