How to Date a Millionaire (9 page)

Yeah, lucky old Seth. Lucky old Seth with his penthouse apartment and girls throwing themselves at him here, there and at Pearl Harbor. ‘There are two other guys with him as well. Jason and Connor.'

‘Oh.' Marc's voice gives away the fact he doesn't think either of them are in Seth's ‘great guy' league.

‘So you know them as well?'

Marc snorts. ‘Sure. They're a couple of buffoons.'

Phew. So it's not just me. ‘That's what I thought too. What do you know about them?'

‘Oh, they just think they're hot shots in the making. As
far as I know, the only reason Seth hangs around with them is because of this screenplay they worked on together in a class in our first semester. It turned out quite well and now he can't get rid of them. Not unless he wants to ditch the entire project. I think one studio actually had a bit of interest in it, so it'd be a waste to let it die because of the two other guys. Apparently they'll try just about anything to get it up and running. Seth's had a gutful of them, from what I hear.'

Hmmm. So they'd try ‘just about anything', huh? Something twigs in my head when I hear Marc's words. That is, Marc's words combined with all the boring ‘how to get our screenplay noticed' talk that had been going on while we were out today. ‘Marc, they don't know that we're related to Holly, do they?'

There's a long pause on the end of the line. ‘I don't think so. I try to keep it pretty quiet around here. People knowing would only make things harder for me. Why, do you think they do? Are they hassling you or something?'

I shake my head, even though Marc can't see me. ‘No, not really. It's just that they never shut up about the screenplay. Jason and Connor, I mean.'

‘Yeah, that's normal for them, unfortunately.'

‘Okay. Thanks for that. I just thought I'd ask.'

‘How's everything else? Holly still doing all right? How's your dad?'

‘She's fine. Her blood pressure's still the same. Dad's scaring the tourists in his bathing attire.'

‘The usual, huh? What'd you get up to today?'

‘We just got back from eating some great Thai. And we went to Pearl Harbor. You would have liked it.' Funnily enough, I edit out the bits about Seth, Jason and Connor coming along for the ride and also about me hurling myself on Seth. There are some things even fake big brothers really don't need to know.

‘Sounds good. And Thai sounds even better. Tell me you didn't have mee krob.'

‘Sorry, we had mee krob. And it was good too. It'd probably have to go in my top-five mee krob experiences, in fact. Maybe even in my top three.'

Marc blows a whole heap of air down the phone. ‘You could have at least told me it was terrible.'

‘And where would the fun have been in that? Anyway, I'd better run and see if Alexa's killed Nat while I've been
on the phone. She's been itching to put her in one of those hotel kiddie-day-care programs the whole time we've been here. The girl is out of control.'

‘Really? You know, she sounds kind of like someone else I used to know. Someone else and her best friend, Marilyn Monroe.'

I grin, thinking of Nat and her new love for all things MM. ‘You can't possibly mean
moi
?'

‘Er … of course not,' Marc says, then laughs. ‘I meant someone else entirely. See you, Ness.'

‘Nessa?' I awaken to someone shaking my shoulder just that little bit too hard (anything at all is a little bit too hard at 8 am when I'm on holidays). ‘Nessa! Wake up! You have to wake up!' Nat's voice gets more insistent.

‘Is there a fire?' I roll over.

‘No. It's the phone. And it's for you.'

‘Oh.'

‘It's Seth.'

Okay. Now I'm awake. I sit up in bed. ‘Oh.'

I get a smarty-pants smile from Nat. ‘I thought that might wake you up.' She holds out the cordless phone to me and I see that she hasn't even bothered holding her hand over the mouthpiece.

Fantastic. So Seth has heard all of this. Well, isn't that
just dandy? I roll my eyes at her as I take the phone.

‘Thanks,
Nat
,' I say. She doesn't move from her spot. ‘You can go now.'

Another smarty-pants smile, the thumbs up and she's gone.

Oh, brother.

‘Hello?' I say into the phone.

‘Hi, Nessa. Sorry to wake you up. It's Seth. Look, I was wondering if you're busy today?'

My heart stops beating in my chest. Um … I don't quite know how to answer that question. Am I busy today? For what? So he can come downstairs and laugh at me? So we can't ask him anywhere today? Who knows?

‘Um …' I finally answer, because, like I said, I really
don't
quite know what to say.

‘I thought we could go to the aquarium together. Just you and me,' he adds hastily.

Riiiiight. The aquarium. What does that mean? Is this, like, a date? Did I read yesterday wrong? Again, I don't know how to answer Seth. But before I can say anything, he starts speaking again.

‘I'm sorry about yesterday. I want to make it up to you.'

‘Oh.' The word comes out of my mouth before I can help it and there's a moment's silence before I remember Seth's asked me a question.

‘Well, um, the aquarium sounds nice. I've been wanting to go there. I'd better check in with Alexa and Nat, though. You know, to see if they've got something to do.' And my dad, I think to myself, but I'm hardly going to say that to Seth. ‘Can I give you a call back in fifteen minutes or so?'

‘Sure. I'll talk to you then.'

‘Great.' I turn the phone off and sit up in bed, stunned. Okay. So I guess I
did
read yesterday wrong. Unless Seth wants to do the whole ‘hey, I really want to be friends with you, but
just
friends' thing. Yikes. I hope not. I
hate
that speech (who doesn't?). Still, I guess the only way I can find out what's going on in his head is by going to the aquarium with him. So, with a shrug, I jump out of bed and open the door.

Alexa and Nat practically fall inside the room.

Hmmm. ‘Catch all of that?' I ask them.

They both say yes, eyes as wide as each other.

‘You don't mind if I go?'

They both shake their heads.

‘You have to go,' Nat says. ‘He's cute.'

Alexa seconds this opinion. ‘And he's nice. Much, much nicer than those other two. Maybe he'll soften and tell you a bit more about his heart transplant if you get to know him better.'

‘Maybe.' But after yesterday, I don't think I'll be asking Seth much about that. If he offers, it'd be interesting to hear, but I won't be prying. That's for sure. ‘What are you two going to get up to?' I ask.

‘A bit more shopping,' Alexa says.

‘I hope he's going to wear a necktie,' Nat pipes up.

Both Alexa and I turn to give her a strange look. ‘Sorry?' I ask.

‘You know. A necktie. Like in the movie. Shatze thought that gentleman callers should wear neckties.'

Alexa gives me an ‘if she catches the Marilyn Monroe bug from you, you're in big, big trouble, sister' stare.

‘Right,' I answer. ‘A necktie. To the aquarium. I'm sure he will.'

And before this can go any further, I take off to start in on grovelling to my dad.

In the end, I pull out all the stops. I use the ‘Marc knows Seth and says he's a great guy' card, the ‘we'll be catching the trolley and be in completely public places at all times' card, the ‘my cell phone will remain on at all times' card and the ‘I'll be back by 4 pm' card. Only then (and with a nudge from Holly) does my dad finally give me a ‘yes'.

It's Holly who sneakily slips me $50 on the way out and tells me to have a great time. Really, you can't help but love her.

That done, I ring Seth and tell him I'll meet him in the lobby at 9.30 am.

And
that
done, Nat practically wets herself and tries to give me a mini-makeover with her Hilary Duff makeup set.

I have to push her out of the bathroom, lock the door and … oh yeah … thank God for never giving me a little sister. Well, until pretty soon, and I don't think G is going to be into mini-makeovers with Hilary Duff makeup sets for quite some time.

You know, it's very hard to look like you're not trying when you're so obviously trying very, very hard to look like you haven't tried to look good. Does that make sense? I spend waaaaay too long picking out what I probably would have worn to the aquarium if it had been just Alexa, Nat and myself going. I end up wearing dark capri jeans, a halter neck white linen shirt I picked up at Gap while we were out shopping at Ala Moana the other day which shows off my newly tanned shoulders, and my favourite vintage sunnies (pink with rhinestones – fabulous, dahling!) that Holly and I picked up in Chelsea and that Nat has been secretly stealing and wearing this entire trip, ever since she first viewed
How to Marry a Millionaire
.

‘Well?' I ask the girls, when I finally emerge from my room.

‘Perfect,' Alexa says, looking up from the sofa. ‘Casual, but not too casual. You're not trying too hard to impress.'

‘Needs more cleavage,' Nat says, giving me the once over.

I ignore her and head for the door. ‘See you guys
around four. I'll give you a call if I'm going to be back sooner.'

‘You'd better not be!' Alexa calls out after me and I laugh.

But I'm not laughing as I wait for the elevator. And I'm not laughing
in
the elevator. Actually, I have to take a few deep breaths because I start slightly freaking out. I'm not sure why. Because of what happened yesterday? No, I don't really think so. I think it's something more along the lines of the fact that I really do like Seth. Much, much more than I ever liked any of the gas pump jockeys (I have a feeling that name might just stick). And it's a bit scary to like someone more than them, especially someone who wants to work in Holly's industry and who's probably going to lose the plot entirely when he finds out she's my stepmother. Not to mention the fact that he lives in LA and I live in NYC. Hmmm.

Maybe I should have kept on using my head, rather than my heart, after all? I can see myself getting burnt here all too easily. But no. I have to go with my instincts, don't I? Holly's advice on friendship was good advice and she knows what she's talking about. If I feel like Seth is someone worth
getting to know, then I should make that leap and get to know him better. So, before the elevator doors open, I take another deep breath and try to remember Holly's words from back home. If I want to find real friends, people who matter, I have to keep sifting through the junk. Which I guess means using my heart (which, I suppose, I have been. I mean, it wasn't my head doing the thinking for me at Pearl Harbor, was it?). I just have to trust that Seth won't be the kind of person who's interested in me just for Holly. That he'll be interested in me for … I don't know. My wacky vintage sunglasses? Yeah, good luck with that, Nessa.

‘Hi, Nessa.' Seth is waiting for me in the lobby and spots me as the elevator doors open.

‘Hey,' I try to say normally, but it comes out something more close to shyly. Gag.

‘If we hurry, the next trolley's in three minutes.'

I take another, final deep breath. ‘Let's go then!'

Neither of us says much on the short trip down Kalakaua Avenue to the aquarium, but it's okay – the trolley driver is
of the usual cheery, chatty variety and says plenty for everybody on board. As we disembark, I'm already desperately hunting for a topic of conversation. ‘So what are Jason and Connor up to today?' I ask and then instantly regret my words. I don't care and Seth probably doesn't either.

But he doesn't look put out. ‘Most likely plotting something sinister,' he answers. ‘How about Alexa and Nat?'

I laugh. ‘Nat's probably doing the same. Alexa will be shopping, like she told me she would be. There isn't very much that's sinister about Alexa.'

‘No,' Seth says. ‘She seems like a good friend to you.'

‘She is. The best.'

We pay for our admission, collect a map of the aquarium and head inside. ‘What first, do you think?' Seth asks as we stand to one side and view the map.

‘Um …' I check out what's on offer. The indoor galleries, the outside ‘edge of the reef' exhibit, or maybe the monk seal pool (I have to try hard not to snicker, thinking of Alexa here). Just as I'm about to open my mouth and reply, someone bumps into me, pushing me into Seth's side. He half grabs me around my waist to steady me.

‘Hey, are you okay?'

‘I'm fine,' I squeak, righting myself. ‘How about the indoor galleries first?'

Seth lets me go. ‘Sounds good.'

‘Right.' The indoor galleries sound perfect. That way, in the half-dark, Seth won't be able to see me blushing. And he might not notice that I'm crawling along the floor. Seriously, after being held by Seth, my knees feel so weak that I might just have to crawl.

‘Oh, look at this one. He's beautiful!' I press my face up to the glass like I'm a kid again and watch in awe as the neon blue-striped angelfish swims past my nose. ‘It's hard to believe anything's naturally that colour. It's almost as if he's lit up from inside.' I finally pull back, realising I might have said enough now.