Page 66 of Crew Girl

She walked her fingers up his chest, then laid her hands flat against it, grinning up at him. She never could resist bourbon chocolate.

“If we do that, Josh,” she said, “I won’t have time for my hair appointment. You know Alejandro hates being rushed.”

“I know. I just thought we could be a little spontaneous.”

She gave his chest a pat like the matter was already settled and scooped up her iPad. “Maybe we can. Later.”

Someone knocked at the door. Britney jumped up again. “Oooh! That might be the jeweler.”

It was DeeDee, Brit’s mom. Still rocking her Jackie-O-as-a-senator vibes.

“Mom!” Brit didn’t look happy. “I thought we were going to meet up when the dance started.”

DeeDee pulled her daughter into a hug. “Hello there, my Fall Formal Queen.” She gave Josh the same treatment. “And her King.”

“Lovely to see you, Senator Garner. You got in from Beacon Hill okay?”

“Yes. I got out early for once. Thought I’d use the window of opportunity to bring my daughter out for a Night Before The Fall Formal mani-pedi and dinner.”

Britney threw Josh a look like, Does no one understand the pressure I’m under? “Sorry, Mom. I’m on a tight schedule. Maybe you can go with Baloo. See you tomorrow, okay?”

DeeDee did not look pleased as Brit shooed them both out of the suite. No one messed with Britney’s well-laid plans. No one.

TEAGAN

The princess sheet Teagan had assured her mother she would never use again was doing a good job in its new role: a salon cape. “I still can’t believe you packed this.”

“Why?” her mom asked, teasing a lock of Teagan’s hair around the curling iron.

Because… like the duffel bag full of her dad’s stuff she’d found a couple of months ago on a hunt for the curling iron, it should’ve been left behind.

“I liked it when I was, like, eight years old, Mom. Nine, max.” It was thirteen, actually, but she was pretty sure her mom wasn’t going to fact-check her.

“I packed it, darling daughter, because it reminds me of the days when I wasn’t the bane of your existence.” She met Teagan’s eyes in the mirror. “Remember those days? Long, long ago?”

“Very fun— Ow! Careful!”

“Stop squirming.”

“You’re not the one who’s panicking about running out of time. I’m getting picked up any minute, and I don’t want to start my date in my princess bedsheet.”

“Yes, m’lady.” Her mother released a curl, curtsied, then wound another one into the iron. “So… this date… he’s a rower…?”

“You met Cam at the regatta.”

“Yes.” Her mom gave a couple of exaggerated nods. “He seemed… nice?”

“You don’t remember him, do you?”

“I do!” She released another curl, wound a final tress into the iron. “He was the one in the hat.”

“Mom. They were all in hats.”

The final curl fell into place. “And we’re done!” She didn’t let Teagan take off the princess sheet until they were in front of the mirror. “Ready for the big reveal?” Ella swept the sheet away and caught her breath. “Oh!”

“Oh? What does ‘oh’ mean in this context, Mother?”

“You look stunning, Teagan. Truly beautiful.” Mom put her arms around Teagan from behind, careful not to touch her hair. Smiling at her mom in a mirror wasn’t a normal thing, but it felt strangely natural. Like they were finally figuring out how mothers and daughters who liked each other behaved.