Corey and Adam were doing some serious kissing. Josh was just holding Nathalie. Probably didn’t want to catch her cold or flu or whatever it was she had. It looked like she’d gone to sleep against his shoulder again. Every now and then, Shanna and Rand would sneak a kiss.
“She worries that her dad will look back here,” Chase whispered, holding me more tightly.
“I don’t blame her. That would be really weird.”
“Yeah.”
I thought maybe he’d kiss me. But he didn’t even try.
Since we’d been the last ones picked up, we were the first ones dropped off. Chase and I stood on the walkway, watching the dray move on up the street.
“Well, that was fun,” I said.
“Nathalie probably shouldn’t have come out tonight.”
“Do you worry about her?”
He looked surprised. “No, just an observation.”
“You’ve known her a long time.”
“I’ve known everyone on the island a long time.”
“I guess I mean, you know her really well.”
“Ditto, on knowing everyone really well.”
“But you work together.”
“Are you going somewhere with this?”
He sounded seriously ticked off.
“Ah, no, just making an observation.”
“It’s just…”
“She’s had a boyfriend forever,” I said.
“Yeah. I mean, when I was twelve I wasn’t thinking about girls really. She’s never had a chance to see if she might like someone better.”
“Someone like you?”
He sighed. “I guess I’m not as good at hiding it as I used to be.”
“You know, flirting with other girls in the fudge shop might not be the way to go if you’re trying to get her attention.”
“It’s the only time she notices me. I thought if she thought lots of girls liked me, maybe she would too.” He rubbed his hands up and down his face. “So now that you know my deep dark secret, do you still want to go to V.P. with me tomorrow night?”
Considering I had a deep, dark secret of my own?
“Yeah, sure.”
“Great. I’ll see you then.” He turned and headed up the street.
I didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved. I suppose if nothing else we could commiserate together.
I opened the gate and walked up the porch to the house. Light was shining out from the parlor window. I should have known Mom would still be up. What sort of report should I give her?
I’d barely closed the front door before she popped out of the parlor. “We have our first guests!”
Not now. I wanted to be excited, I wanted to be welcoming. I really, really did. I wanted to be the perfect hostess, but I needed to crawl into bed and go to sleep so I could stop thinking about Josh.
“Come on in and meet them,” Mom said.
“Oh, Mom, I’m really wiped out—”
“No excuses. This is a unique opportunity to learn to be a good hostess.”
She was so excited that I just couldn’t disappoint her. Forcing myself to smile, I went into the parlor.
Our guest flung her arms wide. “Surprise!”
“Tara!”
I rushed toward her, she ran toward me. Then we were hugging and laughing, both of us talking at once. It was so good to see her. Nothing had changed. Her hair was still black, her eyes still blue. Her nose was still slightly crooked. When she was six, her brother tried to teach her how to play baseball. He told her to keep her eye on the ball. She did—until it hit her in the nose.
“Are you surprised? You look surprised.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” I asked.
“If I had, it wouldn’t have been a surprise.”
“When did you decide—”
“A couple of nights ago. But we couldn’t get a direct flight, and we’ve been traveling all day and night. I didn’t think we’d ever get here!”
“We?”
We finally broke apart, and I could see past her into the room. Shaun lifted his hand in greeting. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
I didn’t know him well enough to rush forward and hug him—for which he was no doubt grateful. Still, I said the honest-to-gosh truth. “I’m so glad y’all are here.”
“Josh kissed you?” Tara asked.
We were in my bed, snuggled beneath the quilts. We’d visited downstairs for a couple of hours, before we decided to call it a night. Mom gave Shaun a room on the second floor. She’d readied another room for Tara, but we’d had too many sleepovers together to sleep in separate rooms now.
Once we turned out the lights, I’d filled her in on the past two days of my life.
“What a player,” she said with obvious disgust.
“He seemed as surprised as I was. I mean, I don’t think he really meant to kiss me. It just happened.”
“So what are you going to do?” she asked.
“Pretend it didn’t happen.”
“What about this other guy, this Chase?”
“I like him.”
“But not as much.”
“That could just be because I don’t know him as well. Besides, he has a thing for Nathalie too.”
“She must be something else. I can’t wait to meet her.”
Even though it was dark, I grinned so broadly that I thought my jaw would ache in the morning. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“What are best friends for?”
“How long can you stay?”
“Only until Monday, just long enough to get my Ash fix. I swear, I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have Shaun.”
“I can’t believe he came with you.”
“He’s my rock.”
“I wish you’d gotten here early enough to go on the hayride.”
“I can’t believe Chase didn’t kiss you. I mean, a hayride sounds like a kissing thing.”
“I was a little surprised too, but if he had, I think it would have been only to get Nathalie’s attention. So I really like him for not using me like that.”
“I guess. So, tomorrow, I’ve got big plans for us,” Tara said.
“What?”
“A fudge run.”
“That’s the reason you’re really here, isn’t it?” I teased. “You came for the fudge, not me.”
“You know it. And I brought disguises so we can check out all the fudge shops, not just Nathalie’s.”
I laughed. It just felt so right having Tara here.
She threw one of my stuffed animals at me. “Night, Ash.”
The bed wobbled as she rolled onto her side. I looked out the window. The next few days were going to be so much fun. Tara was always fun.
Then, because it was dark, and she’d started to snore, I slipped out of bed and went to where I’d dropped my jacket earlier. I reached into the pocket and pulled out Josh’s cap. I worked it down over my head, over my ears. I crawled into bed and fell asleep doing what I knew I shouldn’t: dreaming about him.
15
The next morning when I woke up, Tara wasn’t in my room. I wasn’t surprised. She’s a morning person.
I got dressed and went downstairs. Just as I suspected, Tara was in the kitchen helping Mom make breakfast. Mr. Wynter, Josh, and Shaun were sitting at the oak table, finishing off a batch of pancakes.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Mom said brightly when I walked into the kitchen.
I grunted. Tara handed me my coffee mug. I filled it quickly, added my milk and sugar, and took my first sip.
“Watching Ash drink coffee is kinda like watching a werewolf movie,” Tara said. “You can see the transformation from man into beast.”
“Except for me, it’s beast into girl, I know,” I said sourly and took another sip.
“Want some pancakes?” Mom asked.
“No, thanks.” I leaned against the counter.
“They’re really good,” Josh said. He was watching me like he
was hoping to see the transformation that Tara was talking about.
“Tara is really into cooking,” I told him. I held up a hand. “Don’t say it. I know I’m not into cooking, breakfast, or early morning, but here I am.”
Once Shaun finished off another batch of pancakes, he, Tara, and I headed toward the downtown shops.
“Okay, Josh is hot,” Tara said as we were walking.
“Tell me something I don’t already know,” I said.
“He likes you.”
“He has a girlfriend,” I reminded her.
“Will we meet her?”
“If she’s working today. She may have relapsed after being in the cold last night.”
She wasn’t working, but Chase was. Tara thought he was hot too. Not that she said it out loud, but I could tell by the way her eyes lit up when he offered her free fudge.
While she and Shaun were looking over the selections, Chase urged me closer and said, “So what about tonight?”
“Tonight?”
“Our date.”
“Oh, right.” I hit the side of my head, like I was trying to knock some sense into myself. I was hoping he’d laugh, but he didn’t.
“I didn’t forget. Well, okay, I did. I didn’t know Tara was coming.”
“We can do it another time, or they can join us.”
“A double date?”
“Sure. We don’t have many of those here.”
I smiled. “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind? They’re only going to be here a few days, so I do want to spend as much time with them as I can. And I don’t want to not go out with you.”
He smiled at that. “It’s not a problem. I’ll come by at seven. It’ll be fun.”
We left the shop right after Tara made her choices.
“Okay, I know this might not be fair, but I want to buy fudge from every shop that’s open so I can do a taste comparison,” Tara said.
“Fudge is fudge,” Shaun said.
“A lot you know,” she said, handing him the bag. “You get to carry it all for me.”
We did a taste test at every shop and always made a purchase afterward. Other than the shopping I’d done earlier in the week with Nathalie and her friends, I hadn’t visited many of the other stores. Tara is a shop-till-she-drops kind of girl.
A lot of the stores weren’t open so she considered it a real find whenever we ran across one that was.
We walked up the hill to see the huge, white hotel where some old movie had been made.
“It’s like something straight out of the novels my mom reads. I can picture women in long dresses with parasols walking through the gardens here in the summer,” Tara said. “And you said actors hang out around here, right?”
“Apparently Nathalie had a sighting, but winter is probably not the best time to do a movie-star hunt,” I said.
“I guess not.”
We walked back toward Chateau Ashleigh, then went past it to the island lighthouse, where we were able to take a tour.
When we finally got home, Tara insisted on going into the backyard and building a snowman.
I thought about taking her to see the bat cave, but I wasn’t certain I could find it. And asking Josh to go with us probably wasn’t a smart move.
Especially when I kept thinking about how much fun it would have been to have shared the day with him, too.
In the summer, I figured V.P. would be packed, but that night when Shaun, Tara, Chase, and I arrived, maybe a dozen kids were hanging around.
I wasn’t surprised to see Nathalie, but I was taken aback when she made a place at our table for her and Josh—mostly because I was still worried that she’d realize her boyfriend had kissed me. And that I’d kissed him back.
“You don’t mind, do you?” she asked.
“No, of course not,” I said. “Friends make room for friends.”
“And we’re best friends!” she said.
Sometimes she was a little over the top, but it was part of her charm. I couldn’t not like her, and I so didn’t want to hurt her.
“Tomorrow night is the Victorian Walk,” she said to Tara and Shaun. “I’m selling tickets. All proceeds benefit the Historical Preservation Society. You get to walk through the old Victorian houses and the night ends with a dance at the Hotel.”
While the island had other hotels, I’d already learned that there was only one “the Hotel”—the large one on the hill that had been used as a setting for a movie.
“And best all”—she paused for emphasis—“everyone goes in costume.”
“What? Like Halloween?” Shaun asked.
Nathalie looked at him as if he had spoken in a language she didn’t understand. “No. We all wear Victorian dresses.”
“I’m not wearing a dress,” Shaun said.
Nathalie rolled her eyes. “The girls wear dresses. The guys wear suits. It’s totally fun. My boyfriend and I already have our costumes, but tomorrow I can meet you at the shop that rents the Victorian clothes. We’ll have a blast picking out the perfect outfits for you.”
Okay, I had to admit that in the past few days I’d started to develop an appreciation for the houses on the island. And what better way to get to know our neighbors than to take a walk through their houses? On one hand, it seemed a little nosy, but on the other hand, I figured I could learn a lot about fitting in.
I looked at Tara and smiled. “I think it could be fun.”
“I’m in. It’ll sure be something we’ve never done before.”
“Great,” Nathalie said. “I’ll bring the tickets over tomorrow. They’re twenty dollars each.”
“Dude, no way,” Shaun said.
“It all goes to an important cause,” Nathalie emphasized. “All my best friends go.”
And as we all knew, I was one of her best friends.
“I’ll take care of the tickets,” I said. “Mom and Dad always support charity events. One of them will spring for it. No problem.”
“Excellent,” Nathalie said. “You won’t regret it. It’s totally awesome.”
While she went on to explain some of the things we could expect tomorrow night, I snuck a glance at Josh. It was obvious that he was trying really hard not to look at me, not to show any interest.
The bad thing was, it made me like him even more.
“So listen, my boyfriend and I have to go sell some more tickets. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow at Forever in Time,” Nathalie finally said.
“Isn’t that a photo studio?” I asked. I remembered passing it on one of my walks.
“Yeah, it’s one of those places where people dress in clothes from another era and have their photos taken. They have lots of costumes, so they rent them out for the Victorian Walk. It’s not like we have an abundance of tourists at the moment. So are we a go?”
“Definitely a go,” I told her. I knew it would be fun, especially since I wasn’t wearing ink on my forehead saying “I kissed your boyfriend,” so she’d never know.
I watched Josh take Nathalie’s hand as they walked away.
I forced myself to turn my attention to Chase. “I’m starving.”
“Josh said he took you to the bat cave,” Chase said.
I nodded. “Did he tell you we woke up the bats?”
“Said it was the most memorable trip he’d ever taken to the cave.”
I had a feeling he wasn’t referring only to what happened with the bats.
The waitress came over and took our order. After we finished eating, Chase and Shaun went to play darts. I really liked Chase, and he was fun, but we both knew he was with me only because he couldn’t be with Nathalie. And I was with him because…well, I didn’t even want to think about that.
Weren’t we a great pair?
Tara leaned toward me. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Chase, but does Nathalie even know Josh’s name?”
“You caught on to the ‘my boyfriend’ thing, huh?”
“Totally. It’s like okay, I got it, you’ve got a boyfri
end.”
“It’s sorta like he’s a trophy.”
“No kidding.”
“Although to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever heard her call anyone by name. I’m her new best friend, by the way.”
Tara laughed. “Yeah, well, you’re my old best friend and you know what they say about old friends.”
“They’re gold.”
She touched her mug of hot chocolate against mine. “You better believe it, girlfriend.”
The next morning Shaun opted out of going to the photography studio/costume shop. He wanted to hang with Josh—which meant inhaling paint fumes all day, but whatever. And I was grateful to have some time with Tara. We’d stayed up really late again talking in bed, but we still had so much to talk about.
“Shaun just bailed because he knows I want some girl time with you,” Tara said as we walked toward the business end of town. “He’s great that way.”
“You’re really crazy about him,” I said.
“Oh, yeah. I know he’s pretty much stuck in one emotion level, but it works for us.”
“That’s all that matters,” I said, and I really meant it.
“So what we have to do now is find you a boyfriend,” she announced.
“You know how I feel about having a boyfriend.”
“I know, but come on. There aren’t many guys here, and if you don’t lock on to one of them, you’re gonna have a lot of dateless nights.”
“I’m not worried. I think Chase will always be available for a date or just to hang out.”
“How many dateable guys are on this island, anyway?”
“I don’t know.”
“The way Nathalie was hawking the tickets for tonight’s thing—”
“Victorian Walk.”
“—well, we’re bound to see a lot of guys for you to look over. And Shaun is a great judge of character.”
Yeah, that was what I wanted: for Shaun of the Dead to select my boyfriend for me.
Thirty minutes later, Tara and I were standing in the back room of the photography studio, staring in a mirror at our Victorian getups. Her dress was a deep blue, mine a lilac. They had bustles and trains, flounces and lace. We were wearing gloves that wouldn’t keep our hands warm on a cool day.
“I feel like one of the heroines in those books my mom reads,” Tara said.