Page 53 of Playing Flirty

I chewed on my lip to stop myself from smiling at my phone like an idiot.

It took him all of five seconds before he responded.

William:Tell them the truth, Rose. You’re the best person to have created this game.

Well, now I was smiling at my phone. It was impossible not to. I was back to my teen years, secretly texting the boyfriendI wasn’t supposed to have and ready to hide my phone the instant anyone walked in.

Keeping his message in mind, I typed up a new bio.

All that was left to do was to hit the big blue submit button, but my hands were shaking. I’d been on edge for the last few hours leading up to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I read and reread the instructions. I’d followed the rules. All of them. I had thirty minutes left to submit. Pushing myself away from my desk, I walked through the living area and to Neema’s bedroom.

The door flung open, and Neema stood before me in her silk nightie. “I was on my way to you.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to make sure you submitted your game.” She offered me a loving smile before her hands landed on my shoulders and she spun me around toward my room. “You haven’t done it yet, have you?”

“I was about to.”

“Let’s get it over with so we can go to bed. We need to be up early tomorrow morning.”

I groaned as I plopped down onto my chair and stared at my screen. My mouse hovered over the button.

Neema kissed the crown of my head, and I clicked submit.

“You’ve got this,” she said. “Now, go to bed. I’ll see you at six.”

Groaning again, I laid my head on my desk. “I have a few more things to finish before bed, but good night. See you in about six and a half hours.”

Round 18

Afew more things ended up taking a few more hours, and now I was sitting in Neema’s car, very unhappily sipping coffee.

Neema gulped down the last of hers as she reached a red light. “I can’t believe she wants to meet this early. But at least we’ll get to tick off a whole bunch of wedding things today.”

The thought of seeing all our planning come to life for their wedding was enough to shake me awake. When I looked over, her smile reflected mine.

Taylor’s Tailor was a small, neat place Neema had heard of through one of her colleagues. An older woman wearing a dark green skirt and a floral blouse came out and welcomed us. A measuring tape was twirled around her neck in a way that was certainly a choking hazard.

We’d barely set foot into the space when she pulled me away and started measuring. Wrapping her tape along my arms, my legs, my waist, and even my head.

Shaun stumbled inside, red-faced and a little disheveled. “Sorry for being late. William’s down with food poisoning or something, and I spent the morning trying to convince him through the bathroom door to call a doctor.”

“Is he okay?” I asked before Neema could, and I tried to ignore the way her eyes cut in my direction after she walked into Shaun’s arms.

“Uhh.” Shaun hesitated. “I think so? I don’t know. William holes himself up when he’s ill.” Shaun shrugged, but his brows were still drawn close.

The tailor dragged Shaun off and started measuring him while he rambled to her about how his brother being sick meant he wasn’t coming.

My stomach tightened.

Food poisoning. I’ve had it. Everyone’s had it. It’s just food poisoning.

I took out my phone and shot William a text to check in, but it wasn’t delivered. His phone must be off. The strange tension in my stomach curled tighter. I turned away and drummed my fingers on the table beside me.

Without intending to, my brain noticed the numbers on the tailor’s notebook. Aside from my head, all my measurements were larger than when I’d sewn my last Comic-Con costume. Sticky discomfort crawled down my spine. I’d always been happy in my own skin, but right now my sleep-deprived brain was struggling.

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