Chapter 10

The moment Joseph's friends saw me, they started teasing him. "Oh, wow! You finally brought your girlfriend!" "Yeah, you've been hiding her this whole time!" One guy with a lot of nerve stepped right up and held out his hand to me, grinning. "Nice to meet you. You're Joseph's girlfriend, right?" Joseph slapped his hand away before I could even react. He shoved him back and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "Stop it! She's not my girlfriend. I haven't even won her over yet!" Joseph kept messing around with them, but his eyes never really left me. That kind of straightforward, blazing enthusiasm was something I'd never experienced before. It was new to me and surprisingly intriguing. I found a seat and watched them race. By the time night fell, those guys had finally burned off their energy. But in the middle of all the noise and laughter, I didn't see the one familiar figure I'd been looking for. I scanned the crowd. Before I could ask anything, a bouquet of white lilies ap