The man snapped his fingers and a girl at a neighboring table hopped up and handed me a clipboard and pen. “Sign this.”
I briefly considered what this signature really entailed, but I was starving. I signed and took a seat, ending up next to Ethan. I’d dreamed about this so many times—dining at some posh place with Ethan at my side. I’d never considered we’d also be with a table full of future reality show darlings.
A server came by with pitchers of lime water and menus made of semitransparent paper. There were five things on the menu. The whole menu was five things.
I played it cool as the girls talked over each other. Ethan leaned toward me. “What did you think of the yacht? A bunch of pretentious hipsters?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Not hipsters.” Rich. Worldly. Adult seeming, even though many of the partiers had only been a few years older. “Pash has some great connections.”
“Truth? I could tell it wasn’t your scene.”
“You could?” Had I said something stupid? Looked completely out of place? I tugged at my woven bracelet. It was a knockoff mall version of a piece I’d seen on a high-end designer’s collection.
“This party we’re going to Saturday? That’s going to be your thing. It’s more like New York. You and your friends had a good time with us in New York, didn’t you?”
When I hadn’t been covering for my lies about him. “Yes! Super fun.”
“Saturday will be great. I hope you come.”
Wait—rewind. Had Ethan …asked me out? “Who else is going Saturday?”
“Hey, guys.” Liam approached the table, walking up to where Ethan and I were talking.
I’d forgotten Liam was on his way to the restaurant. We didn’t even have a chair for him. Liam noticed the lack of chair the same time I did.
Fayth jumped up from the table and made a show of hugging Liam. She angled herself toward the camera, but looked slightly left toward her sisters. “You all remember, Liam? He’s come such a long way from when we were kids. He used to play those board games. Remember Liam, when you played board games?”
Liam still played board games. I’d seen friends come and go from the Laurenti house carrying game boxes, and several games stacked in the second-floor lounge next to the movie collection.
“Let me find you a chair,” I said, trying to be helpful. I scooted from the table and turned to the couple seated behind us, asking for their spare chair. They glared at the cameras and then at me. That was a no, then.
I tried another table, and another, and then the waitstaff started giving me dirty looks.
Liam found me. “I’ll figure it out. Go back and sit with them.”
I caught sight of our server on the way up from downstairs. I waited for her to set down her tray, because dang those serving trays got heavy all loaded up with food. “Excuse me, is there an extra chair we can move to our table?”
The server smiled, but she couldn’t keep a scowl from surfacing after looking over Liam’s ratty cargo shorts and faded school-event T-shirt.
“Classy, Liam.”
“What?” he asked me after she left to find a chair.
“Look at what everyone else here is wearing.” I didn’t want to embarrass him, but seriously. The boy had every current cell phone and he lived in a mansion with stables. “This is what you chose to wear?”
He looked down at his shirt. “I was troubleshooting code and lost track of time. I almost didn’t make it here with traffic.”
He looked behind him in time to see the waitress approach with a chair, a practiced food-service smile on her face.
We followed her to our table, where everyone chattered, talking over one another as the cameras filmed. The extra chair was placed beside mine. Liam sat, becoming a barrier between me and Ethan. Not that it mattered. Ethan was engrossed in a story Pru was telling about the son of a prince whom the family planned to invite to their big party.
Liam turned to me. “Maybe you could take a look at the new code I just updated for the app. I’d like to get your input.”
“Liam!” Haylo waved from further down. “I’m so glad you came! Tell us what you’re up to.”
All conversation halted. Pru snickered and nudged Nevayeh. The sisters giggled in a chain reaction. The camera swung our way.
“Um.” Liam became fixated on a scratch in the table, digging his thumbnail into it and tracing the scrape. Whatever else he said came out in a mumble.
“Liam and I are working on an app,” I blurted. “Well, not so much me, but I’m testing it. It’s a clothing app you can use while shopping. Has he told you what he plans to do?”
“It was for a scholarship competition, but I want to develop it further,” Liam said, and then explained the basic functions of the app. “My hope is it makes shopping a meaningful experience.”
“Aw, your brother’s cute when he’s trying to relate to people his own age,” Pru said not quietly to Ethan, and thus, to everyone. “Isn’t he cute? Faythie, you think Liam’s cute, right?”
“Shut up, Prudynce!”
The girls all laughed. Liam appeared to flatten into one dimension.
I held off from glaring at Pru. And now I knew her full name, which no doubt had a Y stuck somewhere in it. “Well, it’s an amazing app.”
Pru clapped her hands together. “Little Liam has a girlfriend? How adorable.”
I looked around. “Who, me?” I glanced to Liam, whose cheeks shaded red.
“Just friends,” he said.
Beside me Ethan took a swig of water, the ice cubs clinking lightly against the glass.
Pru sighed. “You kids are so boring. Do you not ever date each other? Do any of you hook up?”
“Pru!” Haylo threw her linen napkin across the table. “You are so tacky sometimes.”
She flipped her beachy hair over her shoulder. “No wonder our PR wants to get their hands on you. You’re such a prude.”
Haylo rolled her eyes and changed the subject. We never got back to Liam’s app.
The server decorated our table with a dozen appetizer-size plates filled with vegetarian dishes, and the conversation shifted to upcoming concerts. Liam said nothing. Beneath the table, his knee bounced like a bunny hyper on caffeinated carrots.
He hated being here. Maybe nerves with the cameras, though they mostly pointed away from us, since we were only accessories to the main attraction. The Lohmans were loud and pushy. He had to regret driving out here.
I nudged him with my foot. “Let’s go.”
His attention snapped up. “You want to leave?”
I half shrugged. “I’ve been with them all day at the yacht.” Wow, I couldn’t believe I’d just said that. “I wouldn’t hate it if we left.”
Liam, in the fastest I’d ever seen him move, pushed away from the table.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Liam peeled out of Eat and onto the Miami Beach streets, driving past blocks of canopied sidewalk cafés. On the other side of the road, scattered palms and green spaces stood between us and the boardwalk by the beach. Endless blue beyond.
Behind the wheel, Liam’s shoulders relaxed and he smiled. He turned on the stereo to a droll man talking. “This is a great program. It’s all about the history of everyday things.”
Talk radio. At least it wasn’t politics. “Do you want to get food?” I asked.
“Food? We just ate.”
“I don’t care if the place is called Eat. That was the least of what I did.”
Liam snort-laughed. “For a place called Eat, they didn’t have much on the menu.”
“I can’t survive on vegetable appetizers alone. It’s not how my body was made.”
“Where do you want to go?”
I didn’t know any places around here. Plus, they were probably expensive, and I had ten dollars on me. I didn’t want to owe Liam any more money, since I was technically still paying off the busted phone. “Ah! I know where.”
Twenty-five minutes later, we arrived downtown, among ro
ws of mirror-sided buildings reflecting the open sky. We found ourselves walking through a landscaped plaza. A squat yellow structure parked itself across from black metal benches and a fountain. A sculpture of a hot dog ran the length of the building.
Liam adjusted his sunglasses. “Zeeno’s?”
“Hey, girl!” Maya poked her head out the order window. “Come on over!”
I was already spying the crinkle fries on the posted menu. And the pickles in the giant jar on the counter. “I’ll have a Z dog with the works, a fry basket, and a big pickle.”
“Same.” Liam took out his wallet.
“Your money’s not good here,” Maya said. “It’s on me.”
I peeked through the window at the narrow work space. Zeeno’s was larger than a food truck, and though not on wheels, resembled a trailer composed entirely of a kitchen.
Maya returned with two loaded Z dogs. “I’m done in twenty. You guys should walk down to the water. The walk is nice.” She winked.
I stuck out my tongue, checking first that Liam’s attention was focused on his food. “You’ll never believe the people I met yachting today with Haylo and Ethan.”
Maya raised a brow. “Yachting, huh? I’ve been elbow deep in relish since ten.”
“Aw, My. I’m sorry. I met a girl today talking about personal assistant jobs. Would you be interested?”
She rested her arms against the newly cleaned counter. “An assistant for who?”
“A celebrity or a businessperson. I’m sure there are tons of people who need an assistant. It’s got to beat slinging these.” I lifted my hot dog dripping with relish.
Maya inched back. “What’s wrong with slinging food? It never bothered you before.”
“That’s not what I meant. I only wanted to say there are other options.” She wasn’t hearing me right, or I wasn’t explaining well enough. “You should come shopping with us. Haylo is having me pick out a capsule wardrobe for her—all coordinated pieces to build a foundation look.”
Maya picked up a bottle and sprayed the counter again. “I’m sure I’ll smell like hot dog water.” She looked up and nodded her chin. “Customer behind you.”
I moved out of the way, my appetite fading at Maya’s expression. I only meant to help her. New opportunities—the same as Haylo and Ethan were doing for me.
Liam and I found a bench across from the Zeeno’s stand to eat our food. The customer paid, received his food, and left.
“Are you up for testing the app in a store?” Liam asked. “I was thinking Friday. I’ve got clearance from a shop to access their storeroom. For testing purposes, obviously.”
“Yes! Oh, isn’t that party on Friday? No, that’s Saturday. Okay, Friday will work.” I needed a solid planner session to get straight all the ideas Haylo had for our stylist partnership. “Haylo wanted to shop with me. We need to get her style profile down before some scheduled events coming up.”
“You’re busy, I understand. My deadline is coming up, so I’ll figure it out.” He attacked his fries three at a time.
I hated letting people down. Liam was in a time crunch and he’d come to me for help. This wasn’t only about my own schedule. “I hope you don’t think I’m blowing you off. I’m not too busy. I only need to manage my time is all.” I thought over my plans for the next few days, and what I’d need to prepare for Haylo’s shopping trip. “Let’s do Friday. The stores will be busy, but at least we can create an authentic shopping experience.”
We ate in silence. Glimpses of Maya appeared in the order window, until finally it slid shut. The light inside darkened. I hadn’t meant to dis her job. Food service could be rough. If she didn’t want to work in a hot dog trailer, there were better options.
“What do you think?” I asked Liam. “About me working with Haylo?”
He sipped his drink. “It sounds like it involves stuff you like.”
“And it will lead to a paid job. And I can use my work with her to rebrand my RunwayGirl account. The connections are so awesome.”
Liam watched a bird strut across the plaza pecking for crumbs. A car honked on the street and the bird scattered. “I guess you don’t need my opinion then.”
I didn’t need his permission for sure, but his opinion mattered. My earlier excitement floated out of reach, leaving behind a heavy, dull sensation. I didn’t even want my last bite of Z dog.
Maya emerged from the building. She locked the door, punched in a key code to a lockbox, and stashed the keys. “I think I’ll head home,” she said.
I crumpled my trash into a wad of greasy papers. “Maya. I’m sorry about what I said about the job. I only wanted to help.”
“Yeah, well I like my job. The hours are good, and I can do weekends when school starts.” Maya folded her arms. “Keep in mind, some of us might not need your help. Or want it.”
I’d let Maya down, and I wasn’t even sure how, or why. But, the not wanting my help—that part stung the most.
Two days later, after a smoothing-over chat with Maya (we were all good thanks to some groveling from me and a last-minute movie night), it was time to tackle the mall. Most important, with the aid of the Lohman family credit card.
Ethan, Liam, Haylo, and I walked the outdoor Bal Harbour Shops, wading past tourists and window gawkers. All the high-end shops were here. Not only would I get to spend someone else’s money, I’d also managed a compromise by having us all come together. With the reality show scheduling Haylo’s life with little flexibility, and Liam’s approaching deadline, the four of us working together was essential. Scheduling problem solved!
Trickling water from a fountain echoed in the corridor, blending with shoppers’ voices. I turned, walking backward as I spoke. “So, I wanted to start with Rag and Bone, Prada, and Neiman Marcus. I’ve got my list here.” I held up my phone.
I also had a sneaky third objective. Project: Outfit Liam. But that would come later.
In the first shop, I sifted through the racks for what I’d scoped online the night before. White and black separates and key pieces in a bright melon color. Her signature seasonal color, I decided. Every outfit would cycle in these colors somehow. She needed a great statement bag, too.
Twelve garments were sent with Haylo into the fitting room. I took a seat outside in the waiting area. Liam and Ethan sat on either side of me on a leather bench.
Liam tapped at his tablet. He stood. “I’m going to take a closer look at the fixtures and table displays.”
Ethan shook his head. “I never thought I’d see the day. My brother—clothes shopping on purpose.”
I laughed. “To be fair, he did say he was checking out the fixtures, not the actual clothes.” I glanced over my shoulder to ensure Liam was out of earshot. “I was hoping to sneak in an outfit or two for him. A little bonus styling.”
Ethan feigned mock hurt. “What about me? Don’t I get your styling attention?”
“You don’t need my styling attention.”
His lightweight black T-shirt had the right amount of wear to it, paired with just-enough faded jeans and Italian suede loafers. No guy at my public high school wore Italian suede loafers. Ethan wore them and got away with it. He needed zero styling tips from yours truly.
Ethan sat forward, his elbows against his knees. He turned his head, creating a close space for us, like only he and I existed in the narrow waiting area. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.” My heart decided to pick up the pace for no reason whatsoever.
“Are you into Liam?”
I straightened. “Of course not. No. It’s … he’s, no. Liam is … Liam. How could I like your brother?” I cringed at my own words. The unspoken piece after “your brother” implied how could I like your brother when I like you? Which of course was no longer true.
Something was happening. My hand lifted. A warmth enveloped my fingers. My hand, it was being moved … by Ethan. Ethan was taking my hand.
“Good.” He squeezed and let go as Haylo stepped from behind
the dressing curtain wearing a white shift dress with geometric cutouts along the neckline.
I shot up from the bench. “Awesome! Buy it. Bag it. Bag it right up.” I fanned myself. This place really needed to crank up the AC.
Haylo disappeared into the fitting room again.
“Was that a problem? That I took your hand?” Ethan stood beside me, his steel-gray eyes clear and sharp and peering into my soul.
“Ummm.”
“How are things fitting?” A saleswoman floated past us.
I took the distraction as an opportunity. To flee.
Outside the shop, the humidity-drenched heat blasted, though complaining over the summer heat in Miami was like pointing out jorts on guys was a fashion tragedy—too obvious to bother commenting.
What was that back there with Ethan holding my hand? No words. I had no words.
I texted Maya, but after a few minutes she still hadn’t responded. I sent a message to Des next.
911 Ethan scenario!
“Everything okay?”
I turned at Liam’s voice. I wiped my forehead, already slick with sweat. “Sure. Just needed—” What? Hot, scorching, Florida-in-July air?
“I’d like to get the testing started.” He shaded his eyes, looking beyond the tropical plants decorating the center of the corridor.
“I’ll come with you. Haylo can go to the next place, and we’ll meet up with her. I’ll text her now.”
The door opened behind us and Haylo and Ethan emerged with three bags between them.
Haylo stopped to check her phone, which was becoming a pattern. We’d stopped three times leaving the parked car on the way into the shopping center. “Sorry. Drama on the home front. They want me to shoot some stills with my siblings. I need to cut out by noon.”
“That only gives us twenty more minutes.” I tried not to sound too disappointed, but we had at least three more stores to hit.
Liam walked a pace ahead. “Not me. I have a store expecting me.”
“Li,” Ethan said. “We’ll come back another time. We drove together, and Haylo has to go. Not enough time for you to do the test thing, anyway.”
Liam’s hands balled into fists. “I’m on a deadline. You guys leave. I’m staying.”
Alterations Page 17