Page 4 of My Merry Mistake
“The point is that I could.”
“Just be nice, okay? These people are important to Dallas,” Poppy says as the elevator doors open to the lobby of the parking garage.
“Poppy, I’m notnotnice,” I say.
Eloise barks out a laugh. I shoot her a look, and she snaps her jaw shut.
Poppy leads us out of the lobby and onto the street, but I’m still thinking through their assessment of me. Is it wrong that I like things a certain way? Neat. Ordered. Tidy. Everything in its place.
It’s how I like my feelings too. I learned a long time ago that those need to stay tightly wrapped.
“Raya, what if you actually let yourself have fun tonight?” Eloise asks as we walk toward the skyrise apartment building. “What if you—” she gasps, for effect, per usual—Eloise is always dramatic— “flirt with a hot hockey player?”
I roll my eyes. “I don’t flirt, Eloise.”
“I know, Raya,” she says, mimicking my tone. Then, she stops abruptly, takes me by the shoulders, and says, “But what if you did?” Her eyes are wild and wide.
“You look psychotic right now,” I tell her.
She flares her nostrils and widens her eyes, then whispers, “Hot. Hockey. Players.”
“Not if my life depended on it,” I whisper back.
Finally at the party, all cleavaged-up for my least favorite holiday, I’m struck with the horrible realization that I have to go inside.
Chapter Two
Raya
“Wow,” Eloise says. “So, this guy is loaded.”
We step into the darkened apartment, which, I now realize, is the entire top floor of the building. We’re fourteen stories up, and there’s a wall of windows with a stunning view of Lake Michigan on the opposite side of the room.
“They’re professional athletes, Eloise,” I say. “They’reallloaded.”And that is another reason to steer clear.The last thing I need is another man who’s used to getting whatever he wants.
This makes me think of Rich, the corporate version of a professional athlete. Cocky. Full of himself. And used to getting whatever—and whoever—he wants.
I look around the room for a quiet corner where I can hide.
Eloise bumps my shoulder with hers. “I’ve already caught two guys checking you out.”
It takes everything within me to not turn and walk back out the door.
Dallas emerges from the crowd and scoops Poppy into a hug. “Been waiting for you!” he says loudly, over the din.
She smiles at him like a lovesick teenager, and I look away—just in time to notice Eloise is no longer next to me.
If this were a cartoon, an Eloise-shaped cloud would be hovering where she stood two seconds ago. I look around and see she’s already on the dance floor. She throws her head back in a laugh as she bounces around like she’s having the time of her life.
She makes it look so easy.
I stiffen at the reminder that it’s not so for me.
Some days I envy my youngest sister. Scratch that.Mostdays. She’d be lost in a boardroom, but she sure knows how to connect with people.
“Hey Raya,” Dallas says.
I force a smile and nod. “Hello.”
