Free Blonde Ambition by Zoey Dean Page B

twelfth-grade-sad suck-face fest.
    In fact, as the kiss crossed from affectionate to disgusting, Cammie fumed anew. What was
happening?
Why was this the first time that she was hearing about this guy Stevie Novellino? Dee always confided in her, at least in the past. Was Dee joining the Sam express that was pulling away from her, too?
    “When you two are done swallowing each other’s spit …” Cammie interjected.
    Dee broke the kiss and nuzzled into Stevie’s chest. “Yeah?”
    There was only one solution for the disquiet and anger that she felt. Retail therapy.
    “Dee, say goodbye to your new friend,” Cammie told her. “We’re going shopping.”
    “Oh gosh, I can’t!” Dee exclaimed. “Stevie and I are going out on David Geffen’s yacht. I mean, we already promised, so … Did you want to come?”
    “I’m busy,” Cammie snapped.
    “With what?”
    Cammie’s voice dropped to a whisper, which was what she always did when she was furious.
“Shopping.”
    God, could this day get any worse?
    Stevie said goodbye (“Nice-ta-meetcha”); then he and Dee took off. Meanwhile, Cammie decided to wait for Sam. She’d find out what was going on. She’d lure Sam back to her side. They’d go shopping and spend inordinate amounts of money. Then everything would be—
    “Hey, Cammie!”
    Cammie turned. Sam was coming toward her. And she was arm in arm with Adam Flood.
    Which meant it wasn’t the time to ream Sam out, Cammie quickly decided. No reason for Adam to think that she was a coldhearted bitch. So Cammie gave Sam a big hug. “I waited for you to tell you how great your film was,” she exclaimed. “Magnificently shot. Adam, you really missed something. You have to ask Sam to show you. It’s wonderful.”
    Sam beamed. “Thanks.”
    “So where are you two going?” Cammie asked pleasantly.
    “Bev’s,” Sam said, which, Cammie knew, meant the Beverly Hills Hotel. Cammie, Sam, and Dee hung out there the way kids in say, Kansas, might hang out at the local Taco Bell. “Adam’s never been, can you believe it? And his basketball practice got canceled. Want to come with?”
    “I’d love to, but I have to meet a friend,” Cammie said, making sure the way she said it intimated that “friend” equaled hot.
    “Got a new guy?” Adam asked easily.
    “Always,” Cammie said, laughing as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
    “Well, if you change your mind,” Sam offered, backing away with Adam. “Call me tonight; we’ll talk.”
    “Sure. Have a great time, you two.”
    Now it was Sam and Adam’s turn to walk away and for Cammie’s blood pressure to shoot skyward once again. Sam Sharpe and Adam Flood? Arm in arm? What happened to Adam licking his wounds over losing Anna? She remembered that Sam had told her how on New Year’s Eve she and Adam had swapped some spit. But that was all. Now was Sam moving in like the pear-shaped vulture she was to pick up the pieces of the body before they rotted away entirely?
    In any case, this was the first afternoon in a long time—maybe forever—that Dee and Sam had both made plans without consulting Cammie.
    What was going on here? Who the hell did they think they were?
    She picked up her cell and dialed home. Mia answered. “Yeah?”
    “That’s how people answer the phone in 818? ‘Yeah’?” Cammie asked.
    “What do you want?”
    God, the girl was impossible. But Cammie wasn’t the type to fly solo. Mia was better than nothing. “Wait outside,” she snapped. “And I’ll pick you up. The wicked stepsister is taking you shopping.”

Cheap and Chic
    C lark Sheppard’s driver pulled the pearl gray Mercedes up to the front of a white beachfront hotel. Facing the street was a small, understated awning that sheltered a double glass door. The only thing that identified this place as a hotel was a small brass plaque by the doors. Anna had to squint to read it:
Hermosa Beach Inn. Established 1939.
    Anna was in the back, next to Cammie’s father. The