"Well, let's do the opposite of that tonight," my dad says with a laugh.
At that, Fiona and I share a glance because she was hoping for Cane and Samantha to hook up, but maybe it's my dad and Samantha who are meant to be together. I shrug, feeling let down because I'm not exactly interested in matchmaking for my dad tonight. It's me who was supposed to have a night I'd never forget.
Feeling frustrated that I'm not getting where I want to go, I decide to take matters into my own hands. "Hey," I say to Fiona. "Do you have a second to talk?" I look over at her husband. "I mean, if you don't mind letting me steal your wife away for just one moment."
Flynn laughs. "So long as you don't go sweeping her away under the mistletoe."
I laugh. "What are you trying to say?"
Flynn lifts his hands in front of himself innocently. "I'm not saying anything."
"Good," I say, "because I might be wild and crazy, but I'm not that wild."
"Whatever you say, Lucia."
I roll my eyes, reaching for another glass of champagne as a waiter passes us. Fiona does the same, and soon enough we're walking through the house to her favorite side parlor.
She closes the pocket doors, and we're in a little library. When we were younger, we would always come in here and sit on the tiny sofa, plucking our favorite fairy tales with our feet up in the air, reading them out loud to one another – Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, Cinderella – pretending we were going off to Never-Never Land.
Now though, I have a different sort of fairy tale in mind and it's one I'm not sure my best friend is going to be very excited about.
Still, I have to fight for my happily ever after just like all those princesses.
"Are you having a good night?" she asks me. "You should have brought someone."
"No, I'm having a good time," I say. "By the way," I tell her, "your dress is gorgeous. You really made a beautiful gown."
She smiles. I know she's been working hard on her collection as a fashion designer, and she's really been making some gorgeous pieces lately. "Thanks," she says. "I have another investor so I think I might be really onto something."
"Of course you are," I say, sitting next to her on the sofa.
"But you're taking the conversation away from yourself," Fiona says. "Tell me." She elbows me. "Why didn't you bring a date? I bet Sebastian would have liked to come."
I shrug. "Yeah, but actually there is someone I'm interested in. I just…" I swallow, not knowing how to broach it.
"Is it Tommy?"
"Tommy?" I ask. "What? No."
"Are you sure?" Fiona asks.
"You mean Tommy, Flynn's friend?"
"Yeah," she says. "I know you only hung out that one weekend ages ago back when Flynn and I met, but I also know you guys hooked up."
"Hooked up?" I laugh. "What? No. I mean, we had a wild time and we hung out all weekend long, but–"
She cuts me off, "What does a wild time mean then? I assumed it meant you guys..."
"No, no, no." I shake my head. "It means we rode the rollercoaster and we got table service at that club at the Hakkasan and we danced on tables. We went to a strip club and we got wasted, but we never hooked up. He never even tried to kiss me. Fiona, I am a virgin."
Fiona's eyes widen. "Lucia, really? I thought, I mean, I really thought you..."
I smirk, "I guess I haven't been very honest with you. I let you think I was something I wasn't, but Tommy and I were never like that. And honestly, I like to have fun, but not that kind of fun. I've haven’t changed since we were in boarding school."
"So who is it you're interested in, then? If it's not Tommy and it's not Sebastian, then..."
I look at her, trying to gauge just how much I can say, how much she can handle, but she's been my best friend for my whole life and the truth is, I'm ready to take things to the next level with her father. So if that's going to happen, she's going to have to get on board, whether she's ready or not.
I take a deep breath. "The person I'm going to say, it might change things between you and me." Her eyes narrow, and for a moment, I think she's scared I'm going to say Flynn's name. I shake my head. "No, nothing with Flynn. God, no."
She presses a hand to her heart, "Oh my God. I thought you were going to just devastate me there for a second."
"I'm sorry," I say. "No, but I'm really into your dad, Fiona."
"My dad?" she says, her jaw dropping. "Oh my God, Lucia, you can't be serious. My father?" I swallow.