CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

L uke

I pound on the door of the Back Bay brownstone. “I’m Luke! Let me in.”

The door opens a creak, and one of the crew peers out. “Are you supposed to be here?”

“Look on the calendar.”

He turns and fumbles with something, presumably his schedule, and I take the opportunity to march past him.

“Flora! Willow!” I shout.

Pitter-patters sound around me.

Aisha marches toward me, her expression strict. “How nice to see you, Luke. I was not expecting you.”

“Nope,” I say agreeably.

“You’re supposed to be at practice.”

I grimace. I’ve never not missed practice. But I’m making an exception now.

“I need to see Flora and Willow.”

“Here we are,” Willow says from the staircase, and relief moves through me.

“Awesome. Absolutely awesome.”

The women grin.

Aisha rolls her eyes. “This is rather unconventional, Luke. You’re not supposed to be here.”

“I’m making a big decision tonight. I need to speak with Flora and Willow.”

“You’ll have time to talk to them tonight,” Aisha says. “They made cookies.”

“Oh, yeah? I like cookies.”

“Cookies are important,” Aisha says. “You eat Christmas cookies each year. You want to know what you’re getting into.”

“How nice of you to think about that, Aisha,” I say. “I would never have used that as a criterion to find a life partner.”

“That’s what Seeking Mr. Right is here for,” Aisha says lightly.

Flora and Willow giggle, but I think it’s from how ridiculous all of this is. I hope it’s from how ridiculous all of this is. I need to talk with them.

“All the same, I’m not comfortable with tonight without talking with them.”

“Fine.” Aisha rolls her eyes. “Let me get the cameras set up for you.”

“Maybe you can put the cameras in their rooms,” I say. “Seeing as I snuck up on you.”

Aisha’s eyes light up. “That’s a great idea.”

She hurries upstairs, and I usher the women into the floral crown room as quickly as I can. The room looks more like a closet than before. There is only one floral crown.

“I’m not sure how much time we’ll have,” I say quickly. “So I’m sorry for ambushing you. But I have something important to tell you. I don’t want to blindside you.”

“You want to select Sebastian,” Flora blurts.

My jaw must drop because she laughs.

“Sorry,” Flora says, “but Aisha will open the door at any moment, and you looked like you were going to enter a lengthy speech about why we’re great or something.”

“It seemed the polite thing to do,” I say. “And you are both great. I mean, if things had been different...”

“Like if you weren’t in love with Sebastian?” Flora asks, and Willow giggles. “You’re ridiculously obvious. Even Willow can tell, and she’s book smart.”

“I am book smart,” Willow confirms. “And one day I’ll find someone also book smart.”

“I’m sorry it’s not me,” I say.

Flora shrugs. “It’s okay. I got to be on TV. And I don’t want a dentist’s office in my future home. I like to leave teeth at work.”

“I might leave teeth at work too,” I say. “Unwillingly in my case.”

Flora and Willow burst into laughter.

The door opens, and I blink into the expensive, non-fluorescent light.

“That’s where you are,” Aisha says sternly. “The cameras are upstairs.”

“I was wondering if I could see the floral crown,” I say. “I wanted to see if it looked any different.”

Aisha gives me a look that tells me she thinks I’m strange, but she shrugs.

I think about making an excuse and leaving, but I don’t want them to get suspicious. I march upstairs instead, and for the next twenty minutes I ask Willow and Flora about dental and doctor offices inside homes, while Aisha taps her fingers along her notepad.

The cleaners arrive to make the place extra-sparkly, and I make my excuses and leave, nervousness thrumming through me.