Color Me Bad: A Novella Read Online Free PDF Page A

considerably. The last thing she needed was to tick off her clients. So she turned on the sarcasm and waved at her assistant, Precious Peters.
    “Hey, Precious, look who just parked out front. It’s Patty June Clymer, as I live and breathe.”
    Precious jumped up from her chair to run to the window, but when they both realized Patty June was coming into the shop, they made a fast scramble toward their desks instead.
    When Patty walked in the door, she could tell by the flush on their faces that they’d been talking about her, but she was past caring. She strode to the front and plopped her purse near her elbow as Willa Dean came to the counter.
    “Good morning, Patty June. I can’t say as I’ve ever seen you in here before,” Willa Dean said.
    “Then that’s proof your memory is just fine,” Patty said. “I want to book a trip to Italy.”
    Willa Dean was torn between staying snarky or getting her act together and treating Patty June like a paying client. The money won out.
    “That sounds exciting,” she said. “Do you have any particular destination in mind? Maybe Rome or Venice? I hear Venice is stunning. Or maybe Milan! So many fabulous places to see in Milan. I have tours available at any of those cities. Just take your pick.”
    “I was thinking I’d hit them all,” Patty June said. “I mean, now that my cheating, whoring husband is gone and I have divorce proceedings in progress, I see no reason to grieve myself silly here in Blessings while the people I thought were my friends proceed to judge me.”
    Willa Dean paled. “Why, I never—”
    “Oh shut up,” Patty muttered. “Everyone has. What I don’t understand is why. If that had been Harold, would you have still crawled into bed with him at night and spread your legs knowing he’d been fucking someone like Bobbette Paulson?”
    Willa Dean gasped. She didn’t know what shocked her more: the idea of Harold committing adultery with anyone, or the fact that Patty had said the word fuck .
    Patty frowned. “I see you have no opinion, which I find interesting. However, I’m not interested in who Harold might be doing on the side. I want to book a trip to Italy. Are you going to help me, or do I have to drive to Savannah?”
    Willa Dean was still trying to get past the image of Harold doing it with anyone. She couldn’t get him interested even once a month, and the moment that thought went through her mind, the next was that she’d never wondered why. What if Harold was already “doing” someone else? What if that was the reason Harold didn’t want to have sex with her anymore?
    It was all she could do to focus on booking this trip, which would be big income for the agency. Time enough to deal with Harold—the lying, cheating bastard—later.
    Willa Dean waved Patty toward the chair at her desk.
    “No, of course you don’t need to drive into Savannah. Sit down, honey. Precious, get Patty June some coffee, or would you rather have tea? I have a nice lavender tea I think you would just love.”
    Patty June blinked. She wasn’t sure how to take this about-face, but it was nice to be treated normally, regardless of the reason.
    “I believe I’d like to try that tea, thank you very much.”
    Willa Dean smiled. “Perfect. Now about that trip.”
    An hour and a half later, Patty June left the agency with a handful of pamphlets and an itinerary that would have made world travelers Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie blink. Not only was she stopping in every big-name city in Italy, but she wasn’t coming home for a month. She could hardly wait to go shopping, but first things first. Next stop, The Curl Up and Dye.
    •••
    Willa Dean watched Patty leaving with no small amount of envy. She’d always wanted to go to Italy, but Harold, the sorry bastard, didn’t much like the idea of travel. She needed to talk to her friend Myra, who ran the flower shop. Myra had been a woman of the world before she settled down and married her husband,