Bonnie stared down at the floor, twisting her right foot into the carpet. Then she stared at Natalie from beneath her bangs. “Sorry,” she whispered.
“Good girl,” Leo said, kissing her on top of her head.
“I wouldn’t say you’re unpopular,” Natalie told Leo. She didn’t know why, but Leo calling himself unpopular bothered her. It made her feel like he thought she was better than him, and that wasn’t true.
Bonnie began tugging Leo by the hand, trying to drag him into the living room. “Uncle Leo, come and have a tea party with me!”
“A tea party! Really?” Leo happily clapped his hands. “Oh boy!”
Natalie watched as Bonnie led Leo to a tiny table and chairs situated in the corner of the living room. Leo couldn’t fit into the chair, but he got down on his knees and let Bonnie drape a purple feather boa around his neck and place a huge straw hat on his head. Bonnie then added a colorful silk scarf to her own neck and sat across from Leo. She reached for a pink teapot and poured her uncle a cup.
“This tea is deee-liss-eee-us!” Leo proclaimed with a loud slurp. He held out his cup. “More, please!”
Natalie couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Leo sitting at Bonnie’s table. They looked so cute together. It was obvious that he adored his niece and she adored him.
“Hey, Natalie, want to join our tea party?” Leo looked at Bonnie. “It’s okay if Natalie joins us, isn’t it?”
Bonnie’s head bobbed up and down. “Yes!”
“I’d love to,” Natalie said, hurrying to join them.
“How’s your essay coming?” Violet asked, looking up from her American History notes.
“What essay?” Jennifer asked as she ripped a piece of lined yellow paper from her notepad, crumpled it, and tossed it on the floor, where it joined a growing pile in the corner of her kitchen. Her Siamese cat, Sheba, walked over and sniffed the page. After discovering it wasn’t something edible, she twitched her tail and walked out of the kitchen.
“I thought you said writing the essay was going to be the easy part.”
“So did I.” Jennifer sighed. She had been trying to write her essay for the last three hours, ever since she and Violet had come to her house after classes had ended. She still didn’t have anything on paper. “I was wrong. How can I write about my perfect boyfriend and our perfect relationship when I don’t know anything about him?”
“You don’t have to know anything about him,” Violet pointed out. “Just make it all up! The deadline for essays is Friday. You have to write one. Otherwise, you can’t compete.”
“I’m trying, but the words aren’t coming out. Whatever I say needs to fit the guy I wind up with. And because I don’t know anything about him, I’m having a hard time.”
“Can’t you give him a copy of your essay once you find him? You’re going to have to do that anyway so your stories are straight.”
“Yes, but it’s not the same thing. If I knew something, anything, about him, it might make the writing easier.”
“Why don’t you write about the guy you wish was already your boyfriend?” Violet suggested.
“There isn’t anyone at school,” Jennifer said.
Violet shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. Don’t you sometimes wonder who you’re going to marry someday? What he looks like, how you fall in love with him, how he proposes to you?”
“Not really. Why? Do you?”
Violet slowly nodded her head. “I’m going to meet him in college during our sophomore year and I’m going to be late for class. We’re going to crash into each other in the hallway and our books are going to fall to the floor. He’s going to help me pick everything up, but before I can thank him, he’s running off to his class. One thing I notice about him is how messy he is. His clothes are all wrinkly and look too big on him and he needs a haircut. The other thing I notice are his eyes. They’re big and brown and there’s something about them that I can’t forget.”
Violet left her seat at the butcher-block table and walked over to the stainless-steel refrigerator, reaching in for a bottle of water. She opened it up and took a sip. “Later that day I run into him at the campus coffee shop and I offer to buy him a coffee. We talk for hours and he walks me back to my dorm. After he does, he asks if I’m doing anything on Saturday night. At first I want to play hard to get and pretend I already have plans, but I like him so much that I say yes. On our first date, he takes me bowling and then we go out for Chinese food and he teaches me how to use chopsticks. When he takes me home and kisses me good night, I know that he’s the guy I’m going to marry. And when he does propose to me during our senior year, it’s going to be at the same Chinese restaurant where we had our first date. When I crack open my fortune cookie at the end of dinner, my fortune is going to say, Will you marry me? Of course my answer will be yes!”
“Violet Wagner!” Jennifer exclaimed. “Who knew you were such a romantic!”
Violet blushed as she sat back down next to Jennifer. “You don’t daydream like that?”
Jennifer reached for Violet’s bottle of water and took a sip. “I’m too busy worrying if I’m going to have a date for the prom. I have plenty of time to worry about finding a groom.”
“Do you want me to write the essay for you?” Violet offered.
Jennifer shook her head. “Thanks, but I have to do this myself. Don’t worry, it’ll get done.”
“You’re still going to have to find the guy you’re writing about,” Violet gently reminded. “Saturday night isn’t that far away.”
“I know,” Jennifer groaned. “I know.”
“You probably don’t want to hear this, but there’s still time to back out.”
Jennifer stubbornly shook her head. “And give Claudia the satisfaction of knowing I lied? I don’t think so!”
“But if you don’t confess now and you still don’t have a boyfriend by Saturday night, what are you going to do?”
Jennifer didn’t say anything. She just stared at Violet, who gasped.
“You’re not going to go to her party alone, are you?”
“Why not?”
“Because you’ll be humiliated.”
“I’m not going to hide!” Jennifer exclaimed. “That’s what she expects me to do. She thinks I won’t show up, but I will. I’m not afraid of Claudia. Besides, once I go to her party, it’ll be over and done with. Like ripping off a Band-Aid.”
“Ouch!”
“I still have tomorrow and Friday to find someone. Don’t count me out yet.” Jennifer pushed her chair away from the table. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. How about we order a pizza? My parents are both working late tonight so it would be nice not to eat alone. Maybe after I have something to eat, I’ll be able to write my essay.”
“Sure. Let me just call my mom and tell her I’m not going to be home for dinner,” Violet said, whipping out her cell.
Jennifer walked over to the counter and opened the drawer where there were a bunch of take-out menus. Jennifer’s mother, who worked long hours at an advertising agency, didn’t cook much and was always ordering in. Jennifer started searching for the pizzeria menus so she could find a place to call. “How does half pepperoni, half mushroom sound?”
“Sounds yummy!” Violet exclaimed as her stomach rumbled in agreement.
Thirty minutes later, there was a knock on the back door.
“Pizza!” Violet happily exclaimed, closing her textbooks.
Jennifer rummaged for her wallet in her shoulder bag before going to open the door. As she walked across the kitchen, Violet called out, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could order up a boyfriend the way we just ordered this pizza?”
Jennifer laughed. “If only!”
Then Jennifer opened the back door and was left speechless when she saw the delivery guy.
He was gorgeous.
His face was all chiseled cheekbones, with a small cleft in his chin. His jet-black hair was straight and parted on the side, falling smo
othly across his forehead and bringing attention to his piercing blue eyes. He was wearing a green plaid flannel shirt with a white waffle T-shirt underneath it and a black leather vest on top. His jeans were faded and his motorcycle boots were dusty and scuffed.
Jennifer instantly knew who he was.
Every girl at North Ridge High did.
Will Sinclair.
The Heartbreaker.
He held out the pizza box. “Are you Jennifer Harris? Half pepperoni, half mushroom?”
“Come in,” Jennifer said, holding the back door wide open. “You must be freezing out there.”
The scent of hot pizza brought Sheba running into the kitchen. Immediately, she began rubbing herself up against Will’s leg and purring.
“Would you excuse us for a second?” Jennifer asked Will, grabbing Violet by the arm and dragging her into the next room. “I can’t seem to find my wallet and I need help finding it.”
“Isn’t that it in your hand?” Will pointed out.
Jennifer stared at the red leather wallet she was holding and laughed. “It is! But there’s no money in it. I need to go find my other wallet. We’ll be right back.”
As soon as they were alone, Jennifer whispered, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“You want Will Sinclair to be your boyfriend.”
“He’s perfect!”
“Perfectly awful!” Behind her glasses, Violet’s blue eyes widened with concern. “Jen, you’ve heard the stories about him.”
Jennifer knew what Violet was talking about. Will was a notorious serial dater. He never went out with the same girl more than twice and his dates weren’t just limited to girls from North Ridge High. He was known to have gone out with girls from St. Bernadette’s and St. Edmund’s, two all-girls Catholic high schools, as well as two other public high schools. It was even rumored that he’d gone out with girls in college sororities!
Girls at North Ridge High were always following him down the halls. Waiting by his locker before and after school. Sitting at his table in the school cafeteria. They offered to buy his lunch. Do his homework. Take him to concerts and movies. Tempt him with expensive gifts.
But Will never said yes to them.
He dated only the girls that he wanted to date and then moved on. It didn’t matter if a girl was still interested in going out with him. Saying yes to a date with Will Sinclair meant maybe having your heart broken. Because there was always the chance that he might not call back. That was why he was called the Heartbreaker.
But girls kept saying yes to him because each and every one of them thought that she was going to be the one to get Will to change his ways. He was a bad boy, and there was nothing more irresistible to a good girl than trying to tame a bad boy.
Jennifer felt that Will would be perfect as her fake boyfriend. If everyone thought she had tamed the Heartbreaker, she’d be the talk of North Ridge High.
“Those stories are nothing but gossip,” Jennifer said dismissively. “You shouldn’t be so quick to judge him!”
“I’m not judging him. All I know is what I’ve heard.”
“Well, you’ve heard wrong!”
“Are you sure this is such a good idea?” Violet worriedly asked. “Are people really going to buy you and Will as a couple?”
“I think you just insulted me!” Jennifer gasped in mock outrage.
“He’s never had a girlfriend,” Violet reminded her. “Don’t take it personally. People are going to talk. Why all of a sudden does he decide to have a girlfriend?”
“What can I say? He was waiting for the right girl. Me!”
“I don’t know, Jennifer. Something could go wrong.”
“Nothing is going to go wrong. How can it? And think of the best part! When I walk into Claudia’s party on Saturday night, her eyes are going to pop right out of her head. I need her to be shocked when she sees Will on my arm. Can you think of a better secret boyfriend than him?”
Before Violet could answer, Will called out from the kitchen. “Hey! Your pizza is getting cold!”
“I’m going to ask him!” Jennifer announced, hurrying back into the kitchen.
Will had put the pizza box on top of the table. Sheba had already jumped onto a chair and was pressing her nose to the box, whiskers twitching. Jennifer shooed her away and she jumped back down on the floor, meowing.
“That’s fifteen dollars,” Will said.
“Fifteen dollars,” Jennifer repeated, opening up her wallet.
“I thought you said you didn’t have any money in that wallet,” Will pointed out.
Jennifer laughed as she scrambled to say something that made sense. “My wallets are identical. I liked this one so much, I had to have two of them. It’s a girl thing.”
“Whatever.”
Jennifer handed Will the money for the pizza, along with a generous tip. Will counted the bills and then folded them, putting them in his back pocket. He gave Jennifer a smile for the tip. “Thanks! Enjoy the pizza.”
Violet nudged Jennifer. “He’s leaving! If you’re going to ask him, ask him!”
“So listen!” Jennifer called out. “I know you’re going to think this sounds crazy, but I need you to be my boyfriend.”
Will turned around and stared at Jennifer, his blue eyes wide with disbelief. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve gotten myself into this . . . situation,” Jennifer explained, trying not to squirm. “I told someone that I have a boyfriend. Which obviously I don’t otherwise I wouldn’t be standing here asking you to be my boyfriend.”
“And why are you asking me? Why not some other guy?”
“Because you’d be perfect,” Jennifer admitted. “Every girl at North Ridge High would love to go out with you.”
Will folded his arms across his chest and Jennifer couldn’t help but notice how muscular they were, even underneath all that flannel. “Have you ever wanted to go out with me?” he asked.
“I never really thought about it.”
“So why now?”
Jennifer sighed. “Because I have to find someone by Friday.”
“Why Friday?”
“That’s the deadline for essays for the Most Romantic couple contest,” Violet piped in.
Will held up a hand. “Wait a minute. Slow down. Not only do you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend, but you want us to compete as Most Romantic?”
“Yes,” Jennifer admitted.
“It sounds like you’ve gotten yourself into a mess,” Will said. “You should be careful about what you say.”
“She speaks without thinking,” Violet told Will. “It’s a bad habit.”
Will turned to Jennifer. “You should work on that.”
“I will. In the future. I promise. But right now I need your help.” She bit down on her lower lip, praying that Will would take pity on her. “Will you help me?”
“I don’t even know you!” Will exclaimed.
“We can get to know each other,” Jennifer suggested. “It’s only for a week. Until Valentine’s Day. After that, you’re free!”
Will sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The smooth black strands fell back into place. “Look, you seem nice, but I don’t like lying to people. It’s not my style.”
“Is that the only reason?” Jennifer asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe there’s another reason. Maybe you don’t want people thinking you’re off the market.”
Will shrugged. “Well, there is that, too. I like keeping myself in circulation. Sorry, I wish I could help you out, but I don’t do girlfriends, real or fake.”
Will turned around and headed for the back door.
Violet sighed. “Looks like Claudia wins again.”
At the mention of Claudia’s name, Will stopped in his tracks. “Claudia?” he asked, turning to face Jennifer and Violet. “Are you talking about Claudia Monroe?”
Jennifer nodded. “Yes. Why? Do you know her?”
Will made a face. “Do I ever!
Not only has she stiffed me on tips in the past, but last month she had a huge party and ordered a bunch of pizzas. When I delivered them, she wound up not paying. The cost of the pizzas had to come out of my pocket. Why didn’t you mention her name sooner? This changes everything.”
“What do you mean?” Jennifer asked.
“If you’re planning to pull a fast one on Claudia, then count me in.”
Jennifer couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Does that mean you’ll help me? You’ll do it? You’ll pretend to be my boyfriend?”
“Absolutely.”
Before she could stop herself, Jennifer threw her arms around Will and gave him a hug. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You don’t know how much this means to me!”
As Jennifer hugged Will, she couldn’t help but notice how nice he smelled. It was a combination of pizza, soap, and some sort of guy scent that was kind of woodsy.
Jennifer awkwardly broke the hug and stepped back. “Sorry about that. Sometimes I get a little overexcited.”
Will rubbed his hands together and gave an evil Bart Simpson chuckle. “So, tell me what I have to do.”
“One of our first tests is going to be a party that Claudia is throwing on Saturday night,” Jennifer said. “Practically everyone at school is going to be there, waiting to see us, because Claudia thinks I’m not going to show with a boyfriend. I think we should spend as much time together as we can this week so we can get to know each other. Trust me, if we want to fool Claudia, then this is going to have to seem real.”
Will nodded in agreement. “I hear you. Why don’t you swing by the pizzeria tomorrow after school? We can hang out and work on our stories.”
“It’s a date!” Jennifer exclaimed.
“You mean a fake date,” Will reminded her as he walked out the back door.
“Right!” Jennifer hurriedly agreed. “A fake date!”
Thursday morning Eden was waiting in front of Keith’s locker.
Be Mine Page 4
