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Chapter Nine
A note from Gwen was waiting for Ethan
when he had gotten home from the Book Café.
Darling, Once more I will be out on
business. I will be home tomorrow, though. Please get together with Theresa to finalize the plans. I love you.
Gwen
Ethan sighed and sank down onto his bed.
Why was Gwen doing this? If only she would stay here with him, maybe these stupid thoughts of his would disappear!
But Ethan knew better than to call Gwen and ask her to come home. Besides, he wasn’t really sure if having her
with him would make things any easier.
He dialed Theresa’s number.
"Hello?" her perky voice answered.
"Hey, Theresa."
Lunch had been interesting. Ethan couldn’t take his eyes off of her the whole time! That disturbed him, but what
was even worse was the fact that Chad and Whitney were sitting there the whole time, trying to dissect what was
happening.
But nothing is happening!
Why wouldn’t his heart listen to his head?
"Oh, hi, Ethan. What’s up?"
Ethan licked his lips, trying to think
of what to say next. Why had he called her?
"Not a lot. Say, what are you doing tonight?"
"I was going to hang with Miguel
and Charity- why?"
"Well, after you left, Chad was telling
me about the latest event on the pier."
"Ooh, sounds interesting. What
is it?"
"Karoke. I’ve been waiting for a chance
to hear you sing again."
Cheesy much, Crane?
"Fun! So, do you want to go?" she
asked, her voice even perkier than before.
"Uh, yes. But, we have to do a little
work afterwards."
That’s right. He had called her to work on his wedding.
"What kind of work?"
"Wedding work."
"Oh. Wedding work. Ok. What time
does it start?"
"Six. I’ll pick you up at around 5:30."
"See you then."
Was it his imagination, or did her perky
voice now have a sexy ring to it? Frustrated, Ethan slammed the phone down. What was going on? It was like whenever
he was around Theresa, he lost all train of normal thought! Why was this happening to him less than a month before
his wedding?
Ethan had an idea of why this was happening. But it would probably be best to ignore the fact that he no longer
loved Gwen, if he ever did.
You are going to marry Gwen. You don’t
have feelings for Theresa. You don’t.
Gwen sat down on a bench at the pier and looked around. It appeared that some sort of party would be happening
later, but she was too preoccupied to care. She dug her phone out of her purse and began to punch in some numbers.
Her plan to get rid of Theresa was about to be put into effect.
"Loren? Hi, it’s me, Gwen."
"Gwen, hi!" gushed Loren VanVoreen,
Gwen’s college roommate. "So, how are you? How’s Ethan?"
"Oh, we’re fine," Gwen said,
surveying the pier. Walking along Harmony’s pier always cleared her head. "But actually, I think I have found
a cure to your little problem."
"My problem."
"Yes, your summer nanny problem. I
know that you and Heath were looking in vain for a good au pair for Aurora, and I have found the perfect girl."
"Really! Oh, Gwen, you are so wonderful!
Who is she? Tell me about her."
"Her name is Theresa, and I think
she would love to come work for you in Miami this summer."
"That’s perfect, Gwen! You are
so thoughtful!"
If only you knew, Loren. If only
you knew.
"Ethan asked me out!" Theresa yelled, jumping off of her bed and banging her knee on her nightstand.
Whitney chuckled slightly. Theresa was such a klutz!
"Theresa. I don’t consider working on the wedding to be a date. If your brain worked like any normal person’s,
you wouldn’t either."
"Whit, stop being such a downer! Yes, we’re going to work on the wedding, but first, we are going to go sing
a little karoke. It’s perfect!"
"What’s perfect?"
Theresa sat back down on the bed beside Whitney, her big brown eyes shining. Whitney knew that look all too well.
"What’s perfect, Theresa?"
"Karoke is the perfect way to reveal how I feel about Ethan, Whitney! Just think, all I have to do is pick
out the perfect song, and then Ethan will realize his feelings for me. It’s perfect."
"Dream on, Theresa. Ethan will never realize his feelings for you because he doesn’t HAVE feelings for you.
Or, if he does, he’s still marrying Gwen. Okay?"
"Whitney, Fate wants us together. It’s that simple."
"Girl, I swear, if you ever tell me it’s fate again, I think I’ll have to kill
you."
"Whitney, it’s Fate."
Whitney screamed into her pillow.
Ethan rang the door at Theresa’s house at 5:30. Theresa immediately opened the door, her smile permanently restored.
Ethan couldn’t help but to be happy that he was at least part of the reason she was so happy.
"Ooh, I’m so excited, Ethan! I love karoke!"
And I love you, Ethan’s head screamed.
Where did that come from?
"So, what are you going to sing?"
Theresa looked at him, smiling almost seductively.
"That’s for me to know and you to find out."
Ethan raised his eyebrows. Tonight was going to be fun.
They walked to the pier, and with the sun hanging low in the sky and the pier decorated with white lights, it was
a beautiful sight. Already the pier was getting crowded.
They walked to the sign up booth, and saw Chad manning it.
"Hey, Chad!"
"Hey you guys. What’s up?"
Theresa shrugged.
"It’s Karoke time!" she said, grabbing a book. Her eyes roamed the list and she found what she was looking
for. Ethan took the list from her and chose a song as well.
"Interesting choices," Chad said as he peered at their slips of paper. "Theresa, it looks like you
are going to be the first one up. "
Theresa paled.
"Theresa, are you alright?" Ethan asked, hie voice filled with worry.
"I—I don’t know if I can go first, Ethan."
"Please, Theresa. You are the best singer in Harmony- you don’t have to be scared. Just get up there and do
your thing!" Chad said. Ethan pulled her close to him, his heart beating rapidly,
"Theresa, you can do it. I know you can," he whispered into her hair.
Theresa shivered and squeezed Ethan back.
"Thank you, Ethan."
Chad just stared at them, laughter in his eyes.
"So, you gonna go first, Theresa?" Chad asked.
"Yeah, I think I will," Theresa replied, still staring into Ethan’s eyes.
Whitney, Miguel, and Charity walked over to them.
"Are you going to sing, big sis?" Miguel asked, barely containing his excitement.
"Yeah, I am."
Miguel turned to Charity and grinned.
"Theresa has a voice hotter than Christina Aguilera," he explained.
"I can’t wait!" Charity said, squeezing Theresa’s hand. Everybody noticed that Ethan had his arm still
around Theresa, but didn’t say anything.
"Well, Theresa, you’re up."
Chad walked to the stage and grabbed the mike.
"Everyone, we are going to begin. Welcome to Harmony’s First Annual Karoke Competition. Our first contestant
is Ms. Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald."
A wild applause erupted from the audience as everyone began filing towards chairs. Ethan and the rest of the gang
sat around the front table, cheering the loudest.
Theresa took a deep breath and started shaking. All of Harmony, it appeared had turned out for this event. Then
she looked down and into Ethan’s eyes. They hadn’t left her since lunch earlier in the day. Gazing into them, she
felt calm again.
"Thank you! I want to dedicate this to my friend, Ethan. Thank you for being there for me when I needed you
the most, Ethan. I hope everyone likes country!"
The crowed yelled and Theresa began.
She's got you wrapped up in her satin
and lace
Tied around her little finger
She got you thinkin' you can never escape
Don't you know your hearts in danger
There's a devil in that angel's face
If you could only see the love that you're wasting
I can love you better than that
I know how to make you forget her
All I'm asking is for one little chance
Cause baby, I can love you baby, I can love you better
I'm gonna break the spell she's got on you
You're gonna wake up to find
I'm your desire my intentions are true
Hey babe I know in time
You're gonna see what you mean to me
So open up your eyes cause seeing is believing
I can love you better than that
I know how to make you forget her
All I'm asking is for one little chance
Cause baby, I can love you baby, I can love you better
(I Can Love You Better,
performed by the Dixie chicks on Wide
Open Spaces. Written by Kostas
& Pamela Brown Hayes)
The applause was deafening. Theresa bowed and smiled.
Please get the message Ethan! Please
listen to what your heart is telling you!
Ethan just stared at her, mesmerized. Was
she trying to tell him something?
Of course she’s not. She had no romantic
intentions towards you. You have to stop this Crane! You might lose the best friend you’ve ever had if you don’t!
"You did wonderful!" Ethan said
as Theresa slid into her chair. Theresa caught his eyes and stared. He didn’t look away.
I love you Ethan Crane. It’s only a
matter of time before you realize you love me too.
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