Aster rose from her seat. “We will agree to disagree, because I love you dearly despite all your crazy outdated ideas.” She circled to her side of the table and bent to kiss the top of Nanny’s head.
“Where are you going?” Nanny grasped her hand.
“I told you,” Aster said, knowing she hadn’t. “I’m going to Safi’s to help her prepare for her party.” She smiled brightly, made herself blink. Hadn’t she read something about liars not blinking enough and it was a dead giveaway? Or was it that they blinked too much? Crap. She couldn’t remember. Though it wasn’t like she was actually lying; she was stopping by Safi’s, and Safi really was preparing for a party. It just happened to be Aster’s Night for Night Full Moon party. The idea was genius. Foolproof. Now if she could get past Nanny Mitra, she could put it in motion.
“And she promised to drop me off at the mall on her way to Safi’s.” Javen flashed Aster his most dazzling grin. “I’m meeting some friends.”
Aster glared at Javen. Driving him to the mall was never part of the plan. Clearly he was onto her, though she had no choice but to go along.
“Um, yeah,” Aster said. “I mean, yes.” She was quick to correct. Nanny had a major intolerance for slang, and Aster couldn’t afford to take any chances. “I’m dropping Javen at the mall. But he’s getting his own ride home, right, Javen?”
The look that passed between them—triumph on Javen’s part, disbelief on Aster’s—well, she couldn’t believe Nanny missed it.
“You grow up too fast.” Nanny removed the linen napkin from her lap and struggled to rise as Aster rushed to help, and Javen alerted the maid to start clearing the plates. “That’s exactly what I will tell your parents when they call tonight and you are not here to speak with them.”
Aster balked, fearing Nanny might say exactly that, with that same incriminating tone. But just as quickly it was over, and Nanny was good-humored again. “Now go. Live your lives. Enjoy. But I want you both home by eleven.”
Now they both balked. “Nanny, Safi has a lot of planning to do, it might run later—”
“But not too much later?” Nanny’s look was final, her tone nonnegotiable, leaving Aster no choice but to agree.
Then, as soon as Nanny was out of earshot, Aster grabbed hold of Javen’s sleeve and said, “We need to talk.”
Aster peered into her rearview mirror as she backed her Mercedes out of the subterranean twelve-car garage. “Not cool.” She glanced at her brother.
“You lied to Nanny.” He playfully wagged a finger. “Besides, I know all about your party a
t Night for Night,” he quipped, seemingly pleased with himself.
Aster frowned. She should’ve known he’d find out. Most of her friends had younger brothers and sisters around Javen’s age.
“I can’t wait to check it out. You know, as a reward for not telling Nanny.”
“You’re underage.” She pulled up to the big iron gate at the end of the drive, hit the remote, and watched it swing open.
“We have fake IDs.”
“Yeah?” Aster stole a look at him. “Twenty-one or eighteen?”
“What do you think?”
She pulled onto the street, passing a succession of mansions tucked behind big gates and taller hedges as she drove in the direction of Santa Monica Boulevard. “I think there’s a big difference between fifteen and eighteen. Don’t even get me started on twenty-one.”
“I’ll just show up then. It’s not like you can stop me.”
“And how are you getting there?”
“I have friends, Aster.”
“Trust me, I know all about your friends.” She stared through the windshield at the perfectly manicured streets, aware of her brother cringing beside her.
“Meaning?”
“I know about your male friends. I know you like boys better than girls. And I’m pretty sure that’s not something you’re willing to go public with. . . .”
She didn’t have any real proof of what she was saying, but when she saw his eyes widen in fear as the color drained from his face, she felt like the worst sister ever for using her brother’s sexuality as a bargaining tool.
“Javen, I’m sorry.” She rushed to undo the damage. She couldn’t care less if Javen was gay. But unfortunately, her parents and Nanny wouldn’t see it that way. “You know I want you to live the life you’re meant to, and I’m willing to help you do that—but you cannot bribe me in front of Nanny. We’re a lot better off working together instead of outing each other.”