“I’m sure you can get out of it if you really want to. Why don’t you talk to Isaiah about it? Maybe you can negotiate the terms of the bet.”
Sofia shook her head. “Nope. A deal’s a deal. I have to go through with it. Is he here yet?” She swiveled her head again, careful not to spill her drink as she pivoted on her heel.
“I haven’t seen him yet. Maybe he’s still in his room.”
“Hmm,” Sofia mused, narrowing her eyes. She took another sip of her Love Potion and scanned the room. It seemed to be the usual Valentine’s karaoke crowd, some couples, some singles. All ages twenty-one and over were present. The room wasn’t completely full yet, and she was debating the strategy of getting the singing over with early, when there were fewer people present, or later, when the ones who remained might have had a few drinks and therefore might be more forgiving.
“I’m just going to go find Isaiah. I need to know what song he selected.” Adrenaline was buzzing in Sofia’s veins.
“Good luck.” Holly studied her face, her eyes full of concern.
Sofia lightly smacked her arm. “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”
Holly nodded, and Sofia watched as she headed toward where Ash was setting up the karaoke machine across the room.
Sofia passed through the lobby and into the hallway that connected the rooms on that side of the Emerald House, her heels clicking lightly against the floor. She hadn’t been to Isaiah’s room, but she knew which one he was staying in. Ash had placed him near his apartment. Sofia approached the door and knocked.
A few seconds later, it opened, and a grin pulled at the sides of Isaiah’s mouth as he took her in. He scanned the pink dress, the sparkly heels, and the giant red broken-heart earrings. “You really embraced the holiday,” he said, his eyes sparking.
Sofia held up her glass in a mock toast, her hot-pink nails wrapped around the rim. “Did you expect anything less?”
He laughed. “Not at all. But now I feel underdressed.”
He looks pretty great in those jeans, and the short sleeves on that button-up are really showing off his muscles.Sofia shook herself at the thought and tried to refocus.
“But to be fair, I only have the outfit I arrived here in plus two others I picked up on Main Street my first week here. Ash lent me this shirt. It’s a little small.”
Sofia touched a finger to her lips. “You know, we’re really going to have to do something about that. The weather’s getting warmer…” A loaded pause followed as they both thought of the reason she had lost the bet. “And I could use a trip out of town.”
Isaiah’s eyebrows rose. “You want to take me on a shopping trip outside of Emerald Hollow, Wrecker?”
“If I have to sing, you have to humor me and be my personal Ken doll.”
Isaiah gave a dramatic shiver and pretended to look down the hall for someone to save him.
She smacked him on the arm. “Oh, come on. I’ll go easy on you. As long as you pick a song with a really shallow range tonight. Preferably a short one. Under sixty seconds would be great.”
Isaiah leaned back and grinned. His voice came out even lower than normal as he asked, “Renegotiating, are we?”
Sofia’s stomach did a little flip. “Not exactly. Just greasing the wheels. A girl can try, right?”
He studied her for several moments, so long that Sofia began to squirm.
Finally, she turned on her heel, holding her drink aloft. “Coming?”
She cast a glance over her shoulder and saw him flick off the light switch in his room and pull the door closed as he followed her, giving a grin that she begged herself to ignore.
Chapter Thirty-One
SOFIA
The first few hours of the party flew by, and Sofia had consumed three Love Potions by the time Ash announced it was final call for karaoke. A woman with short dark hair ran up delightedly and snagged the microphone. Within moments, she was belting out Shania Twain.
Sofia took the last gulp of her drink and rolled her shoulders back, straightening. Isaiah had mysteriously disappeared a while ago, and she knew it was time to take matters into her own hands to complete the bet. She leaned toward Holly. “This is it. I’m going on after Shania.”
“Silver bells,” Holly said calmly, and Sofia looked at her quizzically. “It’s like ‘Good luck.’”
Sofia shook her head, wondering why Canada had such strange expressions, then strode to the side of the small stage. She’d pestered Isaiah on his song choice all night, but he’d refused to reveal it.If he hasn’t decided by now, I’m choosing.She scrolled through the list on the laptop screen.
