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on.”
    Mary clutches the gown to her chest and heads out of the room to change.
    Mom gives the other dress to me. “These will be perfect. Well, hurry up. I want to see how this looks on you.”
    I follow Mary to the den, where we change clothes. We have to help each other lace up the gowns. They weigh at least twenty pounds and we don’t even have our corsets on. A layer of sweat slicks my skin. Wearing this thing outside all day is not going to be fun.
    Mom gushes like a fairy high on unicorn glitter when she sees us. “Oh, so beautiful. My best work ever.” Her gaze travels over the gowns, but never to our faces. It’s like we’re mannequins and our only purpose is to make her dresses look good. “Turn around.”
    We rotate slowly on imaginary skewers so she can see every angle. Her eyes burn hotter than any campfire. My flesh sizzles under her gaze.
    While she pins various bits to fix, I ask, “We don’t have to wear these on our birthday, do we?”
    She freezes, holding a pin inches from the hem of my bodice. Her hand shakes a bit. A flurry of rapid blinking stokes the blaze in her eyes. “You know how important it is for you to show these gowns around the faire.”
    â€œYeah, but our birthday is toward the faire’s end, anyway, and it’s only one day.”
    â€œIt’s not ‘only one day.’ Don’t forget, you’re in school this year during the day for your SAT review and the test itself and most people are gone by evening, so you’re already doing less.” She shoves the pin in the fabric, almost stabbing me with the tip.
    I shy away on instinct.
    She winds her wiry fingers around my upper arm and gives a socket-tugging yank. “Don’t be such a baby.”
    â€œCan you give us the evening off, maybe?”
    Mary whips her head back and forth, warning me to drop the subject.
    â€œWhy?” Mom shoves us out of the room.
    â€œIt’s our birthday.”
    â€œChange out of those and give them back to me so I can make the alterations.” She slams the door in our faces.
    Mary slugs me in the arm. “Why’d you piss her off?”
    I rub my arm. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”
    â€œThought you wanted to keep everything secret.”
    â€œI do.”
    She rolls her eyes and heads down the hallway to the den.
    The doorbell chimes, and Mary halts.
    I walk to the door and pry open the curtain. William and Evan stand on the porch.
    William waves at me. “Hey.”
    â€œHi.” A smile instantly erupts on my face. I open the door and step outside. Mary crowds behind me and I shift to the side so she can come out.
    â€œWow, you guys look awesome.” William checks out our dresses. He checks out mine more than Mary’s.
    Heat flames my cheeks from his attention. “Thanks.”
    His gaze meets mine and his dimples flash. “Makes your eyes look super green.”
    â€œYeah?” I twist a strand of hair around my finger.
    Evan coughs. “Uh, Mary, I like your dress, too. Reminds me of the color of Mountain Dew. Did you know the term used to refer to moonshine?”
    Mary giggles and fluffs the skirt a bit. “That’s cool.”
    Evan smiles. “Yeah. Another term is white lightning.”
    I have to cut this off before they both get their nerd on. “What brings you guys by?”
    â€œEv and I are watching B-list sci-fi flicks. Wanna join?” He hooks his thumbs through his belt loops. For the love of all that’s Elizabethan, he smells so good. Clean and fresh, like the park after a warm rain. Or fresh laundry. Or the forest on a scorching summer day.
    Let’s see—an evening out of the house, away from Mom, plus hours with the cutest boy I know? Tough decision. “Sure. Let us change.”

Chapter Seven
    M orning sun strikes through my bedroom window, searing my eyelids. Birds chirp in a random chorus, fighting to keep their