Embry couldn’t believe this. She wouldn’t believe this.
But she did believe this.
Flashes of their past few weeks together swirled in her brain, recent examples. Alistair’sjokeabout making out while heading into drama class that first day. Hisjokeabout how they looked extremely good together when Oakley wondered aloud if they were an item. And then his follow-upjokeabout how Embry was the queen bee and “as unobtainable as possible”—
Wait.
Those weren’t jokes. She’dtreatedthem like jokes. Now, in her mind’s eye, Embry saw that every time she’d thought she was doing them both a friendly solid by backing away from the awkwardness of it all, what she’d actually done was slam the door on real feelings he had for her.
Wasshethe clueless one?
How had she not realized? For three years she’d not known.Three years.And if Embry didn’t recognize Alistair’s apparently obvious feelings… what else hadn’t she seen?
“Em?” Ames tapped Embry’s tulle-covered knee with the toe of her boot. “Are you going to answer Alistair? Or are we all going to collectively pass out from holding our breath?”
Embry blinked up at Ames, who was again nodding as if she were trying to give her a pass. To shout,It’s okay to drop the studious virginal princess act and say yes to the poor guy.
But… she couldn’t say yes.
If Alistair really liked her like that—like he was really, truly, finally shooting his shot—wouldn’t giving him false hope be the meanest thing she could do?
Wouldn’t it be more painful to lead him on with a yes, knowing that her heart wouldn’t change with a corsage and a few slow dances?
Wouldn’t it be better to say no now and give him a chance to reconfigure his attentions to someone more willing? Like, say, the sad-eyed vampire sitting at his side in that very moment?
She loved Alistair Elton-Bentley as a friend. She thought he was kind and funny and handsome as a friend. But only as a friend.
“That’s really sweet,” Embry started, as all that collective breath holding seemed to expire with yet another mass inhalation, “but I’m committed to making sure we all have fun ina group.”
“We can still go together and in a group,” Alistair replied. “Look at Ames and Fairfax; they’re a couple and part of the—”
“NO!” Embry snapped, loud enough that an echo seemed to bounce around in the empty space, followed by such a silence that one could hear a pin drop. So loud, in fact, that the door to the dressing room unlatched and Rye’s head popped out.
“Is everyone okay?”
“Yes! We’re fine! Thanks!” Embry unconvincingly trilled, waving a shooing hand in the direction of the assistant director/eavesdropper.
“Are you sure? We heard—”
“You heard nothing. Go. Football practice starts in five minutes. You need to finish up.”
Rye took Embry’s multiple hints and disappeared into the room. When the door closed again, Embry drew in a deep breath and stated, more calmly but firmly, “No, we’re goingas a group. The girls will take full advantage of our fashion opportunitiesas a groupand let you boys know aboutthe grouptheme. Yes? Yes.”
Then, as that heat in her body seemed to collect firmly in her cheeks, neck, ears, and upper chest, Embry whipped out her phone and began furiously thumb typing, doing everything she could to avoid the obvious hurt in Alistair’s hazel gaze. “I’ll set up our appointment with Allegra at Atelier Aradia right now while I’m thinking about it.”
CHAPTER 10
AN INVITATION (OR TWO)
BY THE TIMEEMBRY HAD FINISHED HER FITTING—AND CONVINCEDJonesy that going in an ice-blue direction for the gown via magical spell might be more striking (and less associated with diarrhea)—the entire extended cast had cleared out.
Which was a relief after that homecoming weirdness.
Embry loved her friends dearly, but she really needed to decompress. Maybe even get off campus altogether. That was it. Instead of meeting her friends at the refectory for dinner, she could surprise Daddy with a home-cooked meal on a school night. Surely he’d be up for that?
She was contemplating whether she could (a) convince Daddy to forgo pasta for spaghetti squash if she offered to make his favorite meatballs (with lean ground turkey, obviously) and (b) jeopardize making curfew after dinner if she had to run by the store first for ingredients before getting started, when she noticed that one of her friendshadstayed behind.
Actually, the only one she’d want to see, all things considered.
