Page 59 of The Heiress
“Sure,” I said, though I was wondering if Elisha had woken up yet. Had she looked for me? If I had her phone number, I would have texted her.
“How’s your Mom doing?” Mrs. Saunders asked. Her friendship with Mom had developed over the years as Max and I played tournaments together, but Mom had been keeping low key since the accident.
“Yeah, she’s good.” For the first time, I could say that with confidence.
“We really need to have you guys over for dinner again. It’s been too long. I’ll call Laura.”
“That’d be great,” I said. We’d only been to Max’s house once since the accident. The Saunders had invited us, but Mom had been a master at inventing excuses. Maybe things would be different now, maybe Mom had turned a corner.
“We had dinner at the Club last night. After the tournament,” I said.
“Yeah, Tay said.”
I busied myself with a gulp of coffee, waiting for Max to say something more, realizing Iwantedhim to ask about Elisha, that I was desperate to talk about her. Surely Taylor had told him she’d been with us!
“Your Mom and her Dad were dancing together.”
I stared at him. That was it? Taylor had been more concerned about our parents dancing together?
Max’s eyebrows lifted playfully. “You guys might be step-siblings.”
“What!” I nearly choked as I covered my mouth to stop from spraying coffee all over the counter.
“Didn’t you always want a brother or sister?” he teased.
I frowned, not sure I’d seen that coming. Yeah, Mom was happier than she’d been in a long time, and she and Mr. Frank were getting along great, but as tennis parents...wasn’t it? For some reason, I couldn’t imagine Mom romantically involved with another man.
“Did Tay say something about them?” I asked.
Max laughed. “Hey, I’m joking! She just seemed happy that her Dad had danced, though she said he was bad. Likeverybad.”
“No he wasn’t, he was cool,” I said, the sudden, totally unexpected notion that Mr. Frank could be my stepfather clouding my brain. I had a vision of Taylor moving upstairs into my old bedroom—the one Elisha was in—and being able to train with her every morning. It was a lot to wrap my head around, but definitely not undesirable. It would be nice if Mom could find someone, but she’d not dated at all since the divorce. Work had been her sole focus.
“And what’s this about The Ice Queen staying at your house?”
Max’s comment jolted me out of the split-second reverie that had been playing in my head.
“Who’s The Ice Queen?” Mrs. Saunders asked, coming back with the coffee pot to refill my cup.
I thanked her, taking the moment to reset my brain. I didn’t like Max calling her that. “Yeah, it was totally random,” I said, hoping I could pull off a casual tone. “ApparentlyElishaneeded a homestay family and Mom happened to be talking with Mrs. Pritchard, the head of the dorm.” I turned to Mrs. Saunders. “Elisha’s a new girl, a boarder in Whitney Hall.”
“Weird,” Max remarked. “Why didn’t she go home?"
“Her parents are abroad,” I said. “But she’s...okay.”
“The ice queen?” Max asked in disbelief.
She’s actually hot!I wanted to say, but I bit my lower lip and said, “She’s actually okay.”
“Didn’t she trip you up in the cafeteria that time?”
“It was an accident,” I mumbled, heat flushing across my cheeks. “And she can kind of play tennis.” If I mentioned tennis, Max might view her more favorably. “She was coached when she was younger but she hasn’t played in a while.”
“You want us to play mixed doubles together? Me and Tay versus you and Elisha?” I could tell Max was goading me, his eyes lively with mischief. He could be such a jerk at times.
“Yeah, why not?” I shrugged, leaning my elbows on the counter and trying to project indifference when in essence I was covering my reddening face with my hand.
“Great!” His eyes pierced mine and I knew he read me like a book. There was a reason we’d been best friends for years. “I’ll sort the truck and we’ll get going. You finish your coffee.” He winked, patting my shoulder as he walked past, like he knew I was hiding something.
