Font Size:

“Adults only, huh?”

“No, Holly’s coming by and a couple other people.” Her heart thundered in her ears as she screwed up her courage. “You could drop by if you wanted.”

“That’d be cool. What time?”

She managed to close her mouth and swallow. “Oh, about eight,” she said, struggling for the casual touch. “I live on—”

“I know where you live.” He grinned at her again, and all but stopped her thundering heart. “Hey, you’re not going with Chuck anymore, are you?”

“Chuck?” Who was Chuck? “Oh, no. We hung out for a while, but we sort of broke up over the summer.”

“Great. See you later.”

He strolled off to join a group of boys who were trooping offstage.

“That’s a very cute guy,” Nell commented from behind Kim.

“Yeah.” The word was a sigh. Kim had stars in her eyes.

“Kimmy has a boyfriend,” Zeke sang, in the high-pitched, annoying voice that was reserved for addressing younger siblings—or female cousins.

“Shut up, brat.”

He only giggled and began to dance around the stage, singsonging the refrain. Nell saw murder shoot into Kim’s eyes and created a diversion.

“Well, I guess you guys don’t want to practice ‘Jingle Bells’ today.”

“Yes, we do.” Zack stopped twirling around the stage with his brother and dashed to the piano. “I know which one it is,” he said, attacking Nell’s neat pile of sheet music. “I can find it.”

“I’ll find it,” Zeke said, but his brother was already holding the music up triumphantly.

“Good going.” Nell settled on the bench with a boy on either side of her. She played a dramatic opening chord that made them both giggle. “Please, music is a serious business. And one, and two, and …”

They actually sang it now, instead of screaming it, as they had the first time she invited them to try. What they lacked in style, they made up for in enthusiasm. In spades.

Even Kim was grinning by the time they’d finished.

“Now you do one, Miss Davis.” Zack gave her his soulful look. “Please.”

“Your dad’s probably waiting.”

“Just one.”

“Just one,” Zeke echoed.

In a few short weeks, it had become impossible for her to resist them. “Just one,” Nell agreed, and reached into the now-messy pile of music. “I picked up something you might like at the mall. I bet you’ve seenThe Little Mermaid.”

“Lots of times,” Zeke boasted. “We’ve got the tape and everything.”

“Then you’ll recognize this.” She played the opening of “Part of Your World.”

Mac hunched his shoulders against the wind as he headed into the school. He was damn sick and tired of waiting out in the parking lot. He’d seen the other kids filing out more than ten minutes before.

He had things to do, damn it. Especially since he was stuck going over to Mira’s for a party.

He hated parties.

He stomped down the hall. And he heard her. Not the words. He couldn’t make out the words, because they were muffled by the auditorium doors. But the sound of her voice, rich and deep. A Scotch-and-soda voice, he’d thought more than once. Sensual, seductive. Sexy.