“So many singles, but they’re all sopicky,” someone else mutters.
“They—” I start.
“The extra tables are fine,” Zen says.
“Oh,thank you, Zen. Here. Have you tried Iris’s lavender muffins?”
Lavender muffins.
I feel my eyes flare and I shoot a look at Sabrina.
She’s smiling, but shaking her eyesnoat Zen.
Iris.
Iris is Mrs. Pineapple. Sabrina told me about these muffins in Hawaii.
I start to clear my throat, but it’s too late.
Zen’s taking a massive bite.
Sabrina stifles a noise. We make eye contact, and she goes pink in the cheeks.
I start to grin.
Until Zen makes a noise of their own.
“Aren’t they delicious?” Sabrina’s mom says.
“So much,” Zen lies.
They turn a subtle but desperate look my way.
Sabrina squeaks again.
Everyone looks at her.
“Jitter. You silly thing. What kind of a noise was that?”
The dog snorts, flips one way, hits the fireplace hearth and gets stuck before flopping back the other way. He spots me, barks once in utter jubilance, scrambles to his feet and charges, knocking over the tray of muffins on the way.
“Oh my god,” Zen whispers.
I pass them my tea.
They gulp.
Iris squints at them.
“Swallowed a dog hair too,” they force out. “God, Sabrina, bring a dust mop when you bring Jitter.”
“Grey, can we still use this space next year for speed dating?” Bitsy asks. “You’ll still have tables, won’t you? There’s nothing like the fairy lights on the lake at night, and you just can’t see them as well anywhere else.”
“We could do speed datingonthe lake,” Iris says. “Bet we’d havewaymore success stories that way.”
“But ithasto be here,” Bitsy replies. “John and I met at speed dating here. It wouldn’t be the same if it was somewhere else.”
“Zen, are you okay?” Sabrina’s mom asks. “You poor thing.”
