Page 39 of Didn't See That Coming

“Um, yes?”

They exchange a look and nod. “Okay, you’re in.”

“In what, exactly?”

“In our highly sought-after matchmaking program,” Eleanor Roosevelt says. “Congratulations. We do have a waiting list, but since you’re such a fine specimen of a Year Eleven boy, we’ll let you in. I’ll forward the contract and NDA to you by the end of the workday.”

“An NDA?”

“It stands for nondisclosure agreement,” Sarah Jessica says.

“I was going to ask why you need me to sign an NDA,” Liam says, “but you know what? A matchmaking service that requires an NDA sounds like exactly the kind of thing I would regret not joining.”

We all gape at him. “You might want to think it through first,” I whisper to him.

“We do not condone slander,” Sarah Jessica says, narrowing her eyes at me.

Eleanor Roosevelt nods. “Yeah, Ci Kiki, I love you, but slander is an actionable offense. And you should be actively marketing our product, given you have shares in the company.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. These kids, I swear.

“I’m in,” Liam says with way too much confidence.

Eleanor Roosevelt and Sarah Jessica grin at each other. Their grins say:Ha, what a sucker.Poor Liam has no idea what he’s in for.

But then an idea surfaces. Maybe I could use this to my advantage. I could—hmm—ah! I could help fill out Liam’s Lil’ Aunties profile, which would give me the chance to find out just who it is he has a crush on. Mwahaha!

“I’ll help you,” I blurt out. They all stare at me. “Um, you guys are right. I have a vested interest in the company. I’ll help you fill out your profile. That’ll expedite the process.” I give the world’s most innocent smile to the girls.

Both Eleanor Roosevelt and Sarah Jessica look somewhat dubious, but then Eleanor Roosevelt shrugs and says, “Okay. Make sure he signs the NDA before you start building his profile, though.”

These kids are way too into their NDA. “Just out of curiosity,” Liam says, “how many profiles do you have in your database?”

At this, Eleanor Roosevelt and Sarah Jessica look shifty-eyed. “Only a handful,” Eleanor Roosevelt says.

One corner of Liam’s mouth crooks up into a small smile. He looks utterly adorable. “Only a handful, huh? But you two are confident that you’ll be able to find me a perfect match within such a small pool?”

The shifty looks intensify. “Never you mind that,” Eleanor Roosevelt says cryptically.

“Eleanor Roosevelt, can I just remind you that George asked me to keep you out of trouble?” I say.

Both Eleanor Roosevelt and Sarah Jessica give me this look, like,Who are you kidding, lady?and I can’t say I blame them. Pretty sure that nobody, not even a seasoned CIA agent or marine captain, could keep these two out of trouble.

Sarah Jessica pats my arm. “The less you know, the better. Plausible deniability.”

“Oh for god’s sake,” I groan. “It was awful, okay? He took one look at me and noped out of there because he didn’t want to go on a date with, and I quote, ‘Crazy Kiki.’ And that’s that. Date over.”

Eleanor Roosevelt and Sarah Jessica Parker look so horrified that, for a second, I actually feel bad for them. They look so young and innocent, and though they knew that the date hadn’t gone well, they probably had no idea just how badly it had gone.

“That’s so messed up,” Liam says.

“Did Jeremiah not tell you that part?” I say in a gentler voice.

The girls shake their heads. “He only said that we should’ve told him who the date was going to be with,” Eleanor Roosevelt says.

“And then he quit the service,” Sarah Jessica adds.

“He quit? In your texts, you made it sound like you kicked him out,” I say.

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