Page 52 of Problematic Summer Romance

“Undoubtedly.”

“Thank you for blessing me with this indispensable object, then.”

“You’re welcome. There were lots of other magnets, but this just called your name.”

“With the same voice as the kid fromThe Exorcist?”

“How did you—”

A knock interrupts me, and a moment later Rue and Tisha walk in. It’s almost 9:00 p.m., and they’re both already wearing their pajamas. Or still. Aside from Conor, Avery, and me, I don’t think anyone left the grounds of the villas.

“We heard gossiping voices,” Tisha says, pretzel-legged at the foot of her sister’s bed. “Decided that we wanted to be part of it.”

Nyota gives her a skeptical look. “I’m sure Rue was a focal part of this decision. She loves slumber parties.”

“I don’t mind,” Rue says, taking a much more composed seat next to me.

“Anyway. What were you two talking about? The curse?”

“Curse?” I ask. “What?”

“Well, Rue and I have been joking that only a cursed wedding can start with a vomitorium.”

“The wedding is not cursed,” I reassure Rue, who seems mostlyamused by my concern forherconcern. “We werenottalking about a nonexistent curse.”

“About what, then?” Tisha asks.

I cast a panicky glance at Nyota, who quickly holds out the magnet. “About this thing.”

“Oh, my.” Tisha lifts a hand to her chest. “Now that I’ve seen it, will I die in seven days?”

“Probably. Also, I was updating Maya on my vacation sex life, and how I had to stoop to downloading some weird Italian dating app.”

“You usually hunt among the wedding guests,” her sister points out.

“Hard pass. Axel is obviously an idiot. Paul shares genes with Axel, and I refuse to copulate with him under any circumstances, Hark is not my type—”

“Hark istotallyyour type.”

“—so unless you want me to seduce your nerdy boyfriend, I’m going to have to be proactive about this whole thing, and—”

“How was today?” Rue asks me, leaving Nyota and Tisha to bicker.

“Fun.” I smile. “I got you something at the market. Here, in the bag.” It’s a packet of seed mix—Sicilian wildflowers. “I checked. You can bring them to the US, just have to declare them.”

She smiles, wide, and the rarity of it makes my heart glow with warmth. “We should put it in the backyard. Next to the prickly pears.”

We. Rue always talks about Eli and her home like it’s mine, too.

“We should. And bywe, I mean you’ll do the work, and I’ll stay away to avoid withering them with my aura. Do you think that if I ever move from Austin, the garden will finally feel safe?”

“What do you mean,if?”

“When,” I correct myself. “I mean, when.”

Rue cocks her head, a small frown on her forehead. I’m intensely relieved when Nyota screams, “She’s his step-what?”

Rue and I both turn.

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