“What isthat,” I breathed.
Archie stood in the middle of the living room in a suit that should have been illegal, smiling like a man who had personally chosen violence.
Coop was grinning like he’d been waiting to see my reaction all day.
Jake looked smug in a way that suggested he’d contributed at least one terrible idea.
Bubba looked proud. Like he’d built it with his bare hands.
Jeremy stood nearby with the quiet satisfaction of someone who had overseen a disaster and made it look elegant.
“It’s beautiful,” Archie said smoothly.
“It’s…enormous,” I managed.
Jake held up a finger. “It isproportionateto your emotional impact on the world.”
I turned my stare on him. “That sentence doesn’t even make sense.”
“It makes perfect sense,” he insisted. “It’s poetry.”
Rachel made a strangled sound. “I can’t believe you people will be allowed to vote.”
Archie stepped closer, lifted the mum carefully, and his eyes softened just slightly as he looked at me.
“We wanted you to have one,” he said quieter. “A real one.”
My chest tightened.
Even ridiculous things could be tender when they were done for the right reasons.
I swallowed hard. “Okay,” I whispered. “Fine. But if I topple over and break my neck, I’m haunting all of you.”
Coop leaned in. “Worth it.”
“Traitor,” I hissed at him.
He only grinned wider.
That was when the photographer arrived.
Because of course Archie had arranged a photographer.
Rachel took one look at the camera and gasped like she’d been personally insulted.
“Oh,” she said sweetly. “So myyearsof documentarian excellence meannothingto you.”
Archie blinked innocently. “Rachel?—”
“No,” she cut in, already walking toward the photographer. “It’s fine. I’m fine. I’m going to smile and pretend I’m not plotting revenge.”
Jake leaned toward me. “She’s plotting revenge.”
“I know,” I whispered back.
We took photos in the living room, by the stairs, outside near the fountain, and then—because this weekend was absolutely allergic to normal—by the limo that had pulled up like we were attending the Oscars instead of a high school dance.
Rachel joined in for the pictures, because Iinsisteddespite her drama and promised her a personal photo shoot to soothe her ruffled feathers.
