Page 61 of Steps

He exhales an intense breath, leans in for a kiss,then shakes his head. “You’re one of a kind, Latoya Anderson.”

“As are you, Varen Kirby.”

He motions to our clothes in the grass. “Guess weshould get going.”

I sigh. “Back to pretending.”

We fight to keep our laughter and touching incheck as we walk into the house. It’s almost seven. This is the latest I’vecome home from school.

Mom and Daniel are sitting in the living roomdrinking wine and chatting with a blonde woman who looks to be in hermid-forties like Daniel.

They all glance in our direction when we enter.Mom creases her forehead as she regards my features.

“A bit late for you. Is that paint on your face?”she asks.

I swallow. “Yeah, we tried paint tossing.”

“Oh, I’ve done that before,” the woman says,brightening. “It’s quite fun.”

“Seems you went for a swim, too,” Daniel chimesin, looking from Varen’s damp uniform to my jeans and blouse.

We both shrug, leaving it at that.

Varen asks, “What’s going on?”

“Right.” Daniel introduces the woman, “This is myfriend, Marie. She’s our wedding planner.”

A sick feeling blooms in my stomach. “Weddingplanner? You’ve set a date then?”

Mom looks at Daniel and grins from ear to ear. “Doyou want to tell them?”

He laughs. “We have.”

Bile burns my throat. “Awesome.” It’s a battle tokeep a smile on my face.

Varen clears his throat. “When is it?”

“End of June,” Mom sputters, reaching for Daniel’shand. Her brown eyes glisten as she stares at him. She’s bursting with joy.

I feel as if I’m melting into the hardwood.“That’s… so soon.”

“We just don’t see the need to have a drawn-outengagement,” Daniel explains excitedly. “We’re flying to Scotland for theceremony. Nan and Pop agreed to let us do it on the property.”

“That’s great,” Varen replies, nodding. “It’ll begood seeing them, too. It’s been a while.”

“Well, if you don’t mind, we’re wrapping up here,”Mom says, chasing us away. Thank goodness, because I feel ill.

I turn away first, going downstairs to my room.

Varen enters while I’m taking off my clothes.“Hey. Are you okay?”

“Okay?” I hiss, frustrated. “No, I’m notokay, Varen.”

He peers into the passage, making sure no one’s coming.Then he swivels and pulls me into his arms.

A tear trickles down my face. “What are we goingto do? You know what this means, don’t you?”

Varen eases me back and wipes my cheek. “Of courseI do. Reality. They’re getting married.” He rakes a hand through his damp hair.“It’s so complicated, Toya. I want them to be happy, but I want you, too.”

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