Caden had come back a lot earlier than anyone had expected, but I was glad. He was the life of the restaurant and having him around again had lifted everyone’s spirits.

I thought about what he had told me about the reading of the will. Caden had lied to the lawyer about having a fiancée in the hopes that he could get the money. Of course, the legality behind it was a lot more intense than he had expected, and he was sure he would have to give the money to his cousin, anyway. I wanted to change that. Caden deserved that money—not only because it was an inheritance but because he worked really hard and I knew he would want to put the money into the business. Caden was selfish in a lot of ways, but money wasn’t one of them.

On Thursday afternoon when there was a lull in customers between the lunch and dinner rush, I found Caden outside. He stood with his hands in his pockets, his mind far away.

“Penny for your thoughts?” I asked.

Caden looked at me. “I was just thinking about this whole business with the inheritance money. It’s a lot of cash and I’m just trying to make peace with having to let it go.”

“I wanted to talk to you about that,” I said.

Caden frowned at me.

“If you have a fiancée, you can stop Camden from suing for the money right away, right?”

“Right,” Caden said. “Unfortunately, fiancée’s don’t grow on trees.”

“No, but they do tend to grow behind hostess stations.”

“What?” Caden asked, looking confused.

I took a deep breath. “Why don’t I be your fake fiancée next week? Take me to California and I’ll sign whatever needs to be signed.”

Caden still looked confused and shook his head. “I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but that’s ridiculous.”

I laughed. “What, am I not good enough? Is the girlfriend you have now better?”

“You know that’s not what I mean,” Caden said. “But you’re offering to be a part of the lie.”

I pulled up my shoulders. “It’s no big deal, really. I’m offering. If you don’t want to take it, that’s your business.”

Caden shook his head, but I could see he was thinking about it. The idea had already taken root in his mind. That was all I needed.

“Think about it,” I said and turned around, heading back inside. I had given the idea a lot of thought. Technically what we were going to do, if Caden agreed, wasn’t exactly legal, but neither was suing for an inheritance that didn’t belong to you. I was irritated with Caden’s cousin, even though I had never met the man. I wasn’t sure if Caden would take me up on my offer, but I had a feeling he would come around. Caden wasn’t the type of person to back down, and now that he had a way to make it happen, maybe he would come to me and decide to let me help him, after all. Either way, it wouldn’t change anything for me.

The dinner rush was busy enough to keep us both occupied, so Caden and I didn’t have a chance to speak again. Once the diners were gone, we went through our normal routine of cleaning and tidying up the restaurant, preparing it for the next day. Caden was quiet while we worked, and I was starting to think maybe he would reject my offer, after all.

Greyson said goodbye to us and headed out after everything was taken care of. When we were alone, Caden came to me and cleared his throat.

“Were you serious about offering to be my fake fiancée?” He asked.

I nodded.

“What’s the catch?”

“No catch. I want to help you to get the money that you are owed. I’m not going to make it more than what it is, and let’s be honest, the money could really help the business, and you.”

Caden frowned at me and he seemed suspicious. “Why are you doing this?”

I shrugged and leaned back against the counter, arms back and my hands on the edge. “I’ve got nothing else going on. So why not? Where are you going to find a woman who is single, available, willing, and doesn’t want any of the money?”

“I don’t understand why you don’t want any of the money,” Caden said. “Especially with you knowing how much it is.”

I pulled up my shoulders. I had considered asking Caden for money, but realized I didn’t want it. I didn’t want for more than I already had.

“I’m happy with my life just how it is. I get a good salary working here, I can afford everything going on in my life and I’m not aiming much higher right now than employee of the month.” I chuckled at my joke.

Caden shook his head. “I still don’t know if this is a good idea. I don’t know why you’re doing this.”

“Is my reason not good enough? I’m offering to help out.”

Caden was still shaking his head and I had a feeling he would end up rejecting me, anyway. Some people just didn’t understand what it meant when someone wanted to help without expecting anything in return. But Caden had been a good boss to me, he had given me opportunities when I hadn’t deserved them and I wanted to repay him somehow. Not only that, posing as his fake fiancée sounded like fun. Even though I worked hard at the restaurant, my life was quite dull. I was stuck in the same routine week in week out, stuck with the same people and the same friends and nothing to excite me anymore. I wanted to do this, not only for Caden but because I was bored out of my brackets and I wanted to change it up and do something daring, something different.

“I’ll think about it,” Caden said, but I didn’t get the feeling he was going to go for it. I didn’t understand why—it was a lot of money, like he’d said, and this could work if we did it together. But it was his call.

“I’m off, then,” I said, and walked toward the back door where our coats hung on hooks.

“Wait,” Caden said. I stopped and turned around to face him.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I already told you. It can help you. So why not?”

“I can think of a lot of reasons why not.”

With a shrug, I replied, “Look, I offered and it still stands. I think your lie about having a fiancée was a risky one, but with a little push it could work. I think it’s worth a shot, especially if your cousin is as difficult as he sounds. Wouldn’t it be nice to get what’s yours?”

“We’d be breaking all the rules.”

“Would giving your cousin all the money make you feel better, somehow?” I asked.

Caden thought about it. “You’re making this very hard to turn down,” he said.

“You don’t have to turn it down.”

Caden looked at me for a long time.

“And you don’t want anything in return? Anything at all?” He seemed not to believe me. What had other women done to him to make him believe that I wasn’t sincere? I knew a lot of women were gold diggers. Maybe he assumed I would insist on taking the cash, despite saying I wouldn’t.

“No cash and no obligation to follow through with the ‘relationship’ once you get what you need.”

Caden chuckled. “You’re the strangest woman I know. Every other woman would give anything to catch a man like that, a man who would be a billionaire, no less. But you? You’re acting like it’s strange for me to wonder why you’re being so nice about it.”

I pulled up my shoulders again, not knowing what else to say. I wasn’t going to go back on my word, and I really meant it when I said I didn’t want anything in return. This was about the thrill of it, the danger. This wasn’t about reward, it was about doing something different for a change. I didn’t expect Caden to understand so I didn’t go into it. He was already living life on the edge as far as I could tell, taking risks and doing whatever he wanted to do, whenever he wanted to do it.

Me, I’d been so damn careful my whole life, I was looking for a reason to throw caution to the wind.

It took him a while longer to think about it and I waited instead of leaving. I waited for him to give me an answer.

“Okay,” he finally said.

I blinked at him, surprised.

“Okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

He grinned at me and it was a boyish grin. He was handsome when he looked mischievous like that and I couldn’t help but smile back. Caden walked toward me and for a moment I wondered what he was going to do. I had a flashing image of him grabbing me for a kiss and my stomach flipped. But Caden hugged me instead.

“You’re a rock star,” he said, letting me go. “I’ll walk you out.”

He turned away from me and I hopped off the counter, pushing my thoughts away. Caden walked me to the car and opened the door for me like a real gentleman. There was no bantering or flirting, only Caden being well-mannered.

“Goodnight, fake fiancée,” he said, with a grin and I laughed. He closed the door for me and stepped back when I started the car. I pulled out of the parking lot and ignored the butterflies in my stomach.

This was only for Caden so he could get his inheritance. I was doing it for the money, for him. And the restaurant. But I was starting to like the idea of spending time with Caden outside the restaurant.

I couldn’t believe I had thought about him kissing me. It had been such an idiot thing to think. Caden and I weren’t attracted to each other at all. Sure, he was extremely good looking. He had the kind of eyes I could get lost in if I forget to check myself, and a wide jaw with stubble that made him look hotter, not shabbier. His sandy hair always looked windblown and messy, and Caden made messy look good. But even though he was really attractive, he wasn’t the guy for me.

It must have been the idea of being his fake fiancée that had made me think about kissing him. It meant nothing, I told myself.

And with that, I pushed the thought of Caden as anything more than my boss, a friend, and my fake fiancée for a while, out of my mind. We were only playing games. It would do me good to keep that in mind.

I considered stopping at Tina’s place on the way home again and telling her what had happened. What we had decided. But I decided against it. I couldn’t keep dropping in at her place close to midnight. She had a family, two kids and a husband; a full life. I wanted to keep this my little secret for a while anyway. I wanted to keep it to myself until I had decided how I felt about it, and until I knew what Caden and I would be like together in this new adventure we were heading into.

Of course, I would tell my best friend in due time. But until then I would think about what it meant by myself without Tina’s sage advice and logical approaches. For a short while I would allow myself to dream, to get to know Caden outside the restaurant before I was forced to snap back to reality.