Page 103 of Forty, Flirty & Fake-ly Yours

Thedoorbell rings.

Everyone freezes. Roz glances at me. "Are you expecting someone?"

"No."

Before we can speculate further, Dani’s face goes pale. "Oh no. It’s him."

"Him who?" Natasha asks, already halfway to the door.

Dani grabs her arm. "Don’t?—"

Too late. Natasha swings the door open to reveal a man in a sequined cape, holding a bouquet of roses and a cage containing… a live dove.

"Marvin the Magnificent has arrived!" he declares, stepping inside with a flourish. "Marvin demands an audience with his muse!"

Roz doubles over with laughter as Dani groans and sinks into a chair. "Oh my God, not again."

"Dani!" Marvin kneels dramatically, offering the roses. "Marvin cannot bear to see you wasting your radiance on…" He gestures toward James. "That man."

James blinks. "What?"

"Marvin sees your soul is trapped! Let Marvin liberate you with the magic of love!"

The dove, as if on cue, flutters out of its cage and lands squarely in the middle of the risotto platter.

Nonna Flora gasps. "The risotto!"

My mother faints.

Luckily, Connor is there to catch her, while the dove coos. Resisting the urge to wring my hands in my hair, I realize that one of them is occupied with Roz’s.

She wraps her tiny fingers around mine, tugging me away from the kitchen.

“Nope,” she hisses out loud. “Not doing this right now. This is officially above our pay grade.”

“Tell me about it. What were we thinking, getting everyone together for dinner like this?”

“We weren’t. That’s it. I’m calling it. We’re letting CORA do the thinking for us from now on. You had the right idea to begin with.”

She ducks around a corner, and I laugh at the seriousness on her beautiful, frustrated face.

I stop. “Wait, babe, where are we going?”

“To hide.” She huffs out, now facing me. “Or to make out in the pantry.” She wraps her hands into the front of my pressed shirt. “Dealer’s choice.”

I don’t get to answer before CORA’s voice chimes through the speakers. "Sir, your heart rate has spiked. Should I call emergency services?"

Roz snorts on a soft laugh. “Wow. Your AI really knows how to kill the mood."

“I wouldn’t say she accomplished that…”

Tugging Roz closer to me, I lead the way, finding the pantry and shutting the door behind us just as the sounds of dove wings flap out into the hallway.

I turn on the dim light, enjoying the smell of herbs and spices and Roz’s vanilla-scented skin as my fingers grip her waist.

She shudders, her amber eyes lifting up to meet mine.

"Well, this is one way to end a dinner party," she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

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