“I don’t see why it’s any of your business.”
“I make it my business where Caleb is concerned.” Her sparkling blue eyes narrowed, changing her whole face into something scarier. Still beautiful, but definitely scarier. “What do you get out of this?”
Under the weight of that gaze, Didi broke eye contact. She took a deep breath to settle her sudden case of nerves and decided to tell the truth.
“He’s pretty. . . . And I thought it would be fun. . . . And it’s just for the summer.”
There was a pause, then Natasha burst out laughing.
“I think I like you, Diana Alexander.” Natasha gave her a kiss on the cheek before she added, “Take care of our boy. He might not look it, but he does have feelings.”
“I think I like you too, Natasha Parker, princess of Dodge Cove.”
Didi looked back toward their blanket, where Caleb and Nathan were laughing about something while Preston remained his usual statue self. A twinge of envy with a hint of loneliness hit her heart. “And he’ll be fine. He has all of you.”
A small smile graced Natasha’s perfect bow lips. “Why don’t you go grab us some drinks while I say hello to Preston’s mom. Knowing Mr. Cat Got His Tongue, he probably hasn’t told her I’m back in DoCo. Meet you at the blanket.”
Nodding, she watched Natasha navigate the crowd like a boss, expertly flitting from one group to another, exchanging pleasantries, until she reached a woman who bore a strong resemblance to Preston. She was gorgeous, like her son, but from the way she stood it seemed like she had a huge stick up her butt. Not someone she wanted to meet anytime soon.
Arriving at the beverage table, Didi contemplated the seemingly endless options. She caught herself muttering “rich people” under her breath. No less than seven kinds of iced teas. Six varieties of soda. Five brands of beer. Four types of lemonade. Three flavors of froufrou water. Two colors of wine. And a punch bowl in a pear tree. She sighed, going for an Arnold Palmer: half lemonade, half iced tea. Not original, but at least she had satisfied her thirst the way she wanted to.
“You must think this is all too much.”
Regretting leaving the safety of Caleb’s company, Didi forced her lips into a smile and said through her teeth, “Ashley, so good to see you again.”
“Am-ber.” She pointed at her purple-sundressed self and carefully enunciated the syllables of her name as if Didi was learning impaired or deaf or both. She totally didn’t get it.
Mentally shaking her head and praying for strength, since she thought she had gotten rid of this viper, she went with it. “Of course, Ashley. Didn’t see you at the Summer Swing. That was so much fun.”
“I don’t go to those. Hay.” She waved in disgust. “Tacky.”
“If I didn’t know better I’d think you were allergic.” She had meant it to tease her, but from the way Amber stiffened she’d hit the bull’s-eye inadvertently. Huh.
She quickly recovered with, “All this must be overwhelming for you.”
Crossing her arms brought the cup closer to her chest. “What do you mean?”
Amber sidled closer and whispered, “Must be tough interacting with people who have more . . . class.”
Normally Amber’s words wouldn’t have disturbed her the way they did. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, you think I still don’t know?” Amber waved again, this time as if she were fanning away a foul smell. “Caleb is just stringing you along. In the end he’ll come back to me.”
“You’re so full of shit. You were a mess of tears at the club.”
She realized her mistake as soon as a glint of triumph entered Amber’s eyes. “I knew it! You’re that waitress who dumped water all over me.”
“Not that it’s a secret, but yeah. And I’d do it again if it wouldn’t embarrass Caleb. So tell everyone. I don’t care.” Her grip on the cup tightened to the point where the plastic crunched. “It’s not going to change what Caleb and I have.”
“Oh, of course not.” Amber smiled, but steel remained in her eyes. “The people here will just gossip about you. I’m sure words like gold digger won’t bother you at all, since when this summer is over, Caleb will be gone, and you’ll go back to whatever hovel you came from.” Before Didi could respond, she added, “But, you see, Caleb’s father is a different story. All I have to do is tell him about you—”
“But he already knows about me,” she interrupted.
“Not after I add a few juicy details of my own into the mix.” The delight in Amber’s expression said it all.