My Sister's Voice by Mary Carter Read Free Book Online Page A

was busted, he should just fess up. She glanced up to find herself in front of the information desk, where a young girl listlessly shuffled books from one side of the desk to the other. She lit up when she saw Rookie. She reached her hands out and made a cooing face.
    Lacey. What’s going on????
    It wasn’t like Alan to keep up a joke this long. Lacey slipped a notepad out of her purse.
    The Architect of Your Soul. 7:00???
    She slid the note over to Rookie’s new slobber toy. The girl wiped her hand on her pants and took the note. Passing notes back and forth was a technique Lacey applied everywhere but banks. Tellers tended to overreact when you silently slipped them notes. But this was a bookstore and writing was welcomed. The woman scribbled something and slid the note back. Lacey asked another question. When they were finished, the piece of paper looked like this:
    The Architect of Your Soul. 7:00?
    Canceled.
    Why?
    Rude!
    Me?
    No. Author. Rude!!! What’s your dog’s name?
    Rookie.
    Cute!!!
    Thank you.
    Lacey paused and held Rookie out as bait. The girl took Rookie in her arms. Lacey started writing again.
    What did she do?
    Refused to sign Benjamin’s book and drew a mustache and horns on her own face!!!
    Benjamin?
    The owner.
    That little nerd MANAGER was the owner? The day, Lacey realized, was an exclamation mark day.
    We don’t take that!!!
    The words I won rose in Lacey’s mind and kept resurfacing even though she tried to shove them down. Still, Lacey wasn’t convinced.
    You’re sure this isn’t a joke? A marriage proposal?
    The girl handed Rookie back. Clearly confused. She stared at Lacey’s question. Then she stared at Lacey.
    I want to see the book.
    The girl shrugged and reached over to a pile of books behind her. She handed Lacey the book. Lacey flipped through it. It was a real book, all right. She flipped through the pages.

    You can’t build a house alone. Learn to work in large groups—

    Lacey shut the book. Monica Bowman was a real person. A real face thief. How did she take the news of the cancellation? Did she demand an explanation? Deny it? Did Benjamin even tell her why he was canceling? Did she pursue a line of questioning, demand to see the security tapes from the store? Would she go to any lengths to find Lacey? Get a glimpse of this woman with her face and a concealed Sharpie?
    Lacey had blown her chance at a sneak attack. Even if she confessed right now that she was the rude one, the evil scribbler, it was probably too late to get Monica to come back. There was a chance that Monica didn’t know why the reading was canceled, and didn’t care because she was happy to have the evening off. If she followed her own self-help crap, she was at this moment—Lacey opened the book again and flipped to a random section—

    Constructing a New Framework
    Drawings are constantly revised. Plans change.
Change with them or your life projects will
stall! Think of small changes as decoration. A
new coworker is like new window shades, or
new pillows for the couch. Who doesn’t like to
freshen up a tired old space? Major changes
can be difficult to deal with and the reason is
obvious. Major changes require a complete re-
build, a new set of drawings. Major changes are
time consuming and expensive. But don’t fight
it! Use it to improve yourself. As long as you’re
tearing down walls, why not add that bay win-
dow you’ve always wanted, or that walk-in
closet—

    Total crap. Lacey slammed the book shut.
    Lacey???????????
    Sorry, Alan. See you at Mario’s.
    What was that about?
    Just a joke. See you at 8:00. Maybe 8:30.
    I don’t need a present. Just you.
    Then: Xoxoxoxoxoxxoxxoxox and on and on until they ran off the screen.
     
    Lacey disconnected from Alan but kept her BlackBerry out. She brought up her “contact” screen and tried to ignore the faint throbbing of guilt as she texted him. She had no choice; she had to turn to another man.

Chapter 5
    L acey’s art studio was located in a