Cat transfers her gaze to the closed door, and even in profile, I can see the smile lighting up her face. I snicker, and she mutters a playful, “Shut up.” Her almost bashful tone makes me even happier.
Shortly after Austin bestowed his second life-altering kiss, the unromantic sound of two throats clearing, followed by various snickering catcalls, broke out behind us. Austin lifted his head, and when I looked over his shoulder, there stood Cat and Lucas, not at all appearing apologetic for ruining our moment. So when Austin and I drove past Lucas’s car a half hour later and found the two of them locked in their own embrace, we had no pangs of remorse for honking the horn and whooping loudly.
In spite of the teasing, I am happy for them. Last night Lucas stepped up his game, as Cat would say, and the payoff is a cousin who finally owns her feelings. I watch as she speeds across the floor and throws open the door.
“Hey, beautiful,” Lucas says, pressing a lingering kiss to her cheek.
Cat bites the corner of her lip, losing the battle to keep her enormous smile hidden. “Hey, yourself.”
Lucas’s playful grin turns into a smug smile as he takes her hand in his. Lifting his eyes to mine, he asks, “How’s the head, Alessandra? The last time I got as sloshed as you were last night, I was an absolute waste of space for at least two days.” He shrugs and flashes his dimpled grin. “But it did keep me sober. I believe my days as a high school drunkard are behind me.”
Cat snorts. “Yeah, I don’t think even a hangover could cut through the lovesick daze she’s been walking around in. Come on, lover girl,” she says, nodding her head toward Lucas’s car in the driveway, “your brooding bad boy awaits.”
…
Austin lays our books out on his kitchen table, making a point to brush my fingers with his. It becomes a game between us, who can steal the most innocent touches. I laugh when he overtly slides his hand along the exposed skin on the back of my neck when he walks to the refrigerator, and when he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively as he pops the top on his can of soda, I shake my head.
“You are incorrigible,” I tell him, even though I am secretly delighted. I love seeing Austin minus his walls of protection.
“That I am,” he says with a devilish grin. “And you love it.”
Choosing to leave that statement unanswered, I open the spiral notebook I brought with me and write Modern Leadership at the top of my page. “Seeing as though you are the expert in this department, and that I have been a very diligent participant in your challenges, I submit to your extensive knowledge, Mr. Michaels. Where shall we begin with the topic of Leadership in Government?”
An older man with dark black hair and blue eyes steps out of the closed room near the kitchen, the same inauthentic smile from the photos at Austin’s beach house plastered upon his face. “Did someone say government?”
A muscle in Austin’s jaw twitches. “Just working on a paper for school, Dad.”
“For school?” Mr. Michaels asks, his tone colored with amused incredulity. “My son is actually doing his homework. Never thought I’d see the day.” He shoots me a wink, attempting to include me in the joke he has made at his son’s expense, and every protective bone in my body hums in alert. “You know, you happen to be in the presence of a state senator, darling, and my son, well, he isn’t exactly well-versed in politics.” He strolls over and grabs the assignment Miss Edwards gave us. “Maybe I should help you with this paper.”
The overconfident note in his voice, the blatant barbs aimed at Austin, the snapping tension between father and son, and Austin’s palpable discomfort in the man’s presence prompts me to yank the paper from his hands.
“I appreciate your offer, sir, but as I’m sure you are aware, your son is incredibly intelligent. He has a brilliant plan in place,” I say, not at all sure what Austin’s plan for our paper is but not caring at the moment, “and I think we’re fine here.”
Austin stares at me, perhaps in shock, as I conclude my brief but—in my opinion—powerful speech. I smile with pride. Hello, world, meet Alessandra D’Angeli Forlani, the twenty-first-century version. I may not have to change everything about me, but standing up for my loved ones is one trait from this experience I’ll gladly keep.
Back home, I never could get away with speaking to an elder in such a manner but here, in Cat’s world, Austin’s father simply shrugs his shoulders and plasters an even bigger false smile on his face before walking out of the room.
“Whatever happened to my prim and proper princess?” Austin asks with that heart-stopping smile of his, stalking toward me with purposeful strides. He squats down in front of me and hands me a bright red can.
“She got herself an excellent tutor.”
Chapter Twenty-three
The next few days meld together in a series of Austin’s kisses, workshop rehearsals, and heartfelt conversations with Cat. Now that Lucas has breached the last line of her defenses, she is happier than I’ve ever seen her. Even happier, dare I say it, than she was in my time with Lorenzo. I still sense that she is worried and possibly even keeping something secret from me, but I trust that she will confide in me when she is ready. As for myself, I drift through the days in a blissful stupor, one that is not missed by my amused costars, nor one far-from-amused one.
“Oh, joy, it’s the happy couple again. Everyone grab your barf bags.”
Austin breaks away from our kiss, piercing his ex with a glare. To say Kendal is not pleased with the romance budding between us is putting it mildly. The accolades I received after my audition for Tiffany yesterday only added insult to my list of crimes in her eyes. But even the wicked witch’s sharp-tongued barbs cannot shatter my contentment. Leaning around Austin’s embrace, I look across the busy Roosevelt Academy hallway and offer my adversary a pleasant smile. “Good morning, Kendal.”
She rolls her eyes and walks away in a huff, which is not at all surprising.
“I’ll see you in drama,” Austin tells me, pressing one last kiss against my lips. “And with Kendal there, you can be sure it’ll be full of that.” He tugs a strand of my hair, then steps back into the chaotic stream of students, walking backward so he can keep his eyes trained on me until the crowd swallows him.
With a contented sigh, I grab my purse from inside my locker and close it, then head off to lunch.
Cat is already waiting inside the cafeteria, two books signaling the seats closest to her are reserved. I of course take one of them, and when Lucas appears moments later, he takes the other, the one just beside her, spinning the chair and straddling it. I shoot my cousin a grin.
Peeling the wrapper off a granola bar, Lucas slides his arm around Cat and says, “Looks like Angela is meeting with Jenna tonight about her sweet sixteen. I figured I’d tag along to help. I’ve been told my opinions on fabric and napkin samples are very useful.”
“How metrosexual of you,” Cat says with a laugh, poking him in the ribs with an elbow. “And dork, if you want to see me, all you have to do is say so. You don’t need a made-up excuse to come over.”
The look Lucas pins her with clearly says that up until this past weekend, he did need such an excuse, and my cousin has the decency to look guilty. “Well, at least not anymore,” she clarifies. Then she smiles at me. “Less, why don’t you invite Austin, too? We can all hang out, order pizza, and watch a movie or something.”
Just a modern-day double date, I think with amusement.