Page 117 of Rule 2: Never Join a Christmas Dating Show

I nod, but my heart pangs.

Because once it’s over, I will no longer even see Sebastian. There will be no golden-haired man for my gaze to drift toward. There will be no chance we will find another way to meet. It will all be...over.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Luke

Of course, I knew they were going to take me to Ashcove High. They normally visit Mr. Rights’ old schools in the hometown episode. Apparently, it’s adorable or something. I always used to the enjoy this session when I viewed it, but now I know better.

Unease moves through me as I stare at the long, 1960s-style high school.

It’s not pretty.

It never was.

But it’s especially not pretty now, with the sides yellowed from the harsh sea salt that topples from the Atlantic with far too much frequency. Forlorn windows sit in peeling frames.

I always hated high school. My days were about hockey, and the gruel of science and math and language arts classes seemed absurd.

I ran off to the gym during every free period, something maybe I shouldn’t have been allowed to do, but everyone loved the Hawthorne brothers. We got away with a lot.

I never thought I would enter this school again, and I’m surprised how it looks when the hallways are empty and my thoughts are not consumed with the homework I didn’t do and the quizzes I’ll have to take and the general way I’m sure I’ll be bored.

Cameras eye my every expression, and in a few days, when this airs, strangers will view my every expression too.

I try not to swallow hard.

It’s a high school. And it was way worse for others.

I want to look at Sebastian, conscious of him behind me. I can sense his tension, even when I’m not looking at him, though the unexpected appearance of the flashy, designer-wearing studio head probably is not a source of calm. Apparently, he was picking up Clark earlier. Isn’t that guy supposed to be in LA?

“This school is adorable,” Flora says, clapping her hands, and I smile.

“I don’t think adorable is the word I would use for it,” I say.

“It’s totally adorable,” she insists.

I turn to Willow. “What do you think, Willow?”

She frowns, sweeping her intelligent eyes around the entrance of the high school. “I think adorableness stops once kids hit double digits.”

“Absolutely.” I fist bump Willow.

She furrows her brow as she gazes at our hands. I wonder when the last time she’s fist bumped anyone has been, or if this is something she’s seen in medical drams in plot lines of unserious doctors.

I’m not sure unserious doctors exist even on television.

“This is great banter!” Ella beams. “Excellent job, Luke. Do more of that. I think you’re going to like the new segment we have. Take it away, Sebastian.”

Sebastian stands in front of a banner that says Ashcove High. I allow myself to look at him for the first time. Every strand of his hair is still perfect. There are circles under his eyes that aren’t normally there, and I want to wrap my arms around him and tell him he’s perfect.

I don’t, of course, and I pretend my heart doesn’t ache, that all of this is totally, absolutely great.

“We have a special surprise for you,” Sebastian says.

The women murmur obediently.

“You are all going to have a tour of the high school.”