Breaking News by Fern Michaels

to say “have wild sex all night” but didn’t.
    Chris wrapped his arms around her, and she placed her head of thick blond curls on his chest. “I know what you’re thinking, and there is nothing I would like more, but we can’t. Our wheels just arrived.”
    Abby pulled out of his embrace and peered out the front window. “A limo? This is why you took my keys from me?”
    â€œYep,” he said.
    She opened the clasp on her clutch purse and dropped the keys inside.
    â€œThen what are we waiting for?”

Chapter 8
    â€œH ow do I look?” Toots asked Sophie.
    â€œLike a cheap old woman trying to look twenty years younger,” Sophie stated in a steely tone.
    Toots whirled around, saw the teasing look on Sophie’s face, then fell on the bed next to her. “You are such a witch.”
    Toots had spent the last hour in her bedroom, trying on clothes. She wanted to look extra special for her date that night but didn’t want it to appear as though she was trying too hard.
    â€œI know. Ida reminds me every chance she gets,” Sophie said. With several pillows propped behind her, Sophie reclined on Toots’s bed in a pose that Queen Elizabeth I might have taken. “She’s pissed. You know that, right?”
    Toots got up and tossed the cream-colored skirt she’d removed on the bed to join the rest of the clothes she’d already discarded. “Look, Ida is always pissed at someone. It’s just her way. She’s really excited about her new cosmetics, and frankly, so am I. I just used the face cream when I got out of the shower. It really softened my skin.”
    â€œYes, she instructed me on how and when to use it, too. Mavis likes it. I do, too, but I’m not sure I want to tell her that. Today is day one. Who knows? We could look like old, dried-up prunes tomorrow. That would be just like Ida to do something like that. Make us believe she’s discovered the fountain of youth, when, in reality, she’s condemning us to something that could cause disfigurement or skin cancer.”
    â€œSophie, your vivid imagination continues to amaze me. Do you really believe Ida would do such a thing?”
    â€œNo, of course not, but do not ever tell her I said so.”
    In the walk-in closet, Toots pulled hanger after hanger from the rod, then piled them on the bed, next to the other pile. “If I told Ida everything you said, she would have murdered you a long time ago. Or at least maimed you in some way. Facial disfigurement?”
    Sophie laughed. “You think it’s funny, but I don’t. I’ve tried for years to make Ida like me, and she doesn’t. Who knows? She might try to—”
    â€œShut up! Your psychic abilities have warped your mind. Ida is totally harmless. She’s simply a self-centered, self-righteous, stuck-up bitch. She knows this full well. I swear, I think she takes pride in it, too. But a killer? No, she wouldn’t have the guts.” Toots took a black skirt with a sheer black blouse from the hanger. “What about this?” She slipped into the skirt and held the blouse in front of her for Sophie’s inspection.
    â€œOlder slut. You don’t wear see-through clothes when you’ve been a member of AARP for more than fifteen years.”
    Toots rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t wear this blouse without a camisole under it. I am not trying to seduce the doctor. I just want to have a nice dinner with him. And I want to look . . . nice. Is there anything wrong with that?”
    â€œNope, there isn’t. But I know you. You’ve been around the block at least eight times. That I know of. You always start out wanting to look your best. ctually”—Sophie jumped off the bed as though there were springs attached to her feet—“if you were to play down your natural beauty, it might improve your chances. Maybe you’ve tried too hard in the past, and