“Let’s not.” He hadn’t even introduced himself, the pushy creep.

Her foul mood only made him smile. “Come on. It’s an easy answer for both our problems – my mother, your grandmother.”

An idea dawned. Lex shoved aside the immediate guilt that followed. “What do you do?”

Mr. Persistent blinked. “Uh… I’m an optometrist.” He dug out his wallet and handed her a business card.

He was solvent. And she needed money. He probably wouldn’t be willing to cough up five thousand dollars for the weekend Cal game, but he’d know friends who’d be willing to pay for other tickets…

Nonono. She couldn’t believe she was even considering it. Aside from being, oh, slightly illegal, she couldn’t betray the alumni associations who gave her the tickets in good faith.

Mr. Persistent smiled with that same slick confidence her brother Richard had.

“No.” She thrust the card back at him. “No.”

His smile widened. “Lex – ”

“No.”

“Aw, come on – ”

“She said no.” Aiden’s sharp voice cut through them. Lex had forgotten he sat beside her. He’d apparently ended his cell call and overheard Mr. Persistent.

He tossed Aiden a dark look before gazing at Lex with chagrin that almost looked real. “Keep the card. If you change – ”

“I won’t.” She turned away from him and started tugging off her shoes. She didn’t look at anyone. Certainly not Aiden.

She waited until she got the second shoe off. “Is he gone?”

“Yeah.” Aiden dug in his bag for his street shoes.

She stared at her feet, wiggled her toes in their socks. Finally she raised her eyes to him. “Thanks.”

His look rested on her, gentle but not probing. “Anytime.”

A warmth settled over her ribs. She liked having him… not say anything. Especially since practically every guy wanted tickets from her.

Except him.

Lex glanced at her discarded cell phone.

It rang.

NINETEEN

Mariko had given her notorious sweet tooth full rein.

Lex stared at the table of food and could already feel the sugar eating cavities into her enamel. Banana nut bread, sesame-crusted Chinese doughnuts, almond cookies, fruit cocktail and almond custard, steamed egg cake, even honey walnut prawns. On the non-Asian side was rum cake, blueberry pecan muffins, strawberry almond rolls, and croissants. The radioactive coffee Lex had bought that morning from Tran’s Nuclear Coffee Shop burbled in her stomach.

“Not hungry?” Lex’s cousin Tiki fluttered impossibly long lashes as she bit into a chocolate croissant.

Okay, one, what Asian had eyelashes that long and curly? They had to be fake. And two, how did this size-zero chick get away with eating a chocolate croissant with gusto? Tiki even had a son.

“So, Lex, I heard Mariko has a surprise for you.”

Lex peered down her nose at Tiki. “She’s wasting her time.”

Her cat-eyes glittered with mirth. “Oh? And why is that?”

“I don’t need a man when I’ve got Byron Harvey.” Only the points leader on the Sacramento Kings’s roster.

Tiki blinked. Her face had a vacant look that matched her brain capacity. “That’s… nice.”

Lex pursed her lips. “Uh… I’m trying decide between Byron and Geoff German.”

Tiki’s plucked brows wrinkled. “Who?”

“German. The new pitcher for the Oakland A’s?”

Her brow cleared. “Oh. Baseball.” She said it the way she’d say toilet.

Lex’s diaphragm dropped like a trapdoor. These dodos didn’t know any of her sports heroes. A professional athlete as a date to Mariko’s wedding would be like a Pulitzer Prize winner at an Illiteracy Dinner.

“Tavi’s crying.” Tiki flounced away to soothe her shrieking baby.

Lex’s shoulders sagged. Well, at least she didn’t have to suck up to the UCLA alumni association rep in order to get Byron’s number. She probably couldn’t have convinced Grandma it was true love anyway.

“Okay, everybody, let’s start the games.” Mariko stood in the middle of the living room as perky as a cheerleader.

Tiki sidled up to Mariko, bouncing her crying one-year-old.

“Where’s Burt? He’s supposed to be here to babysit.”

Mariko shushed her with a hiss.

The door opened.

Mr. Babysitter had the coloring, build, and look of Russell Crowe as he entered the Colosseum to fight the gladiators. Shoulders back, chin up, firm jaw, eyes stern and ready for warfare.

“There you are!” Tiki mobbed him, shoving baby Tavi into his arms. “See, Tavi-wavvie? Here’s Uncle Burt.” She danced back to Mariko’s side. “Okay, we can start now.”

“Burt, sit there.” Mariko stabbed a lacquered nail at one of two chairs sitting side by side. “Lex, you sit – ”

“Yeah, yeah.” Lex plopped down next to him.

He jiggled baby Tavi like a jackhammer, brushing her arm with his elbow.

She hopped her chair a few inches further away.

“Okay, everybody, take five clothespins.” Tiki passed them out. “Stick them somewhere on you.”

Lex stuck them out from her blouse sleeves like a porcupine.

“Okay, if someone catches you saying the word ‘wedding,’ they can take a clothespin. Whoever has the most pins at the end wins!”

Tiki clapped her hands and bounced on her toes as if this were the most clever game ever invented.

Lex unclipped herself and handed all five clothespins to Mr. Babysitter. “Here. Wedding.”

“Lex!” Tiki’s face matched her pinky lipstick. “Can’t you even try to get into the spirit of things?”

“Nope.” Lex said the word with relish.

Mr. Babysitter shifted the now-hiccoughing Tavi to one arm and grabbed Lex’s pins. “Thanks. I’m not saying another word all afternoon.”

“Okay, everyone, now take some toilet paper. However much you like.” Mariko giggled as she passed around the toilet paper rolls. Several of the other women also started giggling and pulling off wads and wads of paper. Lex tore off one sheet.

“We’re separating you into two teams. You guys are team one – ”

Mariko pointed to three Barbies (Lex didn’t remember their names), Lex, Mr. Babysitter, and baby Tavi. “The rest are team two. Now, pick a model and make her a bridal gown from the toilet paper!”

You have got to be kidding me. Why did Mariko cheer? It would be hard to find an older or dumber bridal shower game in history.

“Lex, you’re our model.” Tall girl with fried blonde hair.

“Because we know how to make a good dress.” Asian girl with green contact lenses, making her look rather alien-like.

“No. Way.” Lex crossed her arms.

“Oh, come on.” Buxom girl with short hair held out her length of TP. “The less you fight, the faster this will be over.”

She had a point. It wasn’t as if Lex was going to help them make the dress, and Mr. Babysitter had his hands full. “Fine.” She flung out her arms and clipped Green Contacts’s nose.

Mariko should have set a time limit. The Three Stooges dithered over where to put every single length of TP.

“Over her shoulder?”

“No, then it won’t drape for a nice train.”

“How about dipping down in front?”

“No, that’ll upset the lines.”

Lines? It was a TP dress, for crying out loud. And did they need to touch her so much? “Just put it on!” Lex swiveled so she could give all three her hottest glare. Mr. Babysitter sat apart from them, holding baby Tavi a little like a football.

The doorbell rang. Since Lex’s group was the only one in line of sight with the door, Buxom Girl darted to open it.

Lex twisted around. “No!” She looked ridiculous. She didn’t want anyone to see -

Too late. The door swung open. “Got a package. I need a signature.” A UPS deliveryman stood there in his brown uniform. He did a double-take at seeing Lex mummified, with Fried Blonde wrapping her head in more TP for a veil.

Lex’s glare lanced right through him. “What are you looking at?”

He jumped. “Nothing, ma’am.” He grabbed the electronic pad from Buxom Girl before she could scrawl more than an initial and raced away.