Page 106 of The Plus One Pact

Romeo: She does.

I look to my brother, who's, thankfully, now staring at his own phone rather than torturing me.

Romeo: I'm not sure he always sees it.

Ivy: He probably worries. You and Cynthia do have chemistry. Was there ever anything there?

Romeo: Between me and Cynthia?

Ivy: Yes. Did you ever like her that way?

Romeo: Mom thinks Daniel is worried about that.

Ivy: She's beautiful and you're old friends.

Romeo: She is, and we are, but no, never. We did hook up once, when we were young. Not sex. A sloppy make out session.

I don't question offering her the truth. I just do it.

Romeo: We had been drinking at a party. We were playing seven minutes in heaven, and she wanted to go for it. Get it over with. That's how it felt. Like she wanted to try something, with an available guy, a guy she trusted.

Ivy: Did you feel rejected?

Romeo: A little, maybe, but not because I liked Cyn. Because I wasn't used to being the one who was less interested. I was used to girls eating out of the palm of my hand. Even then.

Ivy: And you didn't like her? Didn't feel anything?

Romeo: No. It was nice, to kiss someone, the way it's always nice to kiss someone. But I didn't feel a spark. I never have. I've never been drawn to her, liked the way she smelled, any of that.

Ivy: Does Daniel know you kissed?

Romeo: I don't know.

Has she told him? It's not worth telling. It might ease his mind.

Or it might give him ideas.

Ivy: What is it like when you kiss me?

She's not jealous. I think. She believes me. And we are alone, so to speak, so this is a real question. I owe her a real answer.

Romeo: At first, I wasn't sure. Too much in my routine. Now, sparks. Every time.

Ivy: Me too.

"Rome." Daniel interrupts my contemplation. "I have a request from Cyn."

"Oh, do you need help taking a good picture?" I tease him. "Women don't usually want a straight dick-shot."

I expect him to flip me off. Instead, he laughs. "What makes you think her gallery isn't stocked?"

This is not the Daniel I know.

What the hell happened to my brother?

Maybe he did get into his fiancée’s stash.

"The sample cake is ready early," he says. "She wants us to test it."