He couldn’t help but laugh at her comment. “I haven’t heard many people who can sing well get up and perform karaoke.”
“I’m nowhere near as good as you, but I at least won’t cause any dogs to howl in pain. The same cannot be said for my friends. I suggest you consider bringing earplugs for when Ivy and Preston get up on stage.”
“Thanks for the warning. I’ll be sure to pick up a pair.”
“How long have you been playing the guitar? You’re really good,” Tory asked, changing the subject.
He tried to remember when he’d started as he returned his guitar to its case. “About twenty years or so. I did piano lessons first, and after a couple of years, I added the guitar.”
“You did them at the same time?”
“Yeah, and then in sixth grade, I joined the school band and played the saxophone.” Although the room offered numerous spots to sit, he joined her on the sofa. “You might want to write that down in your notes. You never know when you might need to know that.”
It had surprised him when he opened the notebook and saw line after line of neatly written questions. But he couldn’t argue with the logic behind them. They knew little about each other, which would be fine if they wanted people to believe they’d started dating after the auction. It wouldn’t fly if they were going to convince people they’d known each other since high school and had been together for well over a month. A list like the one Tory complied ensured they didn’t overlook anything important.
A dimple appeared in her right cheek when she smiled. “Already planned too.” Picking up both notebooks, she handed him the zebra-striped one and kept the one with a cheetah pattern for herself.
“You like animal prints, don’t you?”
“What gave it away?” Her smile grew wider as she held out a pen, and he couldn’t help but smile himself.
“Lucky guess.”
They zipped through the first few questions, which covered middle names, birthdays, and parents’ names. The next question related to siblings.
“I know you have at least one sister because you mentioned her earlier. Is she younger or older than you?” Tory asked, pen poised over the paper.
“Harper is eleven years younger.”
“Yikes, that’s just a little bit of an age gap. Do you have any other siblings?”
“Technically, no, but Gianna is more like a sister to me than a cousin. She was born a few months before me, and she’s an only child. Before my family moved off Sanborn Island, we did everything together. And every summer until I graduated from college, I’d stay with Gianna’s family and worked for my uncle Corey’s landscaping business. The same one Alec worked for this year.”
“Leah and I are like that. But we didn’t get really close until we roomed together at Phillips,” Tory said, writing the information in her notebook.
“How many siblings do you have?” Alec had invited him to many Sherbrooke events since they’d first become friends, and he’d met too many family members to know how they were all related to each other.
“Two brothers. Adam is eighteen months older, and the one Mom let take drum lessons. Tyler is two years younger.”
Duncan knew he wouldn’t forget the names, but he wrote them down anyway because it seemed like the thing to do. “Are the three of you close?”
Some of his friends couldn’t stand their siblings. Matt was a perfect example of that. Although Matt got along with his sister, he hadn’t spoken to his brother in two years. Others, like Alec, were a tight-knit group. In fact, he’d always envied the relationship Alec had with his brothers and sister. While Duncan would do anything for Harper, the eleven-year age gap between them made it hard to have a relationship similar to the one Alec had with his siblings.
When she answered, he couldn’t decipher Tory’s expression. “I’m closer to Adam than Tyler.”
If Tyler was two years younger than Tory, he was Duncan’s age. “Tyler didn’t go to school with us.” The only Sherbrooke in his graduating class had been Alec.
Tory shook her head. “Nope. He was supposed to go to Phillips and share a room with Alec. But Tyler wanted to attend Cate with a friend. And whatever Tyler wants, Tyler gets.”
Duncan was glad Tyler had gone somewhere else, because if he hadn’t, Duncan might have found himself living with one of the many jerks at the school. And there had been plenty of them who didn’t want to associate with someone there on a full-academic scholarship like Duncan. “I’ve never heard of Cate.”
“It’s in California and much smaller than Phillips. Tyler never said it, but I think a big part of the reason he wanted to go there was because he didn’t want to be so far away from our parents. I love him, but he’s always been a bit of momma’s boy. He went to college in California too.”
He knew the type. “Next question. Where did you grow up?”
“For the most part, Healdsburg, California, but I spent a lot of time at my parents’ house in Palo Alto too,” Tory answered.
Duncan was familiar with Palo Alto. Stanford University, which he’d toured and considered attending, was located there. “I’ve never heard of Healdsburg. Where’s it located?”