The Grass Is Always Greener Page 21

  I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for the lies and the secrets. Families can be messy, but at the end of the day, they’re all you got. That’s why this ring is in here—to remind you. This is my engagement diamond. It’s not worth much, but it’s real, like your mother’s birthstone I got her for her sixteenth birthday. I took both the stones and had them put on this ring together. It was a tad showy for my taste in the end, but now it’s yours. I hope you’ll wear it and think of me, your cranky, old grandmother, and your mother, a wise, strong-willed woman gone before her time. We’ll be watching you, honey. I know you’ll make us proud.

  Love always,

  Grams

  Izzie choked back tears as she slipped the ring on for size. It fit on her middle finger. She and Kylie stared at it in awe. Her mother and grandmother really were with her, after all.

  Grams, Izzie thought. You were full of surprises right up until the end.

  Twenty

  Mira and Izzie stood at the top of the stairs in the great hall and watched their sweet-sixteen party unfold in front of them beneath brightly colored green, blue, and purple papier-mâché lanterns. One hundred of their closest friends, family, and parents’ friends were trickling into the converted rice plantation on the outskirts of Emerald Cove, and Mira wasn’t down there to greet any of them.

  “You know, if Lover Boy doesn’t turn up soon, you and I are going to miss our whole party.” Izzie held her masquerade mask up to her face. It was antique gold and had hand-sculpted scrolls and rhinestones glued above the eye line. It was much more ornate than her simple but elegant green chiffon dress. “If you think about it, it’s kind of funny because I never wanted this party to begin with, but you’ve been waiting for this your whole life. Now you’re going to miss it because of a boy.”

  Mira glowered at her. “You only have to play watchman for a few more minutes.” She checked her watch again. “He’ll be here.” He was coming, wasn’t he? Mira removed her mask to get a better look at the crowd. She had opted for one on a stick because it was more elegant. Hers had a black-and-white toile pattern over the left eye and shimmery silver feathers that complemented her black lace and satin dress perfectly. But removing the mask did no good. She still couldn’t tell one person from the next, because their own masks concealed their identities. She watched as Charlotte, Nicole, and Violet took theirs off to stick their heads through one of three masquerade ball cutouts that people could pose with. Mira could feel Izzie staring at her. “What?”

  “Nothing,” Izzie said, but Mira could tell it was something. “Okay, I just can’t believe that our roles are now reversed—you’re the one sneaking around and lying, while I’m a picture-perfect EC role model.” She teased, grinning. “Our plan for people to make donations instead of bringing gifts will even look good for Dad’s campaign. If Grayson Reynolds reports it right.”

  Mira thought she was going to be ill. “Don’t say that name.”

  “Hey, you’re going to be hearing it a lot, don’t you think?” Izzie asked coyly.

  Mira stared at the crowd instead of answering. Savannah had just walked in with Millie. Mira was still a little miffed that Izzie had invited her. “No.”

  Izzie sighed. “Fine. I’ll stop. It’s your birthday party, too, and if you’ll enjoy it more with him here, then I’ll cover for you.” Mira hugged her. “But take it from someone who knows—the lying will eat at you. Just come clean, Mira. How mad can they really be when you explain things?”

  “I’ve already tried,” Mira said with a sigh, thinking of all the crying and shouting she’d done the last few weeks trying to get her parents to see that Landon wasn’t his dad. It hadn’t worked, which was why Mira had resorted to Plan B: seeing him behind their backs. Landon was the best thing that had happened to her this year, and she was going to fight for him.

  “There you two are!” Mira jumped at the sound of her mom’s voice. Her parents walked toward them in their black-and-white patterned masquerade masks.

  “What are you guys doing up here?” Mira asked, sounding nervous. “I thought you were supposed to be greeting guests at the door.”

  “So are you,” Mira’s mom said with a laugh. “Or did you forget how to be a hostess all of a sudden? Someone said they saw you two hiding up here, so we decided to come up and see what was going on. Everyone is asking for you. Are you okay?”

  “We’re fine!” Izzie covered for her. “Mira just wanted to touch up my makeup before we made our grand entrance.”

  Mira knew she had a tendency to be paranoid, but she suddenly had the sneaking suspicion her parents knew what she was up to. She started to perspire, which was not a good thing when her makeup was flawless. “Is something wrong?” Mira asked, her voice tightening.

  Her parents looked at each other. “Do you want to tell her or should I?” her dad asked.

  “I think you should,” Mira’s mom said firmly. “I never had a problem with that nice boy. You did.”

  That nice boy. She had to mean Landon. Her parents must have found out he was coming. Izzie actually looked nervous herself. But Mira was not. She had prepared a speech in case she ever needed to give it.

  “If this is about Landon again, I don’t want to hear it. I like him, okay? I can’t help it,” Mira said, her voice rising. She dropped her mask to her side. “He is a great guy, and you should be happy that I found someone like him. He treats me well and makes me laugh. We have fun together, and he thinks about others before himself.” She thought of Art Equals Love and the way he always defended her against Selma Simmons. “And if that’s not enough for you guys, then—”

  Mira’s dad cut her off. “Are you finished?” His voice was calm. “Because your mother and I have something to say, too.” Her mom nodded. “We’re sorry we didn’t trust your judgment about Landon. He is a remarkable young man, and if you care about him half as much as he cares about you, then we’re sure we can all get along no matter what his last name is.”

  Mira was so flabbergasted she almost fell over. She felt Izzie nudge her. Landon was walking up the back staircase behind Mira’s parents, and he was headed toward her. For a moment, Mira felt as if her throat was going to close up. This wasn’t what they had planned! Mira was supposed to meet him outside, make sure his masquerade disguise was decent, then usher him off to hang out with Charlotte for the night just so he could be there at the party. And now he was blowing his whole cover… and yet he didn’t seem bothered by that. He was actually smiling.

  “Hi, Mira,” Landon said. He was wearing a dark gray suit and holding a large silver mask in one hand. In his other hand was a small corsage box. “This is for you.” Mira took it wordlessly. She didn’t understand what was going on. She watched as Landon turned to her parents. “Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Monroe.”

  Mira’s mom shook his hand. “You look very handsome tonight, Landon. Thank you so much for coming.”

  “Landon,” Mira’s dad said as he gave him a strong handshake. “Thank you for agreeing to escort Mirabelle at her party.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it, sir,” Landon said.

  Mira stared at them all incredulously. “Am I missing something?” Izzie laughed.

  Landon and Mira’s dad looked at each other. “The three of us had a nice talk the other evening about you,” her dad explained. “Landon gave the same passionate speech you did, Pea, and that’s when your mother and I realized we were being too hard on you kids.” He smiled. “This is your relationship, and we want you to be happy. It’s going to be hard, but we’re going to try to keep politics out of it. Grayson and I spoke as well, and we’re going to do our best to keep you two a separate issue.”

  Mira couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She hugged both of her parents fiercely. “Thank you,” she said, trying not to get choked up. She couldn’t believe how much lighter she felt in just a matter of moments. “This is the best birthday present you could have ever given me.”

  “Does that mean we should return the
matching necklaces we got the two of you girls?” Mira’s mom asked with a wink toward Landon.

  “Well, I wouldn’t want you to have to go through the trouble of making a return,” Mira said, trying not to smirk. “Izzie and I would be happy to keep them anyway.” Everyone laughed.

  “We should get downstairs, Bill,” Mira’s mom said. “Our guests are waiting. I think Brayden is, too.” Izzie took their dad’s arm and let him lead her to the staircase. Mira’s mom squeezed Mira’s shoulder. “Happy birthday, sweetie.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Mira said. She could hear her favorite Katy Perry song drifting up from downstairs. It was time to join the party. She crossed her arms and looked at Landon. “So… you faced my parents alone, huh?”

  Landon pulled Mira toward him. “I had to. No offense, but I didn’t think your great big disguise plan was going to work. He used one hand to put his mask on. “Did you really think your parents wouldn’t guess I was under here?” Mira laughed. “The mask is very Phantom of the Opera, I’ll give you that, but it wasn’t going to fool our state senator.” He pulled the mask away, and his face was serious again. “They had to know you were going to try to sneak me in here, and I could just see how this whole thing would go. Making our relationship all cloak-and-dagger sounded exhausting. So I decided to talk to your parents myself and tell them what I told my own dad—you are a girl worth fighting for, and I’m not going to stop till they realize that.”

  Mira felt her arms begin to tingle. “You really said that?” she whispered.

  Landon’s eyes searched hers. “I really said that. I was not going to miss you blowing out the candles on your birthday cake.” He leaned in for a kiss, and the two lingered there for a while. They only separated when Mira heard the next song the DJ started playing. They both laughed.

  “Taylor Swift?” Landon smirked. “That never gets old with you, huh?”

  Mira shook her head. “Never. I think I requested three of her songs tonight just in case you want to sing along.”

  Landon took her hand. “Maybe we better get downstairs to enjoy them.”

  Mira smiled. She couldn’t think of anything she wanted to do more.

  After the food, the dancing, the pictures, and more food, Izzie and Brayden lingered on the dance floor for a slow song even though most of their friends were taking a break. Brayden wound his arms around Izzie, and she could smell his coconut shampoo. It reminded her of the beach, summer, and surfing. Who could believe all those things were right around the corner again? So much had changed since the last time she had dipped her toes in the ocean.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked as they swayed to a Maroon Five song. As much as she liked him dressed down, Brayden always looked good in a suit.

  “Summer, you, me, EC, Harborside,” she said.

  Brayden suppressed a grin. “That all? Next you’ll be telling me we need to look for summer jobs.”

  “I already applied for a Harborside Beach lifeguarding position,” Izzie said. “My aunt and my dad said I could get my job back.”

  “Then maybe I should look for something there as well,” Brayden said. “This summer is about you and me being together.”

  He spun her around. A new song had started that was up-tempo, and it was hard not to dance. “So are you ready for your present yet?”

  Izzie stopped dancing. “No presents, remember?”

  Brayden looked offended. “I made a donation, but if you think I’m not giving my girlfriend a gift at her birthday party, you’re crazy.”

  Izzie liked hearing him call her his girlfriend. “Okay, but you didn’t have to. I have everything I want already.” And she meant it. She stared at her grandmother’s ring on her right hand. Just looking at it reminded her that life was finally starting to make sense again.

  “Hey! Fellow birthday girl,” Mira called to her. Landon was standing beside her, and they both looked happy. “Ready to have everyone help us light the candles on our birthday cakes?”

  The one thing Mira and Izzie weren’t sharing at this party was cake. Mostly because they couldn’t agree on one. While Mira’s was a shimmering pink tower with elaborate silver decorations concealing each layer of red velvet, Izzie’s was a vanilla sheet cake with buttercream frosting and raspberry filling. Her mom had made something like it every birthday when she was little. Grams had tried to re-create it later, but she wasn’t the best baker.

  “What exactly do we have to do again?” Izzie asked. The candle-lighting ceremony had been Ms. Mays’s idea, but since Izzie never attended meetings, she felt out of the loop. All she knew was that Mira had made her make a top sixteen list of important people.

  Mira gave her a look. “I told you—the DJ will announce we’re lighting our cakes. Then we’ll alternate asking groups of friends and family up to light our candles. Then everyone will sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to both of us, and we’ll blow out our candles.”

  “And we couldn’t have just lit our candles ahead of time why?” Izzie gave Brayden a quick kiss before heading with Mira over to the gorgeous cakes on display in a corner of the room.

  “Because it’s more fun this way!” Mira said as if it should be obvious.

  “And now we invite everyone to join us as Mirabelle and Isabelle light their sixteen candles,” Izzie heard the DJ announce, and immediately a crowd started to gather.

  Ms. Mays was waiting by the cake display. “The DJ already has your lists, and since some of the people match, those groups will be called up to light both cakes at the same time.” Mira and Izzie nodded and took the long candles from her.

  “First up for these sisters is their family! Bill, Maureen, Hayden, and Connor—come on up, guys!”

  Their family walked up and lit candles on each cake. Then the DJ had Mira invite up her mom’s parents, who had flown in for the party, and an aunt and uncle. Next, Izzie lit candles in memory of her mom and her grandmother, and Aunt Maureen read a note from Zoe and lit a candle on her behalf. Both girls had a few separate candle-lighters after that, with Izzie picking Brayden to light one, of course, and then they called up their mutual friends.

  In his suave voice, the DJ announced: “Next up, Mirabelle and Isabelle would like to invite up Charlotte, Kylie, Violet, and Nicole. Come on up, ladies!”

  Afterward, they each had only one candle left.

  “I thought your top slot was going to Brayden,” Mira whispered through a tight smile since everyone was still taking pictures.

  “Nope,” Izzie said, smiling wearily as well. “I thought yours was Charlotte.”

  “Nope,” Mira echoed, and they both looked at each other.

  “I know I’m not all warm and fuzzy like you are, but my top-dog slot could only go to one person,” Izzie admitted, “and that person is you.”

  Mira smiled. “Really?” She squeezed her like a lemon. “I’m so glad you said that because I made you my top spot, too! Guess sisters really do think alike.”

  Izzie liked the sound of that. “I guess so,” she said softly.

  “For their final candles, Mirabelle and Isabelle have chosen each other for the honor,” said the DJ.

  The girls took their final candles from Ms. Mays, lit them, and handed them to each other as flashbulbs went off like fireworks.

  “And now, we invite you all to sing ‘Happy Birthday’! On my count: one, two, three!”

  The song was so deafening, Mira and Izzie could barely hear. Mira put her arm around Izzie, and they sang the song to each other.

  At the end, the DJ crowed, “Make a wish, ladies!”

  Mira and Izzie looked at each other and knew they were both thinking the same thing. Who needed wishes when they already had each other? Sixteen was going to be a great year.

  Acknowledgments

  Belles is ultimately a story about family, and I couldn’t have created this series without my publishing one, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and the team at the Poppy imprint. Cindy Eagan, the original champion for Mira and Izzie, you may b
e gone, but your mark will never be forgotten. To my editor, Pam Gruber, who has deftly handled each and every turn in the Monroe/Scott landscape with a keen eye for detail and a big heart that loves these characters as much as I do. High fives also to Elizabeth Bewley, Ames O’ Neill, Kristina Aven, Christine Ma, Jodie Lowe, and Andrew Smith.

  I’m so thankful to have Laura Dail and Tamar Rydzinski from the Laura Dail Literary Agency in my corner. Thanks for being my fiercest champions.

  The YA community is a great family to have as well, and mine wouldn’t be complete without Elizabeth Eulberg, Kieran Scott, Sarah Mlynowski, Courtney Sheinmel, Joanna Philbin, and Julia DeVillers. Falling under the writing heading is also Mara Reinstein, a trusted friend and critical first reader (I need that!), and my awesome copartners in the Beach Bag Book Club: Larissa Simonovski, Kelly Rechsteiner, Jess Tymecki, and Pat Gleiberman.

  None of this would even be possible without the readers, librarians, and bookstores that have been so kind to me and my books all these years. I’m forever grateful to all of you and to my family and friends for all their love and support.

  Finally, a huge hug and kisses to the people I call my home: Tyler, Dylan, Captain Jack Sparrow (yes, the Chihuahua helps, too!), and Mike, who knows me all too well and pushes me to be bigger and better each and every day. Thanks for the nudge in the right direction.

  Other novels by Jen Calonita

  The BELLES series:

  Belles

  Winter White

  The SECRETS OF MY HOLLYWOOD LIFE series:

  Secrets of My Hollywood Life

  On Location

  Family Affairs

  Paparazzi Princess