I look up at him. “You sound confident.”
He grins down at me. “I’m the Prince of Blue Ridge. Might as well wield that power for good.”
Laughing into his chest, I notice his tie for the first time, red with adorable mice and cheese. How could I have ever doubted him?
The door to the meeting room creaks open, and we turn to see his dad walking out. “Sawyer, I’m not done with you.”
With his arm slung over my shoulders, Sawyer turns us away without a word.
“Sawyer,” his dad says, warning in his tone.
My boyfriend guides us to the door, and we step into the sunshine together.
“Why do you have Will’s car?” I ask.
Mr. Strong’s voice bellows Sawyer’s name from behind us.
Sawyer says, “I’ll tell you at home, honey.”
CHAPTER 55
EPILOGUE
“You’re goingto have to get along with her after all,” I tell Will when I catch him sneering at Gia from across my cabin.
For her part, she seems oblivious to Will as she acts like a Party Mom, gathering used napkins and discarded plates.
It’s officially summer break. This semester was such a whirlwind, and we have so much to celebrate, it felt right to throw a party.
The day after the special committee meeting, Brie got a call from Geri Belinger offering her the full-time position. Mrs. Beaufort and my dad were alone in voting against Brie. Geri was appalled by the way she was treated and liked the way Brie stood up for herself. Walter Lemons, the fifth on the committee, was persuaded by what I had to say about her. And Judge Beaufort, judicious as he is, wanted evidence our relationship was affecting her job, since that was the basis for his wife’s vote. He had his court clerk call every single family with a student in Brie’s class. The raving reviews convinced him she’s an asset.
“Leave it, Gia,” I call. “Go get yourself a drink.”
She lifts a challenging eyebrow at me as she reaches for another plate, and I chuckle.
“Pretty sure she’s not used to being told what to do,” I mutter to Will.
“Sounds right,” he mumbles into his drink.
Normally, I’d push him on this, but this isn’t the time or the place. Besides, he gets points for finding me at the Jamboree that day.
I leave him to stew and look for my girlfriend. My cabin’s packed. Lizzie and Finn Santos, another rising third-grader whose parents work at the school, tuck and roll around furniture, spying on adults. Teachers and staff from school mingle. Ethan walked in with Abbi not that long ago, and I saw Tess’s blond ponytail bobbing over the crowd at some point. Nearly everyone Brie and I care about is here.
The front door opens, and in comes Mara, Brie’s younger sister, with Tucker, her firefighter boyfriend. She smiles like I’m just who she wanted to see.
“Hey,” I say.
I give her a friendly hug. Tucker and I shake hands as he’s immediately drawn into conversation with Señora Martinez behind us. He keeps his pinkie linked to Mara’s.
“I have something for you,” she says, holding up a gift bag.
“You didn’t have to,” I say. “This isn’t a house warming party.”
She thrusts it toward me. “This isn’t a house warming gift.”
I eye her suspiciously before reaching in. My hand closes on something soft and rolled up. I pull it out. A pair of boxers unfurl, Bob Ross smiling proudly at me from every inch.
“Welcome to the family,” she grins. “I’m not sure Gia wears hers, but we all have a pair.”
