The Cinderella Arrangement by Vanessa Waltz

weather, the tower shined in a dark gold brilliance. I craned my neck to look at the black hands sitting on a white circle surrounded by a golden ring. The parliament building wrapped around Big Ben. We walked down the street and over the bridge, weaving around tourists to look down at the River Thames snaking through the city. A huge Ferris wheel was northeast of us. Luke leaned over and watched my fascination with a happy look on his face.
    “That’s the London Eye,” he said, pointing to the wheel.
    “It’s incredible.”
    There was nothing like this where I had grown up. We walked toward Big Ben, the snarl of traffic shuddering down the streets, the red double decker busses groaning as they passed us. Luke grabbed my arm and pulled me back when I almost ran into oncoming traffic. Out of habit, I looked left instead of right.
    “Close call.”
    I recognized some of the statues in the Parliament Square. Then I noticed a long line of people outside one building. A large gothic church stood in front of the square with three bold arches covering the doors. The one in the middle was the largest, and it was where the line formed. “Is that—?”
    “Westminster Abbey? Yes. Do you want to go inside?”
    I rubbed my hands together and tried to conceal how much I wanted to go. “Well, only if you don’t mind.”
    He rolled his eyes at me and pulled my hand. “C’mon.”
    Inside the abbey were vaulted ceilings and high arches with so much detail carved into the stone that I could stare at them for hours. Every surface was covered with marble busts and memorials. Even the floor had them. I squealed in delight when I recognized an author name from my English classes.
    “Look—Charles Dickens!”
    Luke leaned over and nodded. “Cool,” he said in a tone of voice that suggested boredom instead of fascination. Decorated chapels dedicated to members of royalty were tucked into the corners of the abbey.
    “You don’t like this stuff, do you?”
    He shrugged as we walked around the choir. “It’s all right. I’ve seen it all before—many times on school trips. Thrill-seeking is more my thing, like hang-gliding, parasailing, white-water rafting, steeplechase.”
    I did none of those things. “What if we went to a soccer match?”
    Luke’s face lit up. “Now, you’re talking.”
    I used to spend my summers with Natalie on the same recreational soccer team. Her parents paid for the annual fee because there was no way in hell my foster parents would have. “I used to play when I was younger. I miss it.”
    “Well, we should see a match, then. I’ll ask my friend if he would like to join us.” He had already opened his phone and was searching.
    Wow. I guess we have one thing in common. I praised myself for bringing it up.
    I watched as his fingers moved over his smart phone.
    “There’s a match today at Boleyn Ground. It’s West Ham versus Tottenham Hotspur. Oh my God, we have to see it.”
    “Can you get tickets?”
    He looked at me and smiled as if I had made a joke.
    Well, that answers that.
    As we walked out of Westminster Abbey, Luke drummed his fingers over the black screen. “Damn. More meetings this afternoon. I’m sure I’ll be able to make it."
    "We don't have to go."
    "No way. I’ll leave early if I have to. I haven’t been to a football match in ages.”
    Luke rubbed his hands together with a manic grin on his face. It was nice to see a gleam of excitement in his eyes instead of his mask of polite amusement. I didn’t argue as Luke called a cab to bring him to work, giving the driver explicit directions to take me wherever I wanted.
    “The game starts at three o’clock. Best to be there at two-thirty. I’ll call and send a car wherever you are.”
    He leaned across the seats and his lips brushed my cheek. When he pulled away, his smile was full of so much warmth that my breath caught in my throat.
    “Have a good day, Jessica.”
    Luke slid out of the car and gave me a small wave through