Interim Goddess of Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

say it's a basketball. Anyway, you called?"
    All business, always. "Carson definitely likes Kathy, but he's probably a year away from planning secret admirer stuff."
    " You're sure about that?"
    " He's hung up on his ex. It's so sad. Shouldn't I help him too, just a little?"
    " Hannah, if you pay enough attention, everyone is a project. And they all need you at the same time. I don't think you're ready for that yet."
    I sighed. "Is that why you're here, in a small school in the middle of nowhere, when you could be running the free world or something?"
    " I've been at this a little longer than you. I told you, I can multitask."
    " I bet you can."
    " Quin, having dinner with us?" said my tita, who had come out onto the porch without my noticing.
    " Yes, if you don't mind, tita, " he said, and of course Tita Carmen didn't mind, because Quin was always so polite, well-mannered.
    " Good! I made lasagna and cupcakes, more than Hannah and I can eat. You've got great timing."
    I used to think that Tita Carmen secretly had a thing for Quin, or at least secretly wanted him to have a thing for me, because she was always cooking something enough for three when he happened to be around. Now I knew that he was probably orchestrating that happy coincidence. Oh well. The end result was cupcakes. Why should I complain about the means?
    I rolled my eyes and gently pushed the sun god into the house.

Chapter 6

 
    The next day, Kathy made a grander entrance into the Guidance Office, guaranteeing that she would not be missed.
    If the clatter of her chunky heels running down the hall into our room wasn 't a clue, then the dramatic whoosh of the door opening, and then the bang of it slamming shut behind her, definitely was.
    I just so happened to have the printout of Carson 's psych test in my hand, which I dropped when I heard the door.
    " I got another gift," she declared, setting down a box of pastries on my desk.
    A head peeked out of one of the meeting rooms. It was guidance counselor Farrah, who happened to be in a session with a freshman student at the time.
    "Everything all right here?" she asked.
    " Yes," Kathy and I said at the same time.
    She looked like she didn 't believe us, but I could explain it all -- or at least lie -- to her later. Ms. Farrah was cool.
     

    So, another thing I had in common with Kathy -- mangoes were, truly, the best thing ever. Ripe mangoes, the dark yellow ones, would be my true love. Crunchy green ones, not so much, but I did have moods when only that and spicy sweet shrimp paste would make things better.
    Although given the choice, I would take a ripe mango fresh and whole, and eat with my hands (peeling the skin gradually around) instead of put it in a pastry.
    But I would not say no to mangoes in pastry.
    "This is so, so yummy," Kathy said, in between bites.
    " It's the best thing ever," I said, for the third time. "How did you even get this? I thought you couldn't send food through the mail service."
    " I'm almost sure that someone got paid off there. They won't tell me, and it's impossible that they don't know who's doing this."
    " It's not Carson," I told her, dropping my voice to a whisper.
    Kathy 's eyes widened, and then she gulped a little loudly, probably swallowing some shame with her mango tart. "I thought so. Are you sure?"
    " Pretty sure."
    " He's not over Martha, right?"
    " Not yet. So this other guy, Ian, he knows about your thing for mangoes too?"
    She paused, and then nodded. "Yeah, he does."
    " We'll find out then."
    The tart was perfect, by the way. Mango tarts were tricky because a too-sweet mango could ruin the thing, but this was perfect. Like the baker adjusted the cream and crust sweetness to match the fruit.
    " What exactly are you doing, Hannah?" Kathy asked. "I mean, I don't mind that you're helping, but when I tell you stuff, what exactly do you do after?"
    I shrugged. "I find out what's up. So you get your answers. Don't you want that?"
    " Do they know that you're asking