A Taste of Magic by Tracy Madison Read Free Book Online

Elizabeth, I’m so glad you answered. You are not going to believe this. I still can’t believe it, and I heard it with my own ears.”
    “Is something wrong?”
    “No, something is great. I am about to make your day. In fact, this might make your entire year.” The sound of a horn honking came through the connection.
    “Are you driving?” Yes, I chided. One of my pet peeves was people on the phone when they should be focusing on the road. Especially when that person was my baby sister.
    “No. I’m in the parking lot at the club. You need to listen to me.”
    The club was the Brookhaven Sports Club, a rather pricey gym that offered racquetball and tennis courts, hot tubs, and both indoor and outdoor swimming pools as added perks for their clientele. I had no idea why, but the club seemed important to Alice. And I knew she gave up on a lot of other extras to fit the fee into her finances, especially since she didn’t even have a real job, just a series of part-time ones that kept her afloat so she could devote her time to painting. “So, tell me already.”
    “I was changing into my swimsuit when I heard Ginny Lewis on the other side of the lockers talking to someone. You know Ginny, don’t you?”
    “No, Alice, I don’t know Ginny. Who is Ginny?”
    “She’s Tiffany’s best friend. She was her maid of honor at the wedding on Saturday.”
    Yeah, now I remembered. Not that I’d ever met Ginny, but Alice had talked about her ever since Marc and Tiffany announced their engagement. Apparently, Ginny had made several derogatory comments about Marc, which, for some reason, Alice felt compelled to pass on. I’m sure she thought it made me feel better.
    “You know what? If this is another one of those ‘she said this’ things, I’m not interested.” I couldn’t talk about Marc anymore.
    “I promise you will want to hear this. You have to let me tell you, Elizabeth.”
    I sighed. I knew better, but time was running short and I still wanted to chat with Maddie before getting back to work. Probably easier to give in, listen, and then forget about whatever the newest gossip was.
    I hate gossip. It always finds a way to wrap itself around you and cause you, or someone else, pain.
    Relenting, I said, “Fine. If you’re going to freak out, just tell me and get it over with.”
    “Good. So, anyway, apparently Tiffany called Ginny at, like, two in the morning last night. From her honeymoon .”
    This piqued my curiosity. Who called their best friend from their honeymoon? Aren’t there, well, more exciting things to be doing? I could think of a few.
    “This part may sting. Tiffany is pregnant. She just found out before the wedding, so she’s kind of frantic.” Alice rushed the last sentence out, as if the momentum would gloss over the impact.
    It failed, by the way.
    Marc had refused to have children with me. His excuses about the timing not being right still rang clearly in my memory. It never mattered to him what I wanted; it was always about him. This was more than a sore spot. It was pure agony. I tried to breathe, tried to stop the pain from bubbling over. This was not the time for it.
    “Are you there? Did you hear? Tiffany is pregnant.” “Stop. I don’t need this. I really don’t.”
    “You stop. I told you that part may sting. But listen to the rest. Marc couldn’t get it up. Not on their wedding night, not at all so far. And they’re on their honeymoon! Tiffany thinks it’s because he’s upset about the baby, but the important part is—he couldn’t get it up . Isn’t that awesome? I think it’s perfect. The perfect payback for that asshole.”
    Her words forced themselves through the haze of shock. As soon as they did, goose bumps sheathed my skin and my breathing hitched. I think I mumbled I had to go, but I know for sure I disconnected the call. Staring at the phone, I sat there and rehashed the conversation.
    Holy crap.
    The perfect payback .
    All that weird stuff that had recently