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“Yeah,” Jess said quietly.
“So it wasn’t just me. You won’t believe what I dreamed,” I said, crossing my legs under the table. “I was back at the fire, in the white dress, and this guy walks out of the surf in a wet tuxedo…”
Callie’s face dropped first. Then Priya’s. None of them spoke.
“He puts a veil over my face,” I said, “and when I take it off, his face turns into—”
“Rotting meat—” Priya said slowly, looking at each one of us.
“Eels—” Callie threw in, even slower, her voice thin.
“The throat—” Jess said, a hair above a whisper.
“Oh my god.”
“Oh fuck.”
“And bird bones and flowers and wedding rings?” I said.
Callie let out a sound between a yelp and a cry. “And Bram’s bell,” she whispered.
That’s when I told them about the bouquet of peonies, the decapitated one on my kitchen table, Aurora calling me at work, and the Instagram drama.
Callie threw her hands to her face. Priya’s mouth was open. Jess looked like she wanted to fold herself into something very small.
“What the hell did we get ourselves into?” Callie said.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But think about the timing. A week ago, none of these men were part of your lives. Now Adrian sends Priya voice notes she can’t listen to in public, Kai treats Callie like she’s the only woman alive, and Soren is ready to co-sign a lease.”
“He’s helping me,” Jess said.
“After two days,” Priya said. Her expression hardened. “Jesus. Two days.”
“And somehow they’re all perfect,” Callie said slowly. “Not the same kind of perfect. Exactly the right kind for each of us.”
No one said anything for a moment.
“That’s what I mean,” I said. “It’s too much of a coincidence.” Then I asked it. “Have any of them encouraged you to sign up for another retreat?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.” Jess’s came last, and late enough that I noticed.
“What exactly did they say?” I asked.
Callie lowered her hands. “Kai said it would deepen what we started.”
Priya stared at her. “Adrian used those exact words.”
We both looked at Jess.
She worried at the cuff of her cardigan. “Soren said the next retreat would deepen our connection.”
Callie and Priya threw their hands to their mouths. Callie was shaking. “Oh my god, Marlowe. You don’t think the whole point is to—”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” I said, the white lie as uncomfortable as a balloon in my chest.
