Page 89 of What You Wish For

I blamed the shirtlessness. And all his confessions. And the way he kept looking at me like he was in love.

Oh, and that epic, transformative, metamorphic kiss.

Jesus. I’m only human.

On the ride home I texted an APB to Babette and Alice to meet me in Babette’s kitchen.

Alice showed up first, which felt counterintuitive. But Babette was not much of a morning person.

“What’s up?” Alice said, when I let her in the back door.

“Shocking plot twist!” I announced. “Duncan Carpenter kissed me.”

Alice was not shocked. “You didn’t see that coming?”

“No! Did you?”

“We’ve been placing bets in the teachers’ lounge for weeks.”

“Alice! You can’t tell anyone.”

“Don’t worry, polka dots. I’m a vault.” Then, shaking her head: “I can’t believe it took so long.”

“Alice!” I scolded again. “He’s my boss.”

“Max was Babette’s boss.”

“No comparison!” I said.

“I’m just saying. Extenuating circumstances.”

“Alice! He’s the enemy! He painted over the butterflies.”

“With removable paint.”

“So he claims.”

Alice looked me over. “Are you trying to say it was a bad kiss?”

I shook my head. “It was an amazing kiss.”

She smiled, likeThat’s better. “Who kissed who?”

“He kissed me. But he fell on me first.”

“Case in point. You two had a spark from day one.”

I shook my head. “It’s a disaster.”

“Incorrect,” Alice declared. “Mathematically, it was almost unavoidable.”

“Alice,” I said, “there was no math involved. Trust me. This comes from a lady who never finished learning her times tables.”

But Alice started counting off points in support of her theory: “You’re both adorable. You’re both single. You’re both lonesome. You’re drawn to each other like magnets. And you’re exactly the polar opposite of his misery. So were you one hundred percent guaranteed to pair bond? No—”

“Pair bond?” I interrupted, likeReally?

“But looking at it statistically, yes. Mathematically, it works.”

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