Winter White (25 page)

“I am throwing in the paintbrush,” Mira said, standing up to greet him. Just the sight of him gave her goose bumps. “If I don’t stop painting now, I’ll never stop. I’ll keep adding details till I ruin the whole thing.”

Kellen poked his head around her easel. “Can I see it?”

Mira blocked the canvas. “No! We have to do it at the same time and make a drumroll.” She rolled the sound off her tongue. “Don’t you think that would be fun?”

Kellen shook his head and smiled. “You’re a bit much with the fanfare, but okay.” He popped the top off his tube and used clips to pin his canvas to the easel. Mira tried not to peek as he turned his easel to face hers. They both stood in front of their work. “Ready?” He made a drumroll noise with
his tongue, and Mira did the same. Then they both stepped aside and walked over to the other’s easel.

Mira stood in front of Kellen’s canvas at a loss for words. Kellen’s self-portrait was so realistic that she could have mistaken it for a photograph. The artsy modern twist told her otherwise. Kellen seemed to see himself as Two-Face, that character in
Batman
. The left side of his picture was decidedly Kellen at Emerald Prep: his hair neatly combed, his navy blazer pressed, his red tie knotted to perfection, his smile faint. He was the friendliest guy she knew, even if he wasn’t the most outgoing. That burst of energy was saved for the Kellen she was beginning to know, the one who appeared on the right side of the portrait. This Kellen wore a paint-splattered tee with the Big Brothers Big Sisters logo on it (he mentored a boy Connor’s age) and lacrosse shorts, and had slightly messy hair. There was paint under his nails and a running insignia painted on his wrist. His smile was much wider and, if possible, his right eye brighter.

Mira stared harder. “Is the right side of your face wider?”

Kellen stood so close, he grazed her shoulder. “I can’t believe you caught that.” He reached over her to point something out with his hand. “It’s slight, so I don’t look cartoonish, but I wanted to show the side of me I prefer—not scholarship boy, the real me.”

His work was amazing. “If you don’t win, I might have to boycott Sup, and that would be a shame because their Oreo cheesecake was out of this world.”

“Get used to the cheesecake famine, then, because you are the one who is going to win.” Kellen put both hands on her shoulders and turned her around. “And you said you couldn’t paint close-ups. Liar.”

“I’m not lying.” Mira was keenly aware that Kellen still had his hands on her shoulders. “This is the first time I’ve ever done one.”

“You should do it more often then,” Kellen said. “You nailed it.”

The painting was full of raw emotion. She had used the image of the family in the coffee shop that she had spied on in New York and turned it into a scene with her own family. She painted herself staring through a restaurant window as her family happily sat inside and drank hot cocoa without her. This was her way of saying she wished she could be part of that family again and she feared she never would be. She painted each of her family members in agonizing detail. Her dad was at the center, laughing at something Hayden and Connor said. Izzie had a serene smile on her face, like she had finally found where she belonged. Mira’s mom was next to her, the frown lines she had earned since the campaign erased. If someone wasn’t looking closely, they might miss the ghostly girl sitting next to her family. It was a mirror image of Mira outside the window, but this one was relaxed and happy. She had drawn her to represent the girl she used to be before her world was flipped upside down.

“What do you think this painting is about?” Mira asked, and bit her lip.

“It’s you now and you then,” Kellen said. “It’s brilliant.”

Mira breathed a sigh of relief and then panicked again. “What if people think the girl at the table is a ghost? I don’t want them to think I’m dead. The old me is gone, and the new me is confused about what happened to my family. That’s why I’m on one side of the glass, and they’re on the other.” She blushed. Maybe she was getting too deep. “I’m not making sense.”

“You’re making total sense.” Kellen looked at her carefully. “But I hate to think you believe your life is over.”

“I don’t always think that.” She looked down. Their bodies were practically touching. “Sometimes I’m happy.”
Like now
, she thought.

For some reason, Mira looked up, and their eyes locked. This time, nobody looked away. She was acutely aware of the wall clock ticking above their heads, and she kept thinking the longer they stood there, the less chance they’d pull away. Then he leaned down and kissed her. Their arms slowly wound around each other, her hands making their way to his hair, which she’d wanted to run her fingers through forever. The moment was better than she’d imagined, but the kisses were almost desperate, like they’d both waited too long to do this, and she found Hayden in her head. Was she rushing things with Kellen? If she got together with Kellen, would
she fall into the same relationship she had with Taylor? And didn’t Kellen say he didn’t want to be a rebound?

“Wait,” she mumbled through their kisses, feeling the panic choke-hold her. She pulled away and tried to catch her breath. Their noses were still touching, which made it doubly hard to concentrate on what she wanted to say.

“Maybe this is happening too fast,” she said, hating the words even as she said them. “I want to be with you, but I need to figure out who that girl looking through the window is first.” She looked into his green eyes searchingly. “Can you give me time?”

Kellen played with one of her curls. “You are very confusing, Mirabelle Monroe. But yeah, I’ll give you some time.” She exhaled. He was still staring at her intently. “Under one condition: You let me be your escort for cotillion.”

“Seriously?” Mira squeaked, and before she knew it, she was throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him again.

She had a date for cotillion! A dress, a date, and an escort! Suddenly things were looking up.

When they finally tore themselves apart, Kellen grinned at her as he held her waist. “So this is your definition of taking some time?”

She laughed. “That was a thank-you kiss. It’s different.”

Kellen seemed skeptical. He leaned forward, his face lowering to hers. “Then I want a thank-you kiss for your thank-you kiss.” She obliged. They still hadn’t untangled themselves when Hayden walked in a few seconds later.

“My eyes!” Hayden yelled, startling them. They quickly let go and stepped away from each other. “Dude, that’s my baby sister you’re pawing there.”

“Hayden,” Mira whispered, her cheeks flushing hotly.

“What?” Hayden dropped his gym bag and walked over. He had changed into his running clothes. The season was over, but some of the guys still ran the indoor track to keep in shape. “I’m playing the role of protective older brother. Sue me.” He shook Kellen’s hand. “We’re cool, as long as you finally asked her to cotillion.”

“Hayden!” Mira’s voice squeaked. This was getting embarrassing.

“You wanted him to ask you, didn’t you?” Hayden teased. “Isn’t that why we all had to fly to New York only to have you sequester yourself from the family for the whole weekend so you could paint? She found a dress, by the way,” he told Kellen.

“Thanks, Hayden,” she said through gritted teeth. “We’re going to cotillion together, so you can drop it.”

“Well, technically, I asked to be your escort,” Kellen said with a sly smile. “You didn’t actually ask me to cotillion.” He glanced innocently at Hayden. “I need a formal invitation to escort her, right?”

“Definitely.” Hayden kept a straight face. The two of them stared at her, waiting to hear her beg.

She wanted to kill them both. “Kellen,” she said tightly, “will you be my date to cotillion?”

“I guess so,” Kellen said, his mouth twitching. “Since you asked so nicely.”

Hayden applauded. “Now that that’s settled, I’m supposed to get you home for dinner—if you’re actually eating with us tonight.”

“I’m thinking about it,” she said. “I’ve just got to clean my brushes first.”

Hayden didn’t hear her. Instead, he was walking toward Mira’s easel. “Did you paint this?” he asked before she had a chance to jump in front of the painting. “This is good. Wait.” His eyes widened. “Is that us? And is that you? Did you die or something?”

“See?” she complained to Kellen. “It does look like I’m a ghost.”

“It doesn’t,” Kellen insisted, and turned to Hayden to explain. “That is the ghost of Mira past and the girl outside is Mira present.”

Hayden didn’t look convinced. “Has Mom or Dad seen this yet?”

“No,” Mira said quietly, and removed the canvas from the easel. She placed it in her large art bag. “And they’re not going to. I was going to enter it in a contest, but I know I can’t. This painting would cause a lot of problems. Dad has enough as it is.”

Kellen nodded. He understood. He watched the news. “You would have won, you know.”

“Maybe,” Mira said wistfully. “It would have been nice to go up against you.”

“I’ll beat you next time.” He winked. “At least now I have a shot this month. They don’t publicize the prize money, but the winner gets five hundred bucks.”

“Seriously?” Hayden asked.

Kellen nodded. “I don’t joke about money.”

Mira didn’t say anything. She knew Kellen’s family wasn’t poor, but he had mentioned money being tight now and again. The last thing she wanted him to worry about was buying her a Christmas gift, if that’s what he was thinking.

“We should finish cleaning up,” she said again to change the subject. She picked up a crumpled piece of newspaper and saw the name
Monroe
. She smoothed it out. Her dad’s face stared back at her from the cover of the
North Carolina Gazette
. It was a paparazzi-style photo of him holding his hand up to the camera. He never did that.

ANOTHER MONROE LOVE CHILD FOUND! PLUS: RECEIPTS FROM THE NEW YORK TRIP HE TOOK ON NORTH CAROLINA’S DIME!

“The
Gazette
is trash.” Kellen said over her shoulder, and she jumped. She didn’t want him to know how bad things were. She hadn’t realized it herself. This must have been what her dad was yelling about on the phone in Amsale.

“No wonder Dad seemed so stressed in New York,” Hayden said.

“Do you think any of this is true?” Mira asked worriedly.

“No, but no one cares what we think,” Hayden said grimly. “The photographers were still waiting when we got out of the car at school this morning.”

“I know,” she said, feeling worse by the second. She cleaned her brushes and placed them back in their holder while Kellen did the same.

“Someone must be feeding them this stuff.” Hayden pried the paper from her hands and shot a three-pointer into a trash can across the room. “No one knows who. Dad’s opponent, the one the Ingrams were backing, dropped out, so it can’t be him.”

Then who is it?
she wondered. She turned to Kellen. “Are you leaving now, too?”

He shook his head. “My mom has to come into town for her hair appointment, so I said I’d hang around and get a ride home with her later.”

“When is she supposed to be done?” Mira asked.

Kellen looked at his watch. “Not for another two hours.”

“I can’t let you stick around here and beat me to the punch on another masterpiece,” Mira said. “Come home with us and have your mom pick you up there. I’m sure my mom already made dinner.”

Kellen hesitated. “Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out.”

“You’re not.” Mira grabbed his arm. “Let’s go.”

Hayden patted Kellen on the shoulder. “Good luck with her, man. She can be bossy.”

Kellen grinned. “So I’ve noticed.”

When Hayden pulled into the driveway, Mira was surprised to find Callista waiting.

“Hi, guys,” she said, sounding anxious. She glanced at Kellen.

“Kellen, my dad’s PR guru, Callista,” Mira explained. “Callista, this is my…”

“She doesn’t have a title for him yet,” Hayden told Callista. Mira glared at him.

Callista didn’t crack a smile. “Did you guys eat yet?” She pulled two twenties out of her pocket and handed it to Hayden. “Why don’t you go get something. Connor is probably hungry. I’ll go get him for you. Have you seen Izzie? She should go, too.” She adjusted her brown frames absentmindedly.

“Callista, what’s going on?” Mira asked.

“Nothing. Why?” Callista checked her phone for messages. She glanced nervously at Kellen.

“It’s okay,” Mira said. “He knows.”

Callista sighed. “It’s another
Gazette
piece—your father has lost his mind over this one! There are lawyers in his office
right now, and he told me to keep you guys away. He’s threatening to sue them about the story they wrote about him misappropriating state funds. He thinks suing makes him seem less guilty.” She ran her hands through her hair. “I don’t know what to do. We need a turn in this campaign, or your father is not going to have a chance.” She grimaced. “Even I can’t fix every political scandal, and this one is a doozy.”

If Callista was saying that, then Mira had to assume her dad was in really bad shape. “I’m sure something will work out,” she said hopefully.