Snow Queen (14 page)

Just then, Christie emerged from around the edge of the curtain. She looked as if she was floating on air, her pink, poufy skirt swishing across the black plank floor. A few girls actually
gasped at the sight of her. Sophia stepped out behind Christie, grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh my gosh, Christie! Look at you!” Dana breathed.

“Doesn’t she look amazing?” Sophia asked, reaching up to pat Christie’s updo. “I just did her hair in the bathroom.”

Aubrey glanced at Sophia as all the other princesses gathered around Christie to check out her dress. “You’re helping Christie? What about Layla?”

Sophia cleared her throat and stepped over to Aubrey’s side so she could lean toward her ear. “I know what Layla’s been doing and it’s not fair,” she whispered. “I figure my helping Christie kind of levels the playing field.”

Aubrey blinked in shock. “But isn’t Layla your best friend?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I agree with her about everything,” Sophia said, straightening up. “Besides, Christie’s always been sweet to me. She doesn’t deserve to be sabotaged.”

“Wow. I’m impressed,” Aubrey said.

Sophia shrugged. “Just because I’m your boyfriend’s ex doesn’t mean I’m evil.”

Aubrey laughed. Sophia really
was
a nice girl. And mature, considering she’d hung around even after Grayson had turned down her offer to get back together. If the same thing had happened to Aubrey, she would have been on the first flight home.

“Do you like it?” Christie asked, breaking away from the pack to show Aubrey her hair.

“It looks
amazing
,” Aubrey said. “Nice work,” she added to Sophia.

“Thanks,” Sophia replied with a smile.

“You look like a fairy princess!” Dana breathed, touching the skirt with her fingertips.

“It’s so…different,” Rebecca added, in a tone that verged on annoyed.

Aubrey glanced around and saw that all the other girls were whispering about Christie, but not in a bad way. They looked put out, jealous even. As if they were irritated they hadn’t thought to veer away from the norm. Christie noticed it too, and smiled conspiratorially at Aubrey. This was totally going to blow the judges away. She could feel it.

“Ladies! I’d like to see all my little princesses
out here, please!” Fabrizia shouted from center stage.

Aubrey’s stomach executed a nervous flip as Christie grabbed her hand and squeezed. Grayson was out there somewhere. Suddenly her mouth went dry and her palms felt clammy. For the first time he was going to see her in something other than jeans.

“I hope they have the heat lamps pumped up. I’m freezing,” Dana said as they lined up in their preordained order.

“Hey, where’s Layla?” Christie asked.

“I guess she’s still in the dressing room,” Sophia said, glancing over her shoulder.

“Today, ladies!” Fabrizia called out.

“Here goes nothing,” Rebecca said. Then she led the girls out onto the stage.

As Aubrey stepped out from behind the warmth and protection of the curtains, she had to concentrate to keep from holding on to her bodice to make sure it would stay up. She also willed herself not to look out at the audience. She didn’t want to appear too eager. But finally, the whole line had to turn and face the seats, and when Aubrey did her gaze went automatically
to Grayson, who was seated, as usual, in the front row. Her heart burst when she found that he was staring right at her, a smile on his handsome face.

“Wow,” he mouthed.

Aubrey giggled, then slapped her hand over her mouth. Grayson simply shook his head in what appeared to be awe. Okay. So the dress
was
killer.

“Sorry I’m late!”

Everyone turned to find Layla fluttering out of the opposite wings in a pale yellow gown with a huge skirt and demure neckline, her hair drawn back in a girlish bun. Aubrey felt the stage tilt underneath her as tiny prickles of gray clouded her vision. She glanced at Christie, who looked utterly devastated, and ire bubbled up inside Aubrey’s chest like a surge of lava from a volcano. She looked out at Grayson in the audience and wanted to smack the smile right off his face.

He had told Layla. He had told Layla about Christie’s pastel princess dress. It was the only explanation. How could he do this to Christie? To
her
? What was he trying to do, play both
sides? Didn’t he realize this was war? That the Spotted Owl was at stake?

Layla was just passing in front of Aubrey, when all the anger and confusion and hurt gurgled to the surface. Without even thinking about it, Aubrey reached her foot out and brought it down right on the long train at the back of Layla’s dress. There was a snag and then a loud
rip
. Suddenly Layla tripped forward and fell onto her knees. Half the girls in the line gasped. Aubrey looked down at her foot and saw a jagged swath of light yellow fabric caught on her heel. The outer layer of Layla’s skirt had completely torn away.

“You bitch!” Layla shouted, shoving herself off the ground.

“First her music and now her gown,” Aubrey shot back. “Do you ever think for yourself?”

What happened next was all a blur. Layla swiped at Aubrey. Aubrey took a few dumbfounded steps back. Sophia ran out of the wings and grabbed Layla’s arm, trying to pull her in the other direction. All the other girls skittered backward, squealing, screaming, or laughing. But Aubrey simply stood there, unsure of what
to do, until Grayson came bounding up the stage. Aubrey half expected him to yell at her for marring his sister’s gown. Obviously,
obviously
he was on Layla’s side in all this. But when he turned to face Aubrey, he was laughing.

Aubrey blinked, confused. He was
laughing?

“How is this funny, Grayson!?” Layla shouted, lifting what was left of her skirt in both hands. “She totally trashed my dress!”

Then she turned and ran off the stage, Rebecca scampering behind her.

Grayson dried tears of merriment from his eyes and sighed, looking at Aubrey. “You really shouldn’t have done that,” he said, barely containing his mirth.

“And
you
really shouldn’t have shared our personal conversation with your sister!” she snapped. “Obviously our date tonight is off.”

Then she turned her back on his stunned expression and, holding her dress up with both hands, stormed off the stage.

T
hat afternoon the sky was blanketed with gray clouds. Gray to match Aubrey’s mood. In the back of her mind she knew that this was a good sign for snow, but she no longer cared. She was too busy being seriously angry and hurt.

As Aubrey shot puck after puck after puck on the pond, using the iced-tea bottles to mark the edges of the goal since she hadn’t had the energy to drag out the real one, all the carnival rides twirled and whirled and buzzed and hummed. The workers were doing their final test runs before the carnival opened up to the public in a few hours, and the air was filled with the scent of fried foods and popcorn. Merry shouts sounded over the bopping notes of organ music coming from one of the rides. The anticipation in the air was palpable. And it
all made Aubrey want to cry.

“Stupid Chamberlain jerks,” she said through her teeth. She reeled back and slammed a puck with her stick. The puck went zooming across the ice and slammed into one of the iced-tea bottles, upending it. The bottle rolled across the ice until it finally came to rest under the tread of Grayson Chamberlain’s boot.

Aubrey’s heart stopped at the sight of him. Stopped and shriveled into a black knot. “What are you doing here?”

She skated over to the edge of the pond and started to gather up her pucks. Grayson bent and picked up the iced-tea bottle, tossing it from hand to hand.

“I didn’t tell Layla anything,” he said with no preamble.

Aubrey scoffed as she skated by him, tossing a few of the pucks toward the center of the ice. She put too many on the stick, however, and they flew out in all directions.

“Yeah, right,” she said.

“Well, I didn’t tell her on purpose,” he said, stepping toward her. “This morning I was up early and Fabrizia was in the kitchen making
tea, so I told
her
about Christie’s dress because I thought it was a cool idea. Layla must have come down and overheard.”

Aubrey’s face burned as she made another pass at the pucks. She wasn’t sure whether or not to believe him.

“Honestly, I can’t believe she stole the idea,” Grayson said, looking down at the iced-tea bottle. “I’m starting to think that Layla’s taking this whole thing a bit too seriously.”

A laugh burbled up in Aubrey’s throat, but she held it back.
Starting
to think? Where had Grayson been the last week? But she didn’t feel like trying to tell him about all the things Layla had done to her and Christie. She was sure he would just defend his sister, and she didn’t have the patience to listen to it right now. She took a deep breath and stopped short, spraying ice all over the toes of his hiking boots. Looking into his eyes, she could tell that he really was feeling conflicted and upset. What was she supposed to do here? Let it go and trust him again, or go with her gut—her gut, which was telling her that when it came down to it, he was a
Chamberlain? When it came down to it, all he cared about was his family. Which meant doing whatever he could to help Layla win. Which meant that Christie would lose, the Howells would never get the money they needed, and the Chamberlain Ski Resort and Spa would run the Spotted Owl out of business.

“What are you thinking?” Grayson asked tentatively.

“I don’t know.” Aubrey looked away, watching the gray clouds as they moved slowly across the sky.

“I wish you would trust me,” Grayson said.

“I barely know you,” Aubrey replied. “Look at it from my side. I told you something in confidence and less than a day later, it’s thrown back in my face.”

“Look, all I can say is…I really do want Christie to win. I want the Howells to save the inn, I want to keep my job there, and I want you to not hate me,” Grayson said, stepping right up to her. “You either believe those things, or you don’t.”

Aubrey looked up into his eyes and her heart
flipped. Why did he have to be so damn gorgeous? And why did he have to look so damn earnest?

“Can’t we just pretend all of this never happened?” Grayson asked. “I’d really still like to go to the carnival with you tonight.”

His words sent a little skitter of excitement through Aubrey’s veins and she found herself smiling against her will. She was still attracted to him, even if she wasn’t entirely sure she trusted him.

“All right,
fine
,” she said, relief rushing through her lungs as she let go of as much of her anger as she could. “But you have to buy me whatever junk food I want and you’re not allowed to judge.”

“Deal,” Grayson said with a grin. “It does smell seriously amazing,” he added, looking around.

“Good. Now get out of here,” Aubrey said, pushing her hockey stick against his chest. “I have more practicing to do.”

“Okay, okay,” Grayson said, lifting his hands in surrender. He walked over and replaced the iced-tea bottle across from its partner on the ice.
“I’ll see you tonight.”

As he walked off, Aubrey stood still on the ice and watched him go. Part of her wanted to smile, but she also felt an odd sense of trepidation. Was she doing the right thing, letting him back in? Or was she just allowing herself to be duped by a shady Chamberlain? If Christie were to lose the pageant because of some detail Aubrey let slip, she would never forgive herself.

So just don’t let anything else slip
, Aubrey thought, turning toward the goal and lining up behind her row of pucks. She pulled back and shot one as hard as she possibly could. It raced across the ice and sliced right between the two bottles.

Just don’t trust the guy you’re dating
. She tilted her head back and groaned in frustration. Yeah. That was a really good idea. Going out with a guy she couldn’t trust. A cold wind kicked up and she stared at the sky.

“Okay, if it starts to snow right now, I can trust him,” she whispered to herself, her words nearly drowned out by the noisy carnival rides. “One flake. Come on, just give me one flake.”

But the sky remained obstinately gray and
flakeless. Aubrey groaned again and got back to her shooting.

“Is it just me, or have you been kind of quiet tonight?” Grayson asked as the Ferris wheel made its fifth trip toward the sky. The once-again cloudless, starlit sky.

It’s not you
, Aubrey thought.
Why do you want me to talk? Want me to give you more ammo you can hand over to your sister
?

“Is everything okay?” Grayson asked, nudging her leg with his knee.

“Everything’s fine,” Aubrey replied, looking out across the carnival grounds.

Whether or not Grayson’s parents were working to keep tourists away from the carnival, the place was happening. There were lines for every ride, and the game counters were crowded with people. Kids raced around with cotton candy, clutching reams of tickets, and there were prize teddy bears everywhere, so big they blocked the faces of the people toting them from view. As the wheel dipped and then headed for the sky again, Aubrey saw that the workers were setting up bleachers around the pond near the woods,
getting ready for the hockey shot competition, which would happen in a few days.

“Really? Because it seems like you won’t even look at me,” Grayson said flatly.

Aubrey glanced over at him then, but found that she couldn’t hold his gaze. She felt as if all her misgivings would be obvious in her eyes and she didn’t want to get into another serious conversation. She wished things could go back to the way they had been yesterday, but she wasn’t sure how she could make that happen.

“I’m just tired,” she said.

“Tired,” Grayson repeated dubiously. He actually sounded annoyed, which surprised Aubrey, considering the fact that
she
was still somewhat annoyed with
him
.

“Aubrey, I really think we should talk about this.”

“Talk about what?” Aubrey said, raising her eyebrows and trying to appear as if she was clueless.

He tilted his head. “You
know
what.”

The ride started to slow. Suddenly Aubrey was even more eager to get out of the tight Ferris wheel seat. It seemed to take forever for
the bucket to inch forward. Just then, she spotted Christie down on the ground, waving her arms over her head. “What’s that about?” she asked, happy to have an excuse to change the subject.

“I have no idea,” Grayson replied, glancing over the side.

As their car inched toward the operator, who was letting people off, Christie ran around the side of the fence to get as close to Aubrey as she could.

“Guess what?” she shouted giddily. “Jonathan just asked me to the Winter Ball!”

Aubrey’s face lit up and she forgot all about what was going on with Grayson. “No way!” she replied happily. “That’s amazing!” She turned to Grayson. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t feel like getting into this right now. And as you can see my best friend needs to talk to me, so—”

As soon as the worker released the safety latch on their seat, Aubrey pushed herself out and ran down the ramp to join her friend, as happy to be sharing a light moment with Christie as she was to be free from Grayson and all the heaviness. Christie caught Aubrey up in a hug and
jumped up and down.

“What happened? I want every detail!” Aubrey exclaimed, pulling Christie over to a wooden bench near the ride’s exit. Grayson strolled over and hovered a few feet away, giving the two girls some space.

“Well, he told me that he wanted to ask me, but he wasn’t sure if Rose and Jim would be cool with it,” Christie said breathlessly. “And then he said that
you
convinced him it would be okay!”

Aubrey bit her lip. “Are you mad that I talked to him?”

“No! Not at all! Honestly, I was so happy. I was starting to think that you didn’t care and I—”

Aubrey blinked. She put her hand over Christie’s. “Wait a minute. You thought I didn’t
care
?” she asked.

There was a long, awkward pause as Christie looked down at their gloved hands. “Well…I mean…every time I tried to talk to you about it you got distracted by something or someone,” Christie said, lowering her voice as she glanced over at Grayson. “I just feel like we haven’t had
much time to talk since we’ve been here, and when we do it’s all about the pageant.”

A warm blush lit Aubrey’s face and she kicked at the ground with the toe of her boot, feeling chagrined. “I know we’ve been busy…. I know
I’ve
been busy,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you! Please! You’re the whole reason I’m here. Nothing’s more important than you.”

Christie grinned and squeezed Aubrey’s hand. “I know,” she said with a nod. Then she lifted her sparkling eyes. “I can’t believe Jonathan asked me out!”

“I know!” Aubrey squealed and hugged Christie again. “I’m so happy for you!”

Grayson finally moseyed over to them and cleared his throat. “Hey.”

“Hey, Grayson!” Christie said giddily. “Did you hear? Jonathan and I are going to the Winter Ball together!” she announced, looking meaningfully between him and Aubrey. “It’s this Friday, you know.”

Aubrey’s pulse raced and she looked away, feeling like a total moron. It was so obvious that Christie was trying to prod Grayson into asking
Aubrey to the dance, which was so lame. Aubrey knew that she had done the same to Jonathan, but at least she hadn’t done it right in front of Christie.

“Yeah, I know,” Grayson said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his wool coat. “Listen, Aubrey, I think you’re right. I’m kind of tired too. Maybe we should just call it a night.”

Aubrey’s heart fell and she felt Christie slump in disappointment. That was his reaction to the obvious prodding from her best friend? Cutting the current date short?

“Um…okay,” Aubrey said. She was so stunned no other words came to mind. She knew their date hadn’t been perfect, but was he really going to ditch her like this, right in front of Christie?

“I’ll see you at rehearsal tomorrow.” He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “See you, Christie.”

“Bye, Grayson!” Christie said, trying to sound chipper.

He gave them one last tight smile before disappearing into the ever-shifting crowd. Aubrey slumped back on the bench and blew out a
breath. “What the heck was that?”

“I don’t know.” Christie seemed genuinely baffled. “Did he totally miss my hint?”

“Maybe,” Aubrey said.

But she knew that Grayson wasn’t that stupid. He had to have known what Christie was doing and he’d just ignored it. Obviously he didn’t want to go to the Winter Ball with her. But why? He was the one who had betrayed her trust. Wouldn’t taking her to a ball that she
had
to attend because of
his
family’s dumb rules be a good way to make it up to her?

“Come on,” Christie said, standing. “You need a sugar fix, stat.”

Aubrey nodded and followed after her friend. How had this all happened? A few days ago everything had been going right. But now every little thing felt seriously wrong.