Page 91 of Forty, Flirty & Fake-ly Yours

Before I can argue, William appears with what appears to be a tray of very concerned-looking pastries.

"The bread knows," he announces with the kind of certainty that shows he's been communing with sourdough again. "It senses uncalibrated energy patterns!"

"That bread needs therapy," I mutter, but I'm already moving toward Rosalind.

She sees me coming, her amber eyes widening slightly as I approach. The blue of her dress makes her skin glow under the haze of the fireplace, and for a moment, all my well-built walls threaten to crumble.

"Can we talk?" I gesture toward the balcony, and she follows me outside, the snow creating a natural sound barrier between us and the party.

Against the white backdrop, she looks like the stuff of fantasies, like something from the dreams I’ve been having ever since she stepped into my life. “If this is about the article—" she begins.

"It's about everything,” I say. “About algorithms and intuition and how I can't calculate anything when you're around."

"Grayson—"

"I built SecureMatch because I thought I could make love logical. That if I had enough data, enough variables, I could predict the perfect match." I laugh, but the sound comes out wrong. "And then you crashed into my life. Literally.”

"I'm sensing a 'but' coming.”

"But maybe that's the problem." I step back, putting careful distance between us. "Maybe some systems need to stay intact. Need to be protected from... emotional variables."

She's quiet for a moment, snow gathering in her hair like stars. "Is that what I am? An emotional variable?"

"You're an outlier, Roz.” The words taste bitter. "One that's making me forget everything I built my life on."

"Heaven forbid you feel something you can't quantify."

"This isn't about?—"

"Yes, it is." She steps closer, and suddenly breathing becomes a conscious effort. "It's about being scared. About avoiding things because you can't control what's happening."

"I'm not avoiding. I'm being logical."

"No, you're being a coward." Her voice carries an edge I've never heard before. “I know you are. Because I’ve been one, too. I hid behind my business. And now you’re hiding behind your ‘systems’ because you're so afraid of feeling something genuine. You'd rather hide behind algorithms and AI assistants than admit maybe, just maybe, love isn't something you can control.”

“Coming from the woman who kept quiet about Jessica for months?"

"I kept quiet because I was falling in love with you!" The words echo across the snow-covered balcony.

The silence that follows feels heavy enough to crack the mountain.

There are tears in her eyes now.

I swallow.

"I can't," I say finally. "I can't be what you need. Can't forget about my rules and protocols and?—"

"Can't feel something you can't control?"

"Exactly." I step back again, the cold air between us feeling symbolic. "This needs to end. Properly this time."

She's quiet for so long I almost think she won't respond. Then: "You know what your problem is?" She brushes snow from her dress with shaking hands. "Love isn't supposed to make sense. It's supposed to disrupt everything you thought you knew."

Through the windows, I can see our friends watching with varying degrees of subtlety.

"Goodbye, Grayson," Rosalind says softly. "I hope you find what you're looking for. Though personally, I think you already had it."

She leaves me there in the snow, taking all the warmth with her. Through my phone, I can hear CORA starting to play what sounds suspiciously like "All By Myself."

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