Luke began to laugh, but stopped at the look on her face. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “The tummo teaching is self-secret. You can’t learn it from a book. You need a guide, and even then, the practice will only make itself available to you once you’re ready.”

“You can guide us,” Serena said. She moved her hand slightly higher on his thigh.

He looked down at it. “I’m not really qualified,” he said. “I’ve received the transmission, but that doesn’t mean I can pass it along.”

Serena leaned over and kissed Luke on the cheek. “You’ll teach us,” she said. Luke said nothing, only smiled at her with half his mouth, and Serena kissed him again, almost climbing into his lap this time. Luke slipped an arm around her waist. I examined the rosebushes. I am, actually, interested in roses. I don’t understand why they are held in such high regard. They are beautiful, yes, but like the rest of us, they all hide something ugly at the center.

After a few moments, Serena extricated herself and left, opening the door delicately, as though she feared that even the wooden handle might shock her fragile skin. Of course she cared about us. Look what she was doing. She didn’t even want him, and look.

“You girls are relentless,” he said once she had gone.

“Yes,” I said.

Luke dropped his head into his hands. “I do want her to have what she wants. Whatever that is.”

I kept my body completely still. “She wants you to have what you want, too.”

“I don’t want it to be a transaction,” he said.

“She’s in love with you,” I said. “She’s just pretending she isn’t.” It was a lie, and I thought he knew it, but as the words came out, I wondered if there was any possibility that they were true.

He looked up at me. “Can I tell you a secret?” he said. He didn’t wait for me to respond. “I still believe in fate. Not like karma. Like destiny. I know I’m not supposed to. It’s not a Buddhist concept. But I think the universe has plans for me. I think I’m going to do something big.”

“So are we,” I said.