Revealers Read Online Free PDF Page B

that.”
    “OK, actually I could, but Connor said he’d do everything possible to make sure we’d be together. He said he’d stand up to her if he had to.” I sigh. “Of course, that was before I got half naked.” I take off my sapphire earrings, and pull the black cashmere sweater over my head, and hang it back up. “I don’t know what to wear.”
    “Who cares?” Dani says through a mouthful of pretzels. “This is Margo’s big night, no one will be looking at us.”
    I turn and give her a “do I have to spell it out for you” look.
    “Oh, Connor,” she says nodding. “What are you so worried about? He never cared what you looked like before.”
    I give her another look. “Thanks—not that I really care what he thinks anymore.”
    “Oh, you’ve been agonizing over what shirt to wear for the last hour for my sake?” She bites down on another pretzel, and shakes her head. “But you know what I mean—Sascha’s got the regal-freaking-gorgeous hair thing, and Z’s got the hard-ass-exotic Amazon look—I have no clue what Margo’s got, beside a pointy face and a bad case of the bitches, but Connors always been into plain old you. Uh, not that you’re plain.”
    “I think I felt better before you tried to cheer me up.” I grab the sweatshirt I wore two nights ago off the floor and bring it to my face, breathing in Connor’s sandalwood aftershave.
    “You’re not going to wear that, are you? It was on the floor.”
    I throw the sweatshirt into my empty laundry basket and take out my purple wool sweater—not too fancy, but not too casual. “How about this?”
    Dani nods. “Perfect. Margo hates purple.”
    I put the sweater on and run my fingers through my curls to tame the static. “Do you think Margo will like our presents?”
    “I’m still iffy on the book.”
    “As Margo likes to say, ‘it’s just a joke.’ Anyway, let’s pack it all up and get something to eat before the meeting.” I sit at my desk and open the black gift bag we bought, and hand it to Dani. “One bar of lavender soap, lavender oil, and lavender lotion—for improved mood.”
    Dani takes each one, wraps them in pink tissue paper, and drops them in the bag.
    “One copy of The Crucible.”
    Dani grabs the book and laughs. “It is kind of funny,” she says, wrapping it up. “At least she’ll like the necklace—I think.”
    “She’ll like it,” I say, holding the silver star necklace up. The opal in the middle flickers with color as it swings from my hand. Dani and I bought a necklace for each of us to celebrate our upcoming birthdays, and to try to recapture some sort of cohesiveness in the group. Not that I really believe matching necklaces will turn us back to the tight-knit group we used to be, but who knows?
    “What does the card say about opals?” Dani asks.
    I take the small card out of the box and open it up. “‘The opal, October’s birthstone, is thought to contain captured lightning. Opals bring the wearer inner beauty, success, and facilitate the abilities of foresight and prophecy.’”
    “Well, Margo could sure use a dose of inner beauty. What does mine say?”
    I take out the boxes with Dani and Zahara’s names on them. ‘“The topaz, November’s birthstone, protects the wearer against enemies, untimely death, and is a symbol of beauty and splendor.’”
    Dani gets up and takes her box. “You know—with all the night calls we’ve been going on lately, I think I’m going to put mine on now.”
    “It’s supposed to be for your birthday!”
    Dani sticks her tongue out and snatches her necklace out of the box before I can pull it away. She fastens the clasp and looks at herself in my mirror. “Why don’t we give them all out tonight?”
    “I guess we could. It’ll steal a bit of the spotlight away from Margo.” I take my necklace out of the box and rub my fingers on the blue stone. “Mine says ‘Turquoise, Decembers birthstone, protects the wearer from evil, and warns of