“I’m not sure Robin feels that way.”
“Finch will recover.”
“I hope so. Hummingbirds are so fragile.”
“Don’t worry.Pigeon’s stronger than she looks.”
Luke glanced down at his feet. And then without saying anything, he turned to go inside.
“Hey, one last thing!” I called.
He pivoted back around. “Yeah?”
I swallowed, then said it, “You’re going to want the noise machine.”
He barely reacted. He just gave me this look, eyebrow half-raised. “You think?”
“In my professional opinion, yes.”
Luke smirked. “So I should have my mom send the noise machine?”
I felt myself nod.
“Okay, cool. Thanks for the tip.”
“Anytime,” I said, quieter than I meant to. I cleared my throat and started to blindly back down the terrace steps. I was definitely going to be late. “I’ll see you later…”
Luke leaned against the side of the house, still smirking. “Give Hawk my best.”
I shook my head. “She’s playing Rapunzel.”
“And that means…?”
I shrugged—to hide that I was shaking. “Do some research.”
He laughed. “Am I going to be graded?”
“For skimming one Wikipedia page?”
“Wait, you consider Wikipedia a reliable source?”
I fake-gasped. “You mean it’s notthepride and joy of the academic world?”
Luke rolled his eyes and fished his phone out of his pocket. I glanced over to see Sage talking to Cody Smith. She was using her arms to tell a story, and Cody was totally dialed in, nodding along.Larchmont, New York, I mused to myself.What would Sage think of it?Because I thought there was a good shot Cody would make it to hometowns week. He wouldn’t receive the final rose, but cracking the top four? Yes, I could definitely picture it.
“Ah, I see,” Luke said. “Rapunzel is indeed a princess, but”—he looked up from his phone and caught my eye—“she isnotPrince Charming’s love interest.”
CHAPTER 3
SAGE
“So what’s everyone doing tomorrownight?” Luke asked at dinner Friday evening, the first week almost over. Like most boarding schools, Bexley had Saturday-morning classes, so that night was when our “weekend” really began.
“Scandalous things,” Charlie answered, taking a bite of his cheeseburger. Sitting next to him, I used one hand to zap his waist underneath the table and laughed when he jumped.
“It depends on who you ask,” Reese said. “If you’re like Charlie over there”—she nodded at him—“then you take a girl to a secluded spot on campus…”
“He gets it, Reese,” Charlie cut in curtly.
