Page 80 of Mr. Match

“My parents’,” Lauren says, reaching for my hand to give it a squeeze. “They bought the lot a few years before I came to school. It took almost a year to rebuild after they tore the old house down. But it was definitely worth the wait, don’t you think?”

“So you have always lived here?” I peer past her to try to get a glimpse of the interior décor. “By yourself?”

“Stop asking questions,” Lily says, annoyed with me. “It’s just a house, Kat. We’re here to have fun.”

“Would you like a tour, Katya?” Lauren says, ignoring my sister. “I’d love to show you around.”

“Sure,” I say, thrilled at her offer to sanction my inevitable snooping.

“Great. Lily”—she turns to look at my sister—“why don’t you go out back where we have the tent set up? Michelle could use some help.”

“Sure,” Lily says, giving me a sisterly glare. “Но не задавать слишком много вопросов, Катя.”

Since when does my sister speak Russian? Her accent and grammar is terrible, even to my mostly untrained ear, but still. I don’t remember her taking Russian at Parson. And we never spoke it. I can understand it, but I don’t really speak Russian. Not off the cuff like that. Unless she came prepared…

“Oh, that’s adorable!” Lauren says. “You two have your own secret language. I love it!”

Lauren tugs on my hand just enough to let me know we’re moving on to the tour. But my mind is stuck on Lily’s warning. Don’t ask too many questions, Katya.

“So the old house,” Lauren says, leading me into the front room, “was over a hundred years old.”

“Wow,” I say. “I’m surprised you were allowed to tear it down. I thought they had a historical society here?”

“They do.” Lauren laughs. “But my parents are good friends with the mayor.”

“You’re from where again?” I ask, taking in the sleek modern furniture. I happen to love sleek modern furniture, and I know this stuff does not come cheap.

“The Western Slope,” she says. “We run cattle over there.”

“How fun,” I say, eyeing the artwork on the walls. Is that an original Berndnaut Smilde photograph? “How big is your ranch?” I ask, stopping to admire the large framed photo of a hovering man-made cloud inside the halls of some extravagant building.

“A hundred and fifty thousand acres.”

“Well.” I almost choke as I look away from the captivating photo. “That is some spread you have.”

“Do you like this photo? Lily tells me you’re kind of a big deal in the art world.”

“Lily exaggerates,” I say, noting how she skipped right over the part where she admits to unhumble beginnings. “Where was this taken?” I ask, pointing to the photograph. “I don’t recognize this location.”

“Oh, it was a private commission. That’s the Tate Modern in London.”

“Uh-huh.” I turn away from the art and look around nervously for the back door, ready to get the fuck out of here. “You should probably have that thing locked up. It has to be worth quite a bit.”

“Oh, we have the best security,” Lauren says, wrapping her arm in mine to lead me towards the stairs. “We use ShrikeSafe. They are the best, I hear.”

My heart is in full-on gallop mode when I hear the name Shrike come out of her mouth. And all I want to do right now is go grab my sister and get the hell away from this creepy chick.

“Let me show you the upstairs. We absolutely adore Lily, Katya. I just want to let you know she’s a delight in every way. So smart, so pretty.” I don’t even have a chance to object to climbing the stairs with her, that’s how smooth her transition is.

When we get to the top, she points to the line of bedrooms. There are a lot of bedrooms, and this house is definitely longer than it is wide, because it’s certainly not anything close to as small as it appeared from outside. “Only Michelle, Angie, and I live here at the moment. But I think Kelly is moving in next week. And we hope that Lily will move in as well.”

“Hmmm,” I say, controlling all the feelings I have right now. “I really don’t think this is her cup of tea, you know? She likes her dorm.”

“Oh, come on, Katya. We both know you don’t want her here. So stop pretending. I want us to be friends. If there’s something you don’t like about us, just say so. Maybe I can fix it.”

“Yes, well, I don’t really know you ladies well enough not to like you. I just think that a… what is the Antimony Association? A club? A sorority? Whatever it is, I just don’t think it’s the right place for Lily.”

“She has told me how much you despise the sisterhood.”