“Finley,” she said flatly. “Come on. You’re not that slick. I’m surprised the whole lake hasn’t heard you climbing out that window in the middle of the night.”
“What?” I said. “You know about that?”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Please. I’m out late too sometimes. It’s quiet over by the Egg when I’ve passed by. You can pretty much hear everything.”
I was, in a word, stunned.
“I kept waiting for you guys to go public,” she continued. By the way she was taking her time, I had a feeling shewas enjoying this. “But then something happened. Things got weird. Even before Colin showed up.”
Funny how she could sense it. “He didn’t want to sneak around anymore,” I told her. “And I—”
“Did?”
“I wasn’t sure.” I bit my lip. “And now it’s too late. I missed my window.”
“Interesting choice of words,” she observed. “Seriously, though? Could you have been any louder coming back in? You must have always gotten busted at home.”
I just looked at her. “I didn’t sneak out at home. Or anywhere. This is all new to me.”
“Well, that tracks.” She glanced at my mom and Kasey, checking they were distracted before adding some more champagne into the glass in front of her. “In the future, just FYI, throw your shoes out first. You whacked the sill with a heel like, every single time.”
“What about you?” I asked.
She gave me wide eyes. “Me?”
“Aren’tyousneaking around with Cardoon?” I asked her.
“That’s different,” she said, waving a hand dismissively.
“How?”
“As discussed, I have a type, and he’s not it.” She took a sip of her champagne, closing her eyes for a moment to savor it. “Also, I’m more of a lone wolf. Unlike you.”
“I could be a lone wolf,” I told her.
She gave me a doubtful look. “Why would you want to be, though? It’sBen.”
The weird thing was, I knew exactly what she meant. ThenI remembered something else. “Wait a second,” I said. “What happened to all that stuff you said about me not being his type?”
“That?” she said. “Reverse psychology.”
I just looked at her.
“What? I read books too, you know.”
“I can’t believe you,” I muttered.
“Well, I had to do something. You were taking way too long to get there on your own.” She tipped the glass to her lips again, obviously pleased with herself. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
“I didn’t thank you,” I pointed out.
“You will.” I rolled my eyes. “Seriously, though. You guys are obviously crazy about each other. What’s the problem?”
“Karaoke is next!” Colin announced, sliding into his seat. “Idaho. Should we do our ABBA medley?”
“No,” I said, more firmly than I intended. It was like everything he did was wrong.
“We’ve got a whole routine.Withdance moves.” He leaned forward, holding up his hands. “Picture this: It’s last spring. My family beach trip, and we go to this country-themed restaurant where all the servers have names like Bubba and Daisy. Known for their karaoke. So the top prize was fifty bucks…”
