The Cover Model Read Free Page A

striding toward the large conference room just around the corner. She watched avidly as they turned the corner and vanished from sight.
    As she entered the lobby area, she discovered a couple others in costume. One appeared to be some goddess another, an Amazon warrior.
    With a shake of her head, Fancy sidestepped to the penis pacifier table. "What's with the costumes?"
    The same woman from earlier grinned at her. "Oh, it's 'dress as your favorite mythical character' tonight."
    She blinked. "Okay. Where's the satyr?"
    "The what?"
    "Goat man. Half man, half goat."
    The vendor chuckled. "For some reason, I doubt he'll appear tonight. Not really up there on the sexy list. However, the half man, half horse might." She waggled her eyebrows. "Now that would be something to see." A wistful sigh escaped her lips.
    Fancy barely refrained from rolling her eyes. Apparently creating and selling penis pacifiers made one horny and always on the lookout for larger real-life versions as inspiration. Although, come to think of it, if a centaur trotted by, she wasn't averse to checking his credentials, either. All in the name of research, of course.
    "You should come to the party."
    She shook her head. "I don't have a costume. Besides, I'm beat after a day full of meetings, and I don't have a ticket."
    "That's too bad. I bet it'll be fun."
    "Are you going?"
    "Maybe. I close my booth at seven. The party starts around that time."
    Fancy smiled at the friendly woman. "You should. You've earned it." Her eyes followed the tall, scantily dressed Amazon woman as she meandered into the party area. "By the way, I'm Fancy."
    "Fancy? That's an interesting name. I'm Molly." She held out her hand, which Fancy shook at once. "Nice to officially meet you."
    "Same here." Fancy glanced across the lobby once more.
    "If you don't feel up to joining the party, perhaps you could spend a quiet evening reading a book?" Molly suggested.
    Now that sounded like a good idea. Light reading, nothing along the lines of microbiology and the Genome Project. A little something to help relax and coast through the evening hours until bedtime.
    She shot Molly a smile. "Great idea. Any suggestions?" With table after table stacked high with books, she didn't have a single clue where to start. Like the first week of every semester in college, the vast numbers and varieties astounded as well as made a labyrinth to negotiate in order to finally walk away with the required textbooks for her classes.
    "Weren't you checking out the rotating rack over there earlier? That's Connie's area, by the way. She's a nice woman. Breast cancer survivor."
    Twisting, Fancy found the dark-haired lady and the metal rack holding dozens of books all awaiting purchase. "Thanks," she tossed over her shoulder, then walked over to check out her options.
    A familiar face caught her attention. The horn dog man next door. Mitch, the lady said. Mitch Jameson. Plucking the book from the holder, she gazed at his face, drawn into the front cover scene. He stared at the woman like she alone made the sun rise and set each day, as if she held his heart in her care.
    The way she wanted a man to look at her.
    A deep pang punched her in the gut.
    Suck it up, Fancy. Pushing aside the doldrums, she focused on the positives in her life. A great career in a field that was sure to find cures for several diseases in a matter of time. Parents who loved her. Good wages that allowed her the luxury of owning her home, driving a decent car, and not having to fret over the ability to pay her bills. With so much going for her, she couldn't let the lack of a man in her life pull her down. She refused to allow loneliness a foothold.
    "Did you find something you like, dear?"
    Looking up, she found Connie standing beside her with a knowing grin on her face.
    "I'm not sure."
    "No need to be embarrassed. A lot of women stare at that same cover and wish themselves to be the beautiful heroine to Mitch's hero. Daydreams and fantasies make the