Perfekt Order (The Ære Saga Book 1) Read Free Page B

It’s great
to meet you both.” I nodded at Charlotte’s feet. “Fabulous
boots.”
    “I picked them up this afternoon,” she
confessed. She spoke with the prim cadence of a librarian, but her
brown eyes were crinkled in a friendly expression and her smile
radiated warmth. From the way she stood—spine straight, shoulders
back, hands folded softly at her waist—I guessed she was either a
fellow prep school graduate, or had the ‘pleasure’ of attending
cotillion, the South’s equivalent to etiquette boot camp.
    “Charlotte’s obsessed with shoes. She picked
up four pairs on her Target run, which was supposed to be
for laundry detergent.” Heather hooked her thumbs in her belt
loops. She had the kind of throaty voice I imagined black-and-white
film stars must have had, and her words came at their own pace;
leisurely, like a jazz melody on a summer afternoon.
    “And I came out with laundry
detergent.” Charlotte put her hand on her hip.
    “Along with?” Heather pushed her glasses up
on her nose with one finger. She’d painted her nails the same shade
of green as her frames. Fun .
    “Along with a fedora, a new belt and… four
pairs of shoes.” Charlotte huffed. “I do not see the problem with
sampling the local merchandise.”
    “What you sampled was made in China,” Heather
pointed out.
    “Well, then the sales tax boosted the city’s
economy. Or something. And it’s not like I didn’t offer to share
them with you. Moi closet is toi closet. That goes
for all of you.” Charlotte smiled beatifically.
    “I could be in for a clothes swap.” I nodded.
Quadrupling my wardrobe without setting foot in a store sounded
like a fabulous deal. “If what we’re wearing tonight is a barometer
for the rest of our clothes, we’ve got just about every look
covered.”
    “And speaking of looks…” Brynn tilted her
head to the side. “Somebody’s checking you out, Charlotte.”
    Our eyes followed Brynn’s gesture. On the
other side of the porch, two guys sipped from red plastic cups and
stared at our little group. Charlotte’s perfect posture
straightened even more.
    “The one on the right is Matt. He brought
over the flier about the party. He’s from Texas,” Charlotte
whispered.
    “And the hottie on the left was washing his
car shirtless in the front yard this afternoon. He’s got smokin’
arms, and that’s all I need to know.” Heather pulled her shoulders
back, thrusting her chest forward in the process.
    “Well, it sounds like you two have work to
do. I’ll expect a full report back at the house.” I nudged them
gently toward their would-be suitors and turned to Brynn with a
smile. “What about you? Anyone here catch your eye?”
    “Yes.” Brynn giggled as she grabbed my wrist
and trotted toward the front door. She must have downed one of
those energy drinks while I was in the shower. It wasn’t humanly
possible for anyone to be this perky without chemical
assistance.
    “Oh good. They did come!” Brynn bubbled. She
smoothed the front of her sweater as she walked into the house, and
turned around, waving for me to follow her. My stomach dropped the
minute I entered the room. Brynn smiled at me, oblivious. “How are
my teeth?”
    “Um, pearly white. How are mine?” I flashed a
grin, but my teeth were the least of my concerns. Sixty people must
have been packed into the tiny space, with more spilling over into
what I assumed was the kitchen. Little gathering my left
foot. I shuddered. Jason would have rolled his eyes at my
insecurity, but this living room was absolutely packed with
flannel-shirted athletes and the co-eds dressed to impress them.
RSU students had an awful lot of low-cut tops and generous bosoms.
My fingers grazed the top of my V-necked sweater—it stopped a good
inch north of my cleavage. Well, shoot . If my Prince
Charming was at this party, he’d better find clavicles sexy.
    Brynn waved across the room, her long blond
curls bouncing against her back. Then she clapped