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and knelt on the floor by the bed. My bare toes wiggled against her sock-covered ones before I started my prayer.
    Cassidy had gotten back in bed and turned off her lamp before I’d even finished. I had a lot to thank the Lord for. She would’ve started laughing again if I gave her a rundown of my silent prayer, so I kept it to myself.
    She waited until I was all snuggled in before she asked, “You know what I think it really was?”
    “What what was?” I asked.
    “All those signs with Tony.”
    “Yeah, what about them?”
    “Well . . .” I heard her roll over in her bed to face me. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I think he likes you.”
    I turned on my lamp. “What?”
    “I’m serious.” She smiled. “Why else would a guy let you feel his muscles?”
    “He didn’t let me feel them. I—”
    “And why else would he be watching you all the time?”
    He was worried I was onto him?
    “Or why else do you think he was too nervous to eat in front of you? So much so, it made him sick.”
    Now it was my turn to snort. “Whatever, Cass.” Like I’ve ever made a guy too nervous to eat in front of me. “Probably because he doesn’t prefer to eat food.”
    She ignored that. “I also think that’s why he knew what you were thinking.”
    “Because he likes me?” Is she high?
    “Yeah, because he was really into you and watching your reactions and stuff. It let him know what you were thinking.”
    “Oh, puh-leeze!”
    “You are pretty easy to read, you know.”
    I leaned over and turned off the lamp. “You need to get some more sleep. Obviously, you’re still jet-lagged.” I sounded calm enough as I said it, but I had to wonder if my heart could still beat properly at the speed it was racing. Holy cow. Could Cassidy be right? Could Tony be into me? No way. Just the thought of finding my own Edward nearly drove me over the top. And to think, it’s all happening in Washington!
    ***
    The next morning I awoke bright and early, eager to get a start on the day. Despite my crazy dreams and only sleeping half the night, I was amazingly refreshed and full of happy energy. The night before, the Hadleys had mentioned to the Russos that we’d hoped to go to church while we were in town. Our new friends were quick to tell us the direction of their building and the time the service started, so we were all set to go to service with them.
    I couldn’t wait. It was amazing what twenty-four hours could do to a girl’s outlook toward a family. It was like Cassidy and I had done a complete one-eighty. The more I thought about the Russos, the more excited I became.
    Once I chose the perfect skirt and top, I headed into the bathroom and primped and curled and beautified myself to perfection. By the time my sister crawled out of bed, I was already downstairs eating a bowl of Grape-Nuts in the kitchen with Roger.
    “Hey, sleepyhead,” I said after Cassidy groggily acknowledged my presence. “Did you have good dreams?”
    “Don’t even get me started about the crazy vampire dreams I had last night.” She pulled a bowl out of the cupboard and plunked it on the counter.
    Roger looked surprised. “Vampires, huh?” he asked around a crunchy mouthful of cereal. “Is that what girls dream about these days?”
    “Only certain bloodthirsty-type girls,” Cassidy answered, throwing me a withered look.
    “Yep.” I grinned back. “Cass is about as bloodthirsty as they come.”
    “Really?” Roger’s eyes got wide. “I’ll go see how Darlene’s getting along, okay?” He glanced at my sister. “We’re going to leave in about thirty minutes.”
    Cassidy gave me a look before she smiled sweetly at Roger. “Don’t worry, I’ll be ready. I’ve just got to put on my makeup and get dressed, and I’m good to go.”
    I could just see the wheels turning in Roger’s head as he imagined her showing up at church all Goth. He nodded once, then got out of the kitchen fast.
    “The poor guy—I think you scared him,” she