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Dad raised his eyebrows at her, while I offered a sweet smile. It no longer mattered what Addison or her mother or anyone at school thought of me. With Max as my boyfriend, Millie, Tenn, Cullen and Phoenix as my friends, and even Bianca as my new doubles partner, I was no longer insecure about being Taylor Frank, the scholarship girl from the other side of the bridge.
“You’re at Mrs. Jacques’s table?” Addison spluttered.
Not knowing Alize’s last name, Dad looked down his nose and replied in a phoney French accent, “Yes, we’re with A-lee-zayyyyy!”
I giggled as we followed Addison to the front, waving at Millie and Cullen as we passed by.
Alize’s eyes brightened as I introduced her to Dad, and she made me sit next to her. She looked stunning with her hair done up in a tight bun, showing off elegant earrings and a matching necklace. They looked like diamonds, not that I’d ever seen real diamonds that big. Her purple dress had a classic scoop neckline, and I was quick to point out that it matched Dad’s tie perfectly.
Within seconds, the three of us were talking all things tennis, and we were joined by another couple, the Watsons, who I’d seen at the courts before. That left three seats on our table, and I felt bad that Alize hadn’t been able to find anyone else to fill them. Well, if she’d had to invite Dad and me, she must’ve been quite desperate.
But her eyes lit up, indicating more guests were arriving.
“Oh, here comes my favorite boy!” she exclaimed, making me spin around in my chair.
Max stood there in a tux and a blue cummerbund, indeed looking like a movie star. Next to him was his father, and a woman who I presumed was his mother.
“Mrs. J!” Max approached Alize and they embraced warmly, leaving me with a gaping mouth. I didn’t know what was going on. Dad had risen and was shaking hands with Mr. Saunders and being introduced to Mrs. Saunders, while I stood there like I was in the throes of stage fright.
“You didn’t tell me,” I said, though I wasn’t sure if I was addressing Max or Alize.
“Mrs. J kept telling me about this girl who plays tennis with her,” Max said. “Who purposely misses balls so she doesn’t look bad.”
I frowned. “She’s the drop shot queen. I can’t get anywhere near them!” The truth was probably somewhere in the middle—some of Alize’s shots were weak and barely got over the net, making it impossible to get to them.
Alize laughed. “She’s such a darling. So kind to this old lady. And this boy,” she tapped Max’s arm, “he does a perfect job on my lawns, doesn’t leave a blade of grass out of place.”
She squeezed the both of us, bringing us closer together. “You both make me so happy.” Alize shifted along a seat, telling Max to sit next to me.
Max leaned and murmured into my ear. “So, you were going to surprise me, huh?”
“You knew all along that I was going to be here?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yes, and can I say how beautiful you look?”
I blinked, not sure how to handle the compliment. Beautiful was a bold statement, one that made my heart sing.
“Thank you,” I said shyly. “You’re a little distracting yourself. In this tux.” I playfully fingered his bow tie. I lowered my voice to a whisper. “To be honest, Dad and I were a bit nervous about coming, but we didn’t want to let Alize down. I didn’t want her sitting on her own.”
Max’s brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed. “You don’t know who Alize is, do you?”
I pouted, not sure what he meant, but I was quite defiant with my answer. “She plays tennis everyday. Your brother even coaches her a couple of days a week.”
Max’s smile was kind, if not mildly mocking. “The Jacques family were one of the founders of the Country Club. And it was Mrs. J’s late husband who helped establish the tennis courts.”
“Oh,” I said, my cheeks flushing as I remembered the two indoor courts situated inside the Leo Jacques Pavilion. “Is she the lady you planted the bulbs for?”
Max nodded, grinning widely. “Sure is.”
“I thought she was just a nice old lady who loved tennis,” I muttered, embarrassed that I’d thought I was doing Alize a favor when all the time she’d been helping me.
“She is,” Max said, “and she thinks you’re amazing.” He reached for my hand and lightly stroked it. “Which I happen to agree with.”
Butterflies raced through me at a frantic rate and I was lost for words. Somehow everything was surreal. Here we were in a classy Country Club, Dad in an animated conversation with Alize and the Saunders, and Max and I discreetly holding hands under the table.
The night was a lot of fun, our team acing the rom-com movie questions, but not doing so well on the action movies. And Dad surprisingly knew more about celebrities than I did! Our team ended up coming third and we were each awarded gift bags for our prize. Max went up to the front to collect them, and he came back and distributed them around the table one at a time. He was very dramatic about it, handing the first one to Alize. She laughed as she pulled out a bottle of interior car cleaner, a spa treatment voucher and a jar of extra hot chilli sauce. Dad’s bag included a gift certificate for the driving range, shower gel and a bag of coffee beans. I was mildly suspicious when Max kept bypassing me, but I supposed it was out of respect for the adults.
“Taylor,” he said, finally holding a bag in front of me and making me reach in.
