Relatively Famous Read Free

was impossible to resent her. She was very pretty , and even her limited wardrobe couldn’t hide her attractiveness. Sam had the same no-makeup rule Dani did, but she often got away with eyeliner and mascara since her parents were n’t home in the mornings to see her. Even with no makeup, Dani’s best friend had the quintessential girl-next-door cuteness that boys found irresistible. Sam gazed longingly at the poster. “If Mark Ocean could see me now—“
    “He’d drop his idiotic L.A. lifestyle and rush out to Little Springs, Michigan , to suck face with you?” Dani asked.
    “Exactly right,” Sam said. “I am the woman for him.”
    Sam had lofty visions of moving to a large city and hobnobbing with the rich and famous. Dani, on the other hand, was pretty happy where she was. True, Little Springs was not known as the nightlife capital of the world, but at fifteen, she was satisfied. The town had a big mall, plenty of good restaurants (Alan’s was at the top of the list), and decent schools. The grocery store was a major chain and not some mom and pop country store. And, they had real seasons here. Dani loved winter and liked nothing better than curling up by the fire with cocoa and a book during a raging snowstorm. The birds in the backyard always seemed to know when a storm was coming and would flock to the bird feeders Dani had set up in the yard. Snow buntings, w axwings, s parrows… Oh, and the stunning red of the c ardinals against the backdrop of crisp white snow. What the heck did Mark Ocean do at Christmas? Spray expensive, fake snow on his expensive, fake lawn?
    But, considering how stressful Sam’s home life was right now, Dani couldn’t blame her for dreaming about another life.
    Sam cranked up the stereo to full blast and spun around the room. “One more song and we’ll go. Come on, Dani, dance with me! How can you resist Def Leppard singing ‘Photograph’?”
    Sam began shaking her hips and shimmying her shoulders.
    “You asked for it!” Dani grabbed a hairbrush from the dresser and joined her pal. “Sing it with me, Sam!” She held the hairbrush like a microphone.
    Dani might not have the most spectacular singing voice, but Sam was majorly tone deaf. The girls collapsed on the bed, exhausted from their rendition of the ‘80s classic.
    “I should have been a child of the ‘80s. I would’ve loved it.” Sam squealed. “All that neon and crazy music and big hair…”
    Dani turned to her. “If you’d been an ‘80s kid then I wouldn’t have you. And I wouldn’t trade my best friend for anything. Atrocious singer or not.”
    She rolled out of the way before Sam could whack her with a pillow.
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
    Leila took a sip of her coffee and glanced at the clock on the microwave. Eight o’clock. She still had twenty minutes until she should leave for work. That was the good thing about being your own boss: you could show up for work late and not catch heat from anyone. And this morning, Leila was in a rotten mood. A little more caffeine might perk her up.
    Leila shifted in her seat and smoothed down the newspaper in front of her. Another stupid article about another stupid actor. This action star had a movie coming out in a month c and the critics were already predicting another bomb. So much for summer blockbusters this year. Leila stared at the photograph of a dark-haired man with his arm around an unnamed woman. Leila scoffed at the woman’s barely-there dress—she had more hair than clothing! Two weeks ago, the same actor had been photographed with a different, equally idiotic-looking, bimbo. Leila shook her head in disgust. And the actor? Leila had to admit that Mark Ocean was attractive. She’d even seen a few of his movies. Not in the theater, of course, since she couldn’t stand paying the price of a ticket to see such junk. But his movies were the sort that ran repeatedly on cable networks , and it was nearly impossible to live in America and not see