28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand Page A

under these circumstances. Should he spill his guts as though Mallory has no stake in the answer? There’s a way in which they’re both playacting for Cooper and for each other. “We went to Paris last month,” he says. “She demanded a proposal and I told her I wasn’t ready.”
    “Ouch!” Cooper says.
    Mallory throws her brother an exasperated look. “At least he’s not rushing into anything.”
    “Hey,” Cooper says. “You’re supposed to treat me with kid gloves.”
    Jake looks down at his burger, then up at Mallory. “What about you, Mal? Have you ever been in love?”
    “Coop, may I have the ketchup, please?” Mallory says.
    “Answer the man’s question first,” Cooper says.
    “Just please pass the ketchup.”
    “Come on, Mal. We’re having a heart-to-heart here. Have you ever been in love? And Mr. Peebles doesn’t count.”
    “Who’s Mr. Peebles?” Jake asks, already hating Mr. Peebles and hoping he’s long dead.
    “Her ninth-grade English teacher,” Cooper says. “Mal was in love with him. It was well documented in the diary that I stole from her room and read to my friends—”
    “Thereby scarring me for life,” Mallory says.
    “But that doesn’t count because Mr. Peebles was married and very devoted to his wife.”
    “All the more reason to love him,” Mallory declares. “Plus, he introduced me to J. D. Salinger. That year, I dressed up as Franny Glass for Halloween, remember? I wore a white nightgown and carried a chicken sandwich and the only person who got it was Mr. Peebles.”
    “You’re trying to change the subject,” Jake says.
    “Yeah,” Cooper says. “Just tell the truth for the sake of honest, good-faith conversation. Have you ever been in love?”
    “Yes,” Mallory says.
    “Yes?” Cooper says. He sounds surprised. Jake is holding his breath.
    “Yes,” Mallory says again. “I’m in love right now, as a matter of fact. So…would you please hand me the ketchup? My burger is getting cold.”
    She’s in love with me, Jake thinks. Or she’s in love with the owner of the board shorts. It’s agony not knowing. He’ll ask her when they’re alone.
    No, he won’t. Why ruin the weekend?

    At ten o’clock, they pile into the Blazer to go to the Chicken Box. Cooper sits shotgun, Jake is in the rear, mesmerized by the back of Mallory’s neck, her earlobe, the tiny silver hoop.
    “Your first time to the Chicken Box!” Mallory says to Coop.
    “I should have known Krystel was bad news when she told me to come home last year,” Cooper says.
    “We’re not talking about Krystel,” Mallory says.
    “We’re talking about Alison!” Jake says.
    “Who’s Alison?” Mallory asks.
    “The stewardess whose number I got today,” Cooper says. “She’s meeting us at the bar.”

    Jake isn’t sure the flight attendant will show up, but there’s a woman waiting out front when they arrive, and that woman is indeed Alison from USAir.
    “Cooper!” she says. “Hey!”
    Cooper pulls Jake and Mallory aside. “Don’t be pissed, but if this goes well, and I’m going to make sure it does, then I probably won’t be back tonight. Or maybe tomorrow either, who knows.”
    Will he and Mallory be that lucky? Jake wonders. “Mal and I will be fine,” he says. “We’re old friends.”
    “Mal?” Cooper says. “Is it okay with you? I need this.”
    Mallory swats her brother away. “Go have fun. Don’t worry about us. Just be a gentleman, please.”
    As Cooper and Alison disappear into the bar, Jake thinks about lobsters and stargazing tomorrow night, Great Point on Sunday, then home to play music and talk about books and maybe shower together in the mansion before they order Chinese food and watch an old movie. Maybe the networks play Same Time, Next Year the same time every year, to be clever.
    Mallory is about to follow Cooper inside, but Jake grabs her hand. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
    She bounces on her toes. “He sure was easy to get rid