Lily wanted to say no. She wanted nothing to do with dating. Not after the mess she’d gotten herself into last year emailing that author, or whoever they were. But Violet was looking at her with that hopeful smile, and Lily felt the pressure not to disappoint. And she knew the rest of her family would ask why she hadn’t given Angel a chance. If things didn’t work out with him—which they wouldn’t—Lily could at least say she’d tried and then be left alone.
“Fine,” she grumbled.
“Good,” Violet said, steering Lily out of the coat check.
Back in the main area, Lily spotted her parents by the bar, talking with her aunts and uncles. Her cousins were on the converted dance floor, mingling with Violet’s fashion friends. It gave a country-folk-meet-city-folk vibe.
Violet’s squeeze on Lily’s hand tightened in excitement as they approached Eddy and Angel. Eddy, Violet’s fiancé, turned toward them and smiled. Well, it was more like a smirk, really. Lily wasn’t sure if she’d actually ever seen Eddy smile. This was only her second time meeting him, and he always looked rather serious. Eddy was tall and slim with dark brown skin and a bald head. Like Violet, he was dressed to the nines, a crisp white button-up and slim, black slacks. He was a talent manager for a record label in LA and traveled a lot with his clients. He and Violet got engaged back in April and he finally had the time to come to the East Coast and meet the rest of the family. Lily’s parents and her oldest sister, Iris, thought Violet and Eddy were moving too fast. They’d been dating for only three months before Eddy proposed. Mostly, though, everyone was shocked that Violet, who never got serious with anyone, was suddenly a bride-to-be.
“There you are,” Eddy said, reaching out and wrapping his arm around Violet’s waist. She grinned and melted into him. He turned his attention to Lily. “Having a good night?”
Lily nodded and felt herself clamming up as she avoided eye contact with Angel, who was also looking at her. From a quick glance, she could tell he was tall and built. Handsome, with a friendly smile. Exactly the kind of guy that caused the words to evaporate on her tongue.
“Lily, this is our friend Angel,” Violet said. “Angel, this is my sister Lily.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Angel said. He had short, curly hair and light brown skin. He wore a plain black T-shirt and jeans. An unassuming soon-to-be celebrity with a thousand-watt smile.
“Uh.” Lily’s eyes widened as she fumbled for a response. She glanced at Violet, who gave her an encouraging nod before Eddy pulled her away toward the bar, leaving Lily abandoned. “Hi.”
“Violet said you’re a book editor. What kind of books do you work on?”
Lily blinked. Sweat gathered at her armpits. What kind of books did she edit? Her thoughts began to swarm. She was too nervous to think straight.
“Um, books about dictators.”
“Really?” Angel tilted his head to the side. “Like all of the dictators throughout history?”
She nodded, even though that wasn’t technically true. What should she say next? Should she ask about his music? Or would that be stupid because he probably always got questions about his music? Maybe she should ask something generic, like if he was based on the East or West Coast. Or would it be creepy to ask someone you barely knew where they lived? God, why was this so hard for her?
An awkward silence bloomed when Lily still hadn’t said anything. Her mouth was beginning to hurt from smiling. But then Angel started to tell her about the album he was working on. Something about infusing blues sounds and actual instruments, no highly produced beats.
Lily nodded like a bobblehead, trying to listen and not focus on how overwhelmed she felt, when behind Angel, she spotted Iris standing by one of the tables with her daughter, Calla, propped on her hip. She was in the middle of what was most likely a work call and Calla kept reaching for the phone.
“I’m so sorry,” Lily said, interrupting Angel. “But I have to help my sister. It was, um, nice to meet you.”
“Oh,” Angel said, surprised. “Yeah, nice to meet you too.”
Lily felt a little bad as she hurried away across the room. But, really, she was doing Angel a favor. It was unlikely that she was his type. Plus, chances were he secretly had a thing for Violet.
She approached Iris and smoothly gathered Calla into her arms. Iris mouthed, Thank you, before turning away and continuing her work call.
“You’re saving me from further adult interaction tonight,” Lily whispered to Calla as they sat down at an empty table. Calla perched in Lily’s lap and giggled, even though she probably had no idea what Lily was talking about.