Wrong About the Guy(24)

“Want a cup of tea? Or something to eat?”

He sat down at the table. “Tea sounds good.”

I spun the coffee pod Christmas tree so I could see what kinds we had. “Chamomile okay?”

“Whatever. It’s all disgusting as far as I’m concerned.”

“Then why do you want some?”

“I just like seeing you bustle around the kitchen. You’re so cute when you’re domestic.”

I smiled at him sweetly as I gave him the finger.

“Ah, a feminist,” he said jovially.

“Don’t you forget it.” I put in a chamomile pod for him. “What did you do for dinner?”

“Crystal’s never cooked a meal in her life, so she dragged me out to some fancy Beverly Hills steakhouse, where she paid seventy-five dollars for a plate of food she only pretended to eat.” He glanced around. “So why are you home alone? I’d have thought you’d be out doing something spectacular.”

“Nah,” I said. “I got invited to a birthday party, but—” I shrugged.

“Not interested?”

“I barely know the kid. He only invited me because I’m Luke Weston’s stepdaughter. You know what I mean?”

“Are you kidding?” Aaron said. “People wanting to get close to you because your father’s famous? That’s like my middle name. Like last summer—this older girl in my film program made this ridiculous pass at me. She showed up in my room wearing a coat with nothing on underneath. I’m sure she’d seen it in a movie.”

“Or twenty.”


“Exactly. Total cliché. Anyway, somehow I got her to sit down and just talk to me—and of course it turns out that she’s a budding songwriter who’s wondering if she can make it worth my while to pass her CD on to my father.”

“Seriously?” I said. “Were you tempted?”

“Nah,” he said. “A naked girl in my room does nothing for me.”

“Why not?” I picked up the mug of tea and turned to look at him. “Oh, wait—are you gay?” I hadn’t gotten the vibe . . . but he was awfully good-looking and he dressed well. It kind of made sense.

“No, just a liar,” he said cheerfully. “I like naked girls in my room.”

“Oh. So did you really send her away?”

“We talked for a while. . . . She left on her own but it was all friendly. My point is, I know what it’s like to have people look at you and only see a stepping-stone to your famous father. The trick is to use that to your advantage.” He grinned at me. “There are perks.”

“Yeah, I know. No one’s going to be playing the tragedy violin for either of us.” I brought the tea over to him. “What’s it like at your school? Are kids all over you?”

“Here they are. In New York, it was less of an issue. People are cooler in New York. So far, I’m not impressed with the kids at Fenwick anyway. I’m only here for the one year, so I’m not looking to make a ton of friends.” He tilted his head at me. “I have you, right?”

“Definitely.” We were interrupted by the sound of the garage door, followed by the appearance of Mom and Luke.

There’s always something a little less polished and put-together about people coming home from a party than when they leave for one. The twist in Mom’s hair was maybe just a little less tight and her dress was the slightest bit crumpled and Luke’s sweater had a pull or two in it—maybe that’s why it was clear that they were at the end of an evening and not at the beginning of one. Or maybe it was the way Mom’s face was tinged pink and she was walking too carefully but not quite straight, despite Luke’s guiding arm.

“I was wondering whose car that was,” Luke said as he steered Mom into the kitchen. He released her so he could shake hands with Aaron. “This is a nice surprise.”

“I just dropped by for a quick visit,” Aaron said. “Hope it’s okay that it’s so late.”

“Of course!” Luke nudged Mom with an annoyingly meaningful glance at me and Aaron. “Come on, Cassie. They don’t need us here.”

“Oh, okay.” She took a sudden step back, right onto Luke’s foot. He steadied her.

“How much did you drink?” I asked her.

“Not that much,” she said. Above her head, Luke mimed tossing drink after drink into his mouth.

“A fine example you set,” I said with mock superiority.

“It’s not my fault. They kept refilling my glass.”

“I can’t wait to use that as my excuse when I come back from the next after-party.”

“I’m putting her to bed,” Luke said, tugging her toward the doorway. “Good night, Aaron. Really great to see you.” He ushered Mom into the hallway and I could hear her giggling a little on the stairs. Well, at least she sounded more cheerful than she had earlier.

“I should probably go,” Aaron said, standing up. “I only came by to tell you that I wish I could have spent the whole evening with you, like we’d planned. And also that my new home is one weird place.”

“Whose home isn’t?”

He shook his head. “You have no idea how good you have it. Your mom and Luke—they actually like each other. My dad’s never been married to someone he liked. He clearly can’t stand being home with Crystal and he was the same way with my mother.”