I ran my finger over the album’s plastic page, tracing my sister’s grin. Cheeks bunched up high, mouth thrown open in laughter.I’d never seen her look so happy. “You must’ve had an amazing time,” I said wistfully. I wasn’t sad exactly…but knowing Rose had to leave home to find that kind of happiness sent a pang through my heart.
She nodded. “It was the best trip of my life.”
“You never said… How did you guys meet?”
“On my first cruise,” she answered, eyes sparkling. “There’s this tea party where guests can meet the Disney princesses, and he worked it. Obviously not as a princess. He was a waiter, saving for culinary school. Anyway, about halfway through the event, he tripped and dumped an entire pitcher of juice down my dress.”
“Thatmust’ve gone over well.” I’d never known my sister to be the cool, calm, collected type.
“I was livid,” she said, talking with her hands. “But Disney has this rule that we can’t break character while in costume, so I had to smile and laugh and pretend the OJ running down my cleavage was no big deal. In reality, all I wanted to do was wring his neck.”
I stifled a laugh as I tried to imagine Rose restraining her temper. It was easier to picture her in a Cinderella costume, swearing like a sailor as steam poured from her ears. Little girls crying, teacups shattering as they fell to the floor, while Rose lunged across the table to throttle poor Nicoli.
“I take it he got an earful later?”
“That was the plan,” Rose admitted, “but before I got the chance, he cornered me and begged for my forgiveness. Seriously, on his kneesbegged. It was so sweet that I melted. There was nowhere to buy flowers on the ship, but he went to the gift shop and purchasedaBeauty and the Beastlight-up rose. It was cheesy, plastic, and probably cost him a week’s salary, but it was so thoughtful.”
Rose,melt? No wonder Nicoli had lasted so long. Guys normally only made it a month tops with her.
“Then there was the accent,” she continued to gush. “God, I was a total sucker for the way he rolled hisRwhen he said my name.”
“So the rest is history?” I asked.
She smiled. “I think so. We’ve had our rough patches and obstacles, but things are going really well. We just moved in together, which is a pretty big step, but it feels right.Wefeel right.” She shut the photo album and set it on the coffee table before smirking at me. “Now, not that I knowanythingabout boy bands, but your friend Alec… Is he who I think he is?”
“Ah, yeah,” I muttered, not sure why I felt shy admitting this. “We also met via a spilled drink. I was at a charity event, and he accidentally dumped a soda down the front of my dress.”
I spent the next ten minutes recounting the masquerade and everything that happened after, from sharing blueberry milk shakes at the diner to making out in a tree during a game of Cops and Robbers.
When I finished talking, Rose’s smile had grown tenfold. “He sounds amazing.”
Nodding, I tucked a curl behind my ear. “He is.”
“But? You sound…off.” She studied me for a beat before cocking her head. “Does his fame bother you?”
I traced the floral pattern of the couch cushion with my finger, considering. “To be honest, we haven’t known each other longenough for me to say. I’ve seen how it affects his life—like everywhere he goes, people want to take pictures with him—but he’s generous about that, and it’s never gotten to the point of bothering me.”
“Then whatisbothering you? Because something is. I can tell.”
Wassomething bothering me? I stared at my nails as if the answer I sought would suddenly be painted there in my favorite coral polish.
These past few days, I’d been consumed by thoughts of my sister. I was so focused on finding her that I hadn’t spent much time thinking about me and Alec. I liked him, I really did…but maybe she was right. After the talk I’d had with Alec last night, I wasn’t sure where I stood with him. Were we just friends with benefits? Dating? If ever there was a time to use Facebook’s It’s Complicated relationship status, it was now.
On top of that, I had yet to get to the bottom of the whole Violet James thing, and I couldn’t help thinking back to the conversation I’d overheard between him and Stella.You’re not being honest either, she’d told him.
And that made me wonder… Was Alec hiding something from me?
The thought made me feel hollow.
The last thing I needed in my life was more lies. First it was Mom with Rose’s letters. Then when I found out Asha and Boomer were secretly dating. Now I was second-guessing my feelings.
“Don’t laugh, okay?” I said after some time. “At the masquerade, I felt an instant connection with Alec. He’s an incredibly reserved person, but he opened up to me. I don’t know how to explain it, but it was kind of like hearing a new song on the radio youinstantly love. Completely unfamiliar, but it sets your soul on fire. Like it was written just for you, and you want to sing at the top of your lungs even if you don’t know the words. That’s how it feels with him.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“I don’t think he’s been entirely honest with me.”
Rose raised a brow. “About what?”
