Free In Every Heartbeat by Kim Vogel Sawyer

“Elisabet Conley, I could throttle you!”
    Libby jolted, her spine connecting with the back of the chair. “What on earth for?”
    “You didn’t warn me what a charmer Bennett is. Had I been warned, I would have prepared myself. I must look a mess in the same dress I wore all day . And I didn’t take the time to apply rouge or brush my hair . . .” She pinched her cheeks and then smoothed her wavy blond hair behind her ears, her gaze seeking Bennett across the room.
    Libby held back a huff of annoyance. “You look fine, Alice-Marie.”
    Alice-Marie heaved a deep, dramatic sigh. “Oh, I’m so relieved you haven’t laid claim to him. I should hate to have a man come between us, but I’m positively smitten!”
    Smitten? With Bennett? Libby almost laughed. She looked over her shoulder at Bennett, who was busily loading his plate with slices of roast beef. Turning back to Alice-Marie, she asked, “But why?”
    Alice-Marie stared at Libby. “Why? Oh my!” She fanned herself with one fluttering hand, her lips forming an O of astonishment. “That unruly red hair; those boyish freckles; his broad shoulders and dimpled chin . . . Elisabet, my dear, he’s simply darling !”
    Bennett . . . darling? Libby opened her mouth to protest, but Petey interrupted.
    “I’m going to get some dessert.” He pushed against the table with both palms, rising. “I saw apple pie and a white cake. Do you want something?” He looked back and forth between the girls.
    “No thank you,” Libby said.
    Alice-Marie shook her head. Petey ambled away in his hitch-legged gait. Libby turned to Alice-Marie again. “I suppose one might consider Bennett . . .” She couldn’t quite bring herself to use the word darling . “Appealing,” she finished.
    Alice-Marie sighed dreamily, resting her chin in her hand. Then she sat upright. “And how wonderful it would be, Elisabet, if he and I were to begin . . . well, keeping company.” She giggled. “Especially if you and Pete did the same.”
    Libby dropped her fork. “What?”
    “Oh, silly girl, if you could only see your face! Don’t look so shocked.” Alice-Marie released another scale-running giggle.
    Libby carefully closed her mouth and flicked a glance over her shoulder. Had Petey heard? To her relief, he was already several tables away.
    Alice-Marie continued, “You and Pete would make a striking couple—you so petite and him so tall; you with your spirit and him with his calm demeanor; you with such dark hair and him with hair as pale as moonlight . . .”
    Hair as pale as moonlight? Maybe she could use that line in her romance story.
    “You and Pete seem opposites in every way.” Alice-Marie yanked Libby back to reality. She toyed with a lock of hair coiling along her neck. “But Mother says opposites attract.”
    To Libby’s relief, Bennett returned. “Sorry it took me so long. Ran into a couple of fellas from Beta Theta Pi. I’m thinking about pledging to their fraternity.”
    “Oh really?” Alice-Marie beamed up at him. “The sorority I plan to pledge is the sister group to Beta Theta Pi.”
    Bennett plunked into his chair and picked up his fork. “Well, that’d be something if we both got in, wouldn’t it?”
    “Indeed.” Alice-Marie could melt butter with the sultry look she offered Bennett. Libby wanted to throw her roll at the flirtatious girl.
    Bennett pointed at Libby with his fork. “If you want seconds, Lib, you better hurry. They didn’t make nearly enough potatoes tonight.” Bennett grinned. “So what did you ladies discuss in my absence?”
    Motioning toward Petey’s empty chair, Alice-Marie laughed. “I’ve been doing my utmost to convince Libby that she and Pete would make a darling couple.”
    Bennett covered his mouth with his napkin and coughed. Then he dropped the napkin, yanked up his glass, and took a noisy drink. He snickered. “Libby and Pete?” He threw his head back and laughed, holding his stomach.
    Alice-Marie’s brow puckered.