Page 35 of Play Along With Me
"Oh, hi!" she says with feigned surprise. "I thought I heard voices out here."
I hover behind her, mortified, as Collin turns to face us. He's with two guys I don't recognize, all of them dressed in that carefully casual way that suggests they've spent more time selecting their "relaxed" outfits than I spend on my actual professional attire.
"Audrey!" Collin's face lights up with what appears to be genuine pleasure. "And friend of Audrey! Perfect timing. We were just talking about Thursday night."
I have no idea what Thursday night is, nor do I want to know. All I want is for Leila to close the door so I can die of embarrassment in private.
"Thursday night?" Leila echoes, glancing back at me with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah, I'm having a little get-together," Collin explains. "Industry people, a few friends. Audrey should definitely come. And bring you, of course..."
"Leila," she supplies helpfully, extending her hand. "I'm Audrey's much more sociable friend."
"Clearly," Collin laughs, shaking her hand and holding it perhaps a moment longer than strictly necessary. "I'm Collin. This is Derek and Travis."
The other two guys nod in greeting, their eyes darting between Leila (who looks like she's posing for an invisible photographer) and me (who looks like I'm calculating the fastest escape route from this social hellscape).
"A party sounds fun," Leila says, ignoring my silent telepathic screams of protest. "What's the occasion?"
"Just a little celebration," Collin says vaguely. "Got some people in town, making connections. You know how it is."
I don't know how it is, actually, but Leila is nodding as if Collin has just imparted the wisdom of the ages.
"We'd love to come," she says, and I feel my soul leave my body. "Wouldn't we, Audrey?"
All eyes turn to me. I'm trying to formulate a polite refusal when Collin adds:
"Jake Marshall will be there. You know, the hockey player who knocked on your door? He just got called up to the Saints. Kind of a big deal."
Jake. The man from Tuesday night. The one who Kevin cared so much about that he dragged me to a hockey game to comment on his demeanor. The one who caught me checking him out and didn't make me feel weird about it. The one whose single, solitary redeeming quality is that he's not Collin.
"I have to work Thursday," I say automatically, grasping for any excuse.
"No, you don't," Leila contradicts me cheerfully. "You told me earlier you have Thursday night off."
I make a mental note to murder Leila in her sleep. "Right, but I was planning to... reorganize my spice rack.Work."
This sounds pathetic. I need to work on better lies.
"Your entire kitchen contains exactly three spices, and one of them is garlic salt," Leila points out. "It won't take all night."
"We'd be honored to have you both," Collin says, with a sincerity that seems genuine despite his usual douchebagdemeanor. "Jake specifically asked if you might be there, Audrey."
This catches me off guard. "He did?" Collin is so full of shit.
"Yeah, said something about continuing a knock-knock joke?" Collin looks confused but presses on. "Anyway, it'll be fun. Casual. Starts around eight."
"We'll be there," Leila confirms before I can invent any more nonexistent spice rack emergencies. "Can we bring anything?"
"Just yourselves," Collin says, his eyes lingering on Leila in a way that makes me want to hose him down with cold water. "Though Audrey, if you need to leave for your cat with diabetes, that's no problem."
I freeze. How does he know about my diabetic cat?
Collin winks at my obvious confusion. "Very creative excuse to avoid drinks with Kevin Wooledge."
Great. Now Jake is sharing my humiliating behavior with Collin, of all people. I'm never going to live this down.
"Mr. Darcy doesn't actually have diabetes," I feel compelled to clarify. "And he doesn't do parties. He's more of an introvert. Like his owner."
