Great.Birdie thought.Hopefully, I’ll get an aisle seat this time.
Chapter Seven
“Ladies, tonight marks your very first lavender ceremony,”Vivian said, stepping forward and motioning her arms out like she wanted to embrace everyone.
There was a polite ripple of claps through the semicircle of contestants, and Alexis felt her face go hot.
They were all standing in a section of the courtyard decorated especially for the ceremony. Strings of golden fairy lights were suspended on poles, zigzagging above them. Clay pots brimming with bougainvillea and trailing jasmine dotted the corners. At one end, on a low wrought-iron table, was a silver tray stacked with bouquets of lavender.
“Our bachelorette has had the chance to meet each of you,” Vivian went on, taking her time. “To share conversations, maybe even create a spark or two.” She gave another dramatic pause, and Alexis found herself wishing there was a fast-forward button.
The quicker she could get this over with, the quicker she could get back to her room and curl up under the sheets like a human burrito.
Vivian lowered her head slightly and looked genuinely sad. “But unfortunately, not everyone will be staying. Tonight, Alexis will hand out lavender bouquets to the women she wants to continue on this journey with. If you do not receive one, you’ll say your goodbyes and leave immediately.”
Alexis glanced at the tray stacked with lavender so pristine they looked lab-engineered. Each bundle was identical: every slender stem aligned, every purple spike standing at attention, not a single stray sprig out of place.
Her hands itched against her sides, but her face remained calm and serene, nothing like how she was really feeling. What she really felt like was a hot, jittery, electric mess. Especially after Birdie had cornered her. Especially after Birdie had asked her to give her a chance. A chance. A damn chance when all Alexis wanted was to say goodbye and forget they ever met.
Vivian gestured to the tray of lavender with a flourish. “Alexis, whenever you’re ready.”
Alexis cleared her throat. “This isn’t easy,” she said. “You are all amazing women, and I’m…” she paused and took a breath. “Honestly, I’m terrified of screwing this up. You all know I don’t have the best track record for making the best decisions.”
There were a few scattered laughs. Alexis risked glancing in Birdie’s direction. Her face was impassive, with her lips pressed in a thin line and her eyes trained on the bachelorette like a hawk.
She felt her stomach roll.
“But I think after speaking to you all this evening, I know who’s right for this next step.” She lifted the first bouquet and swept her gaze across the semicircle. “I have made a decision about whom I want to keep getting to know.” Her eyes landed on a woman with a halo of auburn curls. She was cute in a slightly distracted kind of way and earlier had mentioned her obsession with photographing bioluminescent fungi at night. “Lyra. Will you accept this bouquet?”
Lyra’s gasp was as sharp as a whistle slicing through the quiet courtyard. Her hand shot to her chest, and then she laughed as her cheeks bloomed pink. “Yes,” she said. “Absolutely.” She walked up to Alexis and kissed her on the cheek.
Vivian gestured for her to step over to the potted bougainvillea, which she did, and Alexis got the next lavenderbouquet ready. She then called the other names of the contestants she liked in no particular order.
“Kinley.”
“Louise.”
“Danielle.”
“Nina.”
“Claire.”
“Bianca.”
“Isabelle.”
Each name landed differently; some soft like feathers and others like tiny jolts. And each woman responded differently, too. Bianca winked. Danielle looked extremely nervous and seemed incapable of masking her nerves. Claire did a little curtsy, which she instantly regretted; her cheeks flared red. Nina kissed Alexis full on the mouth, her lips tasting like spearmint gum. And then suddenly, there were only two left. Harper and Birdie.
The decision was simple. Easy. Clear as a fucking bell.
She opened her mouth and said, “Birdie.”
Alexis’s stomach pitched and rolled and somersaulted like a live animal inside her.Harper! She had meant to say Harper.Harper. Harper.
But no. Somehow, impossibly, the wrong name had bounced off her tongue. And then it was too late. Birdie was walking toward her. Birdie was smiling. And the cameras were all angling in, focusing on her face, on them.
Fuckity fuck!
