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My mother sticks her head into the room. “Petal, you wore that to the auction. Wear something different.”
“Mom, do you think that guy paid any attention to what I was wearing? He was probably just relieved I didn’t have scales growing all over my face. I’m telling you, he wants to go on this date probably even less than I do.”
If that’s possible.
Mom looks at Lucy and Gilly for support. They nod politely. They’re not about to go up against her. They’ve known her all their lives and remember all too well what happened the time she caught us skipping school.
My mother does not mess around.
“Look at all these dresses I brought over, Mrs. Parker,” Gilly says. “Can’t say I didn’t try.”
Thanks, pal.
The doorbell rings and Mom disappears, muttering something about her cable car museum steering committee.
I twirl around in my dress.Thisis what I’m wearing. It’s perfect. “Guys, are you still coming up to Sonoma this weekend? I can’t wait for you to see the new adults-only section in Twisted Hearts. Talk about steamy reads.”
Defeated, Gilly stuffs her dresses back in her duffel, and Lucy plops down on my bed, reaching for one of the romances on my nightstand.
She licks her lips and skips to the sex scenes. “Yowza. This shit is hot.”
Which, incidentally, are easy to find since I marked them with stickies.
“I’m coming to Sonoma for sure. I want to see what other naughty stuff you guys are putting in your adults-only section. Ifit’s like this, I may spend my whole paycheck. What about you, Gills? You’re driving, right?” Lucy asks.
She nods. “Oh yes. Got the time off work. I’m dying to get out of the city for a little wine country weekend. But why do I have to drive? I always drive.”
They start going back and forth about who has the better road trip car while I reach inside my backpack for my buzzing phone.
Gilly plants her hands on her hips. “Please tell me you have a proper handbag, Petal. You cannot take that backpack on a date.”
But I don’t answer. I can’t. A slow kick to the stomach takes my breath away and I am simultaneously pissed off and mad at myself for being pissed off.
“What is it?” Lucy asks.
“It’s Andy. Again.”
9
PETAL
It’s all so embarrassing.
I feel like one of those kids who’s going to their first dance, where Mom and the date’s parents, as well as all the neighbors, are hovering, fussing, and snapping endless photos.
Who knew that at the age of twenty-seven, I’d be right back where I was when I was fifteen, suffering through braces, glitter eyeshadow, and an ugly dress my mother insisted was ‘on-trend.’
Ever since, I have not trusted the term ‘on trend.’
Thisis the hornet’s nest I am about to walk into.
The doorbell chimes and I rush downstairs before anyone else can answer. Gilly and Lucy are squealing from the top of the stairs, and the click of Mom’s heels is getting closer. In a rush to escape, I fly through the front door, pulling it closed as fast as I can, and keeping my hand on the knob so no one on the other side can pull it back open.
In the split second I do all this, I also careen into what feels like a big brick wall.
Rake’s chest.
My nose smashes into one of his buttons, which hurts like hell, and when I pull my face away, there’s a smudge of my lipstick on his shirt.
