Kate slid off the bed and sat at her dressing table. She sorted a handful of lip gloss tubes, debated between Really Raspberry and Iced Coffee, decided on the pink and swiped it on. Good choice. This color worked better with her white-and-silver Diesel T-shirt and the orange-and-white striped scarf she’d paired with it.
She stood and wandered around the bed to the window. Her dad had suggested she start on her homework, but she had all weekend for that. She could work on Sarah’s Facebook, though. This week she’d taken enough photographs to schedule several posts a day until the next time she went in and could take some more. Her dad still didn’t know she was helping Sarah. She had to figure out a way to tell him, though, and it had to be a way that didn’t make him freak out.
This afternoon hadn’t been the right time, but she’d have to do it soon, before Sarah let something slip. Kate had been tempted to ask her not to tell him, which might have worked if she hadn’t already sort of lied to Sarah by pretending to text her dad to let him know she was there. Looking back, that had not been a smart move. Now she’d lied to Sarah about having her dad’s permission, she’d lied to her dad about the bag, and by not telling him where she was going after school she was sort of lying by omission. Some would argue that wasn’t really lying, although she knew her dad wasn’t one of them.
She opened the curtains wider and was wondering what Casey was up to when she saw her sprinting across her front yard. The front door of the house across the street opened and a boy raced down the steps two at time. The two met in the middle of the street. Casey flung herself into his arms and he twirled her in a circle before setting her down.
This had to be Henry. He was taller than Casey, with light brown hair that was short on the sides and combed into wavy spikes on top. She’d bet anything that his eyes were blue. He was wearing black jeans and a gray pullover sweater with the sleeves scrunched up to expose his forearms. Wow. He was the cutest boy she’d ever seen.
Casey had said they’d been best friends since first grade. She’d been surprised, shocked even, when Kate asked if he was her boyfriend.
“Henry?” She’d laughed at that. “No way. That would be too weird. He’s just a really good friend, practically like a brother.”
Well, he wasn’t Kate’s brother.
She quickly pulled on her boots and zipped them, checked her hair and makeup again, and dashed down the stairs and out the front door. Outside, she slowed to a casual saunter across the yard. Casey, eyes bright with excitement, waved to her.
“Kate, looks who’s back! This is my friend Henry.”
He watched her walk toward them, and she congratulated herself on being right about the eyes.
“Hi, Henry.”
“Hey.”
She liked the way he held her gaze, even as Casey pelted him with chatter about school and a barrage of questions about what he’d been doing all summer.
“My dad and I are going out for dinner tonight,” Kate said. “He says it’s okay if you want to come with us. Both of you.”
“That’d be great,” Casey said. “What do you think?”
“Sounds good. My parents are still unpacking,” he added. “They won’t mind if I’m not here.”
“All right, then. I’ll go let my dad know.”
“What time?” Casey asked.
“I’ll text you when I find out. It’s good to meet you, Henry. Casey’s told me all about you.”
“You, too.”
Did that mean Casey had told him about her, or just that it was nice to meet her? Seriously, who cared? Not her. She had a feeling life in Serenity Bay was about to get interesting. And it was time to let Casey know Dexter was all hers.
CHAPTER EIGHT
BY MID SATURDAY MORNING, Sarah congratulated herself on having caught up on all of her paperwork. No more frittering away half a day spying on her new neighbor. Today she was in control. Her books were in order, all the invoices paid, and she had even checked the new To the Nines Facebook page Kate had created. In just a few days, the shop had close to a hundred likes.
Kate suggested having a contest when they reached a certain number of fans, or drawing a name from among the people who posted comments and giving the winner an in-store discount or maybe a scarf or a belt. For someone so young, the girl had some business savvy, and several customers, including Mrs. Bentley, had raved about her window displays.
Casey liked her, too, and the girls were getting along well in spite of having such different interests. Or maybe because of it. Tonight they’d get to spend more time together because Jonathan and Kate had invited them over for Jonathan’s homemade pizza.