Secrets of the Sisterhood (The Cinderella Society, Episode 1) Read Online Free PDF

mural,” she reminded me. “You’ll be home in time to help in the morning?”
    I stiffened a little. No one had ever considered quitting their job so I could have a real place to call home. It was like a race to see how many times they could move me before graduation. But for the twins? It was a whole new ball game. Our move to finally put down roots in Mt. Sterling had been driven by Mom’s sudden maternal instinct to nest in her hometown. An instinct that somehow bypassed her during her first sixteen years of motherhood, but was front and center now that the twins were on their way.
    If the Parker household was the solar system, the twins were about to become our sun.
    “Promise,” I said. “I’ll have my cell if you need me.” I gave her a quick hug—extra gentle around the middle—and darted for the stairs before she could change her mind.

Chapter Five

    Until a few years ago, Mt. Sterling had been your average small town, tucked away between Atlanta’s outer suburbs and the North Georgia Mountains. A quiet, friendly place filled with nice people like my grandma (that’s Nan) and cool little businesses like her custom-blend tea shop, Mosaic. Then some fancy companies moved their big-kahuna offices to town to be close to nearby Montgomery University’s famous tech research labs, and it totally went upscale.  
    Cassandra’s subdivision? Definitely Big Kahunaville.
    I trailed Sarah Jane and Kyra up the front walk of Cassandra’s McMansion and waited quietly, trying to look unobtrusive. When the door opened and Cassandra greeted them both with gleeful hugs, I changed my strategy from unobtrusive to blend-in-with-the-brickwork.
    I don’t even know her. What was I thinking coming here?
    But Sarah Jane was having none of my disappearing act. She pulled me inside the marble foyer and made formal intros.
    “Cass, this is Jess Parker. She’s new on the team this year. Her team in Seattle was top ten at Nationals.”
    “The one who put Lexy out on her butt,” Cassandra said, raising her eyebrows. “Your reputation precedes you.”
    After having just spent time with Kyra and Sarah Jane, you’d think I’d have been used to being around beautiful people. But Cassandra made them look almost average. Thick, glossy hair the color of milk chocolate and a megawatt smile made her look like a walking advertisement for, well, anything you’d want to sell. Especially to the male population. I felt like a weeble in her presence.
    “I guess that’s me,” I said, unable to think of a snappy comeback to lighten the mood. “Sorry for crashing your party.”
    “Not crashing at all. SJ told me you were coming.” Cassandra smiled. “And I think someone putting Lexy in her place is long overdue. Everyone needs a knock off their pedestal to keep them humble.”
    I was so relieved she wasn’t mad about the Lexy thing—or the crashing thing—that I almost didn’t register the voice behind me.
    “Don’t get your panties in a wad, Cass,” said the hunky voice of my dreams. “I just forgot my phone.”
    “Off-limits, Ry! You know the score. You forget something after seven, you go without until tomorrow,” Cassandra yelled as Ryan jogged past us and up the curving staircase. Cassandra turned back to us, shaking her head. “Guys. They think rules only apply when it’s convenient.”
    Three things went through my mind in rapid succession. One, Ryan Steele was here in this house, which meant . . . two, Cassandra was his sister, which also meant (please, no ) . . . three, Cassandra was Lexy’s sister too.
    If I’d been wondering about ulterior motives, a public face-off between Lexy and me on Lexy’s home turf was about as juicy as any gossip I could think of.
    Apparently, I wasn’t crashing the party after all.
    I was the entertainment.
    The doorbell rang again, and I stepped aside to witness another happy exchange of hugs while my mind drummed up ways to make a quick escape without letting on that I’d figured