SVH08-Heartbreaker Read Online Free PDF Page B

her ears that she could hardly hear herself speak. "There was?"
    "Actually, I wanted your opinion. You know the scene we were doing? Do you think I overplayed it? Jessica says I--"
    "You were perfect, Bill," DeeDee interrupted. "I can't imagine how you could play it better." She had a feeling Jessica just didn't like being upstaged, but she refrained from making any comment.
    "You really think so?" Bill's face lit up at her praise.
    "I've been telling you all week how good you are," she scolded playfully. "Haven't you been listening?"
    "I guess I just have a hard time believing it." He absentmindedly munched on a pickle spear.
    "It's like what you're always telling me about surfing," DeeDee said. "Half of it is just having confidence in yourself."
    He grinned sheepishly. "You're right. But when I'm up on that stage, it doesn't feel the same as shooting a curl."
    DeeDee laughed. "I can just see it. The audience is going wild, and instead of taking a bow, you paddle off into the wings."
    They both started laughing.
    "What's so funny, you two?" a silken voice intruded.
    DeeDee looked up just as Jessica adroitly slid in between them and set down her tray. Instantly Bill was reduced to Jell-O.
    "Uh, hi, Jessica," he mumbled. Not knowing what else to say, he forked in a mouthful of potato salad. But he swallowed too quickly and fell into a fit of coughing.
    "Am I interrupting anything?" Jessica inquired sweetly.
    "No--no, of course not!" Bill recovered.
    DeeDee was torn between wanting to melt under the table and wanting to stab Jessica with her fork.
    "We were just talking about the play," she said, trying to keep her voice even.
    Jessica gave Bill the full benefit of her dimpled smile. "It really went well today, didn't it? Mr. Jaworski says we'll have to hand out handkerchiefs at the door if we get any more convincing. Oh, I get goose bumps just thinking about it! Of course, I'm just a block of wood compared to you, Bill."
    "Are you kidding?" Bill was blind to Jessica's obvious attempt at soliciting compliments. He leaped to her defense like a tiger. "I could never be as good as you in a million years! You're practically good enough to be in the movies."
    "Really?" Jessica preened. "You really think
    so?"
    Bill looked past Jessica to DeeDee, oblivious to her anguish. "Don't you think she's great, DeeDee?"
    Now it was DeeDee's turn to choke. Somehow, though, she managed to squeeze out a reply. "Sure," she said weakly.
    But Jessica wasn't listening. It was more than apparent that she couldn't care less what DeeDee's opinion of her was. She peeled back her hamburger bun and looked dismayed.
    "Oops! Would you believe I forgot the ketchup? My mind must be a million miles away!"
    "I'll get it for you." Bill practically fell over in his haste to get up.
    If Jessica had asked him to throw himself off a skyscraper, DeeDee thought, he'd probably ask her what floor.
    "Oh, Bill, you're absolutely the sweetest," Jessica gushed. "Honestly, sometimes I just don't know what I'd do without you around...."
    DeeDee felt sick. Her lunch sat in her stomach in a hard lump. Bill, on the other hand, was positively glowing as he rushed off to do Jessica's bidding.
    "Excuse me," DeeDee mumbled, pushing away from the table and picking up her tray. She hoped she could make it outside before she burst into tears.
     

Five
     
    "Score another one for your sister," Todd commented as he observed the scene from the next table. "I'll say this for Jessica--she sure knows how to make a monkey out of Bill."
    Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "That's not fair. We can't hear what she said."
    "Did you see the look on DeeDee's face? Talk about one picture being worth a thousand words!"
    Elizabeth was silent as she pushed her food around on her plate with her fork. Her appetite hadn't been the same since the weekend, when Todd had practically thrown himself at Patsy at the beach. Elizabeth hadn't confronted him about it, but she'd made it a point to ask