Page 91 of The Do-Over

But what if it was true? What if I’d done to Bria what my mother had been trying to do for me my whole life? What if I’d just seen her as a “problem” I could fix? That made me just like my mother, didn’t it? A sharp pain spliced my chest.

She leaned down. “It really is. Once a screw-up, always a screw-up. You know exactly what I mean, don’t you? Takes one to know one.”

I sucked in a stinging breath at her words and held it until my lungs burned. Bria stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her. But I didn’t hear it. All I heard were her words over and over, like a mantra, Once a screw-up, always a screw-up.

THIRTY-SIX

“Wishin’ and hopin’ is not the same as doin’.”

—MIMI

“Do you think Duke Crosby will sign my limited-edition Duke Crosby Encyclopedia of Birds?” Lilah asked, practically vibrating with excitement.

“Yes, for the hundredth time, yes,” Nate said as we made our way through the hordes of fellow Duke Crosby devotees.

And there were a lot of them, apparently. The tickets had gone faster than Nate expected, and Lilah had been crushed. When Phee had found out, she’d worked a little magic. She’d talked her way into doing a piece about the event. Sometimes it paid to have a sister who worked for a news station.

“There’s Phee,” I said, pointing to my sister standing in front of a news van. Despite the stifling heat, she was dressed in a navy knee-length dress and heels, her hair pulled up in some complicated twist that probably involved a lot of bobby pins and hairspray. Oversized sunglasses covered half her face.

Lilah dropped Nate’s hand and took off, screaming Phee’s name.

“I think she’s excited,” I said.

“That would be an understatement. She’s been up and dressed since five o’clock this morning.” He tugged my hand, so I stopped and faced him. He smiled. “Thank you for this. It means a lot to Lilah. And me.”

That smile was worth promising Phee two extra dress shopping trips with Mom for the tickets. “It was my pleasure.”

His smiled turned wicked. Now that smile would make me do a whole lot of other things. He glanced toward Lilah and, satisfied she wasn’t looking, he kissed me right there. Long enough, my knees turned to noodles and I had to clutch his shirt, even after we parted.

“You should thank me more often,” I said. Behind him, I caught sight of Lilah dragging Phee by the hand toward us. “Here they come. Look casual.”

“My, my,” Phee smirked. “I was worried you two got lost.”

“They didn’t get lost,” Lilah said matter-of-factly. “They were kissing.”

“No, we weren’t,” Nate said.

“Of course not,” I said at the same time.

Phee laughed. “Is that so?”

“They kiss all the time. They think I don’t see but they aren’t very good at sneaking, so I just pretend I don’t know.”

Nate rubbed the back of his neck. “Can we just keep pretending? Please?”

“Sure.” She shrugged, then turned to Phee. “Did you see Duke yet? Does he have all his birds? Can I meet him now? Please? Please? I’ll be so good, I swear.”

Phee gave one of Lilah’s pigtails a tug. “Slow down. I have met him. In fact, see this tent over there? He’s in there right now and he knows I have a special friend who wants to meet him.”

“Now?” Lilah squealed. “Can I go now?”

“Let’s go.” Phee led us into a large tent. It was set up circle-style, with seats around the edge and a center performance area.

Lilah froze. “It’s him. It’s really him. He’s beautiful. Daddy, isn’t he beautiful?”

At the center of the tent stood an older man with a noticeable paunch and an oversized handlebar mustache. He was dressed head to toe in khaki. A brightly colored bird perched on his arm.

Nate cleared his throat, probably to hide a laugh. “Do you mean the bird or Duke?”