Page 108 of Old Habits

Chapter 27

Jovie

The teacher’s lounge is a busy fray of voices by the time I make it for the party planning meeting. Sara and the others have already arrived, each one of them sitting around the table with tall mugs of fresh coffee and multi-colored ribbons scattered among them, mostly various shades of red and blue.

My first instinct is to apologize for being tardy but that’s comparable to jumping into shark-infested waters covered in fresh blood. Any obvious weakness will be my downfall here and I’ve already worked too hard to get on this committee in the first place.

I walk right in with my head high but my guts lurch the moment Sara’s eyes flick over at me and she casts that look of judgment at me and my red smock.

“You’re late,” she spits out as she trims a piece of sapphire ribbon with scissors.

I take the one empty seat on Natalie’s left. “The toy store didn’t close until seven.”

“If you’re going to be involved, Jovie, then you have to be on time. Otherwise, you can go.”

Natalie scoffs. “Oh, please, Sara. We literally just sat down. Un-bunch thyself.” She twists in her seat to stare at me. “Let me see it.”

I lean back. “See what?”

She launches forward and reaches across my lap to snatch my left wrist. Her jaw drops as she whips my hand closer to her face to get a good look at my ring.

“Oh, my gosh!” she says. “It’s so pretty!”

I smile. “Thank y—”

She practically yanks me from my chair to thrust it into Claudia’s face. “Look at it!”

Claudia makes the same fawning expression. “Oh, wow. Will has such good taste!”

Two others pop out of their chairs to rush over and see. I peek through the group to check out Sara’s impatient, almost furious, face. Honestly, it’s more than a little satisfying watching the steam billow from her pink nostrils as her friends unanimously praise me for anchoring down her little brother.

“Let’s concentrate, people,”Sara says, her voice rising. “We need to come up with decorations to match our theme.”

“Theme?” I ask as the others disperse back to their chairs. “It’s the Valentine’s dance. Isn’t the theme always Valentine’s Day?”

Natalie giggles over Sara’s annoyed glare. “Not anymore. Ever since Sara took over, we’ve started doing themes to increase attendance and it really got people excited again. Last year, it was the Renaissance, and the year before that, it was Romeo and Juliet.”

I chuckle. “Aren’t those pretty much the same thing?”

Sara’s stare hardens but she doesn’t answer.

“Okay…” I move on, “what’s the theme this year?”

“A USO show,” Natalie says, still grinning.

I raise a brow. “Like entertaining the troops and stuff?”

“World War II style, baby!” She tugs on my arm. “It’s going to be so much fun! Swing dancing and jazz music and cigarette girls — candy ones, of course. I can’t wait!”

“Yeah.” I nod. Actually, it could be much worse. “Sounds cool.”

Sara lays her scissors down a little too hard. “Good. Then, you won’t mind making signs to display around town to announce the theme.”

It’s a ploy to get rid of me. Not from the committee, of course. Just out of her face.

“Sure,” I answer, sitting a little taller. “I don’t mind at all.”

“Ohh, let me help!” Natalie says. “I live for signage.”