In the Spotlight by Liz Botts, Elaina Lee

aisle.”

    “Oh,” I said, trying my best not to sound horrified. “Sure. I’d love to.”
    Grandma turned to Harlow. “And, Harlow, darling, I want you to sing.”
    “What else would I do?” Harlow trilled as prettily as she could.
    “Actually I was hoping you’d also agree to be my maid of honor,” Grandma announced.
    “Me?” Gasped Harlow, jumping up from the table and rushing around to hug Grandma. “I’d be delighted!”
    Great, Harlow got to sing and be the maid of honor, and I was stuck with Glinda the spoiled witch. I slouched in my seat, really not caring if it looked like I was pouting. When Harlow settled back into her seat, Mom served the pie, which I could only poke at because the stress was making my stomach hurt.
    “So, Mom, where will the wedding be?” Mom asked.
    Grandma exchanged delighted glances with Duke. “That’s another part of our surprise,” Grandma said. “We’re going to get married in Vegas.”
    After the stir that news created settled down, Dad said, “So, Duke, can I be in charge of your bachelor party?”
    Mom shot Dad a dirty look, but Duke smiled. “Absolutely.
    We’ll make this a real family affair.” He paused, and then looked at me and Hayley and Harlow. “And girls,” he added, “I really hope that you’ll feel comfortable calling me Grandpa Duke.”

Chapter Twelve
    I was sitting in my room stewing over Grandma’s news and Harlow’s reaction to my news when my cell phone rang.
    The number wasn’t familiar, so I almost didn’t answer. But at the last second, I picked it up.
    “Hello?”
    “Hey, baby, time for some of that one on one time.”
    “Excuse me?” My heart thudded against my rib cage as I tried to place the voice.
    “This is Hannah, isn’t it?”
    “Um…yes.”
    The laughter on the other end of the phone made me squirm.
    There was nothing nice about it. “Well, come on over to my place, Hannah, and I’ll give you that one on one rehearsal time like I promised.”
    Kyle. My breath hitched, even as I was about to say no.
    “Give me half an hour,” I heard myself say.

    ****
    Kyle’s house was really dark when I pulled up. His house was in one of the newer, ritzier subdivisions, so most of the houses were cookie cutter copies. I checked the scrap of paper with his address on it just to be sure I had the right house. Grabbing my purse, I hopped out of my car into the crunchy snow. The evening was surprisingly mild for early March, and the promise of spring in the air made me feel slightly romantic. The hope of it all put a bounce in my step. Maybe all of the things that I had learned about Kyle over the past month, all of the doubtful feelings, would evaporate like the piles of snow.
    Ringing the doorbell felt monumental. I danced back and forth from foot to foot waiting for Kyle to open the door. When I realized what I was doing, I forced myself to stop. I didn’t want Kyle to think I had to go to the bathroom or something.
    The door swung open rather dramatically, and Kyle positioned himself against the doorframe. He was wearing my favorite blue checked argyle sweater and brown cords. As he crossed his arms, I couldn’t help but think that even though he looked yummy, the forced sexiness didn’t work for me. Still, he did look yummy.
    “Hannah,” Kyle drawled, “welcome to my humble abode.”
    “Thanks.” Immediately I kicked myself. I probably should have done something horribly clichéd like giggle and twirl my hair.
    How else would you respond to such a clichéd welcome? It just wasn’t in me to be so ditzy. Kyle hung my coat on a coat rack in the front hall.
    “So, um, where are your parents?” I asked, following Kyle into his dimly lit living room. He had some jazzy music playing in the background. And because it felt like I’d just walked into a bad teen movie, I knew exactly where his parents were going to be.
    “Church,” Kyle admitted. “They have prayer group tonight.”
    Hmmm. Okay, I hadn’t quite seen that