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"No, you don’t Stop being ridiculous" She took the box from my hand and shouldered it "Where to?"

"My car I had to park a ways away because of the market"

We walked down the ood with silence I had to fill it "Who’s watching your tent?"

"No one," she said, grinning "I have faith in ht, and refrained fro else until I spotted my car "That’s o now

She didn’t take the hint, but waited patiently until I opened the trunk, and carefully tucked the box inside "You’re gonna love that cake"

"Did you ood?"

"I’ll let you decide I will say this, though--sorow"

Magician That could be interesting Inspiration wasn’t exactly knocking, but it was definitely lurking "Are you? How so?"

"I can do anything with vegetables," she said, and somehow it didn’t sound like a boast, just a si you’ll swear is this buttery, flavorful steak, and it turns out to be a slab of butternut squash I’uru Like, an alcheh uru, creation"Thanks," I said, opening my car door "Do you want a ride back?"

"Do I want to ride for three blocks?" She laughed "No I’d start worrying about reed to that"

Before I could co, escaped curls bouncing, not a care in the world

I kind of hated her

CHAPTER 4

Excerpt froht at All Ti a spare tire around the middle, it sinks to the botto To avoid this, exercise your eularly--host competitions and contests, keep their creative muscles taut, promote competition that is friendly and fierce Burn the fat aith --tear those er and an flourless cake--dense, chocolaty, delicious--was a marvelous surprise I didn’t care if it was created fro I’d scarfed nearly half of it as I read Petra’s book Take that, Petra, and your fighting weight, I thought, bending to search our pantry for a bottle of wine, htly covered in dust, by the cans of tuna fish Trey had taken to eating every day after school until so, and he’d sworn never to touch theain A stack of them formed a mini skyscraper in iven to Jesse by a client I’d been saving it, but for what? Jesse would never be back to share it withar I popped the cork from the bottle and didn’t pause to let it breathe My need to breathe was stronger