She’s so surprised, she drops the clipboard in her hands. “They do? Hmm, that is interesting. Maybe we can make this a whole thing.”
“Except you don’t know if it worked yet,” I point out.
She shrugs. “I have faith in you all.”
Franco walks past behind her, and Elijah rushes towards him, helping him with the cakes. Probably happy to escape.
“I didn’t realise these were for the event.” Elijah says. “You should have told me!”
“We were crafty,” Franco teases with a wink.
“I’m starting to feel like this is a bigger deal than we first thought,” Devon mutters, looking around at all the people. He’s pale and slowly taking in the transformation with a look that screams panic.
“Do you need a hand, Lorelei?” I ask.
“Yes, you, darling, you. Can you and Devon go help Sebastian with the last of the decorations? Elijah, you help Franco,” she shouts to him.
“Yes, Omega,” Elijah says absently.
Sebastian looks ready to explode when we find him. “Of all the stupid things my mother has done, this takes the cake!”
“Do you want a hand, Sol?” Devon asks with a grin.
“To help me strangle her? Yes!”
Devon laughs. “Let’s stick with decorations.”
It takes us the entire hour to get them all up, and by the time we’re finished, it’s almost time for the event to start.
“Is she here?” I ask Devon.
“I haven’t seen her yet.”
“What if she doesn’t show?” I look around, there are pink and red balloons tied everywhere. Candles and fairy lights. Rose petals on the ground, and the army of people getting it ready is dwindling as time runs out.
He grabs and shakes me hard. “She’s going to come.”
“All right, all my matches, come and gather over here!” Lorelei shouts.
Devon suddenly looks sick. “Okay. It’s time.” He blows out his breath and stumbles towards Lorelei.
Elijah, Devon, and I meet in the crowd of the other matches. Cordelia stands alone, her chin up, her arms wrapped around herself. Asher and Felix stand near their matches, but no matter where I turn, I can’t see her.
“She’s not here,” Elijah whines.
I look down, thinking fast. “I’m going to look for her.”
I manage to get two steps away before I’m stopped by Betty.
“No time. You have to stay.”
“Welcome everyone to Smitten Knot Bitten, our Valentine’s Day match-making extravaganza!”
The crowd cheers.
“No one said there were going to be this many people,” Elijah mutters. “Look at them, they are lining the streets, there are cameras everywhere.”
“Thank you for being here! A little bit about the event first. Smitten Knot Bitten, is an event that we created to help our young people find love. Our policy or our theme is love before bonds.”
