Page 50 of Forty, Flirty & Fall Inn

“What?I’m just saying?—”

“Can we not talk about my boobs?”

As for Claire, she’s already at my closet, pulling out shoes."You can't wear those boots you mentioned.Not with that dress."

"Buttercup ate my good heels."

"Of course she did."She holds up a pair of strappy sandals I forgot I owned."These.They make your legs look amazing."

"I can't walk in those."

"You can lean on your business non-date," Harper suggests.

Twenty minutes of primping later—during which my sisters attack me with curling irons, five different lip glosses, and enough hairspray to damage the ozone—we descend the stairs.

And by the time the lobby comes into view, I stop breathing.

Because Luke Sterling is just standing there.

And he’s in a tuxedo.

Not just any tuxedo.

The tuxedo.

Midnight black.Perfectly tailored.Collar crisp.Cufflinks gleaming.

Dark hair freshly styled but slightly unruly, like he ran a hand through it before coming inside.

His sharp jaw flexes when he adjusts the button on his jacket, and his glacier-blue eyes—sans glasses—flick up?—

And land on me.

He's fixed the smooth jazz, apparently, because blessed silence fills the space.Mrs.Henderson is nowhere to be seen, though Buttercup is sitting at his feet, staring up at him with what can only be described as adoration.

"Even the goat's smitten," Claire whispers.

Luke looks up as we approach, and something flickers across his face.His eyes track down the dress, then back up, and his Adam's apple bobs once.

"Sage.You look..."He clears his throat."Professional."

"Very professional," I agree, trying not to notice how the tuxedo fits him in ways that should be illegal."You fixed the music."

"Simple coding error.Someone had activated the 'Romance Enhancement' protocol."

"Romance enhancement?"Harper asks innocently."How interesting."

"Luke, these are my sisters.Harper and Claire.Sisters, this is Luke Sterling, my..."I pause.What is he exactly?My boss?Supervisor?Sponsor?“Business partner."

"Business partner," Harper repeats, shaking his hand with her lawyer grip."Right."

"So nice to meet you," Claire gushes."We've heard so much about you."

"You have?"

"No," I say quickly."They haven't.They're leaving."

"We could stay," Harper offers."Make sure the inn's okay while you're gone."