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She looked around. The girls were in the dining room, chattering on about Laurel’s most recent date with Caleb.
Mrs. Chamberlain was out on the back porch, smoking a cigarette. No one was watching.
She tiptoed down the hall and peered at the security system. It was a simple setup with an LCD touchscreen, like an iPad, with numbered buttons for entering a code.
Whoever had disabled the alarm would have had to use their fingers. If Thayer hadn’t wiped down the screen after letting himself in, maybe his prints were still on it.
“Sutton?” Madeline’s voice called. Emma looked up to see her standing in the hall, peering at her. “What are you doing?”
“Just checking out this photo,” Emma lied, pointing to a framed black-and-white photograph of a young Paul McCartney that hung next to the alarm.
She scuttled back to the dining table just as Mrs.
Chamberlain brought out chocolate mousses in individual goblets. “Cornelia’s specialty!” she exclaimed. “It’s going to be soooo good!”
The girls made appreciative coos and dug in. When Mrs. Chamberlain returned to the kitchen, Laurel leaned across the table, a hint of chocolate on her lips. “You know what else is going to be good? Our prank on Ethan Landry.” She glanced at Emma, raising her eyebrows. “I hope you asked him to come help us set up tonight.”
“Seriously.” Charlotte clapped her hands together.
“The prank’s going to be amazing!” Madeline cackled with delight. Only Emma stared at her plate, a queasy feeling trickling through her stomach.
Laurel pouted at her from across the table. “What’s wrong, Sutton? Don’t you think it’s a perfect prank?” Emma swallowed a sip of Perrier, its bubbling tartness tickling her nose. The way she saw it, she had two options: buckle to Laurel’s whims and go along with this, or stand up for herself and make Old Emma proud. She took a deep breath.
“Actually, I think it’s a horrible idea,” she said. “We already got Ethan once, remember? I’ve decided. I’m not being part of the prank. You girls will have to go it alone.” Madeline’s face fell. Charlotte wrinkled her nose.
Laurel’s cheeks reddened. “You what?” she snapped.
Emma knew she was doing a little bit of damage to Sutton’s reputation, but she didn’t care. She stood, placing her spoon to the side of her untouched mousse. “Charlotte, please tell your mom thanks for the delicious dinner.
There’s someplace I need to be right now. I’ll see you ladies at the party.” She glanced at Laurel. “I assume you can get a ride with one of them?”
Laurel stared back at Emma, her mouth hanging open.
She didn’t say a word as Emma sailed from the room and out the front door, her head held high. Sutton’s friends watched her the whole way. No one said a word.
And that, I thought, was how you make a dramatic exit.
26
FORECLOSED BUT NOT
FORGOTTEN
When Emma pulled up to Ethan’s driveway, she was still flying high from finally standing up to the girls about the prank. She had a big smile on her face as she exited the car, but her expression quickly shifted when Ethan slunk out his front door and slammed it shut, his stealthy, guilty posture that of someone sneaking out.
“Everything okay?” Emma asked as Ethan jogged across the lawn.
“Sure.” Ethan ran a hand over his close-cropped hair.
“My mom was just giving me shit about chores. That’s all.”
“Been there,” Emma said. “Should I go in and say hi?
I’d like to meet her.”
There was a miniscule pause. “Another time,” Ethan finally said. Then he leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
“You look gorgeous. Love that dress.”
You noticed, Emma thought, butterflies sweeping through her stomach. She smoothed down the skirt of the emerald green dress. “You look pretty good yourself.” Ethan was wearing dark-wash Levi’s and a fitted, olive green button-down that showed off his trim waist and broad shoulders.
Emma gestured to Sutton’s car, and Ethan let out a low, appreciative whistle and got into the passenger seat.
“I’ve only seen this ride from afar—Sutton used to freak if anyone but her friends got near it in the parking lot. I never thought I’d actually get to sit in it.”
“Well, there’s a new Sutton in town,” Emma giggled.
That didn’t mean the new Sutton could mess up my car, I thought in annoyance. Emma better maintain it.
“So the party’s in a foreclosed mansion in the foothills, apparently somewhere called Legends Road,” Emma said.
“Do you know where that is?”
“I’ll show you the way.” A grin spread across Ethan’s face. “An abandoned house. It’s crazy. Sounds much more interesting than the usual Holl ier parties.” Emma smirked. “How many Holl ier parties have you actually been to, loner boy?”
“You got me.” Ethan ducked his head. “Not many.” There was a long pause. Something pulsed in the air between them. Maybe it was that tonight was their first appearance as an actual couple. As Emma shifted gears and sped down Ethan’s street, she realized that her stomach was humming with nerves. She peeked at Ethan, noticing how he was repeatedly licking his lips. Maybe he was nervous, too.
“So what’s wrong with your car?” Emma asked.
Ethan shrugged. “It probably just needs to be jumped.
I’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
They turned onto the main road and passed Sabino Canyon. Emma felt a twinge of dread—it was the spot where she’d first arranged to meet Sutton, and where the cops had found Sutton’s car.
