Love, Lattes and Mutants. Sandra Cox
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Cover Copy
Like most seventeen-year-olds, Piper Dunn wants to blend in with the crowd. Having a blowhole is a definite handicap. A product of a lab-engineered mother with dolphin DNA, Piper spends her school days hiding her brilliant ocean-colored eyes and sea siren voice behind baggy clothing and ugly glasses. When Tyler, the new boy in school, zeroes in on her, ignoring every other girl vying for his attention, no one, including Piper, understands why...
Then Piper is captured on one of her secret missions rescuing endangered sea creatures and ends up in the same test center where her mother was engineered. There she discovers she isn’t the only one of her kind. Joel is someone she doesn’t have to hide from, and she finds herself drawn to the dolph-boy who shares her secrets. Talking to him is almost as easy as escaping from the lab. Deciding which boy has captured her heart is another story...
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Books by Sandra Cox
Mutant Series
Love, Lattes and Mutants
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Love, Lattes and Mutants
Mutants
Sandra Cox
LYRICAL PRESS
Kensington Publishing Corp.
www.kensingtonbooks.com
Copyright
Lyrical Press books are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2014 by Sandra Cox
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
Lyrical Press and the L logo are trademarks of Kensington Publishing Corp.
First Electronic Edition: February 2015
eISBN-13: 978-1-61650-606-3
eISBN-10: 1-61650-606-7
First Print Edition: February 2015
ISBN-13: 978-1-61650-607-0
ISBN-10: 1-61650-607-5
Printed in the United States of America
Dedication
For Margaret McNeely
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to:
My editor Paige Christian
Beta readers--Jewel Adams
Mike Cox
Karen Gray (In Remembrance)
Margaret McNeely
Chapter 1
“Miss Dunn, are we keeping you awake?” Mr. Grumble’s sarcastic remark draws titters from the class.
I jerk upright. “No, Mr. Grumble.” Heat floods my face.
“Glad to hear it.” He turns back to the whiteboard and writes an equation with a red marker.
I slink down in my seat and push my tinted glasses back up on my nose.
The class’s attention shifts from my discomfort. Some to the board where Mr. Grumble is still writing the equation, some to flirt outrageously with the new boy in class, some to sneak out their phones and send a text, which most definitely isn’t allowed.
Only the new girl—she and the boy are twins—takes time to give me a commiserating smile. I grimace back.
She’s always polite and kind in her dealings with me, something that confuses me.
Now her brother, Tyler, although polite, is oblivious. Comes from having girls trip all over him I guess.
The bell rings. I pick up my books. When the room clears, I slide out of my seat. Holly, the new girl, is waiting for me, her entourage grouped around her. She smiles. I glance over my shoulder but the warm smile is for me. She waves her friends on. “I’ll catch up.”
They move forward like a herd of sheep, perplexed expressions on their faces. Can’t blame them, I’m perplexed myself. I don’t get a lot of attention. My blonde hair is scraped back into a ponytail and pinned in a wrap-up sponge barrette. My clothes are baggier than a rapper’s and as unassuming as I can find. In other words, the total package is boring. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that’s the way I like it, but it’s necessary.
“Hi.” Holly shifts her books to her other arm.
“Hi.” I clutch my book bag to my chest, not making eye contact.
She falls in step beside me. “Bad luck hitting Grumble’s radar. Half the kids in class sleep through his lectures.”
I shrug.
“Would you like to grab a latte after school?” is her next conversational gambit.
“Why?” No doubt, I sound like a total jerk, but there’s no point in encouraging a friendship. Though the idea of an icy latte and girl talk appeals. A lot. If the situation were different, I’d be a girlie-girl, but it’s not and I’m not.
Chatter surrounds us. Juniors and seniors hurry down the hall to their classes. Rosemont is built like a letter U. Freshmen and sophomores on one side, juniors and seniors on the other; the gym and stage merge in the center.
“Because you look like you can use a friend. I know I can.”
“I have friends. Everyone has friends.” Okay, they’re people and creatures I’ve saved and they don’t know who I am, but I’m sure I could count on them in a pinch.
“And a sense of humor.” Holly laughs. “Who’d a thought?” She looks me over. Her lips twitch; she tries to hold back a smile.
I grin reluctantly. Then what she tacked on sinks in. “You’re the most popular girl in school right now. Why would you possibly need a friend?”
She bites her lips and looks at me.
I cave. “Okay, as a matter of fact, I’d love a latte, but I warn you I’m not noted for my sterling conversation. I’m clueless about the latest trends in hair, clothes, or shoes.”
At that moment, her hottie-of-a-brother Tyler lopes by. “Hol,” he acknowledges his shorter, fraternal twin. He gives me an absent nod. Not unkind, worse, indifferent. I’m damn sick of fading into the woodwork.
She looks at me as if she’s waiting for me to figure it out. I glance from her to her brother. Right. Holly’s pretty but hardly drop-dead gorgeous. Though her vivacity makes up for it. And she is the new kid. Still, I get it. The girls are sucking up in the hopes of scoring with her brother.
“Alright,