American Quest Read Online Free PDF Page B

to her cheeks.
    “Aw, you can’t tell,” Bruce said, smoothing Jamie’s hair and patting her cheek.
    Gloria’s eyes traveled from Jamie up the length of Bruce’s arm to his face. Jamie took a step back. As brilliant as Bruce was, he seemed particularly dense about things like understanding that women didn’t want
their fiancés caressing other women—even women they’d known from infancy.
    Candace leaped to her feet and took Jamie’s elbow, moving quickly as if grateful for an excuse to get away. “Come on, let’s find the ladies’ room.”
    Jamie walked with Candace along the back wall as the MC addressed the crowd from below. “I’ll make it quick,” Jamie said as they entered the ladies’ room and she ducked into a stall. But the wrongside-out zipper proved tricky to disengage.
    “Take your time. I don’t really want to be here, anyway.”
    And with that, Jamie had enough. She swung the stall door open and glared at Candace, dress still hiked to her hips. “What’s gotten into you tonight?”
    Candace looked taken aback and ducked her chin like a pouty child. “I just don’t like—”
    “Don’t hand me that. You’ve been nervous all night! Unzip me!”
    Jamie turned her back to Candace sharply, hand on hip.
    Candace blew out a breath. “It’s just that I don’t know why I have to tag along to Bruce’s stuff, too. I’m here for Gloria.”
    The zipper slid awkwardly down under Candace’s fingers and Jamie yanked the dress over her head and gave it a flip without bothering to close the stall door again.
    “It’s a package deal now, Candie. The fact that they’re together is all the more reason why we gotta be around as much as possible.”
    Candace pinned her eyes on the door. “Jamie, aren’t you ever . . . doesn’t it scare you?”
    Jamie pulled the dress back down over her head and around her hips and turned around again. She sighed. “Of course I get scared. But that isn’t going to help any.”
    Candace’s lower lip began to tremble. “When I think about what may come, what’s probably going to happen now that they’re together, it’s like I can’t breathe. I’m so terrified I don’t even want to leave my apartment.”
    “Don’t be,” Jamie said. She put a hand to Candace’s hair. “Believe me, I know how you feel. But it’s up to us to help them find a way. Some very important people have put a lot of faith in us.”
    Candace steered Jamie around and pulled the zipper up her back. “I
know,” Candace said softly. “I don’t want to let them down. I don’t know what’s the matter with me.”
    Jamie turned back to her. “Look, I know it’s hard. The second Bruce met Gloria I could tell things were about to change. Knowing what you and I know, it’s very scary. But you’re brave, Candace, and you can face this.”
    Jamie put a hand to her neck. Mercifully, that pinch was now gone. It must have been the inward-facing zipper. She put a hand to Candace’s elbow and stepped toward the door. “We’d better get back so we don’t miss Bruce’s piece. Thanks for the—” She waved at her back. “You know.”
    “Yeah, well, thank you, Jamie. For the—” Candace fluttered her hand ambiguously. “You know. Setting me straight.”
    “Hey, we’re practically family now, right?”
    Jamie saw Candace take a deep breath and blow it out slowly through her lips. “Yes. Family.”

5
    NEW YORK
    THE REACH OUT AND READ fundraiser wasn’t one of hers, but Gloria’s boss asked her to go anyway in the hopes that she might meet new benefactors. They were always on the lookout. Gloria felt as though she was pitching potential Woven Hillside donors in her dreams.
    A table bearing flowers, hors d’oeuvres, and a champagne fountain stood at the center of the room. Above it, a grand chandelier hung so low that Gloria could reach up and touch the luminous crystals. She thought about her coming wedding and imagined how nice it would be to offer such a sparkling display to