Page 54 of Counting the Stars

“I might not show up to every party or fundraiser, but I do when it counts.” Alex’s voice takes a bitter tone.

“Hmm, yeah, I guess.” Luis turns to me. “Who are you?”

“I’m Gabby. I’m here with Alex.” I lean into my date and place my hand affectionally over his chest.

“What’s your favorite insect?” Luis’s eyes narrow on me like my answer will determine if he approves of me or not.

“Oh! Umm. I don’t think anyone has ever asked me that before. I guess ladybugs are nice.” My voice lifts at the end, making it sound more like a question than a statement.

“There are over 5,000 different species of ladybugs around the world and around 150 types in the United States alone. Could you be more specific?”

“Uh…the red ones with the black dots?” My hand on Alex’s chest begins to vibrate and I know he’s silently laughing.

“But that’s—” Luis tilts his head to the side, completely baffled.

“Hey! Look! I see Victoria and Seamus. We better go say hi.” Alex cuts off his brother as he simultaneously puts bothof his hands on my shoulders and leads me farther into the crowd. “The red ones with the black dots?” he says into my ear.

“I may have panicked a bit.” I look up at him.

“A bit?” Alex lets out a deep chuckle. “That was adorable.”

“He was…” My voice trails off as I try to come up with a word to describe his brother.

“Different?” Alex offers.

“Sure, we can go with that.”

“Luis is okay. He’s a bit eccentric and certainly doesn’t pick up on social cues, but next to Lilli, he’s the easiest and least judgmental of the siblings.”

“So I should consider that little meeting a warm-up?” I ask as we get closer to a dark-haired woman in an emerald-green form-fitting gown. Standing next to her is a tall, redheaded man who appears to be glued to his phone.

“We’re walking on thin ice from here on out. Just a reminder, Victoria and Seamus are the ones who work at the news station,” Alex murmurs out of the corner of his mouth as we approach the couple.

“Got it,” I whisper, grateful for the information.

“If you’re coming over here on Luis’s behalf, I don’t want to hear it.” Victoria puts her hands up in surrender as we approach. Seamus, her husband, doesn’t even bother to look up from his phone.

“Nice to see you too, sis,” Alex deadpans. “I wanted to introduce you to my date, Gabby.”

“Hi.” I give a tiny wave, not sure what to think of this odd interaction.

“Oh. Sorry about that.” Victoria shakes her head. “Luis has been hounding me to let him do a reoccurring segment on the importance of sending representatives from every insect species to Mars in the event that humans colonize the planet.”

“What?” Alex and I say in unison.

“He insists it will increase our ratings.” Victoria rolls her eyes, then scans me from head to toe. “What was your name again?”

“I’m Gabby.” I try to offer my warmest smile.

“I’ve never seen you before.” She studies me.

“Oh! This is my first time here.” I fumble with a stray piece of my hair. “I live in Starboard Beach, like Alex. Actually, that’s how we met. We’re—”

“Don’t tell me Luis is on that bug segment thing again,” a woman with light brunette hair in an updo and hazel eyes interrupts.

“He’s called me every day this week." The woman sighs exasperatedly. “I showed him the projected stats. The number of viewers interested in that niche just aren’t there. The station is not going to take a gamble on something like that. I’ll go talk to him.” She turns to leave.

“Wait!” Alex calls out. “Isabella, you didn’t meet Gabby.”

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