Turn My 6's to 9's

Chapter 13: Ready, eager, and determined

Beth walked toward the student center and her mailbox, anticipating a package from home. With the intense workload, Beth was barely managing to keep all of her studies together, and she was happy for the start of fall break and the chance to sleep through the long weekend. Approaching the building, she noticed Will standing in front of the main entrance with a leggy brunette. She had curly brown hair and was wearing a pair of skinny jeans with boots that accentuated the long line of her legs. Her expensive cashmere coat made Beth immediately envious. Beth had never seen the girl before and had definitely never seen the two of them together. But they were comfortable with each other; they laughed and joked at the entrance. Will was grinning a wide smile, and he casually draped his arm over her shoulders as they stood.

Beth's eyes slowly narrowed, and she tried to interpret the negative emotion she was suddenly feeling. Was it jealousy? Well, it was cosmically unfair that anyone should have legs that long or such a pretty coat. Her mood had turned sour. Here she was in yoga pants and an old sweatshirt, and she couldn't remember if she'd worn deodorant. Her self-esteem took a sudden dip.

She decided to use the side entrance to the student center, changing course before Will could see her. Inside, she did find a package waiting for her, and she tore through the tape with more verve than strictly necessary. She knew Jane had sent chocolate brownies, and Beth needed the pick-me-up. Obviously, Will only liked girls who looked like models. She remembered what he had said that night at Carla's, about how different she was from everyone he had dated in the past. Well, here was the evidence of that. The brownies were good, but they didn't improve her mood. The Amazonian brunette outside with Will could probably eat five brownies a day and not gain a bit of weight.

She cringed inwardly when Will walked inside and noticed her with a friendly wave. At least that girl wasn't with him anymore. Beth didn't think a direct comparison would show her in a flattering light. She greeted him coolly as he walked over to her, holding onto her package like armor. Strange how the sight of him with someone else had upset her, even though they were just friends...

"Funny running into you. My cousin, Rich, is visiting for the break. He mentioned wanting to see you if we could."

"Oh!" Beth exclaimed, forgetting all about keeping a chilly demeanor. She'd learned more about Rich as the weeks had passed and he and Carla kept seeing each other. She knew through her conversations with Carla that he was making her friend very happy, and she was excited at the thought of seeing him in person again.

Will continued nervously. "We were planning to drive off campus today to go hiking with my sister. Do you want to join us?"

After a moment of total surprise, Beth readily agreed, a blush creeping into her cheeks at being included. She'd seen Will every now and then around campus since the night of the party, but this was the first time he'd invited her to something. With a shy smile, Will gave her the details on where to meet before he walked out the main entrance again.

She watched him walk away, still trying to process what had happened. A friendly family hike with the infamous Anna Darcy. She wondered, not for the first time, what Will's sister would be like. She wondered too, if the roles had been reversed and Jane and Lydia were visiting, if she would have invited him along with them. The answer was no, but then again Lydia was Lydia, and Beth didn't trust her around anyone, let alone Will. Rich, on the other hand, had always been open and friendly, and he was now dating her friend. With Beth's close connection to Carla, it wasn't unreasonable to ask her to join them, she decided.

In her dorm, she changed into a pair of leggings and her hiking shoes, layering up top with short sleeves and long sleeves and a fleece for good measure, not being able to predict how cold it would be on the hike. She felt nervous walking up to the parking lot, as though she were on her way to an interview. She tried to remind herself how friendly and open Rich was, but she had no idea what to expect about Will's sister. Rich waved and called hello as she drew closer and greeted her with a big friendly hug. She remembered that he'd given her a hug in D.C., too. Will cleared his throat, politely interrupting to introduce his sister.

The tall brunette she had seen with Will earlier moved forward to shake her hand. Anna had changed out of her cashmere coat and into leggings, and she shared Will's long, athletic physique. Beth's jealousy immediately evaporated, and she was feeling immensely foolish for assuming they were anything other than brother and sister. Her light green eyes met Beth's as they greeted each other, and when she smiled, a shy dimple appeared. Face to face, she could see the obvious resemblance. Twins, indeed. It was strange to see his face on a woman, though Anna's features were more delicate.

"Is everybody ready?" Rich asked, swinging his keys. He was driving the car they'd rented from the airport. Anna sat in the back with Beth.

"I've heard a lot about you," Anna said shyly, as they pulled out of the parking lot and began the drive to New Hampshire. The state line wasn't far, and they had a favorite trail there that was a family tradition to hike.

Beth looked at Anna with surprise, and then looked at the back of Will's head in the seat in front of her. She couldn't imagine what he had told his sister. "I hope it wasn't all bad."

Anna smiled. "Not at all. In fact—"

"Have you ever been to New Hampshire?" Will asked, turning around in the seat, interrupting over Anna. She never finished the sentence. Beth had the sneaking suspicion that Will had turned around to keep her from going on, and Beth had to smother her urge to smile.

"No, I haven't even left Pemberley much, I'm ashamed to say." It was hard enough with all her classwork to find time for everyday necessities, let alone leisure activities.

"I was like that too my first year. And I felt even worse about it because I'm in New York city," Anna replied. "But it gets easier the longer you're at school. And I have these two guys to go exploring with when they come to visit."

"My sister helped me move in at the start of the semester, but she hasn't been able to visit yet. We're hoping maybe spring break next semester."

After a quiet start, Beth found it easy to talk to Anna. Anna was shy and soft spoken, but in the backseat she didn't have to speak very loudly, and she was obviously making an effort to get to know Beth. They talked almost the whole ride with an easy conversation. Rich parked in a dirt parking lot at the bottom of the trail head. The area was deeply wooded, and she could see sloping hills in the distance.

"The hike isn't too intense, but the view at the end is spectacular," Anna said as they all started up the trail. They were all long-limbed, Beth realized, as the pace was faster than she would have gone on her own. Manageable if she hustled. Rich was kind enough to keep pace with her.

"How's D.C.?" she asked Rich after a few minutes of silence passed. Seeing him had her feeling a little homesick. But New England was so beautiful in the fall that she was happy to be here too. She'd never seen foliage like this. The leaves usually just turned brown and then died, but here they were electric red and orange. The trail was rocky and she had to watch out for tree roots, but it was so beautiful that she found it hard to keep her eyes on the trail. They'd found a perfect fall day with nothing but a clear blue sky above. The air was chilly in the shade of the trees, but Beth was warm enough in her layers and with the exertion of the hike.

"My favorite city," he replied. Beth was pleased to hear that his answers involved stories of Carla, and that things were going well between them. Anna and Will had paused for a water break, and Beth took the moment to ask Anna about her music and her smile was bashful as she responded.

"Don't be modest," Will said proudly, breaking in for the first time to list several of her solo roles in the performances.

Anna blushed. "You just have to tell everybody about it, don't you?"

"What else are big brothers for?"

She rolled her eyes and hit him lightly on the arm. "Two minutes, Will. You beat me out by two minutes," and they happily began to bicker over the issue, obviously a long-standing one.

Beth studied Will as he hiked just in front of her. His cheeks were rosy, and the sun was shining brightly on them all as they entered a less-wooded area of the trail. She had never seen Will so open before. Maybe it was the funny stories Rich told, or the beautiful day, or the presence of his sister. Maybe it was the scenery and the exercise. Beth couldn't look away from him as he tossed his head in amusement, his mouth happy and loose as he laughed. Beth liked him this way. She wished he would always be so carefree. She suddenly wondered if he usually was and if he only acted differently around her.

The problem was the tension, always there like a wall between them. She was attracted to him, and that made a carefree friendship difficult, she thought, remembering her reaction to seeing him with Anna outside the student center. Hiking the trail, he had on a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and little wisps of hair poked out from under the sides of his baseball cap. But she found him just as handsome as when she'd seen him in D.C. in his suit. She wondered if he was still attracted to her and then shook the thought away. She had already turned him down once.

Beth forced herself to focus on the conversation; it was hardly the time or place to be checking out Will. They'd hit a rough patch of the trail near the summit, and she had to scrabble across the face of a big sheet of rock using both her hands and feet. Then suddenly they were at the top, and she could see for miles.

"Wow," she said breathlessly. Reds, oranges, and yellows colored the vast forest around them. In the distance she could see a blue lake, serene on this calm day in the sun. She took it all in, and the four of them were quiet for a few minutes, awed by the sights. "This is amazing," she said, squinting up at Will in the sun, and he smiled down at her.

"I'm glad you like it," was his quiet reply, and they shared a smile until Rich interrupted.

"Who wants snacks?"

The four of them split some mixed nuts, and Beth thought nothing had ever tasted so good. The sun was rapidly setting, so they didn't linger at the top. Beth took one last long look at the beautiful view, and then they were all sliding on their butts down the sheet of rock back to the trail. Will held out a hand for her at the bottom and she gratefully took it, relieved that she wouldn't face-plant in front of the entire group. The hike down went much faster than the way up, and the sun was just dipping below the horizon as they walked back to the car.

"I am famished. Can we stop by that brewery before we drop you off at Pemberley?" Rich asked. They all piled back into the car, and Beth was sincerely hoping that no one could smell her after all the sweating she had done in the sun. Or at least that they were all sweaty together.

She and Anna shared sips from a water bottle, and Anna paused to look at her thoughtfully. "Are you dating anyone, Beth?"

Was it her, or did it seem like everyone was listening very intently to their conversation. Rich and Will hadn't been talking in the front seat, so she knew they had heard the question. Don't look at Will, she thought sternly to herself, making a supreme effort to appear neutral.

"Not right now, no. I've just been trying to adjust to my classes. I don't really have a good work/life balance," she admitted, her tone light.

Anna smiled, both dimples on display, and she did look over at Will, although he was staring straight ahead in the front seat, seemingly oblivious. The glance did not go unnoticed by Beth. "I totally understand," Anna said. "I didn't meet my boyfriend until my sophomore year."

"Oh?" Beth asked with interest, pivoting the conversation away from herself, and that conversation carried them until they reached the restaurant. Beth was grateful Anna had been the only one who could see her face. She'd tried to play it off, but she was certain she'd blushed. Hopefully Anna would think it was just her being shy in general, and not because Will had been in the vicinity. She suddenly wondered if Anna was scheming, or if it had been a completely innocent question. Without knowing her all that well, it was hard for Beth to tell.

The brewery was a nondescript white building, busy with the dinner crowd. They chose a high top table in the bar seating, and Beth found herself drooling over the food that came out from the kitchen. Everyone was hungry and they ordered what seemed like all the appetizers from the menu. Beth tried the empanadas first, and her eyes almost closed involuntarily. She was so hungry, and it was so good. For a while there wasn't much talking as they ate: french fries and beer battered tenders, a spicy, cheesy dip with tortilla chips, crispy brussel sprouts. She listened and ate while the other three reminisced about childhood. Will and Rich had not liked each other very much as children when they were first introduced and had feuded with each other during summers.

"I let him borrow my game-boy, and from then on we were friends," Rich finished.

"Wait," Beth said, disbelieving what she had heard. "Your instinctive childhood hatred of each other was cured by a video game?"

"Well…yeah." Rich finally said. "Though I got too old for it, eventually."

Will smirked. "You just didn't want me to beat you anymore," he taunted. "I still don't think you've ever won a game against me."

"Lies!"

"Ask Anna; she's never won a game either," he said proudly, leaning back in his chair.

She held up her hands in defeat. "He's right, but I'm horrible at it, so I don't think I really count."

The playful argument continued between Rich and Will. They were both getting more and more animated. Beth smiled, and she couldn't help thinking how silly boys were. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Anna smirking and realized they were having similar thoughts. Beth caught her eye and they began laughing.

Beth was surprised by how much time had passed when they arrived back to campus. She'd enjoyed every minute of the trip with Will and his family. They dropped her off in front of her dorm, and Beth beamed as she said goodbye. It had been a picture-perfect afternoon and evening.

Beth observed Lydia from across the table as they finished Thanksgiving dinner as a family. She looked sullen, pushing leftover bits of food around her plate. That wasn't anything new, but while Lydia had never been overweight, she had never been particularly skinny either. Her weight loss now was noticeable. Her jaw was more defined, her wrists were slender. She looked tiny. Up close, she looked feverish. But there wasn't time to ask her anything because almost as soon as dinner was done, Lydia was off to meet friends. Who and where, no one knew.

Beth joined Jane at the sink to help with the dishes. Their mother had cooked the meal, so her children graciously cleaned up while she opened herself a new bottle of wine. Beth reached over to tuck a strand of pale blonde hair behind Jane's ear, as elbow deep in soap suds, she'd been unsuccessful at pushing it back with her upper arm, and Jane smiled gratefully. But Beth noticed the worried expression that didn't leave Jane's eyes.

"It's Lydia," she said quietly. "I think...I don't know. Something's not right."

"Has anyone talked to her?"

Jane shook her head, chewing on her lip. "She's just so withdrawn. She's never outside of her room, or she's out god knows where. Mom said she'd broken her curfew a lot these past weeks. And she's so skinny," Jane added, and Beth nodded.

"Maybe she's going through something with her friends at school?" Beth suggested. Neither she nor Jane had loved their time in high school, and Lydia had always cycled rapidly through friends. It was the only idea Beth had. She'd been so busy at Pemberley; she honestly had no idea what was happening in Lydia's life. They had never been close. As the weeks flew by, she'd been slammed with exams and 10 page papers. She and Marianne spent half of their nights just trying to get ready for this class or the other. Lydia had not been at the top of her mind. "Should we talk to her?"

Jane sighed. "I don't know. Maybe you're right that she's just stressed with school. I think if she loses any more weight, we should definitely have a conversation with her."

Although she agreed, Beth did not feel enthusiastic about that. It seemed like a responsibility that their mother should have taken on. But she had always babied Lydia as the youngest, had always given her what she wanted and bent all the rules. She wondered now if that indulging approach had hurt Lydia in the long run.

Jane asked cheerfully if there was anything new with Pemberley, and Beth didn't know where to start. She hadn't found a way to tell Jane about Will; there was so much she needed to share. But she'd been too embarrassed to admit she'd been so drunk that he had to take care of her and that was how their tentative friendship had formed. They'd gone hiking just a few weeks before, but it hadn't been romantic. On campus, they saw each other frequently, but randomly; it wasn't purposeful. After all she'd said about him during the summer, she couldn't seem to admit to Jane that her feelings had changed for the better. Plus they were just friends, and that was nothing she needed to excite her sister about. Instead, Beth switched the topic to Charles and watched her sister glow with happiness.

Beth swiped herself into the student gym, back from Thanksgiving break and ready to elliptical machine away the three pounds of pie she had eaten. She entered the cardio room and noticed she wasn't the only person who'd had this idea. The gym was busy and all the of elliptical machines and bikes were in use. But there was an open treadmill, and Will Darcy was running on another one in the corner of the room. She found herself smiling at the sight of him. He'd been there for some time, judging by the sweat on the back of his t shirt. He ran like a deer. As she walked over, he hopped and placed his feet on the sides of the machine taking a break while the tread still rolled underneath him.

She didn't want to startle him so she placed her hand briefly on his forearm. He looked down in surprise and then turned off the machine and stepped down, only slightly winded. She noticed he looked tired and not just from running.

"You doing okay?" she asked, and he snorted.

"Easy read, huh? I'm okay. I got an offer for an internship with a company in New York."

"Wow, that's so great!"

He didn't look very excited. "If I take it, I'll be gone for all of winter term," he said quietly and looked at Beth to gauge her reaction. "I've been trying to figure out what to do," he said, pointing to the treadmill.

She furrowed her brow. He was going to be gone for January and the start of February. That was so much time. The J-term was the best semester, everyone told her. People only took 1 or 2 credits, and she'd heard from every upperclassman she knew that it was the time when everyone had fun on campus. She'd been looking forward to having even the hint of a real life and free time again, and apparently, she'd been looking forward to seeing more of Will, too. She hadn't realized until now when she felt so disappointed. "Oh. Well…what did you decide?"

He looked down at his hands. "I have to take the internship. No one wants to hire someone right out of college with no experience," he said, looking at her with a wry smile. "It was really competitive."

Though they were only a few feet apart, Beth suddenly felt like there were miles and miles of distance already between them. She offered more congratulations, but her heart wasn't in it, and Will only nodded in response.

"Are you using this one?" a girl asked Will about the treadmill, and he shook his head. "No, I'm done, but let me clean it up for you."

Beth stepped to the side, feeling like some kind of line had been drawn. Will met her eyes briefly and gave Beth a small smile, tossing his paper towel into the garbage. "Are you leaving?"

"Just getting started."

"Enjoy your workout." Beth watched him go, not knowing what to think. On the machine, she tried to digest the new information. She had two more weeks and then he was gone for the whole winter term. Somehow it seemed like the worst news she'd ever heard.

This was impossible, she thought, pushing her hair back from her face in exasperation. Her professors were insane, and they were just trying to haze all of the new students. There was no way they expected her to be able to take so many exams and write so many papers and still function. She was in the middle of the horrible, grueling, sadistic, and stressful period of time known as 'finals week'.

She gave up studying when Will entered the library; he was too much of a distraction. She hadn't seen him since he'd broken the news to her, but she had heard other people talking about him leaving campus. She saw him notice her, and he walked over to her table.

"What's this I hear about your going away party?"

He stood by her chair and she had to crane her neck to see him. "My fraternity is throwing the party. Same house as the other one."

Beth laughed. "Ah, memories…Well, no, I actually don't remember a lot of it."

He laughed, and then they were silent for a moment. Will gave her a look she couldn't interpret. "It starts at 9:30…" he took a deep breath. "Would you like to come with me? Anna is coming too. Her semester just finished, so she's visiting. And Cole will be playing music with a band..."

Beth had to fight the huge grin that threatened to break across her face. "I'd love to."

He smiled brightly at her response. "I'll pick you up in your lobby, is that okay?"

She nodded, and he continued quickly, looking at his watch. "Great. I have a meeting, so I have to go." He started to walk away, but then turned back. "Oh, and it's a formal party so…"

"Dress up?" she asked.

He nodded, and with a slight wave walked quickly off. She watched his retreating back, and then looked back down at her textbook, suddenly feeling like skipping.

"Dress pants or a skirt?" she asked, holding each up for Marianne, as her roommate lay on her bed glancing through a magazine.

"What's the occasion?"

Beth looked down, shyly playing with the pant button. "I'm going to the going away party with Will and his sister."

Marianne put down the magazine and smiled mischievously. "Ah-ha! This explains the way you've been acting all day."

Beth turned, looked in the mirror, and held up her perspective outfits. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You've been positively giddy all day." She sighed. "And you can't wear either of those. Where's the romance?" she said in disapproval, jumping down from her bed to look through her own closet.

"No, no, definitely not, no—aha!" she exclaimed, pulling out a forest green wrap dress made of a flowy, filmy material with graceful petal sleeves. "Wear this," she said with authority.

Beth hung up the pants and took the dress. As with all of Marianne's dresses, what was loose and flowing on her was much more fitted on Beth, but the skirt was cut in an a-line and draped nicely around Beth's knees.

Marianne clasped her hands under her chin and sighed happily as Beth looked at her reflection in the mirror. The hem twirled and flowed as she moved.

"Now that is a classic look and totally worthy of such an important evening. You've got to wear your hair up like this, with darling little wisps curling down in the front," she demonstrated. "And your eyes…well, do you just want me to do your make-up?"

Beth nodded, feeling her own skills suddenly weren't up to the pressure. But when Beth eyed herself in the mirror later, she suddenly felt self-conscious. "Marianne, I don't know about this."

"Oh, shut up. Don't smudge your lips. I'm putting the lipstick in your purse just in case it does somehow, in some magical way, manage to get smudged off…or licked…"

"Marianne!"

Marianne laughed. "If I were Will, tonight would be the night. That's all I know," she finished in a sing-song voice.

Was Marianne right? Was that why she'd been running around with butterflies in her stomach ever since he'd asked her? Beth turned back to look in the mirror again. Her brown eyes had been accentuated with mascara and plum colored shadows. It looked good, but it was more than she wore on an everyday basis.

"Marianne, I don't know…" she said again.

Marianne sighed and took her shoulders. "Beth, you look amazing. The dress is perfect, and it's too late to change anything anyway; it's 9:25."

Beth whipped her head around to look at the clock. "Shit! I'm going to be late, and you know he's going to be right on time."

"Here's your coat; don't forget your purse!" Marianne called helpfully a few minutes later as Beth rushed out the door and down three flights of stairs to the lobby. She could see Will walking around, hands in pockets, looking at the pictures on the wall. He had on the same suit he'd worn at the gallery, she noticed immediately, the one that accentuated the long lines of his body and his shoulders.

He turned to look and Beth saw him blink as she tried to walk down the stairs and put on her coat at the same time.

"I'm so sorry I'm late."

"Wow…you look…" he swallowed. "You look really nice," he finished quietly.

Beth, already flushed from her run down the stairs, blushed more under his gaze and couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes. Her eyes settled somewhere around the hollow of his throat.

"So do you." She tried to say it lightly, but she felt her heart beating rapidly. It was more than nice—he looked great, just like he had at the gallery so many months earlier.

She finally felt brave enough to meet his gaze, and Will offered her out to the door with a smile. "Let's go."

Anna and Cole were waiting just outside, and Cole was hastily tying his tie. There was a noticeable difference in the clothing of the two men. Cole's pants were baggy and a little wrinkled and his tie had turned out lopsided so that it hung quite low and the tail was much too short. He was obviously unused to wearing formal attire, but Beth smiled at him with affection. In his wire rimmed glasses, he reminded her of a helpful librarian. Patient, kind, and a little absent minded. She greeted Anna with a brief hug, feeling genuinely happy to see her again.

Each time they met, Anna made a special effort to be nice to Beth, and she was warmed by it. Beth felt a secret sense of shame and that she'd ever believed anything that Jamie Wickham had said about Will's sister. Sometimes, Beth wondered about Anna's past and longed to hear the details of what had happened in high school. Looking at her, she never would have guessed that she'd struggled with addiction. She was a picture of elegance and sophistication. Tonight, her hair was swept back in a low knot at the nape of her neck, and she wore a flowing silk top and wool pants in black. The outfit was classy and understated. But it showed she couldn't tell someone's struggles just by looking at them.

Cole smiled with appreciation as Beth stood next to Will. "What a pair!" he called, gesturing at the two of them. "Meanwhile, the potato in a tie," he said, gesturing down at himself.

"Nonsense," she said, giving his arm a playful squeeze. "You're looking very handsome this evening," she said as they walked to the parking lot. It was too cold to walk all the way to the party. She was glad Marianne had thrown her a warm coat; the filmy dress did nothing to stop the wind, and she rubbed her hands together, trying to get them warm.

"If I'm looking handsome, then what's he?" Cole asked, pointing to Will, who looked distinctly uncomfortable with the question. "Better hope none of the fan club sees you, Will."

Beth was glad they had company as she rode next to Will in the front seat. She imagined it would have been a tense ride otherwise. Beth tuned out from the conversation for a minute to just look at the car; the BMW was the nicest car she'd ever been in, with all the extras and a fancy stereo system. Cole was curating the playlist as they drove, and she had to admit she was impressed.

Will caught her shaking her head. "What?" he asked innocently, although the look on his face said he knew what was coming next.

"Into cars much?" she teased.

"I like driving. I'm not ashamed," he said loftily. "And if I'm driving to visit Anna or making the drive to D.C., I want to be comfortable. You don't like it?"

Beth remembered her own drive up to Pemberley over the summer in her junker car. "My seat belts barely work and the stereo sounds like it's playing underwater sometimes. I think jealousy is an understatement."

"Seat belts are a must. If you need to in the future, you can borrow my car," he offered generously. And this was the change from the summer; the difference between their backgrounds was still obvious, but now she knew how kind he was about sharing, whatever the circumstance.

She looked down sadly as he shifted gears. "I don't know how to drive stick".

Cole was incredulous. "Beth, I cannot believe you don't know how to drive a manual. What happens if the world ends and the only available car to save you from the zombies is a stick shift? Tomorrow, I'm going to teach you."

"Before we go home? I think I'd rather wait," she said.

"You'll see; it's easy. It's all about coordination."

Beth rolled her eyes. "Great."

Anna lightly touched her shoulder from the back seat. "Don't let them make you feel bad. I don't know how to drive one either," she said in a conspiring whisper and Beth turned to smile at her. Anna was so kind, and it did seem like she liked the idea of her brother and Beth together. She'd offered up the front seat to Beth so that they could sit next to each other on the drive. It didn't hurt to have the sister in your court, Beth thought. But she still wasn't sure if Will wanted anything more than friendship from her.

He was the same as he had been in the summer: quiet and often serious, but he smiled easier than she remembered. He was friendly; he always talked to her when they saw each other on campus. He seemed sad to leave Pemberley for the January term, but he didn't ask Beth for anything more than friendship. He'd invited her to the party, but he'd invited Anna as well. It was the same as when they'd gone hiking: a friendly group of people rather than just the two of them. He didn't dislike her, but she wasn't certain if there was anything more than friendship between them. She hadn't been kind when she'd turned him down the first time, and he hadn't exactly minced words in his reply to her. She could only feel embarrassed again about how she had treated him and grateful that he had somehow managed to forgive her.

Was Marianne right about tonight?

In the car, he was quiet; he listened, but she could see on his face that he was having fun, and when he did add something to the conversation it was usually worthwhile; something clever that made her laugh or something nice about his sister. Earlier in the summer, she'd had no idea that Will had felt anything romantic toward her, right up until they were kissing, too busy being frustrated with him and hiding her own feelings from herself. And now when she really wanted to know how he felt, she still couldn't figure him out!