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myself. On the other hand, I also wanted to get it over with and done.
    I already knew the first day of anything was the hardest.
The first day of camp, of dance class, of getting my period. After twenty-four
hours of adjusting, the nerves would settle, I’d begin to catch on, and the
worst part would pass. So, I was definitely ready to wade past day one.
    I just didn’t look forward to it.
    What took up most of my thoughts was what would happen when
I saw Ryder Yates again. Would he flirt mercilessly as he had at the basketball
game, avoid me out of mortification, or worst of all, completely forget who I
was?
    “So, Grace,” Barry said. “I know you’re worried about your
first day at Southeast tomorrow, so I got you a little something to help ease
the nerves.”
    It was suppertime, and my new family sat around the dining
room table.
    My mouth fell open when Barry set a small, jewelry-sized
black velvet box on the table next to my glass of milk. I glanced at Mom.
    She blinked a few times before transferring her confused
gaze to her husband. “Barry?”
    He fluttered an unconcerned hand her way and continued to
grin at me. “Well? Go ahead and open it.”
    That was all the encouragement I needed. I reached out,
ripped off the red bow on top, and flipped open the lid.
    “Oh, my God,” I screeched. “It’s beautiful.” Too afraid to
touch all that sparkly gold, I lifted my gaze again. “Is this really for me?”
    Yeah, it wasn’t a piece of jewelry with a yellow daisy on
it—which was my favorite flower—but still. A rose necklace was more than I’d
ever expected from a stepdad I’d only had a few weeks.
    However, if I’d known such a dainty piece of jewelry would
cause the calamity it did, I would’ve spit on it that very moment and thrown it
back in Barry’s face. But who could ever predict something so disastrous?
Honestly.
    It was lovely, though. Thick, fourteen-carat gold chain with
a heart-shaped pendant and a ruby red rose in the center. I fell in love the
moment I opened the box and the light reflecting off one of the red-gold petals
winked up at me.
    “Don’t you want to try it on?” Barry asked when I did
nothing but ogle the gift without daring to touch it.
    I let out an amazed breath and extracted the rose from the
box with trembling fingers. I attempted to fasten the chain around my neck
twice before Barry laughed and pushed from his chair. “Here, let me.” He
skirted the table, moving behind me.
    I lifted my hair, and he fastened the clasp. Cold gold settled
against the back of my neck, the chill making goose bumps rise on my arms. I
wrapped my fingers around the rose and grinned at Mom only to find a picture
that confused me. She wasn’t smiling—wasn’t scowling either—but she looked very
blank. I couldn’t describe her expression. I only knew it wasn’t right. Turning
back to Barry, I found the excited glitter in his eyes I’d wanted to see on
Mom’s face. So I continued to beam at him.
    “Thank you. Oh, wow, thank you. Is it real?”
    He laughed, nudging Mom in the shoulder as if sharing an
inside joke with her. “Listen to this girl. Is
it real ? Of course it’s real. You think I’d give one of my ladies fake
gold?”
    I beamed. My first pure gold piece of jewelry. “Wow.”
    Mom still had nothing to say. Her odd expression remained,
so I cleared my throat, picked up my fork, and began to eat again as if nothing
had just happened. But all the while, my free hand lingered on my new gold
necklace and my face tingled with excited heat.
    I didn’t realize my mother’s problem until after supper. I
hurried to the bathroom to see how the necklace looked on me. After staring at
my reflection in the mirror for a solid minute, turning slightly to the left
then the right, I decided I looked older and much more mature with gold wrapped
around my throat. Now all I needed was some fur, pearls, a couple diamonds, and
I’d officially be a high roller. I grinned at my image and