“What?”
“Learn some Ella tunes, and sing one if the patient isn’t cooperating. Trust me. And your voice doesn’t even suck.”
That wasn’t exactly high praise, but just in case he was onto something, I memorized the lyrics to “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”
A week later I called Dyson back to tell him he’s a genius.
“Well, obvs,” he said. “But what did I do this time?”
“When I sing Ella, the oldsters will let me do anything. Came in handy on my first blood draw.”
“Oh, honey. I’m sure that went smoothly.” He giggled.
“The poor man gritted his dentures,” I confessed. “But when I sang about the way he wore his hat, he relaxed.”
“Good girl. And this shit takes practice. You’ll be findin’ them veins in no time.”
I hoped so. Even a couple of months in, I still wake up every morning with the feeling that I’m holding on by the skin of my teeth. My schedule is so crazy that I’ve barely seen my brother or Wes. Their schedules are nutty, too, now that their hockey seasons have really begun.
But tonight, finally, I’m going to see Wes’s game with Jamie, who has a pair of comped season tickets. I missed the first one he invited me to because Violet convinced me that it would be a sacrilege to miss an evening lecture about medical ethics.
I deserve a night out, damn it. So even though I have a paper to write this week, I meet Jamie at the stadium and follow him toward his seats. “We’re only a few rows up from the penalty box,” he says, pointing to two open seats in row E.
My feet freeze on the staircase, though, because I see Mama Riley sitting in the third seat in. At six-feet-and-change, even from the back she’s easy to spot.
“What’s the matter?” Jamie asks, waiting for me.
“Um…” Shit! I haven’t spoken to Blake since the world’s most stressful baby shower. He hasn’t called or texted, and he didn’t turn up either of the nights I visited my brother. He might even be avoiding me. “Let’s get some food first,” I say quickly. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
He gives me his version of an irritated look—a flicker of disapproval and then a relaxed shrug.
I drag him back into the crowds and into line at a mac-n-cheese stand that calls to me. “Okay, this is going to sound crazy.”
“Yeah?” Jamie is reading the menu, unconcerned.
“A couple of weeks ago I was Blake Riley’s date for a thing.”
“A thing?”
“A family party.” It’s the kind of story I would have told Jamie for giggles, except that Blake’s reason for needing a date was so awful I ended up keeping it to myself. “It’s a long story, but he told his family we’re dating.”
Jamie snorts. “You and Blake Riley?”
“I know, right?” My laughter has a tinge of hysteria in it. “It was a favor. He was supposed to tell his mom that we broke up later. But I don’t know if he did yet.”
Jamie turns to me with laughing brown eyes. “So, the Rileys think you’re either his girlfriend or his ex, but you don’t know which.”
“Right.”
“Well, this will be entertaining.”
It’s our turn, so Jamie steps up to the counter and orders mac-n-cheese with pulled pork for both of us, along with two beers.
I pull out my wallet, but my little brother waves off my twenty. “My treat.”
He and Wes are always treating me, damn it. This whole year is all about regressing. Back in the dorms again. Back to being broke. Fun times.
“You know…” Jamie hands me our beers. “If you’re smart, you’ll string this fake relationship out another week.”
“God, why?”
“There’s a benefit thing. It’s black tie, which blows. But Hozier is playing.”
The beer bottle stops halfway to my mouth. “Hozier is playing? Like, live?”
“Like, yeah!” He snickers. “For three hundred guests at a thousand bucks a pop. All the players get a plus-one.”
“Can I go with Wes?”
“No fucking way,” Jamie retorts, lifting the tray off the counter. “I’m going with Wes. It’ll be the first big charity thing I attend with him. Didn’t I choose well?”
“But…I like Hozier more than you do.”
“Says who?”
“Maybe Blake would bring me as payback.” Except he doesn’t owe me any favors now. Damn. It. My life is short on fun right now, and it’s definitely short on thousand-dollar concert tickets. I freaking love Hozier, though.
“You get the inside seat,” Jamie says as we descend again toward row E.
“What? No.”
He chuckles. “Just save my eardrums this one time.”
Reluctantly, I take my seat next to Mama Riley. “Hi there,” I say with false cheer.
Her dark eyebrows lift in surprise. “JESSICA!”
My God, she’s loud. “How have you been? Lovely party you threw. I’m still thinking about that brisket.”
She beams. “Thank you! How come you’re sitting here?”
Uh-oh. Does that mean Blake and I broke up? “Well, um, sorry. These are Jamie’s seats…”