Don't Bet On Love by Sheri Cobb South Page A

finger to my lips.
    “ Why so picky? ” the first girl asked. “ Does this mean you have a prom date you haven’t told me about? ”
    “ Oh, I’ve got a date, all right, ” Colette said confidently. “ He just doesn’t know it yet. ”
    “ You mean Gary still hasn’t asked you? ” A wild hope that he might have changed his mind died with the other girl’s next words. “ But everybody knows he’s crazy about you. What’s taking him so long? ”
    “ Bashfulness, ” Colette answered. “ It was cute for a while, but it’s beginning to get old. He’ll ask me tomorrow night, though. I’ll see to that! ”
    “ How? ”
    “ I invited a girl named Molly McKenzie to my party. She’s a friend of Gary’s, and unless I miss my guess, a while ago she tried to get the two of us together. At the time I thought she must be nuts, but now I think she might be a useful ally to have. ” I heard a rustling sound—Colette taking off a gown. “ No, I don’t think I like this dress, either, Lauren. It’s just not me . Let’s go look somewhere else. ”
    I could hear the unseen Lauren grumbling, and a moment later the door creaked open and shut again. Then there was no sound but the canned music playing over the PA system.
    So that explained why Colette had invited me to her party! Gary wasn’t moving fast enough for her, and she expected me to give him a shove in her direction. Well, maybe I would go to her party after all, but I wouldn’t be the “ useful ally ” Colette was hoping for. I wasn’t giving my Gary to her on a silver plat ter, no way!
    “ Beth , ” I said impulsively, “ do you mind if we have an other look at that sale rack? I just had a sudden urge to buy a party dress. ”
     
     
    CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
    Because Mom had taken my car keys, I had to ask Mark to give me a ride to Colette’s house. To my surprise, he didn’t object. In fact, he seemed glad—even eager—to oblige.
    “ I have a gut feeling about this party, Moll, ” he told me happily as he drove down the winding roads of Windsor Heights, the expensive subdivision where Colette lived. “ Something good is going to happen tonight, I just know it! That money is as good as mine! ”
    Since I had my own plans for the party, I didn’t bother to disillusion him. Instead, I flipped down the visor mirror and gave my appearance one final inspection. I’d done my hair up in a new style and fastened it with pink silk roses to match my dress. I had to admit. I was rather pleased with the result. It made me look almost glamorous, if you didn’t count the light scattering of freckles across my nose. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about them. I’d discovered years ago that lemon juice really didn’t work, and slathering on heavy makeup only made me look like a clown.
    And I certainly don't have anything to be ashamed of in the wardrobe department , I thought, glancing down at my dress. I’d found it on the sale rack at Lundquist’s, a pale pink creation with a ruffle over one shoulder, a dropped waist, and a short skirt made of three tiers of ruffles. Even at twenty-five percent off, it had cost me my last dime, and once again I’d had to borrow, this time from Beth. She was enough of a romantic to consider it a sound investment, which, in a way, it was. If the dress would help me rescue Gary from Colette’s clutches, it would be worth every penny I owed Beth.
    Satisfied, I snapped the visor back up just as Mark slowed down in front of a brightly lit colonial-style house with four white columns across the front.
    “ Well, here we are, ” he said, wheeling the car into Colette’s already crowded driveway. “ Even though you’ve wimped out on our deal, just keep an eye on Gary for me, okay? ”
    “ Don’t worry, ” I said emphatically. “ I will! ”
    I got out of the car and walked up the lighted path to the house, where a rather intimidating woman met me at the front door. I had never met Colette’s mother before,