Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot Read Free Book Online

will distract me.
    “Police made a gruesome discovery in the backyard of a house the media is now calling the Harlem House of Horror. Human remains—six complete skeletons so far, with more expected to be uncovered—”
    Oh my God, what kind of place is this? A backyard filled with human skeletons? No. Just no. Changing the channel.
    “—seventh hit-and-run at that corner in the past month alone. This time it was a young mother killed as she was attempting to walk her small children to school—”
    Good Lord! Maybe I’ll try reading the want ads instead. Oooh, Page Six, the gossip section! I’ll just take a quick look before I get to the job listings—
    —New York high society is all abuzz about the impending nuptials of John MacDowell, sole heir to the MacDowell real estate fortune. The bride, Jill Higgins, is an employee at the Central Park Zoo. The couple met at the Roosevelt Hospital emergency room, where Miss Higgins was being treated for a back injury she received while lifting a seal that had escaped its enclosure, and where John MacDowell was having an ankle wrapped after twisting it during a polo match—
    Oh! How romantic! And what a fun job, working with seals! If only I could—
    Luke’s key is turning in the lock! He’s home!
    Thank God I peeled off my Spanx two hours ago. The red marks must have faded by now.
    And I’m not wearing them anymore. Luke is going to have to love me for me—the real me—or it’s over.
    Except…look how adorable he is, in those faded jeans and that nice button-down shirt I picked out for him to wear! Maybe it’s all right to wear my Spanx just a little longer…until I’ve lost those fifteen extra pounds I brought home from France. Which I’m sure to do soon, given all the walking you have to do in this town. Plus, I completely ignored the baguettes at Eli’s…
    “Hey,” he says. There’s a big smile on his face. “How’s it going?”
    Hey, how’s it going . This is what my boyfriend says to me, ten hours after asking me to move in with him. It’s clear he hasn’t exactly been agonizing over my answer.
    Or maybe he has and is trying to play it casual.
    “What’s that smell?” he asks.
    “Garlic,” I say. “I’m marinating a couple of steaks.”
    “Great,” he says, putting down his keys on the little marble-topped console table by the door. “I’m starved. How was your day?”
    Wow. How was your day? This is what it’s like to live with someone. I mean, a guy. It’s a lot like living with a girl, really.
    Except that instead of waiting around for my answer, the way Shari used to when we were roommates, Luke comes over, puts his arms around my waist, and gives me a kiss.
    Okay. Not so much like living with a girl. At all.
    “So,” Luke says, grinning down at me. “When are you going to break the news to your parents?”
    Oh, okay. The reason he hasn’t been agonizing over my answer to his question is that he already knew what my answer was going to be.
    I drop my arms from around his neck, stunned.
    “How did you know?”
    “Are you kidding me?” He’s laughing now. “The Lizzie Broadcasting System has been hard at work all day.”
    I glare at him. “That’s impossible. I haven’t told anyone! Anyone except—” I break off, flushing.
    “Right,” Luke says, playfully flicking the tip of my nose with one long index finger. “Shari told Chaz, who called to demand my intentions.”
    “Your—” Now I’m not just flushing. I’m blushing. “He had no right to do that!”
    But Luke is still laughing. “He thinks he does. Oh, don’t look so mad. Chaz thinks of you as the little sister he never had. I think it’s sweet.”
    I didn’t. In fact, I was going to give Chaz a very unsisterly piece of my mind next time I saw him.
    “What did you say?” I can’t help asking, curiosity overcoming my anger.
    “About what?” Luke’s found the bottle of wine I’d bought and opened to let breathe, and is pouring us each a