Page 28 of Arranging Ayra
With her gone, we once again looked at one another.
“Looks like the red velvet drapes got a pass,” Cindy whispered with a silent clap of her hands.
“Let’s hurry up and get these wreaths in place,” Jai said. “I’m starving.”
*****
FOLLOWING THE DELICIOUSscents of piping hot pizza, we arrived at the large living room and joined the rest of the crew. With my stomach rumbling, I grabbed a paper plate, opened the pizza box marked ‘extra cheese’ and slipped a huge slice on my plate.
As I took a quick bite, I spotted Keely seated at the back and headed in her direction.
“This seat taken?” I said as I sat down.
“Good pizza, huh?” she gave as a response.
“You didn’t say much about all the hard work we put into that ballroom. Did you even see what we did?”
“I had plenty of time to examine your handiwork as you guys laughed like school kids.”
“But you didn’t say much.”
“I like keeping Cindy on her toes,” she said with a smirk. “Truth is, I loved it.”
“Even the red velvet drapes?”
Munching on a bite of her pizza, she grinned, that devilish little grin that told me she was up to something.
“Keely... what did you do?”
“I’m the one who hid the golden drapes.”
I let out a quick but loud laugh. Everyone turned to us but Keely quickly and sternly swept their gaze back to the huge television screen that had been set up for the viewing ofPride and Prejudice.
Settling farther back in my chair, I leaned closer to Keely. “Why did you hide them?”
“I love Cindy, really I do.”
That immediately had me thinking she wasn’t too fond of the girl.
“But she can be so... oh... you know... so...”
“Know it all.”
“That’s it. Know it all. Most days I can handle it, but when we discussed which drapes to use, she was so uppity when I mentioned the golden ones, so... condescending, that I insisted she use those, even though I had my heart set on the red velvet ones.”
“Gee,” I said through another bite of my pizza. “Then I guess I must have read your mind. When she told me she couldn’t find the golden drapes, I insisted she use the red ones... I was making an executive decision.”
She reached out to grab my hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “You do have a way of reading me somehow.”
I gazed up at the screen, falling in love once again with Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy. “Such a wonderful movie.”
Keely nodded. “I know we’re going to be criticized for certain... well, you know, anachronistic issues, but...”
“Artistic license,” I said.
She nodded again.
“We’ve had this discussion before.”
