CHAPTER 5
After the play, whileEthan, Courtney, and Zoe waited for the girls to reemerge, Zoe spotted the blond kid again. What was it about that guy?
“Those boys were hanging around the bakery with Laurel and Hannah the other day,” Zoe said. “I gave the girls some donuts and I think the donuts were passed on to those boys.”
“His name is Jon Frank,” Courtney whispered. “He’s every Canterbury girl’s dreamboat.”
Ethan’s lips tightened. “This is an all-girls school. There shouldn’t be any boys or dreamboats hanging around.”
“I don’t think we can exclude half the population to the play,” Zoe said, trying hard not to laugh.
“Not half the population,” Ethan ground out, “just all the males under the age of thirty.”
“How very ageist and sexist of you,” Courtney said.
Ethan folded his arms and lowered his eyebrows. “Are you really okay with Laurel being interested in boys?”
Courtney grinned. “I don’t think my opinion matters. Do you?”
“It should,” Ethan said grimly.
“Boys will be boys and girls will be girls,” Courtney said. “That’s what keeps things fun.”
“Fun?” Ethan echoed the word. “Having a preteen daughter surrounded by hormonally charged preteen boys does not meet my definition of fun.”
Courtney elbowed him. “Don’t you remember being young?”
“Yes,” Ethan said. “That’s part of the problem.
Fatigue weighed on Zoe’s shoulders. She’d watched Ethan napping during the play—his mouth open, his head back, his eyes closed. She wished she could be as relaxed. It didn’t matter how tired she was or how badly she needed sleep, she’d never been able to relax enough to sleep in a public place. She envied Ethan. He always seemed at home, even when he wasn’t.
“Mom!” Laurel came sprinting around the corner.
Hannah trotted after her. “Dad!”
Laurel launched herself at Courtney and nearly knocked her off her clunky but cute shoes. “Mitzi is having a sleepover.”
“Can I go?” Hannah asked Ethan.
The girls had changed their clothes, but they still had their makeup on—bright pink spots on their cheeks, heart-shaped red lips, and high-arching blackened brows.
Courtney and Ethan exchanged glances.
Courtney cocked an eyebrow. “I say yes!”
Ethan wavered, but Courtney pressed on. “Looks like we’re free tonight!” Courtney beamed at Ethan. “Let’s go out!”
Squealing, Laurel and Hannah jumped up and down, hugging each other.
“Come on, let’s go tell Mitzi!” Laurel said, grabbing Hannah’s hand and towing her down the hall.
Ethan met Zoe’s gaze. “Want to go out?”
