Page 19 of All's Fair in Love and Blackmail

“You called me hot the other day,” I point out. “If I’m being weird right now, you were weird then.”

She narrows her eyes at me and then reaches up, her fingers poised to flick me in the forehead. I grab her hand before she can make contact.

“Now, now, Sunshine,” I say as she struggles to pull her hand free. “Violence is not the answer.” Despite my words, I can’t stop my smile.

And she might not fit in thelittle sisterbox after all. She’s too cute, too much fun. That’s fine; I can reassign her as a friend instead. This is the precise reason for my current perusal, anyhow—to make sure I’m not taken aback by any realizations or surprises. I want to know going into this project exactly what I can expect from India Marigold—exactly how she’ll make me feel, exactly what I’ll probably like and what I won’t. If I’m going to be especially attracted to her, I need to know now.

Self-preparation leads to self-preservation.

“Violence might be the answer sometimes,” she murmurs, her eyes flashing defiantly as she redirects her energy into breaking my grip. “When dealing with someone like you.”

“So…someone charming?” I say, still smirking down at her. “Someone handsome, funny, intelligent?” I lower her arm until it’s hanging by her side once more, and then I let go.

Her chin tilts up as she turns her face further toward me. “Someone insufferable,” she says.

I gasp. “Me?Insufferable?”

She just snorts. “Yes. Insufferable. And you’re still weird, too,” she mutters, her gaze darting away from mine.

I laugh and move back, giving her space. “I know,” I say, ruffling the hair on top of her head. “Hop in, Sunshine. Let’s rock and roll.”

INDIA

Felix Caine makesmy heart flutter, which is super unfortunate.

It’s not an I-have-feelings-for-him kind of flutter; it’s more of an awareness, a sense of overall attractiveness. He’s handsome, he smells good, he’s flirtatious—and maybe more than any of those things, he’s devastatinglycharismatic. He has presence; if he walked into a room full of people, they’d all notice. That’s the kind of guy he is.

Sonot my type anymore. Give me a dark and handsome brooder any day, someone a little grumpy with a secretly soft heart. That’s the kind of man I’ll fall for, mark my words—not this giant ball of sunshine and boundless energy.

It’s like I told him: I want a Darcy, not a Bingley.

Although…is Felix even a Bingley? Is he too flirtatious for that? And I don’t remember Bingley having such an ego.

Would it be too mean to call him a Wickham?

“All right,” Felix says once we’re both in the car. He points at the floor on my side of the car. “Grab that notebook.”

I look down and see a plain black notebook, the kind you get from the dollar bin at the store; I lean down and pick it up.

“Go to the bookmark. It’s—oh, hang on,” he says as his phone starts to ring, a warbling sound that connects to the speaker in the car. “That’s Cyrus,” he goes on as my brother’s name flashes on the screen. A little grin tugs at his lips. “He’s probably going to chew me out.” He presses the littleAccept Callicon. “Cyrus?”

“Cy,” I say with a little frown, jumping in before Cyrus can say anything. “You never call me. Do you like Felix better?”

“You’re already together,” Cy says, sounding extra annoyed. “Great. I don’t call you because I’m not irritated with you, Indy.”

“Can I call you that?” Felix says, his head whipping toward me so fast he’ll have a crick in his neck. “Indy?”

“No,” Cyrus and I say at the same time.

“Fine,” he says, sounding sulky now. “I’ll stick withSunshine.”

“Here’s the deal,” Cyrus says. “You guys hang out, do whatever you want. I’m not your mother. But if you end up in some tangled love affair?—”

“Whoa,” Felix and I say together, our eyes widening at the same time.

“—I want no part of it. Got it?”

“There will be no ‘tangled love affair,’” I say loudly, a little alarmed. “None.”

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