Page 19 of The Prospect

Hazel flashes me a look. I know she knows deep down I’m trying to segway this conversation into discussing whether or not she’s come to a decision about last night's plan.

Frankly, I think it might very well be one of the best plans I’ve come up with. More often than not, Hazel is the brain between the two of us. She’s got the creative side to her, it’s built into herDNA, and me? I just go with the flow. But last night, I had a clear vision of how we can work things out. It even shocked me.

“So?” I refuse to be subtle any longer. “Did you think any more about what we talked about last night?”

“I did.” Hazel keeps me in suspense as she peers down at the ground before staring up into my eyes.

“And?” I pry. “What did you decide?”

“That I’ll do it.” There’s a sense of nervousness in the way Hazel hastily agrees, but I know it’s only because she’s unsure—scared.

Things will be fine. I’ll make sure of it.

With her agreeability, I immediately lift her into my arms and plant another kiss on her cheek, refusing to hold back from this excitement.

“Thank you, Haze!” I tell her when I eventually place her back down. “This is going to be great. We’ve got to get started on this right away. But before we do, you need to tell me everything you know about Amira?—”

“Woah, woah, woah. Hold your horses.” Hazel places a hand against my chest.“Don’t you want to know who I want you to set me up with first?”

Shoot.

I forgot about that part.

“Right.” I run a hand along my forehead. “Yes, tell me, who do you want me to set you up with?”

Hazel goes all shy again, rubbing her hands together. “You did say ‘anyone’ I wanted,right?”

I hate how cryptic this feels. “Mhm.”

“Well…” She peers up at me through her lashes before her eyes change paths, honing in on one person in particular who seemingly catches sight of Hazel’s stare and flashes her a confident nod of his head.

No.

No. No. Noandno.

I block her from his line of vision, standing directly in front of her so the only person she can look at is me.

“Please tell me you’re not about to say what I think you’re about to say.” My voice turns desperate. “Please, Hazel.”

“I’m sorry, Greenie.” She places her hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me. I hadn’t realized all of a sudden I’d felt so winded—flustered. “But if you really want me to go through with your plan and set you up with Amira. Well then…” She sends chills down my spine as she whispers, “You’ll set me up withChristoper Hart.”

SEVEN

H A Z E L

Green was lessthan receptive to my request. In fact, in all of the years I’ve known him, I’d never seen him go speechless. But after I finally admitted who I wanted, not a single peep left his mouth.

He’s been like this for the past few days—quiet, sheepish, unsure, all of which hardly makes any sense to me. After all, this plan to play matchmaker for one another washisidea, but now, as soon as I lay out my terms and conditions, he goes into complete ghost mode?

I knew he wouldn't be impressed by my selection, I’d even told Chelsie this would likely be the outcome. Sure, Green and Hart have had their scraps in the past, but they’ve also had their good times too. So why is this such a big deal?

Chelsie was right. If Green wants to play the game, then he has to understand the rules: I set him up with Amira, he sets me up with anyone I want. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

It’s simple.

Or so I thought. It's taken me all week to finally convince Green to actually hunker down and finalize this plan. Only this time, in a turn of events, it’s been me who had to drag him out of the house to a setting that’s much more my cup of tea.

The library.

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