Lydia outright cackles when he belts out about finding a love to carry his children. I’m trying so hard not to laugh my shoulders shake. I put a fist over my mouth. Just then, Lettie looks my way. She scowls at my barely suppressed mirth. I shrug my shoulders as if to say, can you blame me? She breaks out laughing. That’s all I need; I crouch as I move up the aisle to her row. I steal the empty seat next to her.
As soon as I sit, she leans over. “For the record, that’s my standard karaoke song.”
“Are you saying you weren’t singing ‘Crazy for You’ to the surgeon?”
“No, nor anyone else.” Her cheeks pinken.
“Yeah, right.”
She not-so-playfully punches my shoulder. “I’m serious.”
“I know,” I whisper low in her ear, so close that I can smell her perfume. “Obviously, you weren’t singing to me.” She goes still. I’m enjoying this too much. “And how much you want me to kiss you.”
She turns to me, her eyes wide, sputtering. “No . . . Liam! . . . That’s not . . . ”
“I’m kidding, Lettie. It’s obvious that’s your standard song, and you’ve sung it with Jane lots. You were really good.”
“Oh! Thanks.” She smiles sheepishly. I mean what I said, I’m confident she didn’t select that song with me in mind. I saw Jane coerce her to go on stage. However, I’m holding out hope that as she sang, she felt some of the lyrics particularly apt for our situation.
Everyone claps, and our eyes return to the stage where Caroline takes the microphone.
“Now, it’s your turn,” Lettie says wryly.
Crap! I completely forgot about Caroline. I left her at our table with all the parents. Not my best move. I hold my breath, dreading her song selection. I hope it will be a fun song with no hidden meaning, like “We Are the Champions.” But nope. She’s cued up Adele’s “Someone Like You.” At least she’s not pointing at me as she sings. But every so often, she looks right at me, and I have no doubt she chose this song for a reason—especially when she sings “Old friend.” The old friend in the song is married, so it’s not a perfect fit. But watching her sing, I am very uncomfortable. I like Caroline. We’ve known each other since my family moved to El Dorado Hills. We’ve been through a lot, and I care about her, just not romantically. I’m sinking in my seat, miserable. “See what I mean,” Lettie whispers in my ear. “It’s not as funny when it’s your date.”
I nod. I feel like a total jerk. In my defense, I asked Caroline tonight, first and foremost, to make things easier with her family. I also had this vague idea that maybe things could work out with her this time around. But the moment Lettie climbed out of that stupid truck, that plan unraveled. Since then, my mind has been wholly occupied with Lettie and how I can get a moment alone with her, and in Lydia’s words, “Go at it.” But now I know it’s Caroline who I need to pull aside for a heart-to-heart. I need to stop leading her on.
Sometime during Caroline’s performance, Colin returns and sits on the other side of Lettie, proprietarily draping his arm around her. Even in the fading silver light, I can see Lettie’s annoyed expression. Considering how well she dispatched me on our date, I’m confident she’ll be able to dodge his advances. I excuse myself to make things right with Caroline.
She certainly did not hate him. —Pride & Prejudice
12
Maddening man! Liam just walked off with Caroline away from the lights of the party. It looks for all the world like they’re off for a tryst in the orchard. How dare he? Just a few minutes ago, he was shamelessly flirting with me.
“How about a stroll?” Colin asks.
“Sure,” I answer, only half listening. My mind has wandered off to wherever Liam might be.
“Great, I kind of wanted to go to the orchard, see if I can catch a snake.” I don’t bother to remind him that I dealt with the snake. I want to see what Liam and Caroline are up to. I mean, was I reading him wrong? When he was sitting by me watching karaoke, I felt so much emotion swirling between us. And now he’s off with Caroline? I’m so confused.
As we walk, Colin infuriatingly stops to point out the cost of everything. The tile on the pool. “Hand painted and imported from Morocco, at least $100,000.” He points to a blue-glazed planter filled with succulents. “That pot, at least $5,000.” I’m beginning to think he’s just pulling numbers out of the sky. He grabs a couple flutes of champagne from a table we pass. He takes a sip. “Dom Pérignon—I can tell by the bubbles. This flute alone is worth $100.” Okay, now I’m positive he’s just making up numbers. But I am in no mood to argue with the all-knowing Colin. Some guys are fun to debate, some are just plain tiresome. He hands me a champagne flute, which I absently take because I just saw Caroline’s gold satin dress flutter by the gate leading to the orchard.
“Hurry,” I hiss.
Colin downs his champagne in one gulp and sets it in the planter. I’m already ahead of him, still clutching the stem of my flute with golden liquid sloshing around precariously. When we reach the orchard, I study the rows and rows of trees. It’s impossible to know which one they went down. I try to listen to see if I can hear voices, but all I can hear is Colin still babbling on about the price of champagne and Priscilla singing in the distance, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” We turn down the same row where we had the fateful snake encounter. The moon casts leafy shadows as we stride down the corridor of trees.
As we near the end, Colin stops abruptly. For a minute, I think he sees a snake. But no, he turns toward me. “I’m glad I got you alone.”
I realize my critical error. What was I thinking, running off into the orchard with Colin Funkhauser? Why was I chasing Liam and Caroline? I should have just let them be, like a normal person. I fear I had one drink too many, to numb the mortification of a date with Colin. Then again, who can blame me? Also, he’s not wrong. This is good champagne.
“I loved your karaoke,” he says as he advances closer to me. “It went straight to my heart.” He places a hand on his chest dramatically.
“That’s my standard karaoke songwithJane,” I say flatly, stepping away.
“Sure, sure. But you sang it with such feeling.”
He’s not wrong. For most of the song, I tried not to look at Liam, but then my curiosity got the best of me. The moment I saw him staring at me with the ghost of a smile, I lost my place. When I started singing again, every cheesy lyric felt new and fresh and loaded with meaning.
