Page 48 of Brides and Brothers
Emma seemed oddly pleased with the idea, despite being as shy as Camille had pegged her for. Daisha, however, shook her head.
“Daisha, you have to come. ‘All for one and one for all,’” Camille begged.
Daisha laughed sardonically. “I’m not a musketeer, Camille. Besides, Derek will want to hang out together on Halloween.”
Emma smiled conspiratorially at Camille. “You should bring Derek with you,” she said to Daisha. “We need your matronly support at the dance.” At least someone was getting into the spirit of things.
“Matronly?” Daisha balked. “What do you mean by that?”
It was Camille’s turn to laugh. “Come on, Daisha. As the oldest, you need to drive the battle forces to victory.”
“You’ve been reading way too much these days. Or maybe it’s your online class. Whatever it is, you need to stop. As far as the dance goes, I’ll discuss it with Derek,my boyfriend.”
Camille reached across Daisha and fist-bumped Emma, then bounced off her perch on the arm of the couch and stretched her back. “Let’s get operationGet Your Peterson Brotherunderway. How about we bring some lemonade to the basketball players so Easton has a chance to check out how good Emma looks tonight.”
Daisha groaned. “Are we back in high school?” Despite her lack of enthusiasm, she followed behind them to the kitchen.
It didn’t take long to whip up some lemonade from a mix and take the short walk from the house to the barn. The boys stopped their game as the ladies entered, and Camille carried the pitcher to a stack of chairs in the corner. She flipped one over and set her pitcher there. Emma stepped forward with the cups and started pouring.
“How did you know we were thirsty?” Benson asked while the others started shooting again. He accepted a glass of lemonade from Emma while Daisha grabbed a free ball and dribbled toward the basket to shoot hoops with the other guys. Camille stepped aside, hoping to let her friends do their thing without her interfering. She leaned her back against the wall and watched the ball players.
“Hey, it’s Emma, right?”
“Yes, Emma Stewart.”
Camille smiled softly, glad Benson was engaging Emma in conversation. She stole a glance to see Emma put her arm across her front to grip her other arm, the only outward sign she was nervous. Emma’s eyes strayed to Easton, who shot a three-pointer from the other end of their undersized court.
“Do you know Easton?” Benson must have caught the direction of Emma’s gaze too. He wasn’t usually great at small talk, but this conversation was proof he was improving. Too bad he wasn’t talking with Daisha. Camille was still convinced he fit her better than Derek did.
Emma’s small blue eyes matched the rest of her petite features. “We meet once a week to work on calculus.”
Benson’s eyes widened. “You’re the calculus girl? You like him, don’t you?”
It was more of a statement than a question, and Camille wanted to slap her forehead. Apparently, they needed more late-night coaching sessions about what was socially acceptable to say and what wasn’t.
“He’s a likeable guy,” Emma answered in a soft voice.
Benson nodded again. Did people normally nod the whole time they talked to someone? Camille turned her body a little so it didn’t look like she was paying attention to their every word—which she was.
“I heard he started dating someone,” Emma added. Camille had heard this too. Wendy. She didn’t know who the girl was, but she couldn’t be as sweet as Emma.
The sound of lemonade being poured into a glass reached Camille’s ears amongst the pounding of the balls against the wood floor and the occasional slap against the headboard.
“I wouldn’t write him off completely,” Benson finally replied. “Easton usually knows exactly what he wants and doesn’t give up easily.”
“And you like Daisha? Just a guess by the way you’re watching her play.” Emma’s quiet words made Camille’s mouth drop open. She leaned her head back to catch Benson’s answer.
“She’s a likeable woman. In fact, I bet she can outshoot me. I’d better go see. Thanks for the lemonade.”
Camille watched Benson out of the corner of her eyes as he sauntered back onto the court. She finally knew what was worse than her plan not working. Worse would be it half-working, leaving some of her favorite people heartbroken.
