It’s not a difficult line to remember. I ask myself that question about Brandon almost every day. Sometimes I see him walking across campus hand-in-hand with his old girlfriend and my heart fills with a crushing ache. Of course, it’s not necessarily Brandon who makes me feel that way. It’s the wish to be normal—to have a boyfriend and a chance at a family someday. I fear that that most simple of wishes has been stolen from me.
We finish the scene and I walk off with Sylvia. Caroline is right where I left her, her sketchbook open. She looks up and grins. “You were great.”
“I was passable. But that’s okay. It’s for a good cause and it was nice of them to include me.”
She shakes her head and grins. “Give yourself more credit. That wig makes you sassy.” She winks. “I like it.”
She spins her sketchpad around. “I’ve come up with designs for T-shirts for the summer program. See what you think.”
She’s drawn a shirt with the charity’s logo for the girls and a toned-down version for the boys. “I know it would make things easier if they were unisex shirts, but I think the girls will be more inclined to wear them if they’re different.”
“Oh, Caroline! I love them!”
Sylvia wanders over. “Let me see.” She leans over and voices her approval. “You are definitely lucky to have this woman on your team.”
I release a nervous sigh. “Now, if we can just make enough money to fund the expansion of the program.”
“That was our best rehearsal yet,” Sylvia says as she hops onto the table in front of us and swings her legs, complete with her four-inch heels. “Maybe the play won’t suck.”
“Well, that’s good to know since our pre-show ticket sales are much higher than expected.” I have to admit the play wasn’t coming together very well last week. “We’re on track to fund almost a third of what I’m planning for the kids this summer.”
Her eyes widen. “You say that like you’re surprised.”
“Well…we threw this together pretty fast.”
Sylvia shakes her head. “Girl, no one can say no to you. You’re like a force of nature. Once you have your sights on something, you make it happen.”
Caroline spins her notebook around and laughs. “Don’t I know it.”
My mouth parts. “Why would you say that?”
Sylvia shakes her head in disbelief. “How about the way you got the Monroe Foundation to help sponsor the Southern Fall Fashion Show just so you could get Reed and Caroline to work together?” She tilts her head toward my future sister-in-law, whose mouth tips up in a smirk. “All that effort just to get them to see how perfect they were for each other.”
“For the record,” Caroline says, “I’d like to think Reed and I would have found our way together eventually anyway, but Lexi’s intervention definitely played a key role.”
“That’s not the only reason I set it up,” I add. “I did it to help a worthy cause.”
Sylvia’s eyes bug slightly as she gives me a skeptical look.
I laugh. “Okay, so I helped two worthy causes at the same time. But how could I not? I knew they were meant to be together.” I turn my gaze on Caroline. “But we’re talking about two very stubborn people here, and sometimes drastic times call for drastic measures.”
Caroline’s grin grows wider as she starts sketching again.
Sylvia slides off the table. “I’ll be honest, when you first told me about your plan last fall, I thought you were crazy. But when it actually worked, I decided you were a mad genius.”
I roll my eyes with a snort. “No need to kiss my ass. I already told you that I’d give you my notes from the ethics class you missed yesterday.”
She grins and gives me a half-shrug. “I mean it. You’re a natural, Lexi. You’re a born problem solver. No hemming and hawing for you.” She crosses her legs and leans forward. “Take the Middle Tennessee Children’s Charity. Sure, maybe you didn’t get involved for purely altruistic reasons—”
“Hey!”
“—but you saw a great organization that could use some fresh blood and ideas. And now look at everything you’re doing with them. And you’re only a sophomore in college. Imagine what you’ll accomplish when you graduate. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Monroe Industries gave you a job as soon as you get your degree.”
Little does she know my family owns Monroe Industries, the international multi-million dollar corporation that funds the foundation and that my parents expect me to fulfill some role in the corporation one day.
“I’m just glad I sat next to you in statistics last August. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have gotten involved with the charity, which will look great on my resume.”
“I didn’t ask you because we’re friends, Sylvia. I asked you because you’re a great asset. The fact that we’re friends is bonus.”
She waves her hands up and down the length of her body. “No, I’ll tell you what the real bonus is having a reason to look hot.” She’s wearing a short, tight grey dress that shows cleavage. Her brown hair is curly and teased and her makeup is just as dramatic as mine. She looks amazing. “I can’t even remember the last time I got dressed up.”
I sigh. “Neither can I.”
She gives me a sad smile. “I still can’t believe you and Brandon broke up. Why would he go back to his ex? You two were perfect for each other.”