I wouldn’t mind being in Boca right about now…I thought, glancing at the downpour outside. Rain, rain, freaking nonstop rain. From the trying-not-to-pout-but-totally-pouting pout on Katie’s face, you could tell she was missing her grandparents’ house.
Austin’s fiancée wasmiserable.
“The mashed potatoes are really good, Katie,” I said, to break the silence. Our dinner table conversation topics had all led to dead ends so far. “Where did you get them?”
“I didn’t get them anywhere,” she replied evenly. “I made them.”
“Oh.” I flushed. It wasn’t that I thought Katie couldn’t cook, but these potatoes looked and tasted like the product of a professional caterer. They were whipped to perfection.
“It’s her mom’s recipe,” Austin said quickly, “but Katie took over making them when she was sixteen.”
“Lucky us,” Dad said. “Lee knows everything about turkey and stuffing, but his potatoes haveneverbeen this good.”
“They’re better than yours, Harry,” Da countered.
The table laughed, but Katie smiled blandly before taking a sip of water. My heart wound into a knot.What’s wrong?I wanted to ask, because now that I knew Katie cared so hard,Icared so hard.If you miss your family, tell us you miss your family! We’ll understand!
Nana’s Man Friend brought up the wedding while the pumpkin pie was being sliced. “Are you having a band or DJ?”
“Band,” Katie replied. “We’re having a twelve-piece band.”
“It’s going to be fabulous,” Nana said. “Austin’s played me samples from their website.”
“Yeah.” Katie nodded. “They’re great…”
Nana’s Man Friend smiled. “What’s your song, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“It’s called ‘Garden,’” Austin said, smiling. “It’s by this indie-folk band we love.”
“The band’s rendition is astronomically different than theoriginal song,” Katie said. “But that’s how it is, so…” She trailed off into the distance.
“It’s still going to be incredible, Kates,” Austin said, then grinned like a lovestruck idiot. “We practice dancing in our kitchen every night. Neither of us is a good dancer, so we don’t want to completely embarrass ourselves.”
“Ah, yes…” Dad mused as I dove into my slice of pumpkin paradise. “You never did have a natural rhythm.”
I caught Katie roll her eyes.
And that, combined with the fact that she hadn’t touched her slice of Nana’s delightful pie, was the final straw.
“What’s bothering you?!” I blurted, and my family went silent. I took another bite of pie for a boost of confidence. “Seriously, Katie,” I said after swallowing. “What’s your deal?”
“Mads,” Austin hissed.
I shook my head. “I want to know, Austin. She’s been sulking since you guys got here, and anytime anyone brings up the wedding, it’s like she couldn’t care less or would rather walk Captain Hook’s plank than go through with it.” I looked at Katie. Her eyes were glassy. “You are my brother’sfavorite person, Catherine, but these days, I’m having a tough time believing he’s yours.” I brandished my fork like a sword. “I mean, call it off if that’s what you want!”
Everyone sat there. Austin was glaring at me while our parents exchanged a look that screamed:Didn’t we raise our daughter to have manners?
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nana diplomatically rise from her chair, pick up her plate of pie, and gesture for her Man Friend to follow her out of the room.
“No,” Katie said, expression accusatory. “But that’s exactly whatyouwant, Madeline, don’t you?” She looked at my dads. “That’s whatallof you want, right? For me to call off the wedding?”
None of us got the chance to answer; Katie was too quick to detonate.
“I know none of you like me!” Her voice went up several octaves. “You’ve always been polite, but I know for a fact that you don’t like me or think I’m good enough for Austin!”
“Well, we don’t see you!” I shouted at the same time Dad said, “Excuse me? You know for afact?”
Katie opened her mouth, but no words came out. She didn’t know which question to answer first.
