6
The second I slide back into my seat, Tess grins and says, “You and Joel were on fire on that dance floor. I had a fire extinguisher ready, just in case.”
I take in an embarrassed gulp of air. “You’re exaggerating.”
“Well, yes, I’m a writer, so I’m prone to exaggeration, but not in this case.”
“I hate to admit it,” Sofia says, her eyes shining as she assesses me, “but Tess is right.”
I look over at Aaron. Amusement lines his features. He’s not coming to my rescue this time.
“It was a dance, that’s all,” I say, trying to shrug it off.
A thoughtful sound passes from Sofia’s lips. “It looked like more than a dance. It looked like there’s history between the two of you.”
“No history.” The denial sticks in my throat.
“You sure there’s nothing going on?”
“I’m sure.”
Right now, though, I don’t feel sure of anything. It’s like the ground shifted beneath me, and I’ve spent the last few hours trying to find my balance again.
For the briefest instant, I imagine blurting out exactly what happened in that storeroom.
I imagine the shock on my friends’ faces when they hear that their shy Kenzie had acted in such a.
..wild manner. But the thought vanishes almost as quickly as it comes, tucked away in that small, secretive place where my impulsive actions and thoughts belong.
“Does Kate know something about you and Joel that we don’t?” Tess asks with a frown.
“I have no idea.” A stilted laugh spills out of me. “Maybe she wants everyone paired off now that she’s found true love.”
When Tess continues to look skeptical, Aaron covers her hand with his. “You were the same after we were married.”
She grins, conceding his point. “True.”
Sofia’s head cocks to the side. “One of the best things about your dance with Joel is that Bobby looked insanely jealous.”
My eyes widen. “He did?”
“He couldn’t take his eyes off you and Joel,” she confirms. “It gave me a great deal of satisfaction to watch him watching you.”
I’m ashamed to admit I can’t help feeling a small sense of satisfaction too.
Mercifully, Sofia and Tess are soon caught up in other conversations.
Aaron heads to the bar to get us another round of drinks.
I opt for a mocktail, since tonight has made it clear I behave dangerously out of character once there’s alcohol flowing in my veins.
I tell myself it has nothing to do with Joel and everything to do with the champagne.
I spot Kate’s grandmother standing alone near the buffet table. I’ve always adored Kate’s family, but her grandmother holds a special place in my heart. Her ongoing feud with Google never fails to leave me in stitches. Smiling, I rise from my seat and start toward her.
Halfway there, a hand closes around my upper arm, halting me mid-step. Startled, I turn and look into Bobby’s flushed face.
“Kenzie, did I tell you how lovely you look tonight?” The faint sway in his stance tells me he’s had more to drink than he should have.
“You did,” I say, gently easing my arm from his grasp. “But it’s kind of you to mention it again.”
“So lovely,” he repeats, slurring a little.
I take a small, uncomfortable step back. “Are you enjoying the wedding?” I ask politely.
He nods. “Yeah, but not as much as you, from the looks of it.”
I don’t ask what he means. I think I already know what he’s insinuating.
“Hey,” he says, shifting closer, not at all deterred by my silence, “I was wondering if you’d want to go out next Saturday night?”
“Go out? With you?”
“Yeah, on a date.”
I gape at him. He stood me up in the storeroom and now he’s asking me out? The sheer audacity of the man robs me momentarily of an answer. “I’m busy Saturday night,” I finally tell him.
“Busy with what?” he scoffs. “A book?”
A book, a bubble bath, and scented candles. It unsettles me that Bobby knows me so well.
“It doesn’t matter what I’m busy with,” I tell him, trying but failing to hide the hurt in my voice.
He laughs. “I knew it.”
I’m beginning to feel cornered. “I’m sorry, Bobby, but I’m not going out with you.”
“Come on, for old time’s sake. I know you’ve got nothing better to do.”
His smug little smirk traps the air in my lungs. I have to remind myself to breathe. This is a version of Bobby I haven’t seen before. I’m about to tell him no again, a word he doesn’t seem to understand, when Joel suddenly materializes at my side.
“Bobby, is it?” he asks conversationally.
Every muscle in my body tenses. Please, please, let him not have overheard my humiliating conversation with my ex-boyfriend.
“Yeah,” Bobby says warily, standing straighter in an effort to match Joel’s height. “Who are you?”
Joel smiles, a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’m Kenzie’s date for next Saturday.”
Bobby’s smirk falters a fraction. Fortunately, his loud “What?” drowns out my startled gasp.
Joel slips a casual arm around my shoulders, anchoring me to him. Bobby’s eyes narrow at the familiarity of the gesture.
“Kenzie’s going out with you?” Bobby asks doubtfully.
Ignoring him, Joel glances down at me. The look between us holds for a long moment. There’s a flash of something in his eyes. Anger? Concern? I can’t tell. But his expression feels like a dare. I challenge you to go along with this and stick it in your ex-boyfriend’s face .
I clear my throat. Before I even realize what I’m about to say, the words tumble out, “That’s right. I’m going out with Joel on Saturday. He’s my date. For Saturday.”
Joel squeezes my shoulder. Don’t overdo it , the squeeze says. Or it could be saying, stop talking . I’m not entirely sure. Joel has given me such a shock my emotional receptors are all over the place.
Bobby still has a disbelieving look on his face. “Hey, wait a minute, you’re the photographer. Don’t you date models and biker chicks? Kenzie’s not your type.”
It looks like Joel’s reputation precedes him. A hollow feeling settles in my stomach. Bobby’s right, I’m not the kind of woman Joel usually dates. If I had to guess, I’d say I’m the exception he’s making out of pity.
“I don’t have a type,” Joel tells him coldly.
Bobby motions to the two of us. “So, is it serious between you?”
“It’s none of your business,” Joel tells him, his tone even.
I inhale sharply. Joel’s abruptness with Bobby is mortifying, but also breathtaking. I would never dare .
“Okay, then, what about next weekend, Kenzie?” Bobby asks me, hope in his eyes and just enough alcohol in his system to act like Joel’s not even there.
I brave a look at Joel. He meets my gaze, eyebrows raised, leaving it up to me.
Alarm curls in my belly as I cling to the side of this runaway conversational train for dear life. Sofia and Tess are always admonishing me to stand up for myself. Is that also what Joel’s doing? Encouraging me to find my elusive backbone?
I stare directly at Bobby. “I don’t think so.”
Surprise flashes across his face. And... Oh, no, I’m almost certain I can detect hurt there too. I bite my lip. “I’m really sorr—”
Joel squeezes my shoulders again. I fall silent, message received loud and clear. You have nothing to apologize for , his squeeze says.
I swallow. “It’s not going to happen, Bobby. Have a good life.”
His jaw drops. Joel quickly steers me away, either while the going is still good or before I undo the first moment I’ve ever truly stood my ground.
Once we’re out of earshot, I turn to him in excitement. “Did you see that? Look at me go. I told him, didn’t I?”
“ Have a good life was definitely telling him,” Joel says dryly. This time, his smile reaches his eyes. “Worst insult ever.”
“It was my worst insult ever,” I tell him happily, still in awe at myself. Maybe this is the start of a new fearless Kenzie.
And then I remember what Joel said. I stop and turn to face him in genuine confusion. “Why did you tell Bobby we had a date when we clearly don’t?”
His expression darkens at the mention of Bobby. “That idiot,” he mutters. “I couldn’t stand the way he was talking to you. And that look on his face rubbed me the wrong way.”
“That doesn’t seem like enough of a reason to give up your Saturday evening.”
“I wanted him humiliated more than I wanted my solitude.” He rubs his chest like it’s too tight. Like it’s suddenly dawning on him exactly what he’s offered.
My immediate instinct is to let him off the hook. “Look, I’m grateful you stepped in when you did, but you don’t have to go through with it.”
Brown Oaks is small enough and gossipy enough that if Bobby really wanted to, he could find out whether I actually went out with Joel.
Maybe he’d let it go. Or maybe he’d throw it in my face the next time he saw me.
I honestly don’t know what he’d do. But I don’t disclose any of that to Joel.
Because the last thing I want is to guilt him into taking me out.
Joel opens his mouth to reply, but a sudden wariness cuts across his face. I follow his gaze to discover Farah staring at him like he’s dessert.
“Wow,” I murmur, “she seems really into you.”
He turns away with a groan. “That’s an understatement.”
“How long has she been, um, pursuing you?”
“Long enough.”
When I continue to look at him questioningly, he sighs. “Last week, she commissioned me to photograph her kids. Ever since then, she’s been showing up at my studio unannounced. In her own words, she’s convinced we have potential .”
“And you don’t think so?”
He doesn’t even hesitate. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because she wants something serious.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“I don’t do relationships.”
“Ever?”
“Ever.”
I’m itching to ask why not, but that feels forward. And this whole conversation feels forward enough as it is.
“Is she still watching?” he asks.
“Afraid so.”
He drags a frustrated hand down his face. “I’ve said no in every way I can think of...”
“And she still won’t listen,” I finish for him.
“Nope.”
“I feel sorry for her,” I say softly.
He looks offended. “I’m the one you should feel sorry for. I’m the one being stalked.”
“I bet you wish you had a wardrobe you could step through to disappear into another world.”
“You a Narnia fan?” he asks.
“One of my favorite stories as a child. I’m a huge fan of C. S. Lewis overall.”
His expression turns thoughtful. “Well, we don’t have a wardrobe, but we do have a fake date,” he says slowly. “Maybe this can work in both our favor. A very public date with you might get Farah off my back. And you can use our fake date to give Bobby the middle finger.”
My brow furrows.
He grins. “Right, let’s leave your middle finger out of it. How about you use our fake date to show Bobby you’re over him?”
I draw myself up straighter. “I am over him!”
“You arranged to kiss him in a storeroom. That doesn’t sound like you’re over him.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I try to explain. “A part of me just wanted to show Bobby that I was no longer the boring Kenzie he dated.”
That makes him scowl. “That’s what he said to you? That you’re boring?”
I don’t say anything, but he must have noticed me wince.
His jaw works back and forth. “Let me guess, you didn’t sleep with him.”
“That is a wildly inappropriate statement.”
A negligent shrug rolls off him. “Am I right?”
“I’m not answering that question,” I say stiffly.
He nods grimly to himself. “I’m right.”
“I just wanted him to know there’s more to me than he thinks,” I whisper, so embarrassed I don’t know where to look.
“He’s a fool if he didn’t already know that,” Joel tells me in a brusque voice. Abruptly, he changes topics. “So, are we in agreement? One fake date next Saturday?”
“I’m not very good at lying,” I admit.
“Not lying, pretending.”
“I don’t think I’m very good at that either.”
He smiles faintly. “Yeah, your face gives you away every single time.”
I fold my arms. “It’s a yes to Saturday, but only if I can tell my family and friends it’s not a real date.”
He shrugs. “Sure. I have no problem with that.”
Curiosity prompts me to ask, “What about you? Is there anyone you want to tell?”
“No.”
“You sure?”
His face goes blank, as if something in him has shut down. “There’s no one.”
My throat tightens with unexpected emotion. Is it because he doesn’t care if he lies to his family or friends? Or because he has no one to tell?
There’s no one .
I don’t know why those three words feel so inexpressibly sad.