Emma: Lights! Camera! Cupcakes! Read Online Free PDF Page B

of the price was for my silence.
    Most of all I hated not being able to tell my friends. I felt like a traitor doing business as the Cupcake Club alone. It was probably illegal, now that I thought about it. Well, I could tell them all after the fact and then hand over the money to Alexis. That made me feel better.
    I was dying to hear back from Romaine, but I finally decided busy celebrities might not evenanswer their own e-mail, and it was a weekend, after all. I sighed and put my computer to sleep and went downstairs to watch baseball with my brothers. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

    At dinner my dad told my mom about the reporter who had chased me, and my mom was shocked it hadn’t been the first thing I’d told her.
    â€œI didn’t want you to not let me make the cupcakes,” I admitted with a shrug.
    â€œWhat cupcakes?” asked Jake in confusion.
    â€œOh, it’s a long story,” I said, and I widened my eyes at my mom to signal that she couldn’t say anything.
    Luckily, she got the message and nodded. “Well, you did the right thing, Em. The press can be very aggressive and you can see just from that little taste how hard it is for Romaine to preserve any semblance of privacy in her life.”
    I nodded and took a sip of my milk.
    â€œAny news?” asked my mom.
    I shook my head. “I’ll check after dinner.”
    â€œNews about what?” asked Jake.
    â€œLong story,” I said again, and Jake sighed in exasperation.
    â€œWhy doesn’t anyone ever tell me anything?”
    â€œâ€Šâ€™Cause you’re the baby,” I said, and I patted him on the head.
    â€œAm not!” he said indignantly.
    â€œOkay, kids,” said my dad.
    â€œMay I be excused?” I asked.
    â€œYes, you may,” my mom said, and I dashed up to my computer.
    There in my in-box was a reply from Romaine! It said:
    Hi, Emma—
    Thanks for the contract. Everything looks great. Still need your guarantee of confidentiality—please don’t tell your friends. I know it will be hard for you, but I think I might have an idea to help. Will be in touch tomorrow to discuss. Sleep well!
    Xx, Ro
    PS No need to do a tasting. I totally trust your judgment.
    Wow! “Xx, Ro”! Now I felt like we were really friends. People would die if they knew Romaine and I were e-mailing each other. This was pretty cool. I imagined the look on Olivia Allen’s face—she’s kind of a frenemy of mine—and smiled,imagining her reaction if I told her I was helping Romaine Ford with her wedding. I sighed. It was just too bad I couldn’t tell my friends. And that they wouldn’t be able to help me. How would I pull this off? I shut down my computer with a pit in my stomach and went to take a shower. Sleep well? I didn’t think so.

    As soon as I woke up the next day I checked my e-mail and my cell phone, but there was no new info from “Ro.” The pit in my stomach grew minute by minute as I realized I’d have to face my friends at school and not tell them about seeing Romaine on Saturday or about her wedding and the cupcakes I’d be baking for it.
    At my locker the next morning, I avoided eye contact with everyone. I was just hoping I’d get home to find an e-mail from Romaine with some brilliant plan that would keep my friends happy and give me a little relief from carrying these secrets all alone.
    Unfortunately, Olivia Allen was walking by and stopped to talk to Kim Walker at the locker across from mine.
    â€œOMG! I heard Romaine Ford is already in town and that Liam Carey is coming tomorrowand is staying at the Stanhope Hotel! We should go stake it out!” Olivia was squealing.
    I gulped and willed myself to be silent.
    â€œTotally! Let’s go after school!” agreed Olivia’s friend Bella.
    Olivia continued, “I heard Romaine and Liam are eloping to Tahiti. Isn’t that soooo romantic? That’s