Emmalee (20 page)

           
“I wish I did know, really.  I mean, I would like to thank
them, you know?”

           
I snorted.  “Thank them?  Good grief!  I think
I’d be kissing them if someone gave me a gift like that!”

           
Cassidy smiled uneasily and flicked her eyes around the room.  I
could tell she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of kissing
whoever her benefactor was. 

           
This is like a mystery!  Who could it be?

           
“What has put that expression on your face?” Ethan
asked me as he gently set my juice on the table.

           
I glanced up at Cassidy.  She was smiling towards Claire as she
approached chattering nonstop over the many different juices.  I
quickly leaned over and whispered,

           
“Someone secretly bought Cassidy a high end camera and left it
at her house last night.  It was there when she came home from
the movie.”

           
“W-wow!”  Ethan almost choked on his juice. 
“Are you kidding me?”

           
“No,” I whispered and caught a faint flush rise to
Cassidy cheeks again. 
Maybe she can hear me. 
I
lowered my voice.  “Who in the world do you think would do
that?  Does she have a boyfriend?”

           
“I don’t kno-ow.”  Ethan wiggled his eyebrows
at me.  And then he asked loud enough to be heard across the
table, “Should we ask her?”

           
“No!” I waved my hand and shushed him.  “Will
you behave?”

           
“Why?”  He lowered his voice again. “I think
it’s a mystery that needs to be solved, don’t you?” 
Ethan glanced back over at Cassidy and I watched her turn her head
quickly away.

           
Great.  She
can
hear us. Ugh.
  When I
caught Ethan’s eye again, I saw he was fully aware of the fact
too.  And he liked it! 
The punk.
    

“Will you knock it off? 
You’re embarrassing her!”

 
         
“You know who I think it was?”

           
I leaned in, forgetting all about Cassidy.  “Who?” 
Oh my gosh!  Who does he think it is?

“Come on!  You can’t
guess?”

           
I grinned and shook my head.

           
He matched my grin and whispered near my ear, “Taylor
Anderson.”

           
Taylor Anderson?
  Shocked, I gasped and pulled back to
gauge the expression in his way too flirtatious eyes. 
No
way!
 

           
Ethan grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him again.  I could
barely make out his hushed tones.  “Think about it. 
It’s perfect.  Who else would know Cassidy as well as he
does?  Besides he’s totally got the dough to blow on
something like that without even blinking.”

           
“But why?”  I turned closer to whisper in his ear. 
“He has Chloe.”

           
I felt his hand clutch my other one.  “But what ifTaylor
secretly likes Cassidy?”

           
Secretly likes—?
  “Yeah, right!”

           
“Wasn’t it Taylor who first tipped off Chloe in the first
place when that Blake guy was going after Cassidy?”

           
“Yeah but—?” I gasped. “No, way!  You
really think so?”

           
He moved back a little.  “Well, I figure the only other
person it could be, is Chase.”

           
Chase!? 
“Nope.  I think you’re
right.  I think it’s definitely Taylor.  It makes
perfect sense.”  I decided to ignore the memory of Taylor
smiling when he told me about Chloe’s Christmas present. 
It had to be Taylor.  There was no way I was even going to
think of Chase falling for Cassidy.

           
He downed the rest of his juice in a quick gulp.  “Okay,
here’s the deal.  I’m gonna walk over and refill my
glass.  When I come back, I’ll walk up to her and say the
name Taylor Anderson.  You tell me if she blushes, okay?”

           
I smiled and yanked my hands away.  “No, you can’t.”

           
“Watch me.” He smirked.

           
“Ethan,” I yelped as his chair scraped across the tile
when he stood.  “You’re incorrigible.”

           
He grinned wickedly down at me and winked.  “I know.”

           
Once he had made it over to the juice dispensers I felt brave enough
to give a peek in Cassidy’s direction.  She had twirled
her napkin so tightly around her finger the tip of it had gone
purple.  Claire was still talking nonstop but neither of us had
a problem zoning her out.  At least, Cassidy pretended to be
listening.  I knew better.  She couldn’t have been
more aware of mine and Ethan’s behavior if a bright spotlight
had descended over our heads and a whole slew of flame throwing hula
girls danced behind us. 
Dang.

           
Frantically I watched Ethan beam as he approached our
table—juice in hand.  With another quick wink at me, he
bent over Cassidy, and as promised, whispered in her ear. 
Cassidy did blush.  And worse than that, she refused to look
over at me.  Actually she was looking everywhere other than
where I was sitting.  I had a strange suspicion as he swaggered
over to our side that Ethan had said more than the words,
Taylor
Anderson
.  Just as I was getting ready to ask him about it
Taylor and Chloe arrived with Madison and Carson close behind.

  “Speak of the devil!”
Ethan chuckled as he sat down next to me again.  He nodded in
Cassidy’s direction.

           
She quickly turned her head away, as Chloe approached the table.

           
“Ethan!  Emmalee!  How are you guys?” she
beamed her pretty smile at us.

           
“What took you so long?” Claire asked her older sister.

           
“Sorry guys, it was my fault!” Madison laughed as she
dodged Carson’s hand.  “I forgot to set my alarm. 
I was still asleep when they came to pick me up.”

           
“Yep.” Carson determinedly wrapped his arm around her
waist.  “Just like Sleeping Beauty.”

           
“So did you kiss her and wake her up?” Ethan teased his
brother.

           
“Yeah right!” Madison laughed again and patted Carson’s
arm.  “He’s not that brave.  Carson knows if he
ever stepped a foot into my room I’d kill him!”

           
“That’s if your Dad doesn’t get to him first!”
Chloe chuckled.

           
“Yeah, sometimes I’m a whole lot smarter than I look, lil
bro.”

           
Ethan threw his head back and laughed.  “That one was too
easy!  I can’t do it!  You left yourself wide open
with that remark!  Hehe!  There is so much I could throw
back at you right now, but—”

           
“But you’re gonna be nice instead?” offeredTaylor,
before he turned toward Cassidy and said, “Hi, Cass.”

           
“Hi.”  It looked like Cassidy wished she could die
right then and there.

           
Taylor frowned at her for a moment before walking over to Claire and
sat down on her other side.  Chloe followed and asked, “Hey,
Claire.  So what did you order?”

           
As I took another swallow of my juice Ethan leaned in close to me
again.  “I bet that’s why Taylor mentioned this date
to Cass and Claire.  He wanted me to invite them, without it
looking suspicious.”

           
I nearly spit the juice across the table. 
How cow!
 
Ethan’s logic was making more and more sense the longer I
thought about it.  “You think so?”  My eyes
looked into his charming emerald orbs.  They danced
mischievously back at me. 
It’s like there’s
something he knows that he isn’t saying.
  “What?”
I grinned up at him, not able to stop myself.  “Why are
you looking at me like that?”

           
Instantly Ethan’s face transformed into complete innocence. 
“Looking like what?  I’m not looking like anything.”

           
I chewed on my lower lip while I studied his eyes.

           
Ethan widened them and moved closer so I could have a better look. 
I almost smacked him away—he was slightly too close for
comfort—but just then, I caught a knowing hesitant spark deep
within his cheery façade.  “You know something. 
Out with it,” I demanded. 

           
For a split-second I saw shock register across Ethan’s face
which he quickly masked into feigned surprise.  “What,
moi?” he chuckled.  “What could I possibly know? 
I don’t even live here remember?”

   “Don’t give
me that!  Come on.  What is it?  There’s
something you want to hide, I can tell.”

           
Ethan smirked smugly at my smile and shook his head slightly before
tapping mine.  “It’s all in your head blondie,”
he whispered and moved even closer toward me.

           
I swallowed and tried not to focus on his lips.  The problem was
his eyes were too close.  “How do you expect me to believe
that?”  My eyes fluttered from his again.

           
“Trust me.”

           
“Trust you?”  Instantly Chase’s warning from
the night before came rushing back to me.  My eyes flew back to
Ethan’s and locked.  “What do you mean?”

           
He sobered up a bit and studied the furrowed brow between my eyes and
then looked straight at me.  “Emma?”

           
“Yeah?” I whispered back, completely unaware of anyone
else around us.

           
“Can I—can I tell you something?”

           
“What?”

           
“Will you promise not to—”

           
Cassidy’s glass dropped onto the table.  Orange juice
splattered everywhere.

           
“Oh my gosh!” she gasped, “I’m so sorry! 
Did that get on anyone?  Please tell me my juice didn’t
spill on anyone!  I’m such a klutz!”

           
Taylor was next to her and mopping up the mess before she’d
even finished talking.  Ethan grabbed his napkin and mine and
quickly slopped up the excess juice heading toward us.  I saved
what I could of the silverware and menus, but it wasTaylor’s
murmured words to a mortified Cass that caused us both to pause and
look at each other.

           
“Don’t worry, everything’s fine,” he said. 
We all spill our drinks.  It’s no big deal.  Now come
on and smile again.  You have the prettiest smile I’ve
ever seen, now let’s see it.”

           
The Anderson charm seemed to have a positive effect on Cassidy. 
With another blush and quick duck of her head, she smiled slightly. 
Taylor’s finger titled her chin up until she caught his gaze. 
Then Cassidy really smiled.  Taylor was right.  It was a
very pretty smile.

           
I heard a ragged intake of breath next to me, and I realized Ethan
must’ve caught it too. 
Man, who knew Cassidy Hart
could actually rival the Bradford smile?

           
“Thanks for breakfast.  It was um, very
enlightening.”  I smiled at Ethan as he walked me up the
steps to my house.

           
“Yes, it has been.”  He seemed to be in the same
pensive mood he’d been in since Cassidy spilled her drink at
the restaurant.

           
I tried to shake him from it.  “So do you have any plans
for today?”

           
“Plans?”  Ethan looked over at me as we approached
the door.  He stared at me a moment and then seemed to check
himself.  “Yeah, actually, I’m helping Carson on a
couple of four-wheeling tours he’s got booked this afternoon. 
I—uh, I would invite you along, but—”

I laughed and asked, “You’re
not brave enough to face my mom?”

           
“Something like that.”  He grinned.  I was
happy to see it was a much more normal grin this time.  “So
what are your plans?”

           
I smiled and pretended to announce something uber cool.  “My
day is going to be fabulous!  I’ve got Georgia, Chase’s
little sister, coming over to play with my new puppy.”
           
“Your new puppy?” Ethan’s eyes sprang to life. 
No doubt thinking of countless jokes he could do with a puppy. 

           
“Yep.”  I held my hands behind my back and swayed to
and fro.  “Cassidy’s not the only one who got a
surprise present yesterday.  Chase had lil’ Clementine
brought over for me while we were at the movie.”

           
“Wow.” Ethan rocked backwards, imitating my pose with his
hands behind him.  “It seems like the Anderson boys were
full of all sorts of surprises last night.  First Cass and now
you.  So now I have to wonder what sort of claim they’re
trying to stake here.”

           
I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing.  “Claim?! 
You think Chase is staking a claim?  On me?” 
Hehehe!
  “You couldn’t be farther from the
truth!  That poor guy can’t even stand me most of the
time.  Besides, I’ve been promised a puppy since before I
knew he’d returned home.  I’m sure he was just—more
than likely—getting the lil’ rascal out of his house, so
he didn’t have to take care of it for me anymore.” 
My giggles died abruptly when I saw the look on Ethan’s face. 
“What?” I nearly gasped.  “What is it?”

           
He walked toward me so quickly I instinctively took two steps back
before I bumped into the front door.  He followed. 
“Ethan?” I gulped, not sure what to make of the gleam I
saw in his eyes.

           
“Is there something wrong with Chase being interested in you?”
he asked slowly and distinctly.

           
“I—uh…?” I trailed off lamely. 
No.

           
He took another step closer.  “Do you believe it’s
impossible for a guy to be attracted to you, then?  Even an
older guy?”

           
Immediately I was reminded that Ethan was two years older than me. 
All of a sudden my throat went dry.  I swallowed.

           
His hand rose up and softly brushed a few tendrils of hair off my
brow.  “You’re a very beautiful girl, Emmalee
Bradford.”