Page 20 of Forever Yours

Ali

Georgia flipped through another rack of clothing. “Ugh! None of these will work.”

Trying to be helpful, I started in on the next rack. “Are you sure it has to be plaid?”

“Walter insisted.”

“Maybe we should try Walmart or somewhere like that,” I suggested. We’d been to several higher-end stores already and were about to close down T.J. Maxx. We hadn’t been unsuccessful in finding the elusive sexy-but-not-too-sexy plaid top. I was starting to think it didn’t exist.

Georgia shook her head. “I’m not wearing Walmart clothing on national television.”

I looked down at my own leggings, wondering where I’d purchased them. It might have been Walmart. I shrugged. They were comfortable.

“I was just thinking you could find an oversize men’s shirt and then maybe cinch it at the waist with a belt or something?”

She tapped on her chin. “That might work. Maybe wear it as a dress instead of a shirt? I’d hate to disappoint Walter with the first thing he asked of me.”

Georgia was paired with Walter Penny, a country star who’d peaked in the late seventies and early eighties, exactly the kind of star I figured would be onSing Battle—a has-been. It was a bitchy thought and one I would never say out loud, especially to Georgia. For her part, she seemed pleased with the match, calling him a legend.

“Maybe he shouldn’t have demanded you wear a specific piece of clothing with only a day’s notice.” For Georgia’s sake, I hoped this wild-goose chase wasn’t a bad omen.

“Eh… it’s his publicity people, not him. They want some photos with us in coordinating outfits. I figure what’s good for him is good for me too.”

She had a point. Walter could activate an entirely new demographic for voting onSing Battle.I’d read that senior citizens rarely cast votes, but perhaps they could be persuaded to by a star from their generation. I hated that the competition had turned into wondering if a contestant’s partner was an asset or a liability.

“We’re striking out here,” I said, “and the store is about to close. Do you want to try Walmart? It’s open late.”

She sighed. “I don’t suppose I have a choice, do I?”

We left the store and climbed into Georgia’s rental car. I pulled up the directions for the nearest Walmart on my phone.

At the first stoplight, she turned to me. “I can’t believe you won’t spill who your partner is.”

“Didn’t you read the paperwork?” I asked. “It said to tell no one.No one.″

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think that applies to other contestants.”

“Are you no one?”

“I told you about my partner!”

“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” I said primly.

She rolled her eyes again, so dramatically that she was in danger of hurting herself. “I saw half of them in the building after meeting Walter, anyway. I told you Lil Will was there, right?”

“He must be Titania’s partner.” Lil Will was only seventeen and had recently released his debut album. He was the other side of the spectrum—instead of a has-been, he was up-and-coming.

Trenton didn’t fit into either box. He was solidly a here-and-now. Georgia was right—there was no point in my keeping him a secret. After all, I’d seen Walter in the building, though I hadn’t known who he was at the time. Besides, I wouldn’t be able to keep it from her much longer.

“Okay, I’ll tell you,” I said, “but you have to promise you won’t freak out.”

I shouldn’t have said that. Her eyes widened, and she looked over at me when she should have been watching the road.

“Maybe you should pull over first.”

“Ohmygod! You got Elvis, didn’t you?”

I burst out laughing. “No, but it was someone else I didn’t expect.”

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