My heart thuds like a bass drum as I walk toward my front door. Is he home yet? Probably not. He has his own firm, after all. When I look back, I don’t remember ever hearing him get home before seven or eight o’clock.

It makes me wonder if I should offer to walk Tyrion for him. Poor guy probably hates being left alone until all hours, and he did seem to like me last night. Maybe even a little too much.

I notice the note on my door right away. It’s the sort of thing that sticks out. My hand shakes as I reach for it. I pull it from the door and unfold it.

Under that, two boxes. One’s labeled Yes and the other, much smaller, almost minuscule box is labeled No.

My heart soars.

Is it possible that he really thinks I’d say no? Evidently not, seeing as how he barely gave me the space to reject him. I giggle all the way through finding a pen in my purse, through making an X through the Yes box, and sliding the note under his door.

I love his sense of humor.

It isn’t until I’m leashing up Draco that doubt starts creeping up on me again like the pesky five pounds I’m always trying to get rid of for good. I can’t shake it, no matter how completely out of my mind with happiness I am at the thought of Jackson wanting to see me again.

THIS ISN'T FAIR TO HIM.

Damn it, I wish I had never bought that love potion. It’s heavy guilt too, the sort that makes me drag my feet along the sidewalk even as Draco prances around in front of me.

He has no idea why he likes me so much, and that’s unfair to a nice guy like him.

I should tell him.

But if I tell him, he won’t want to be around me anymore. I don’t know if I could handle that. Besides, he’s a terrific guy and not just the gorgeous heartthrob I already knew he was when I visited Zelda. Now I know why she was so unhappy when I admitted to not knowing Jackson. What if I had slipped him the potion without knowing anything about him, and he’d turned out to be a real asshole? I could have sentenced myself to life with a wacko. So yeah, I got lucky.

Now that I know it works, and how fast it works, the thought of how bad this could’ve turned out chills me even more than the cool, late-winter breeze.

That doesn’t make me feel any better though. If anything, it makes me feel worse. Because in this scenario, I’m the wacko. I bought a love potion! This is the 21^st century. Who does that?

But hey—who’s to say he won’t fall for you for real? You’re not exactly a monster.

I feel so confused, and slightly depressed. Nina would slap me upside the head if she could hear my thoughts right now. But I can’t help it. I’m not Nina.

Draco looks up at me at just that moment, like he can read my thoughts. “Well, I’m not,” I whisper as we continue our walk. Jackson could do much, much worse than me. I’m not clingy, I’m not vapid. I’m a darn good cook, I love to read and my musical tastes are vast. I would never begrudge a boyfriend his time with the guys, just like I would expect him to encourage my girl time.

I’m a catch, damn it. He could do a hell of a lot worse.

So I’m not going to feel bad for him.

And I’m not going to blame myself, either. I didn’t use the potion. Danny did. Besides, I would be a terrific girlfriend for him. The best. Eating that cupcake might just be the luckiest thing he’s ever done.

I just wish my heart didn’t ache when I think that. I can imagine people asking us years from now how we met. Sure, we’re next-door neighbors, so I could always use that as my explanation and it wouldn’t be a lie.

But I would know, deep down inside, that it was more than that. How long could I handle the truth weighing on me?

I’m afraid I bought a lot more than just a love potion from a gypsy named Zelda.