“Then this should be an easy question for you. What’s up with the man-parade? Were they really your friends?”

Mei-Ling’s eyes popped open. “Reeechahd! Is there something you no telling me?”

“Lex, you idiot. Yes, they were my friends.”

“So what was the name of the guy at the Children’s Day dinner?”

Richard blinked exactly three times. “Uh… Marshall?”

Well, Lex hadn’t caught his name either. “How about Uncle’s birthday party?”

This time, Richard blinked seven times. “Carl?”

“Bzzzzt. Some friend you are.”

“I, uh, can’t remember who I brought.”

“So, why were you so interested in my date with Oliver?”

“I wasn’t. Don’t flatter yourself.” Richard grabbed the remote control and turned the TV volume up.

Lex snatched it and turned the TV off. “Hey, Mei-Ling. Did I ever tell you about when Richard was six and I was five?”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Richard flapped his arms around as if he had a magic wand to stop up Mei-Ling’s ears and sew shut Lex’s mouth.

Ha! He wished.

Richard’s glare at Lex fizzled in a splash of fear. “You wouldn’t.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Okay. I’ll talk to you outside.”

“No way! You’ll just lock the door behind me.”

Venus looked up from studying her nails. “In that case, you can shout it loud enough for the neighbors to hear you.”

Richard paled under his golf tan.

Lex sat on the arm of the couch, her leg dangling. “Talk.”

“Grandma offered to buy me a new car if I found you a boyfriend.”

“What? ” all three women screeched at once.

“Grandma bribed you?” Lex hopped off the couch. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Richard, your sense of self-preservation never ceases to amaze.”

Venus sneered at him.

“You Acura only three years old.” Mei-Ling pinched her lips and crossed her arms. “And you no get back together with me?” As if it were a national crime to not drive her around in prime wheels.

Richard’s eyes wandered sideways, but he didn’t look any of them full in the face.

Lex moved to stand in front of him. “How well do you know Oliver?”

“Uh… not well.”

“So, you could have set me up with an ax-murderer? I love you too, bro.”

“Hey, he wasn’t as dweeby as the guy at Uncle’s house.” Richard pouted.

“Richard, you are such a bum.” Venus moved to the door. “Let’s go, Lex. Leave him to Mei-Ling’s care.”

Mei-Ling smiled and cracked her knuckles.

“Aw, come on, Lex. I only wanted to help.” Richard’s desperate eyes beseeched her while casting a wary glance at Mei-Ling’s stormy face.

“Help me into a bad date? I’m really feelin’ the love.”

“You were kinda hinting you were looking for a guy. And Grandma wants you to date too. What was the harm in trying to set you up?”

He gave a desperate smile.

Lex’s glare burned the smile off his face. “You could have chosen nice guys, Richard.”

“I did. Aiden? Oliver? You had a good time, right?”

Lex followed Venus out the door. Well, she did owe him one.

“Yes, Richard.” She grabbed the door handle. “Despite you, I did like Oliver.” She slammed the door shut.

THIRTY-SIX

If she ever got married, she was eloping.

Lex staggered into the Pagoda Bridge Restaurant behind Mariko’s giggling bridesmaids. Four hours on her feet, standing next to Squawking Tiki – thank goodness Mariko stuck Lex on the end of the line – was as joyful an experience as getting her tooth drawn. Without Novocain.

At least the actual wedding will only take an hour. With the rehearsal finally behind her, she could find Oliver, sit down for the first time in four hours, and enjoy a very expensive rehearsal dinner meal paid for by Grandma.

One more week, and this torturous stint as bridesmaid would be done. If only the wedding were tomorrow instead of next week Saturday. Mariko had insisted on Pagoda Bridge for her rehearsal dinner, and it hadn’t been available the Friday before the wedding.

Venus found her first. “You’re not going to like this.”

“What – Mariko sat me with Uncle Fitz and I have to feed him?”

“Worse. You’re with Trish and Jenn, and I’m at a different table.”

Lex closed her eyes as a headache exploded behind her eyeballs.

“Maybe I’ll grab Oliver and we’ll leave early.”

“Too late, he started eating. It gets worse.”

“How can it possibly get worse?”

“Mimi’s here – ”

“Hey, I get along with Mimi now. Sort of.”

“She brought Aiden as her date.”

Ugh. It had gotten much, much worse. Suddenly Trish and Jenn didn’t seem so bad. “Has Aiden met – ”

Venus nodded. “Too late. They’re at the same table.”

That’s just great. Lex couldn’t even enjoy her food because she’d be trying to enjoy her time with one guy when she’d rather be with the other, whom she’d avoided for a week, who wasn’t an option because he wasn’t Christian, even though she’d dreamed about kissing him every night for the past five days.

Lex hated round tables. Her seat was squished between Oliver, digging into his eggrolls with gusto, and Aiden, chatting amiably with Mimi, the little tart.

Lex sat, smiling at Oliver and refusing to even glance at Aiden or Mimi. Luckily, Trish and Jenn – both dateless – also seemed to be avoiding her eyes.

“Hey, Lex.” Oliver passed her an eggroll. “And try the pot stickers – they taste just like my grandma’s.”

Grandma then strolled past their table, the grande dame, overseeing her grande feast. First, she bestowed warm smiles on the uncle and aunty who filled out the eight-person table. Then she gave gracious smiles to Jenn and Trish, who returned with weak grimaces. Grandma gave a strained smile to Mimi, probably because of Mimi’s fire-engine-red, skintight blouse, which plunged into her cleavage.

Grandma’s brow wrinkled as she gave Aiden a polite nod. She skipped over Lex – no surprise there – and eyed Oliver with curiosity. Then she moved on.

Lex released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

She wondered if Grandma would pull funding just to spite her, despite Oliver’s presence. If they started dating seriously, he’d help her with funding if Grandma pulled out, right? And he wasn’t exactly difficult to like.

On a separate table, the waiters laid out dessert – little squares of heavily iced cake. When Mimi hopped up to get a plate, Lex followed her.

“Hey. I didn’t know you knew Aiden.” Had Lex’s voice come across as plaintive? Jealous? Snipey?

Apparently. Mimi gave Lex an arch glance before she scanned the cake slices. “Don’t you remember? I met him when I came to your apartment right after the surgery.”

Oh, when Lex was miserable and on her back? Her memory was a little fuzzy. Or maybe her mind tried to block out the memories of that time.

Mimi stuck her finger into the icing on a piece and licked it.

“Yeah, he and I have been emailing.” She picked up a different piece of cake. “Don’t you think he’s cute?” She flounced away.

Cute? What would be cute would be that cake plastered all over her snide little face. Cute.

Aiden wasn’t cute. He was a lying, weaselly, sneaky, overbearing, rat fink cockroach. Whom she’d been dreaming about kissing.

“Lex.” Trish crept up from behind her. She tucked a lank strand of hair behind her ear. As she scanned the pieces of cake, the restaurant’s lighting made the bags under her eyes look larger than used Liptons.

She blinked rapidly and cast nervous glances at Lex.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” Lex didn’t dull the edge of her tone.

“We broke up.” The noise from the party almost drowned Trish’s voice.

“That’s too bad.” She tried – she really did – to keep the sarcasm from her tone, but she failed miserably.

Trish went on the defensive. “You’re all superior now because you have a man and I don’t. Well, I’m fine being single, while you were desperate trying to find someone who didn’t think you were too weird to hang out with.”