Page 65 of The Floral Arrangement

“Uh, no, I don’t think it does. I’ve never actually turned it on before. Sorry.”

“So where do you watch your documentaries, then?” Olivia tugged at her handbag, looking around.

Heat pricked my neck. “My bedroom. I know it’s not good sleep hygiene but there’s nothing better than watching a good documentary about the Great Recession and then turning over and going straight to sleep.”

Olivia snorted. “Jeez, that soundssorelaxing. I guess that would put me to sleep right away too.” She took the pizza boxes out of my hands. “Well, I guess we’re watching a movie in your bedroom then.”

I followed her into the hall. I didn’t love the idea of pizza crumbs in my bed, but it wasn’t like there was another option. “Do you even know where my bedroom is?”

“No,” she admitted, walking past the study and peering into the formal dining room.

“It’s upstairs,” I said, gesturing to the staircase at the end of the hallway.

Olivia strode ahead of me, bouncing up the stairs. On the second floor, I squeezed past and opened the door into the bedroom.Thank god I made the bed this morning.

“Wow, this room is huge,” Olivia said, taking in the spacious room with its massive oak wardrobe, king-sized bed with a matching oak headboard, large TV on the wall and dark-green upholstered armchair by the window. I’d inherited all of the furniture except the TV from Jim, and while they showed signs of age—a few dents and scratches on the wood and faded upholstery—they made the room feel cozy and lived in. Olivia walked over to the window. “Oh, the view is incredible.”

The window looked out over the farm, from the petting zoo all the way past the corn maze, orchards and flower fields to the Christmas trees. Orange and purple hues were spreading across the sky as the sun dipped behind the mountains, bathing the farm in the last of the evening light.

I smiled. “Yeah, I love it up here.”

Olivia turned and looked at the bed, the smile fading from her face. “I’ll sit in the armchair.”

“You’re welcome to sit on the bed. The TV is firmly stuck on the wall, so it would be an awkward angle to watch from the chair.”

“I’ll be fine.” She placed the pizza boxes on the side table.

“I’ll go grab some plates and drinks. What would you like? I’ve got wine, cider from Terry’s Apple Orchards, beer, Coke, water…”

Olivia slid off her shoes and tucked them neatly under the bed. “A cider sounds great, thanks. I’ll cue up the first movie. I narrowed my list of favorite fake-dating movies down to two and also selected one I haven’t seen yet, so we’ll need to make a start ASAP if we’re going to finish at a decent hour.”

“Sounds like a plan.”I handed her the remote from the bedside table and ducked out of the room.

I returned a few minutes later to find Olivia sitting on my bed, leaning against its headboard. She was perched perilously close to the edge of the bed. I surreptitiously sniffed myself. Did I smell bad or something?All I could smell was pizza.

“I couldn’t get the chair into a good position, so this will have to do,” Olivia said.

I handed her a plate and a bottle of cider and then jumped onto the other side of the bed. “Okay, so what’s first on the list?”

“Pretty Woman, followed byThe Proposaland thenLove to HateYou. The first two are old classics.Love to Hate Youjust came out, but I’ve heard it’s great.”

Olivia pressed play, and I bit into a slice of pizza—very garlicky, but delicious. If I didn’t smell before this pizza, I would now. Julia Roberts appeared and I lost myself in the fun but incredibly improbable plot.

“Shit!” Olivia screeched.

I twisted my head just in time to see Olivia disappear off the side of the bed, followed by a loud thud.

I scrambled across the duvet and peered over the side of the mattress. Olivia lay groaning, on the floor. “Are you okay?”

“I think so. I was reaching for my cider on the side table and suddenly toppled off the bed.”

I slipped off the bed, leaned over Olivia and offered her my hand. “Let me help you up.”

She gripped it and I pulled her up, studying her for any signs of injury. “Do you need an icepack?”

“No thanks. I think I just need my balance checked.” She sat back on the bed.

“Well, perhaps if you sat a little closer to the center of the bed, you wouldn’t fall out. I don’t bite, you know. I just consumed an extremely garlicky pizza, so I’m definitely not a vampire.”

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