The carpet was softer than I remembered, plusher, and my stockinged feet whispered against it.The only other sound was the crackle of the flames.She had turned her attention back to the fireplace again, and little lights danced in her eyes.
“I’m sorry I embarrassed you,” she said as I sank into a chair.“I keep telling myself not to do that, and then the minute I’m around you, it’s like we’re kids again, and I don’t know how to turn it off.”
I thought about that.“Honestly, you couldn’t have picked a better audience.They all loved it, obviously.”
“They all loveyou,” she corrected gently.
“The jury’s still out on Keme.”
She glanced at me.“God, Dasher, sometimes I forget you are totally hopeless.”
“Hey, hold on.I still have the upper hand here.”
That made her smile—a smoke-and-shadow thing, maybe nothing more than a trick of the fire.When she spoke again, her voice was softer.“I should have picked a different picture.I’m sorry about the stuff with Jake.God, I’m such an idiot sometimes.”
“What?Who cares?I’m more worried aboutDasher the Loneliest Reindeer.You realize Fox is going to make me do a performance now, don’t you?I’m going to have to find somewhere to buy antlers.”
“I mean I’m sorry it happened in front of your friend.”
It took me a moment before I managed to say, “Bobby?”
The disbelief in my voice made her grin, and there was no mistaking it this time.Something about that grin—about how she looked at me, and about how the look went on and on—made me start to sweat.And then I noticed that, this close to the fire, the heat was stifling.It pressed against me, so heavy it felt crushing.
“Oh my God,” she said with what sounded like glee.
I managed to say, “No.”
“Oh my God!”
“No, no.”
“You’ve got it bad!”She wriggled around in the blanket to face me, and maybe it was just that the light hit her differently now, but she looked more like herself.“Dish.”
“There’s no dish.There’s nothing to dish.Zero dishing.”
“Dasher, I’m your older sister.”
“I don’t want an older sister.Fox wants an older sister.You can be Fox’s older sister.”
“Oh my God, I’d be such a good older sister for them.”But then Dottie pulled herself back to the moment, all business again.“How long have you been going out?”
“We’re not going out.”
“How long have you been hooking up?”
“We’re not hooking up.We’re just friends.”
“Have you kissed?”
“Are you insane?”
“Am I insane?You’ve got this sizzling hot guy living under the same roof, and he’s totally into you, and you haven’t jumped his bones?What are you waiting for?You need to get on that, Dasher.You should jump his bones tonight!”
“Be quiet,” I whispered furiously, with a scandalized glance at the door.“Nobody is jumping—nobody is—we’re justfriends!”
She stared at me with what could only politely be called disbelief.And then, in a tone of infinite disappointment, she said, “This is Adam Queen all over again.”
“It isn’t—”
