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“Let me guess,” I said. “Another bouquet of flowers from your mysterious suitor?”
She looked at me and winked. “Not mysterious at all. Just not ready to put him through the sisters’ scrutiny.”
I looked aghast and slammed my hand to my chest. “What? Me and Brooke? Analyze, scrutinize, and give our loving opinions of any new guy?” Of course, that’s what we’d do. If it were me and a new guy, it’d be her and Brooke doing the same. Sisters watched out for each other and triplets might be more protective. We would never stand by and let some guy take advantage.
“Andi?” Brooke called through the house intercom.
“What?”
“You’ve got company.”
I looked at Claudia with a frown. “Ah, yeah. We’ve got company in every corner of the house. Let me go see what’s going on.”
I left Claudia in the kitchen with the staff were working our party and headed to the foyer. To my surprise, Henry Thaxton stood there. Now, Henry and I had a complicated history. We’d met our freshman year at orientation. Henry had been cute and funny—a total charmer. We’d dated off and on through our first three years of college. We’d been good companions and great dates, but we’d never stepped over the line into lovers. I couldn’t put my finger on why not. I’m sure he would have jumped on that opportunity, but then, I’d found most guys would. I was the holdout. I always felt something was missing. I didn’t know what, and I couldn’t even explain what I meant. I only knew he wasn’t the one.
I hadn’t heard from him since he’d broken it off with me in November. I suppose I hadn’t been all that surprised when we’d split. Henry had a history of breaking up with me before any occasion that might require a gift. I got it. He was from a middle-class family who struggled to pay his college bills while they still had three other children in Dallas public schools. I’d thought he was probably embarrassed, thinking I’d expect some fancy, expensive gift since I was raised by parents who were in the top one percent of the top one percent. In other words, my folks were loaded. My folks, not me. But I’d spent my life around money. He hadn’t. People could be intimidated by that, and I always believed that’d been his problem.
I remembered his first visit to my parents’ home. His discomfort had been evident on his face. His conversation skills—one of his best qualities—had dried up at the door. He hadn’t stayed long. Now, he usually came around for our New Year’s Day party. I wasn’t sure if I’d see him this year, but here he was.
“Henry. This is a surprise.”
He raked his fingers through his brown, longish hair. “Is it okay that I came by?”
I laughed and pulled him through the door. “Of course, it is.”
“So, you don’t hate me?”
I scoffed. “I do not. Don’t be ridiculous.” I linked my arm with his and started leading him to where I knew a group of his fraternity brothers were watching the games. “I’m always glad to see a friend.” I pulled him to a stop. “And I do consider you a friend.”
I heard his sigh of relief. “Thanks, Andi. You’re a great person, but…”
“We aren’t meant to be more than friends,” I finished for him. “Come with me. I know where a group of your friends are hanging out. Drinks and food are in the dining room or kitchen. You know to make yourself at home.”
I left him with his buddies and found my sisters huddled together with a group of our sorority sisters.
“You’ll never guess who I just left in the den.”
“Henry Thaxton,” my friend Pamela said. “Brooke told us. Is he wanting you to take him back?”
“Nope. He’s here for the party.”
“Are you okay with that?” Missi asked. “Seems a little rude to crash a party at your ex’s house.”
I laughed. “I’m fine with it. You all know we weren’t the love match of our class. I think it’s probably good that we’ve split now. This last semester will be busy with classes and preparations to move to Connecticut.”
“I can’t believe you’re leaving Texas,” Pamela said. “I never thought I’d see the Carmichael triplets leave the state of Texas.”
“One of us is staying put,” Brooke said, who was attending medical school at Baylor.
“Well, I’m excited,” Dee said. “I’ve dreamed of going to Harvard my whole life. The only thing that would make it perfect was if Andi was going with me.”
I shook my head. “I think it’ll be good for all of us. Besides, think of it as unleashing the power of the Carmichael triplets on the rest of the world.”
Our friends laughed, and I hoped I was right.
Texas lost their post-season bowl, so students weren’t much into the party mood going back to campus after the holidays. That was fine with me. I was ready to hit those books.
When February rolled around, I confess I was surprised I hadn’t heard from Zack Noles. He’d left me the impression he’d be calling, but maybe we hadn’t connected like I’d thought we had. Plus, that Sugar Bowl loss was a tough pill for the team to swallow since they’d been favored by more than a touchdown. I didn’t know anything about the NFL draft and how players were assessed, so I didn’t know if the loss had damaged Zack’s chances. I hoped not, but what did I know?
