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“Is that right?”

She straightened her spine. “It is.”

“Amber!” Thomas called, still searching for her somewhere nearby.

“Only, maybe not here.”

They turned and started making their way from the room. As they went, they ran into Mary, who immediately spotted Amber. She approached them with a tight smile.

“Amber, we’ve been looking for you.”

Her heart pounded. “You- you have?”

She nodded. “You should come with me before your cousin starts to look for you.”

Amber glanced at Christoper.

“Actually,” he cut in, “she was helping me look for my sister. It seems the girl wandered off again.”

Suddenly a strange smile came across Amber’s face. “I’m sure you can find her on your own. You can tell me all about it tomorrow.”

He studied her for a moment, the meaning of her words working themselves out to him. After a moment, he nodded.

“All right then. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He made pointed eye contact.

When she smiled, he knew she understood.

* * *

Amber’s heart pounded in her chest as she paced the grassy field, waiting for Christoper.

It wasn’t too late. She could still back out.

All it would take would be to turn and walk back down the garden path to where the rest of the party was waiting.

Before she could come to a decision, a voice called out to her.

“Ready to do this?”

She flushed. “Just like that?”

“No point in waiting any longer, is there?”

“I suppose not,” she chewed her lip. “How do you want to do this?”

“The others should be coming down this way for a walk soon. I thought we could linger near the path and let them catch us there.”

“That sounds like it might work.”

“Of course, it will. I came up with it.”

Amber rolled her eyes. “Right, so I guess we should get into position?”

“That would probably be smart. We don’t want to be rushing in at the last minute, or they might think that we haven’t been there very long.”

“And that’s important? Letting them think we’ve been there for a long time?”

“Of course. If we really were a couple, it would mean we actually enjoy each other’s company.”