Page 62 of No One Else

“I agree,” Angela says, fingering the material. “Classes it up real nice,” she drawls in a faux Southern accent.

I laugh, the sound echoing in the nearly empty area. “Oops,” I cover my mouth.

“Don’t worry, they won’t be here for another...” She glances up at the ornate clock on the east wall of Suncoast’s ballroom. “Oh crap, they’re supposed to be here now.”

“Relax, we have weeks to plan this event. Besides, we’re just helping.”

The side door across the expanse of room opens, and the members of Kappa Delta Phi Sorority and Fraternity file in, glancing around at what Suncoast Serves has set up so far.

Angela and I are here to help with their next charity project, a gala that’s supposed to raise money for the city hospital’s new children’s cancer wing. I’m a little miffed that we’re helping them out yet again, doing the brunt of the planning while they get to ride on our coattails, but hey, I’m not the president of Suncoast Serves, who apparently has become best friends with the president of the sorority. It’s awfully coincidental we keep helping them. Just saying.

No thanks to Olivia, it was obvious based on the amount of money we raised at the kissing booth that Angela and I know what we’re doing, so we’ve been put in charge of the decor and theming for the gala. The university’s ballroom is usually used more as a venue for conferences or general events, but we’ll be transforming it into a sophisticated black tie event for this.

A girl two dorm rooms down from me is a theater major and provided me an in to their props department, where I found a ton of swag we could borrow, in addition to what the ballroom specifically has in their storage closet. Once you say the magic wordschildren’s cancer wing, apparently it’s really hard for people to say no when you ask them for a favor.

Thanks to that, I have beautiful backdrops to choose from that we’ll hang at the stage. A couple of the guys from our group also lugged out a few tables and chairs so we can get an idea of what the room will look like once it’s fully set up. Angela and I just have to go through our different options with whoever’s in charge of decor from Kappa Delta Phi.Please not Olivia, I cross my fingers.

I don’t spot her among the group that’s now talking to Brittany, Suncoast Serves’ president, but I do see someone even worse.

Carter.

What the hell is he doing here? To quote, he hates all thischarity crap. Besides, it’s Saturday. Shouldn’t he be getting ready to go sleep with a bunch of girls tonight?

He appears completely at ease, hands tucked in the pockets of his khakis, glancing around the room with his usual bored expression, like he’s better than everyone here.

Ugh, why am I so worked up? I turn away, focusing on our different tablecloth options. After finding a few contenders, I glance up to find Angela, but Carter’s next to me instead, his handsome face smiling.

“Nat,” he says warmly, as if there’s no bad blood between us. Just an old friend he happened to run into. Yeah, right.

“Carter,” I grit out, trying to search over his shoulder for Angela. Where’d she disappear to?

“Funny meeting you here.”

A scoff escapes me. “This is my charity group. Of course I’d be here. The question is, what are you doing here? I know how much you lovecharity crap.”

He has the grace to look embarrassed, running a hand through his styled hair. Not that it messes it up. There’s far too much product in it to do that. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot, actually. About us.” He attempts to reach for my hand, but I keep it tightly gripped in the tablecloths. He gives up after a moment, sticking it back in his pocket instead.

“There is no us.” I turn around, ignoring him, but he laughs jovially, as if I made an amusing joke.

“Nat, come on. We’re just taking a break. Are you still mad about that night a couple months ago?”

I whirl around, my jaw dropping. Is he serious with this right now? A hysterical burble escapes me. “Carter, we are not on a break. We’re broken up.”

A hint of irritation shows before he covers it up, a charming smile taking its place. “I volunteered to help with this gala to show you I’ve changed. I’m into this stuff now. And I’m ready to commit again to you. Permanently this time. No more breaks.”

“We were never on a-” I stop myself, realizing arguing with him is futile. “That’s nice for you, but I’m not interested.”

Now he’s the one to scoff. “Not interested?”

“That’s right. I even have a boyfriend.” I shouldn’t care at all that his eyes narrow in response, but honestly, the dig feels a little good.

“Who?” he demands.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but his name is Evan.”

“Evan? The guy you work with? The one who was lovesick over you all the time?”

I ignore him, knowing he’s trying to rile me up.

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