She didn’t care what Tracey would have said; this was what would make it awkward. She and Colin were clearly more than friends; there had been an instant attraction when she met him at a coworker’s barbecue a few weeks earlier. He happened to be the brother of a friend of the hostess and had just intended to stop by to say hello; instead, he ended up staying the entire evening, sitting with Andie as they dipped their feet in the pool, talking about everything and nothing. And then, of course, he had asked her out. Their first date was cliché, but fun and sweet: dinner and a movie, followed by some playful conversation over ice-cream cones.
And an extremely hot make-out session.
But was she his girlfriend? She couldn’t quite say that yet. She didn’t even know if she wanted to say that yet. Or if he did, for that matter. And they would undoubtedly have to field that question all night. Andie hoped this guy, whoever he was, would just drop it.
“Hi, Andie. I’m Doug,” he said. “It’s great to meet you. This is my girlfriend Sara.”
“Hi,” the woman said, reaching forward to shake her hand. She was adorable, Andie thought, a tiny little thing with big blue eyes and a short brown bob.
“So you’re not gonna believe this,” said Doug. “Justin’s parents gave him and Stella a Bentley for the engagement.”
“Of course they did,” Colin said with a laugh. “Jesus.”
“Come see this thing. It’s incredible,” Doug said, already walking toward the glass doors that would take them outside.
Colin looked down at Andie just as Sara said, “You boys go. We’ll stay here and have girl talk.” She turned to Andie. “Unless you want to go see a car that looks just like any other car but costs more than my house?”
Andie laughed, feeling a little more at ease. “Yeah, it’s okay. I’ll stay here while you go check it out.”
“You sure?” Colin asked.
She nodded reassuringly.
“Okay,” he said, leaning down and giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “Get yourself a drink. I’ll be right back, okay? Two minutes.”
As the boys walked through the great room to the double doors leading outside, Sara turned to her. “He’s sweet. Always was. How long have you been together?”
“Um, we’re not officially…this is only the second time we’ve been out.”
“Oh?” she said, looking surprised before she quickly righted her expression.
“May I take your coat and purse, miss?”
Andie turned to see another man in a suit, one hand extended toward her, the other primly behind his back.
“Oh. I, um…yeah okay,” she said, tentatively handing him her jacket and bag and reaching for the numbered slip he handed her.
As he walked away, Andie glanced at Sara, who had an amused expression on her face. “Friggin’ coat check at your house. Can you imagine?”
She laughed again just as the sound of a phone ringing filled the space between them. Sara reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone, glancing at the screen.
“Shit. Sorry, I have to take this. If you want to grab yourself that drink, the bar is just around the corner,” she said, pointing toward the hallway.
“Okay, thanks,” Andie said, and Sara smiled before bringing the phone to her ear, using her hand to plug her other ear from the party noise. “Sara Daley,” she said as she walked in the other direction.
Andie took a breath and glanced around the room. Colin was right; for the most part, everyone was dressed the way she was, talking and laughing and seeming very approachable. This might not end in disaster after all, she thought as she exited the great room in search of the bar.
The hallway was huge, as wide as her living room, with tremendous arching doorways leading off into various other rooms. She tried not to look like she was snooping, but her eyes kept wandering of their own accord as she made her way toward the bar. Just before Andie reached it, a large, winding staircase came up on her right, leading somewhere downstairs. She could hear muffled voices and laughter and music, and she paused for a second, glancing down the stairs as several people walked back up with drinks in their hands.
Andie looked around for a moment before she turned to the right, starting down the wide staircase.
She was horrified at her own brazen behavior; she knew she should just turn around, go back the way she came, and wait for Colin. But her curiosity was uncharacteristically