Kindred Spirits Read Online Free

Experiment.”
    Lily leaned against the counter, eyeing me uncertainly.
    â€œThese are going to be great,” I insisted. I stirred the thick chocolate until it turned smooth. “What’s up?”
    â€œI’m bored. Joey, Sammy, and Jake are at baseball practice, and Mom took Cammie food shopping. I was supposed to stay home and clean my room for the company that’s coming, but Buddy and I went for a walk. Whose car is out front?”
    â€œRepeat client for Lady Azura. The same womanwho was here yesterday.” When Mrs. Merberg arrived, Eleanor and Dwight had followed her into the fortune-telling room. I was glad they were gone from the kitchen. “What company?”
    â€œThat’s what I came to tell you. No, Buddy, don’t lick that.” She pulled Buddy away from a sprinkling of cocoa powder on the floor. “The Meyer family. They’re coming tomorrow to see Buddy.” She squatted next to her dog. “Aren’t they, Budsters?”
    â€œMason, too?” I asked, hoping my question sounded casual.
    Lily studied me a moment, then grinned. “You like him.”
    â€œLike who?” I measured a teaspoon of baking soda, and added it to the bowl of flour. I’d lined up all the ingredients before I’d started.
    â€œHim. Mason. You have a crush on him!”
    â€œMaybe. I don’t know. I mean, his picture is cute, right?”
    Lily jumped up. “Totally cute. You two would be so good together!”
    â€œHow do you know?” I wanted it to be true. I’d been thinking about him so much. Ever since—
    â€œYou’ll look good together. You both have blond hair, and you both look sporty, even though you are kind of a spaz. It’s important to look good with your boyfriend.”
    â€œWe don’t even know each other,” I protested. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
    â€œYet.” Lily clapped her hands together. “Ooh, I am totally into this. This is the first boy since Jayden that you’ve liked!”
    I’d been crushing on Jayden Mendes all last year. Just when it seemed he liked me back and I was going to have my first real boyfriend, his parents moved his family to Atlanta. What Lily said was true. Since Jayden, I hadn’t been interested in any other boys. Until Mason.
    â€œI don’t even know him,” I reminded Lily. Except I did. Kind of.
    I’d had visions of Mason when Buddy first showed up. I’d seen him when he couldn’t see me. I’d felt something.
    A connection.
    The same thing had happened with Jayden—I’d had visions of him, too, before I actually met him. Butmy visions of Mason were different. They were somehow . . . stranger.
    Lily paced the kitchen. Buddy followed. “Okay, here’s the plan. When Mason and his family get to my house, I’ll talk you up. You know, ‘My best friend Sara is so pretty, and Sara is so creative, and Sara makes the best chocolate cookies ever and—’ ”
    â€œDon’t go overboard,” I warned. “He’ll be bummed when he meets the real me.”
    â€œI’ll lose the stuff about the cookies,” she joked. “Anyway, I’ll build you up but not too much. Then I’ll text you without him knowing. When you get it, you’ll casually wander down the street. Out taking a stroll. You’ll stop by my yard, and I’ll introduce you, and there’ll be fireworks—”
    â€œFireworks?”
    â€œLike in cartoons! He’ll gaze into your blue eyes and fall madly in love.” Lily sighed. “It’s perfect. What are you going to wear?”
    â€œI have no idea. My red skirt? Or the striped tank dress?”
    â€œA dress says you’re trying too hard. I think you should do jean shorts and a cute top.”
    â€œWhat cute top? Do I have a cute top?”
    Lily reviewed every top I owned. That’s how close we’d become this year.