Me: You’re so very thoughtful, Myles Ford.
Me: Be sure you scout out some good restaurants
Me: I’ll expect to be wined and dined
Myles: consider it done, my passenger princess
Myles: by the way, I miss you too
“Oh. My. God!” Kat yells at the same time she pulls me in for a hug the moment I open the door. “It’s so good to see you!”
Eardrums ringing, it’s not until I pull back that I realize someone else is standing beside her.
“Hi!” the girl says.
I have no idea who she is.
“Oh, Amelia, this is my friend Felicity! She wanted to come with me and see what Summerfest was all about. Isn’t that so fun?”
I stand there stunned for a second. Kat brought one of her new friends from Pinecrest and didn’t even tell me she was going to?
As I was getting ready for bed last night, I promised myself I’d keep a positive attitude with Kat. Idomiss her, and Iamhappy to see her. But I also worried that her visit might expose the tender parts of me that feel abandoned and left behind for something better, and I was right. That something is named Felicity, who, by the way, is freaking gorgeous. She’s tall with dark eyes and black hairthat’s curled in long waves, because of course. I bet it’ll even hold up once we’re out in the humid, salty air, while mine will go up in a mass on top of my head within the first half hour.
Kat looks the same—her long blond hair blown straight, sunglasses perched on her head, single hoop earrings, and just a touch of makeup. I’m a little surprised she didn’t chop all her hair off or get some new piercing with her new friends.
I catch her giving me a look, like,Hello?and I snap out of my thoughts.
“Oh. Yeah, so glad you could come along, Felicity,” I say. “Nice to meet you.”
Felicity jumps forward to hug me too, and while I don’t mind being touched, I’m not usually one to hug someone I barely know. Or, actually, that I don’t know at all.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” she says. “I’ve heard so much about you! Kat talks about you all the time.”
“Oh,” I say. Suddenly my eyes burn, and I turn away, gesturing them farther into my house while I compose myself. I can’t tell if I want to cry because it’s so nice to hear that Kat talks about me or because it’s actually super depressing how surprised I am that that’s the case.
Margarine bolts into the room, and Kat screeches. “Oh, Margarine!” She’s on the floor in a heartbeat, laughing as Margarine kisses her cheeks. “Oh, cutie, I’m so glad you’re okay!” Kat turns to Felicity and explains how we found Margie all those years ago.
“She had a health scare at the beginning of the summer,” I add. “But she’s better now.”
Felicity smiles but doesn’t make a move to pet her. My opinion of her goes down a notch.
My mom comes in, her eyes wild and hair in a messy ponytail. “Oh, hi, Kat, dear!” She pulls Kat into a quick (and firm, if Kat’s squeak is any indication) hug, then pulls back. “I’m late to get to the gallery stand at the festival. Can I give you girls a ride?”
“Oh, no,” Kat says. “I told Felicity how perfect the walk would be from here. Beach the whole way. But we’ll see you there!”
“Thanks, though,” I add, and Mom kisses me on the cheek before she disappears toward the garage.
“So are we ready?” I ask.
“Yep,” Kat says, and eyes my outfit. It’s a yellow maxi dress with spaghetti straps and a low, open back. I wouldn’t let Shelby talk me into a shorter skirt because the wind on the beach would blow it right up, but the front has little ties down the center that show more skin than I normally do. “That’s a cute dress. Is it new?”
“Yeah. I got it last week. With my friend Shelby,” I say, watching her closely. Does that bother her? Dress shopping for Summerfest was our thing, but talking every day was too, so. Things change.
I notice then that Kat’s wearing the pink midi dress she bought for the festival last year, and frown. She didn’t shop for today with one of her new gazillion friends?
“She works at Pearl’s too,” I say as we head toward the back door. “She’s just here for the summer.”
“Pearl’s is where Myles works too,” Kat explains to Felicity.“That guy I told you about. But Amelia said he’s out of town, so you won’t get to see him in person.”
