with her beach bag over her shoulder, she saw a phone on a small table in the hallway . . . and stared at it as if it were a foreign object. She glanced over her shoulder, picked up the receiver, and dialed the number sheâd memorized the very first time Liam said it.
When she returned to the party ten minutes later, her smile was genuine; and when her motherâforgetting she already knew Taylorâintroduced them, she nodded politely; and when her father peppered him with questions about Yale and his internship, she even managed to look impressed. Afterward, at her motherâs suggestion, she followed Taylor down to the beach, listening as he bragged about the parties his frat house had hosted that year. âIt was totally out of hand,â he said, laughing.
As soon as they reached the beach, a bunch of boys playing volleyball good-naturedly jeered Taylorâs arrival. He smiled and high-fived them and then opened a large cooler, pulled out a beer, and let the lid drop. Then, he remembered his manners. âWanna beer?â
âSure,â Cadie said. She had a little over an hour to kill, so she may as well make the most of it.
âDonât let him get you drunk, Cadie,â one of the boys teased, spiking the volleyball. âHeâs a total predator.â
Cadie nodded as she walked over to join the girls. âThanks for the tip,â she called back. âYou donât need to worry.â
âAhh, Taylor, sheâs got your number,â all the boys teased, but Taylor just shrugged and gulped his beer.
âHey, Cadie-did!â Tess called. âI thought you werenât coming.â
Cadie shook her head. âI wasnât, but my father insistedâhe thinks I should spend more time with Taylor,â she said, rolling her eyes.
âYouâre kidding!â Tess exclaimed. âDoesnât he know heâs just one step up from being a serial rapist?â
âNo . . . he thinks heâs quite the catch!â
Tess shook her head. âOur parents live in a world of their own.â
âThatâs for sure. Anyway, if my parents are looking for me later, cover for me, will you?â
Tess raised her eyebrows. âHmm . . . got a hot date? Actually, donât tell meâif I donât know, I wonât be lying,â she said with a laugh.
Cadie laughed, too, and sipped her beer.
Â
The caterers were just setting up the dessert table when they finally went back up to the house to fix their plates. Cadie walked past it, adding a lemon square and a cream puff to her plate before walking over to join Tess, who was already perusing the dinner buffet. There was corn on the cob, clams on the half shell, steamers, filet mignon, coconut shrimp, bacon-wrapped scallops, and a wide variety of salads. Cadie looked at all the offerings, but there wasnât anything that appealed to herâever since sheâd started seeing Liam, she hadnât had much of an appetite, so the plate she fixed was with him in mindâand when her plate was full, she made sure her parents saw her, nodded discreetly to Tess, and walked leisurely around the house as if she was looking for a place to sit. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one had followed her and then wandered through the gardens and out onto the quiet road . . . Freedom!
She walked in the direction from which she knew Liam would come, rounded the bend in the road, and saw him leaning against the hood of his truck, wearing his favorite torn jeans and a T-shirt. Her heart sang at the sight of him and she walked faster, her white skirt billowing around her slender waist.
âHey,â he said with a slow smile.
âHey.â
âWhatâs this?â he asked, nodding to the plate.
âDinner . . . for you.â
âWhat about you?â
âIâm not hungry. . . .â
He reached for a coconut shrimp, squeezed the tail, and popped it in his mouth. âMmm
Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Martin A. Lee, Bruce Shlain