"I said the costume is sexy. That’s different."

"Is it though?" She tilted her head, genuinely curious. "Clothes don’t work without the person wearing them. So if the costume is sexy, and I’m wearing the costume..."

"Logic doesn’t work like that."

"My logic works however I want it to work!" She spun again, and I caught another dangerous flash of pale thigh. "Come on, Isaiah. You can admit it. I won’t bite. Unless you want me to."

She added that last part with a playful grin that made my stomach flip.

I stood up, putting some distance between us. "You should change. Back into regular clothes."

"But I have to try on the other costumes again! To compare! For science!" She gestured at the garment bags. "The vampire one might look different after you’ve seen the succubus version! Context matters in fashion!"

"Harlow."

"Isaiah." She matched my serious tone perfectly, mocking me. "Don’t you want me to look my best? For the festival? Where everyone will see me?"

"You’ll look good in whatever you wear."

"That’s sweet." She walked back to the screen, hips swaying with each step. The tail followed like a metronome. "But I want to look good for you specifically."

She disappeared behind the screen before I could respond to that particular grenade.

I sat back down on the bed, staring at my hands. This was getting out of control. Vivienne this morning, Cassidy yesterday, Sabrina last night, and now Harlow doing... whatever this was.

The screen rustled. "So while I change, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What did you and Vivienne talk about? After Mom’s call?"

My jaw tightened. "Business stuff. Quarterly reports."

"Liar." Her voice was light but certain. "Your voice gets quieter when you lie. I’ve noticed."

"Great. Everyone in this house is a human lie detector."

"It’s a survival skill when your mom barely looks at you." She said it casually, like commenting on the weather. "We learned to read micro-expressions before we learned to read books."

The screen showed her shadow changing positions. Fabric slipping down, then up again.

"She threatened my sister," I said, because apparently I was incapable of keeping things to myself around these girls. "Your mom. She said if I keep... if things continue the way they’ve been going, she’ll make sure Iris doesn’t get into Hartwell next year."

Silence from behind the screen.

Then, quietly: "That’s horrible."

"That’s business."

"No." The vampire maid Harlow emerged, but her expression had shifted. The playfulness was gone, replaced by something genuine and angry. "That’s cruel. Iris is just a kid. She has nothing to do with any of this."

"She does if I’m working for your family."

Harlow walked over and sat beside me on the bed, close enough that our thighs touched. She still wore the vampire costume but had let her hair down from the twin tails. It fell around her shoulders in soft waves, the pink tips catching the fairy lights strung across her room.

"Is that why you did the whole ’boundaries speech’ this morning?" she asked. "Because Mom threatened Iris?"

I nodded.

"That’s so stupid." She leaned her head on my shoulder. "You shouldn’t have to choose between your job and... and whatever this is."

"This is nothing."

"Liar." She poked my ribs. "If it was nothing, you wouldn’t look so sad."

"I’m not sad. I’m tired."

"Same thing." She shifted, tucking her legs under herself. "Can I tell you something? Even if it makes things weird?"

"Everything is already weird."

"Weirder then." She took a breath. "I like you. Like, like-like you. Not just ’Assistant-kun is nice’ but actual romantic feelings like."

My stomach dropped. "Harlow—"

"Let me finish!" She sat up, facing me properly. "I know you’re our employee. I know my mom is scary. I know my sisters also like you, which is so awkward and I’m sorry about that. But I wanted to say it. Out loud. So you know."

She fidgeted with the lace on her apron, her cheeks flushing pink.

"I like how you’re patient when you explain things. How you remember little stuff I mention, like my favorite manga or that I don’t like coffee. How you play stupid car games with me even though you’re busy. How you look at Iris like she’s the most important person in the world." She glanced up at me. "I like that you’re real. Everyone else at school is so fake."

I didn’t know what to say. The words stuck in my throat like cotton.

"You don’t have to say anything back," she added quickly. "I just... I wanted you to know. Before Cassidy or Vivienne or Sabrina make their moves. Which they will. We’re competitive like that."

"I’ve noticed."

She laughed softly. "Yeah. We’re kind of a disaster."

"Kind of?"

"Okay, fully a disaster." She leaned against me again. "But you’re stuck with us now. For better or worse."

"That sounds like a wedding vow."

"Does it?" She looked up at me through her eyelashes. "Interesting."

We sat like that for a moment. The fairy lights glowed pink and warm. Anime music played softly from her laptop. Outside her window, I could see the Japanese garden where the sisters had gathered yesterday evening.

"I should go," I said.

"Why?"

"Because you’re sitting very close to me in a costume that barely qualifies as clothing."

"It’s a complete outfit!" She gestured at herself. "Everything important is covered!"

"Harlow."

"Isaiah." She smiled, that mischievous spark returning. "You know what I think?"

"I probably don’t want to know."

"I think you like me too. At least a little bit." She poked my chest. "Your heart does this thing when I’m close to you. It speeds up. You can’t fake that."

"That’s called anxiety."

"It’s called attraction." She stood, smoothing her skirt. "But I’ll let you run away for now. I know you need to process."

"I’m not running away."

"You’re about to walk very quickly toward the door." She grinned. "It’s okay. I’ll catch you eventually."

She walked to her closet, reaching for the next costume. The motion made her skirt ride up dangerously high.

"Wait," I said.

She paused, looking back over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

"The succubus costume. You can’t wear that. Not to school."

"I know." She pulled it out anyway, holding it up.

"But what if I wore it somewhere else? Like, hypothetically?"