Page 56 of Wish You Were Her

“About romance books.”

Jonah paled. This loud conversation had caught the attention of Allegra and Grace, who were getting up from their spots on the couch. Allegra was watching him coyly.

“I can’t remember what I said,” Jonah murmured, and it wasn’t a lie. He could barely remember this volunteer, let alone what he might have blabbed about to them during their orientation.

“I’m guessing it wasn’t very complimentary, knowing Jonah,” Kerrie said gregariously.

Jonah watched Allegra as she arched an eyebrow at that and whispered something to Grace. They began to leave the room.

“I’m coming around to them actually,” he said loudly. “Think I was probably being a bit of a snob before, to be honest. Some books are about the journey, not the destination. Just because there’s a contract between author and reader when it comes to certain genres, it doesn’t mean there can’t be invention. Or something really beautiful.”

He watched as Allegra’s shoulders tensed and she stopped walking for a moment. He felt his breath catch, but the moment passed as quickly as it had come. She moved into the hallway with Grace, and didn’t look back.

He felt his phone start to vibrate.

He excused himself gruffly and made his way to the kitchen, which was quieter than therumpus room, a term only used by the obnoxiously rich of Lake Pristine. He answered his phone.

“Hey.”

“Hi, darling,” his mother’s voice said from the other end of the line. “You okay?”

“Fine,” he lied. “At Simon’s. You all right?”

“I’m at Auntie Shosh’s, darling. I’ve had far too much wine, I can’t drive myself home so I’m sleeping over. Will you be okay on your own tonight? Got your keys?”

He smiled, in spite of the nightmare evening. “I’m eighteen, Ma.”

“I know, I know. I can get a cab—”

“You’re fine. Say hi to Aunt Shosh.”

“I have done, darling. Be safe and have fun.”

From his spot by the kitchen door he could see Grace Lancaster and Allegra chatting on the stairs.

“I’m finally experiencing proper teen parties,” he heard Allegra tell Grace. “I want to see all of the staples. Couple making out. A fight. And some girl crying on the stairs. Right here. On this spot. Don’t even care if it’s me.”

Grace grinned and then said something too quietly for Jonah to hear. Allegra laughed and the sound caused many people to glance quickly at her. She was always being observed, whether she realized it or not. Someone at the dining room door took a sneaky picture of her on his phone and Jonah wanted to snatch the thing out of his hand.

As she and Grace ascended the stairs, he spotted Kerrie coming toward him.

“You look really nice tonight,” she told him, shouting over the extremely loud music.

“Thanks,” he answered, glancing at the stairs again. “You doing okay?”

She looked disappointed for a brief second, glancing down at herself a little self-consciously, but then she said, “All good. Want a drink?”

“I’m fine,” he said. “Think I might go upstairs a minute.”

She started to say something else but he was already moving away, needing some darkness and some quiet.

Grace led Allegra into a completely dark spare bedroom. They climbed over the large bed to lie down on the floor next to it, so as not to muss the expensive sheets Simon’s mother had no doubt picked out. As they lay side by side on the carpeted floor, Grace whispered, “Are loud parties a lot for you?”

“Yes,” Allegra said, wondering if she should disclose just how much. “I’ve had major fear of missing out over house parties, but I also find them really overstimulating.”

“We’ll be fine in here,” Grace said, squeezing her arm.

They grasped hands in the dark and stared up at a ceiling neither of them could really see.