Rich Girl in the Mirror - 8342

Product Description When Marilee's grandmother gives her a heart-shaped meteorite she had found in the back of her pickup truck, Marilee suddenly finds her wildest dreams of wealth coming true Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter OneWhat would you do, Adam Eagleton, Marilee Ellis thought, if I leaned across this counter right this minute, grabbed you by your T-shirt, and kissed you? Marilee's hand instantly flew to her mouth in embarrassment, as if she had blurted out the words instead of only thinking them. Adam had been her best guy friend for two years, and he knew her better than just about anyone in the world. Well, except for Karly Renwick, of course. Karly was more like a sister than a friend, but Karly now lived several towns away from Marilee. Whatever. What mattered at this very moment was how great it was that Adam could not read her mind. "Did you say something, Marilee?" Adam asked as he handed a customer a receipt. "Me? Say something? Nope, uh-uh, nothing," Marilee said quickly. Wow. Wait till she told Karly about this one. If Adam was starting to read her thoughts, she was in big trouble. Because then he'd know everything. How her feelings about him had changed practically overnight, from best friend to -- well, to thoughts and dreams that made her blush. Even when she talked about them with Karly. Anyway, it was all Adam's fault. As soon as school had ended the previous June, Adam's parents had sent him from Overton, the upscale suburb of New Orleans where Marilee and he both lived, to visit some relatives in Maine. He'd left Louisiana his smart, funny, best-friend self. His short and very, very skinny best-friend self. Maybe it was the Maine water. Because Adam returned to Louisiana ten weeks later this tall, cute hunk. He had muscles. And a dimple in his chin. And he just...well, he was the same Adam inside. But outside was an entirely different story. Marilee wasn't the only one who had noticed his transformation. Last year the rich, popular girls at Overton High would not give Adam the time of day. But now they had all turned into organic food junkies. It gave them a perfect excuse to stop by his parents' health food store, Overton Naturals, whenever he was working. As if they're actually going to go into their kitchens and whip up a tasty soy loaf, Marilee thought wryly. Adam seemed to love the idea that the richest girls at Overton High School were flirting with him. Just as he always had, he confided in Marilee about which girl had invited him where, or who had called him on some silly pretext to talk to him. How could he be flattered by such idiotic girls? It made Marilee really crazy. And really jealous. "He's just a guy, Marilee," Karly told her when they talked on the phone, which was practically every night. "Before, you were the only girl who paid attention to him and that was different." "Well, he was different then," Marilee replied. "Externally," Karly reminded her. "He's the same inside." "Then why do I feel so stupid around him now?" "'Cuz you're getting all hung up on the external Adam," Karly said. "I know. Pretend he's one of the stray animals you take care of." Marilee laughed at this. She took in stray animals -- from dogs to cats to birds to rabbits -- and nurtured them back to health. Last year, pre-Adam-the-hunk, the two of them had built a special area for the animals behind the trailer where she and her dad lived. Then, it was easy for us to be best friends, she thought. The two poorest kids in Overton. You and me against the world in a brother-and-sister kind of way. But how can I tell him my feelings have gone from strictly platonic to monumentally romantic? Answer: I can't. Adam waited on the next customer as Marilee checked her watch and sighed. The guy at the counter wanted five types of beans in bulk. At this rate Adam wouldn't get a break. Marilee had to be at her after-school waitress job in fifteen minutes. And she
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