Honey on Your Mind by Maria Murnane Read Free Book Online

can I watch it on TV?”
    “Next week sometime. Wendy’s having me appear live on her show to introduce the segment.”
    “Live? As in en vivo ?”
    “Live, as in en vivo .”
    “How do you feel about that?”
    “How do you think I feel about that?”
    “Knowing you, I’m guessing you’re planning not to eat twenty-four hours ahead of time because you’re afraid you might toss your cookies all over the stage.”
    I laughed. “It’s scary how well you know me.”
    “Hey listen, I’d love to keep chatting, but I need to run. I’m getting a wart removed.”
    “Thanks for that visual.”
    “Anytime. See ya.”
    I was about to toss my phone into my purse when I noticed a new text from Jake:
    About to get on plane but wanted to congratulate you on your first day in front of the bright lights. I bet you nailed it.
    Even in the midst of NBA madness, Jake hadn’t forgotten that I was hitting the streets today for the first time. I had to hand it to the guy. He knew how to make a girl smitten.
    • • •
    The week flew by in a flurry of shopping trips, subway rides, and people watching, which sometimes bordered on outright gawking because I couldn’t always bring myself to look away. So much of life played out on the city streets here, and I was absolutely fascinated. I was doing my best not to get lost on foot or enter a train headed in the wrong direction, but so far I was failing on some front at least once a day.
    Finally, it was time for my big debut. I was standing, hidden from view, on the edge of the Love, Wendy stage, trying not to shake. In a few minutes, Wendy would introduce me to the studio audience for the live show being broadcast in front of millions of people. She was in the middle of interviewing the latest YouTube sensation, some farmer from Arkansas who had trained his cat to ride one of his pigs, with a little saddle and everything. The cat, currently perched on the man’s head , even wore a tiny cowboy hat. At least he hadn’t brought the pig with him.
    “Come on, come on,” I said under my breath, afraid I would lose what little nerve I had if I had to wait any longer. After the way Wendy had ambushed me the last time we’d been on live TV together, I could only imagine what she had in store for me now. I pulled my phone out of my purse and looked at a text Jake had sent me the night before, after the basketball game. Because of our schedules, it had been a couple of days since we’d been able to connect on the phone, but he knew today was the day:
    I have no doubt you’re freaking out, but don’t worry, you’ll be great. You always are. Love you.
    I smiled into the little screen . I love you too.
    When I came out of my mini daydream, Wendy was thanking the cat guy. Then she cut to a commercial break.
    The director looked at me. “OK, Waverly, you’re up next.”
    I set my purse down and tried to smile, but my lips felt frozen, so I’m not sure how successful I was. “Thanks,” I eked out weakly.
    A few minutes later, the director cued the audience to applaud. Then he looked at me again and gestured for me to approach the side of the stage.
    I nodded and took a step. Then out of the blue, I felt dizzy, and my stomach started lurching all over the place.
    I froze, praying I wouldn’t faint.
    Or throw up.
    Or both.
    Holy freaking frick.
    I took a deep breath and willed my legs to keep moving.
    You can do this, Waverly.
    As I neared the stage entrance, Wendy looked at the camera and flashed her beauty pageant smile. I froze again, waiting for my final cue.
    “Ladies and gentleman, I’m delighted to introduce a faaabulous new addition to our show, a fun segment called Honey on Your Mind , hosted by a faaabulous woman named Waverly Bryson from San Francisco. I had the pleasure of meeting Waverly back in February when we appeared on the Today show together, and she recently agreed to move across the country just to join the Love, Wendy family! So let’s give her a warm round of