19
Bryn felt somewhat dismayed as she got ready for school on Monday, or maybe she was simply confused. It seemed like the rest of the DG was getting their dates all set for the Christmas ball. Everyone but Bryn! How could that be? As everyone knew, Abby had already secured a date with Kent, and then Cassidy got asked by Lane on Friday. On Saturday, Devon texted the DG, smugly announcing that she’d managed to snag Harris Martin for her date. Harris had been one of Bryn’s options—or so she’d imagined. That certainly hadn’t been easy to swallow.
Then to make Bryn feel even worse, she’d learned just yesterday that Emma had been asked by Isaac. According to Emma, Isaac had encouraged Marcus Zimmerman to ask Felicia. So they were all squared away too. Five girls with dates! As Bryn put the finishing touches on her already perfect hair and makeup, she studied her reflection. What’s wrong with me?
As she drove to Abby’s house to pick her up for school, she was well aware that Jason was perfectly willing to take her to the dance. But she was still uneasy about that. The memory of how he’d treated Devon continued to haunt her. Or maybe it was her pride. She would never admit it to anyone, but why would she want to go out with Devon’s castoff? Or was that really how it went down? More confusion. Despite the fact that Jason was acting like a perfect gentleman toward her, Bryn just couldn’t be sure. Besides that, it seemed that everyone in the DG was opposed to her going with him.
“Are you upset about something?” Abby asked after they’d ridden in silence together.
“Oh . . .” Bryn forced a smile. “Not really. It’s just a little disturbing that everyone has a date for the dance but me—the chairman of the Christmas ball.” She shuddered. “How is that going to look?”
“You have to get a date,” Abby insisted. “To attend the dance and enter the contest, we need you to be the other half of our double date.”
“Believe me, I know.”
“Kent and I already started to work on Project Santa Sleigh.”
“Did you start making the sleigh yet?”
“No, but there’s plenty of time for that later.” Abby told Bryn about some of the things they’d done during the weekend, how they’d spent time at the Family Assistance Center, playing and getting to know some of the kids. “We even picked out a brother and sister that we’d like to help. Sarita and Samuel. I have photos of them on my phone. Sarita is seven and very smart. Samuel is five and just adorable. We’ve already made a list of specific ways we plan to help them. It’s so fun, Bryn. You need to be part of this.”
“I know, I know.” Bryn let out a loud sigh as she turned into the school parking lot. As they got out, Abby continued prattling on about this brother and sister, who really did sound sweet. But all Bryn could think about was that she needed to snag herself a date—before there was nothing left to choose.
“I was thinking,” Bryn said quietly as they went through the front entrance. “If I get really desperate, I could probably entice Darrell Zuckerman to ask me to the dance.”
Abby chuckled like this was funny. “Yeah, I bet you could.”
“Okay, I realize he’s kind of nerdy.”
“I never said that,” Abby said defensively. “I happen to like Darrell a lot. I’m just surprised that you were thinking of him.”
“Well, he’s very intelligent, and to be honest, he was a pretty good date at the masquerade ball.”
“Who are you talking about?” Devon asked as she joined them.
“Bryn is thinking about Darrell for her date for the—”
“I am not.” Bryn sent Abby a warning look.
“Why not?” Devon elbowed Bryn with a teasing expression. “You could do worse.”
“Thanks for your support.” Bryn glared at Devon.
Devon laughed. “Okay, I’ll admit that I don’t remember a lot about that masquerade dance, but it seemed like Darrell made a nice-looking Gatsby.”
“He would make a perfectly fine date,” Abby insisted. “And I bet he’d be really good help for Project Santa Sleigh too. I’m sure he and Kent would get along. Want me to go drop some hints?”
“No,” Bryn snapped at her. “Thanks but no thanks.”
Abby blinked, then nodded. “Sure . . . whatever.”
Bryn felt even more downhearted by the time she went into the cafeteria for lunch. It seemed that Friday’s assembly had been a complete and unprecedented success. As a result it seemed like everyone in the entire school had dates for the dance already. Okay, she knew she was over-blowing this whole thing in her head. But was it possible that the chair for the Christmas ball would be left on the sidelines?
“Why so glum, chum?” Devon asked her as Bryn set her sack lunch on the table and sat down.
Bryn turned to Devon with a pasted on smile. “I’m not glum.”
“Oh, good.” Devon opened a bag of chips. “I have some news that might cheer you up . . . or make you laugh.”
“What’s that?” Bryn asked hopefully.
“Well, I was telling Amanda about how we were teasing you about Darrell Zuckerman and—”
“You told Amanda that?”
“Hey, hear me out.”
“What?” Bryn waited, wondering if they had gone ahead and set her up with Darrell . . . and thinking that perhaps that wouldn’t even be such a bad thing after all. Really, Darrell had been a fun date.
“Amanda got the brilliant idea to get Darrell for Sienna and—”
“What?”
Devon pointed to where Amanda and Sienna were hurrying over to their table. “Maybe we’ll hear how it went.”
“Sienna has a date,” Amanda announced.
“Darrell?” Devon asked.
“That’s right,” Sienna confirmed. She grinned at Bryn. “I figured if he was good enough for you—I mean, for the last dance—he would be good enough for me.”
“Well, that sounds romantic,” Devon teased.
“I actually like Darrell,” Sienna told them. “But I never really thought of him as dating material.” She laughed. “Not that I’ve had any experience.”
“What about you?” Devon asked Amanda. “Do you have a date yet?”
Amanda scowled at Bryn. “That depends on her.”
“On me?” Bryn asked her.
Amanda nodded with a victorious gleam in her eye. “I’ve gotten a confirmation from Jason that if you don’t agree to go with him by the end of the day, he’s taking me. Since you’ve already made it clear to everyone”—Amanda glanced at the others—“that you have no intention of going with Jason, I think it’s a done deal.”
“What do you mean I’ve made it clear?” Bryn demanded.
Amanda gave her a patronizing smile. “Remember what you told us on Friday, Bryn? At the meeting at Costello’s? You said you were definitely not going with him.” Amanda waved to the rest of the DG at the table. “Right, girls?”
Everyone sort of conceded that this was true, and to be honest, Bryn remembered making a statement to that effect. “Well, it’s possible that I’ve changed my mind.”
Amanda’s eyes narrowed. “What about the DG rules?”
“What about them?”
“Rule number six. We will never steal a fellow DG’s boyfriend,” Amanda recited.
“Wow, someone’s been doing her homework,” Cassidy remarked.
“What about it?” Amanda pressed Bryn.
“For starters, Jason is not your boyfriend and—”
“He used to be. Maybe we were working toward it again.” Amanda made a wounded look. “Until you stepped in.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Bryn frowned.
Sienna tapped Amanda on the shoulder. “I have to agree with her, Amanda.”
Amanda glared at Sienna.
“Come on, Amanda, you know it’s not true. You and Jason weren’t getting back together. You only got interested in him after you saw that he was interested in Bryn.”
“That goes against rule number five,” Cassidy pointed out, “about not being jealous over a DG’s boyfriend.”
Amanda made a little sigh. “Okay, whatever.” She pointed at Bryn now. “But Jason sounded serious. He’s giving you until the end of the day to decide.”
Bryn just shook her head, trying to appear nonchalant, but underneath her smooth surface, she felt very uneasy. No way was she going to let Amanda steal the last available date in the school from her. No way!
Jason caught up with Bryn as she was coming out of her last class. She completely expected him to beg her to go to the dance with him, but instead he told her that Jack and Beth wanted to meet with them right after school. “Beth left a message on my phone,” he said nervously. “She didn’t say why they want to meet, but something about it feels kinda urgent to me.”
“Oh dear.” Bryn shoved a paperback into her bag. “You don’t think they’re going to back out on the prizes for the dance, do you?”
“That would be rough if they did.” Jason frowned. “Everyone is so on board with the whole contest thing. I’d hate to have to pull the plug.”
“We’d just have to round up some new prizes,” Bryn said with determination. “Jack and Beth aren’t the only rich people in this town.”
“No . . . they’re just the richest.” Jason chuckled. “Wanna ride with me?”
“You have your mom’s car?”
“No. I drove my Jeep.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s still pretty muddy from this weekend. I went four-wheeling with Harris on Saturday.”
“I’ll drive.”
“Okay.”
“Meet me in the parking lot,” she commanded. “Five minutes.”
He made a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am.”
Bryn made a quick stop in the restroom. Mostly to check her hair and makeup, because she wanted to look perfect. For the Hartfords, yes—that was important—but mostly for Jason. Somehow she had to get him to ask her to the dance again. Without her hinting, since she knew that could come back to haunt her. She had to make it seem like she was reluctantly agreeing to this. Like he had twisted her arm. How else could she save face around her friends?
They made small talk as Bryn drove, but it wasn’t long until they were discussing various details about the dance. However, it felt more like a planning meeting than a prelude to an invitation. By the time Bryn was parking in front of the Hartfords’ house, she was starting to wonder if Jason had already given up on her. Perhaps he’d already secured a date with Amanda. After all, he and Amanda had gone together for a long time last year. It wasn’t hard to imagine they could’ve ignited that old flame. Naturally, this made Bryn feel even more uneasy . . . and jealous.
The dogs emerged, tumbling over each other and barking wildly again, just like last time. The housekeeper shushed the dogs, then welcomed Bryn and Jason into the house, leading them to a dimly lit library with walls filled with books and a fire burning in the fireplace. “I’ll get Mr. and Mrs. Hartford.”
“This is like something from an old movie,” Bryn said as she gazed around the charming space.
“It’s Jack’s favorite place in the house,” Jason said as he made himself comfortable in one of the deep leather chairs.
Bryn sat in the chair adjacent from Jason. She couldn’t help but feel impressed with Jason’s connection to these people, the way Jason seemed to fit so seamlessly into their world. And suddenly she wondered why on earth she’d been putting this guy off. For starters, he was good-looking. Very good-looking. Besides that he was wealthy. And—based on her own experience with him—he was relatively well mannered too. What was holding her back?
“You look perplexed,” he said.
“Huh?” She looked up in surprise. “Oh . . . sorry . . . just thinking.”
“About?”
She pressed her lips tightly together. “Oh . . . you know . . . the dance.”
“Worried that we’re about to get the rug pulled out from under us?” he teased.
“A little.”
He frowned. “Yeah . . . I know. But I can’t imagine that Jack and Beth would do—”
“Hello, hello,” Jack said as he and his wife entered the room.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Beth said a bit breathlessly. She was dressed in riding clothes and her cheeks were flushed.
“I’ll bet you’ve been out with those beautiful horses,” Bryn said.
Beth grinned. “You’d win that bet.”
“Sorry to make you drive all the way out here for this.” Jack sat down behind the big antique desk. “I’m getting ready to fly to LA and I wanted to see you kids face-to-face before I left.”
“No problem,” Jason said easily. “What’s up?”
“First of all, we heard wonderful things about your assembly last week,” Beth said graciously. “Kudos to both of you.”
“Yes.” Jack picked up a pen, balancing it in his fingers. “Mr. Worthington and I played golf on Saturday and he was quite impressed with what you kids have put together. Although he did ask me to verify the prizes for him.” He chuckled. “Poor guy—he couldn’t quite believe it. But I assured him the prizes are in earnest.”
“Oh . . . good.” Jason nodded.
“Mr. Worthington had some concerns with how the contest would be judged. He wants to make sure that it’s fair. As I’m sure you do too.”
“Absolutely,” Bryn assured him.
“So Beth and I have offered to handle the judging. Is that acceptable to you?”
“Of course,” Jason agreed.
“That sounds perfect,” Bryn told him.
“We might select a panel to help us,” Beth told them. “If you don’t mind.”
“That would be wonderful,” Bryn confessed. “In fact, it takes the pressure off of us.”
“Oh, good.” Beth made a relieved smile. “I was worried that you might feel we were being overly involved. Normally we like to be more hands-off. But we do care about Northwood, and we want this event to be a success. So as long as the committee chairs are not opposed, we’ll proceed in this direction.”
“Which means we’ll be attending your dance.” Jack laid down the pen, pushing his chair back.
“Only the first part of the dance,” Beth assured them. “Don’t worry, we won’t make pests of ourselves.”
“You’d be welcome for the whole thing,” Bryn told her. “I hope you’ll stay as long as you like.”
“Well, it will be fun to see all the sleighs—to see what the kids have managed to put together. Such a good cause.” Beth shrugged. “That’s all we wanted to speak to you about.” She looked at Jack. “I know you need to be heading to the airport soon.”
He stood. “Thanks for coming out here on such short notice.”
They all shook hands, and soon Bryn and Jason were out on the road again. “Well, that’s a relief,” Bryn said as she turned onto the main highway. “Whew.”
Jason laughed. “Yeah, I didn’t really think they were pulling the plug. But you never know.”
“Yeah, for rich folks, they’re not so bad.”
“You say that like your parents aren’t wealthy too, Jason.”
“Trust me, there’s a big difference.”
“Right.” This simply reminded her there was a big difference between her own family’s circumstances and Jason’s. In fact, Amanda’s family would be more in Jason’s category of wealth than Bryn’s. Thinking this just made Bryn feel more determined to secure a date with this guy. Still, she didn’t want to be the one to bring it up. She couldn’t let him know how desperate she was feeling.
As they got closer to the school, she got more nervous. They had talked about everything in regard to the dance and the promotions and the contest and the prizes and everything—everything except for who they were going with. Now they were at the school and he was getting out of her car, and she knew it was too late.
“Jason,” she called as she got out of her car.
“Yeah?”
She stood by the driver’s door, looking at him over the roof of her car. “I, um, I’m just curious about something.”
“What?” He leaned his elbows on the roof of her car, studying her.
“Is it true you’re taking Amanda to the dance?”
He looked puzzled.
“She mentioned your ultimatum.”
“Ultimatum?”
“You know . . .”
He cocked his head to one side. “Huh?”
“She said you were taking her to the dance if I turned you down.”
He shrugged. “I guess I said something like that.”
“Oh . . .” She just nodded. “Okay.”
“So did you turn me down?” he asked.
She smiled brightly. “Did you really ask me? I mean in a sincere and proper sort of way?”
His brow creased. “Huh?”
“Oh, well . . . never mind.” She ducked her head down, getting back into her car. As she slid into the driver’s seat, Jason got back in on the passenger’s side.
“Okay, Miss Bryn Jacobs, will you honor me by going to the Christmas ball with me?” He gave a genuine-looking smile. “Please?”
She returned his smile. “Certainly.”
Then, to her surprise, he leaned over the console and kissed her—right on the lips. “Cool.” Without saying another word, he hopped out of her car and, waving happily, trotted over to a muddy red Jeep parked several rows away. As she restarted her car, she felt uncertain about everything—especially about the kiss. What did this mean? What had she gotten herself into? Then she remembered how comfortable he seemed with the Hartfords . . . impressive. And this, combined with her desperation not to remain dateless, made her decide it was all good. Before she drove away, she quickly texted the good news to her friends. Including Amanda.