Driving With the Top Down
Page 29
“Yeah—wait, the program … That was before I even knew you.”
“Yeah, before we dated. But I remember you talking about it with other people, and I was there. Being a creep and eavesdropping on the hot girl with big dreams.”
He gave her that grin that had always gotten a smile out of her.
She wrapped her arms around him. “This is so exciting. I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
Yes, dinner had been a catastrophe as always. It was a madhouse between the teenagers, the dog, the beeping oven, and everything else. But she was happy. Truly, truly happy. This was exactly the kind of life she could never have planned for herself.
* * *
UPSTAIRS, TAM’S PHONE lit up with a text from her friend Kelly.
Hey b-face, I’m here!
K, be right out!
Don’t spend too long getting ready just because kylllle is commmmingggg
Shhhh!
Tam laughed and put on her jacket before going down the stairs, where Kevin and Colleen were hugging.
“I’m not looking at you guys, but I’m leaving, K—love you, bye!”
She heard them laugh as she got to the front door. Colleen yelled after her, “Text me when you get there, and don’t be out past midnight or I’ll murder you!”
“I knowwww!”
She shut the door, to which she had a hot pink key to now, and got in the car. On the way to the movies, Kelly and Tam blasted the new Justin Timberlake album and sang their hearts out. There was a whole bunch of them meeting up for the movie, but she was mostly excited to see Kyle. Who, when she walked up, handed her a movie ticket with a shy smile and said, “I grabbed you one, so I’m glad you came.” He laughed. “It didn’t occur to me till after I bought it that you might not.”
She bit her lip, biting back the huge grin she wanted to wear. “I thought about bailing.” She gave him a look to let him know she was kidding, and they all went in to the movie.
Finally she was able to play it cool. Be the girl someone wanted. Be the girl she had always wanted to be, and envied. The one with dark, damaged hair and a drinking problem seemed like a stranger now. But the girl walking into the movies with a group of friends who would have been disappointed if she hadn’t come was a happy girl. One who had herself together. One who had climbed out of that well, key in hand, and set out to find the lock.
ALSO BY BETH HARBISON
Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger
When in Doubt, Add Butter
Always Something There to Remind Me
Thin, Rich, Pretty
Hope in a Jar
Shoe Addicts Anonymous
Secrets of a Shoe Addict
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BETH HARBISON is the New York Times bestselling author of Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger; When in Doubt, Add Butter; Always Something There to Remind Me; Thin, Rich, Pretty; Hope in a Jar; Secrets of a Shoe Addict; and Shoe Addicts Anonymous. She grew up in Potomac, Maryland, outside Washington, D.C., and now divides her time between that suburb, New York City, and a quiet home on the Eastern Shore. Visit www.bethharbison.com.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DRIVING WITH THE TOP DOWN. Copyright © 2014 by Beth Harbison. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover photograph © Horst Neumann/The Image Bank/Getty Images
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The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-04380-1 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-4218-2 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466842182
First Edition: August 2014