Persuaded (22 page)

I chuckled and allowed the door to click shut before I let out a whoop.
Gregory is free!
I hadn’t felt so lighthearted in forever. And this time my tears were for a whole different reason.

I was still dancing on air and positively sparkling when Sean picked me up for our dinner date. I couldn’t even tell you what I had chosen to wear. It didn’t matter. The day was wonderful! The world was wonderful! Everything was wonderful!

He was a bit blown over by my appearance, but I assumed his double-take was a good thing. “Wow! You look—”

“Scrumptious?” I asked and then giggled.
Where did that word come from? I never use that word.

He raised his eyebrows but seemed to like it, if his smile was anything to go by. “Very appetizing.” This time he had brought me a nice box of chocolates, and I felt slightly guilty when I took them. But then I realized it would have hurt his feelings more if I hadn’t taken them.

Dinner was fabulous. He took me to my favorite Mexican restaurant, Sí Señor! It was Friday, so a mariachi band played all evening. Behind Sean in the courtyard was the big, tiered water fountain in the center of the tiled seating area. I grinned and tapped my foot to the music, while the waiter brought us our complimentary chips and specialty salsas. There were two different sauces. Instantly, I dipped my chip in the smooth, spicy sour cream one.
Mmm—so good.
It was my favorite.

Sean chuckled and did the same. Apparently, it was his favorite, too.

Over dinner I learned that his family owned a large ranch in Bloomfield and he had just graduated from Bloomfield High. The most interesting thing I learned, however, was about his past and his Navajo heritage, which sounded amazingly cool. I had always been interested in Native American culture but had never really been close enough to anyone to ask about their traditions. What I would give to have the kind of extended family Sean talked of. Having so many cousins, aunts, and uncles seemed almost foreign to me. I had cousins, I just never saw them. Most of my extended family lived on the West Coast. Even when we had the money to travel, my parents never wanted to go visit our family.

By the time the yummy sopapillas had been delivered, I had found out so much about Sean that I probably knew him better than I knew Sydney. I chuckled when he accidentally squirted too much honey onto his sopapilla. I fared better until I tried to put the warm, crispy fried dessert into my mouth. Honey dribbled down my chin and over my fingers. I laughed out loud and dabbed at it with my napkin, but it still didn’t help the stickiness.

Sean chuckled with me. “Here’s the deal. I’ll pay for dinner and pull the car around while you wash up.”

“You don’t have to pull the car around. I can walk.”

“Yeah, but if you haven’t noticed, it’s raining.”

I looked across the restaurant and out the window and was surprised to see it pouring outside. “I’m not made of sugar, you know.”

“So?”

“Last I checked I’m not going to melt in a little bit of rain.” I actually loved rain showers. Just then a massive lightning bolt lit up the darkened sky. “Wow!”

“You were saying?”

“I’ll meet you by the front door.” I giggled.

Sean wiggled his eyebrows at me in acknowledgement, and I hurried off with a huge grin on my face.

It only took a minute or two to clean off the mess. When I left the restroom, Sean was still sitting at the table, waiting for the check. I was just about to join him when the front door opened and I stepped back, coming face to face with Gregory.

Twenty: Well, Hello There

“Gregory!” I gasped.

“Andy!” He looked just as shocked as I felt.

My heart began to pound. It seemed like I hadn’t seen him in forever.

More people came in out of the rain and jostled Gregory closer to me. “Sorry. Are you leaving? Have you eaten?”

I smiled. “Yes. I’ve just finished.”

“You can’t leave yet.”

“No?”
Okay.

“Uh, it’s raining. You’ll get wet.”

I grinned. “It’s no big deal, really. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You can have my umbrella.” He held it out.

I smiled down at the wet umbrella and shook my head. “No, no. I’m fine.” I glanced back up at him. “Thank you, though.”

His eyes sparkled down into mine and I wished the whole room would disappear so I could be alone with him. He stepped closer as a loud, laughing group of people burst through the door. With a tug on my elbow, Gregory gently propelled me to the side of the waiting area, away from the door. We shared a little alcove with a fake plant, but it was a bit quieter there.

“How have you been?” His eyes roamed over my features.

My heart galloped into my throat. “Good.” I bit my lip to stop it from trembling. His eyes slowly lowered there, and he took a step closer. All at once I caught a whiff of his cologne, and my eyes involuntarily fluttered closed. “What is that?”

“Hmm?”

“W–what is that smell? It’s so good.”

“Mexican food.” He chuckled near my ear.

Gregory moved closer, and my eyes flew open as tingles ran down my spine. His stare caused my mind to go completely blank. I literally couldn’t remember what I’d been saying.

“Amanda?”

In some distant corner of my mind I could hear someone calling for me.

“Amanda?”

Gregory grinned. “I think someone is calling you.”

“What?”

“Amanda? There you are. What are you doing back here in the corner?” Sean’s face burst through my subconscious, and I glanced up.

Gregory looked like someone had just slapped him. “Hello, Sean,” he murmured.

It was as if Sean hadn’t heard him at all, or didn’t want to acknowledge him—I couldn’t decide which. Because in the next instant, almost over Gregory’s words, Sean said to me, “I’ve got the car in front. Are you ready to leave?”

“I—uh—” But Sean had my arm and was pulling me away from Gregory. I barely had enough time to mumble an embarrassed and hurried goodbye before I was out the door.

The next day didn’t start off too promising. Sydney was fighting off what she called jet lag and was definitely making the rest of us suffer. I laughed to myself at the fact that her “long” flight had lasted less than an hour.

“What do I have to do to get some freakin’ sleep around here, people?” Sydney growled. “Does the TV have to be so flippin’ loud? Seriously! And whoever heard of watching TV at nine in the morning, anyway? Hello? Really, you all need to get a life!” She stomped back into her room and slammed the door, rattling the whole house.

My dad shook his head and lowered the television volume a couple of notches and then promptly ignored it while he answered emails on his laptop.

My stepmom had decided to cook us all something “healthy” for breakfast. If the aroma coming from the kitchen was anything to go by, I was afraid I wasn’t going to be breaking my fast anytime soon. On the family computer, I answered a couple of emails from Collin, congratulating him on his engagement and thanking him for sharing the latest news about Kylie.

The way things looked so far, her family would fly her home on the Wentworths’ jet next week. They were hoping she would recover faster in a more familiar environment. She was still paralyzed from the waist down, but late last night she had felt a painful tingling in a few of the toes on her left foot. According to Collin that was a good sign, and he was elated that the doctors had said she may eventually be able to stand—if not walk—without support.

Yeah, okay, so I admit it. Reading those emails, as positive as they were, depressed me a little. I had missed Kylie the last few weeks, and I wasn’t sure that when I did get to see her, she’d ever be the same again. The phone rang and I heard my stepmom pick it up.

Maybe I should make something for Kylie when she comes home.
I thought.
What would she really like?
I wasn’t part of the whole artsy-crafty-talented side of the universe, but maybe there was something I could do to help cheer her up. It was a given that she would need cheering up. Kylie used to be a cheerleader, for goodness sake—it was her job to keep the games moving and exciting in high school. Actually, I didn’t think there was a girl in our high school who didn’t wish she was Kylie. She was so energetic and beautiful and fun. I had always been surprised that we’d managed to stay friends as long as we had. I mean, friends who are polar opposites in high school are just a rarity.

Anyway, after this accident and with her new life looming ahead, I wondered what Kylie Russell would be like. I was almost certain she wouldn’t be the same girl I had always known.

“That was Suzanne Wentworth!” Veronica gushed as she hung up the phone. “She has just invited us all to a symphony concert tonight at San Juan College, here in Farmington. I’m so excited!”

A symphony concert? Tonight? Since when has my stepmom been into classical music?
“Do you know what it’s for?” I turned off the computer and walked into the kitchen. The aroma of something “healthy” nearly killed me. Quickly, before my stepmom noticed, I stepped back into the family room and peeked my head around the corner.

Veronica’s back was still toward me as she worked at the stove. “Oh, it’s a breast cancer awareness concert. Suzanne is a big advocate, so she bought a ton of tickets. She’s been calling around to get people to use them.”

“Oh. So what’s the dress code?”

“Nice, of course. We’re going to a symphony.”

Good grief. I’m going to have to dig out my heels. I hope I don’t fall on my head.
“What time?”

My stepmom turned and found me. “What are you doing over there? Anyway, it starts at eight
PM
. But since we are going as the Wentworths’ special guests, I want us all ready to leave by seven. We’ll be expected to take our places early.

“Oh.”
I wonder if Gregory will be there. I will so die if
he is.

“Breakfast is ready!”

Speaking of dying.
“Uh, just a minute, Veronica,” I said. “I . . . uh, you go on without me. I want to make sure I have my clothes ready for the concert tonight. You know, to see if I need anything washed. I’ll eat in a bit.” I made my escape before she could protest.