I start backing away. “Gonna go clean this arm up.”

He didn’t hear me.

Neither did she.

Ben’s voice is deeper than before as he asks her, “So uh…you have a partner, or is this all yours?”

Jordanna gazes up at him. “It’s just me.”

“Impressive.”

“You think so? I mean, it’s hard work running your own business but it’s so fulfilling, you know?”

Shelby and I almost gag. As soon as we’re out of the room she whispers, “We run this place! You even do the damn bookkeeping!”

“I know!” Outside I see Bobby waiting on the sidewalk with his hands wringing. I hurry out to tell him what happened, and Shelby follows.

Bobby keeps his voice low but he is clearly freaked. “He said he was going to help, but if he fucked things up even more then I am going to kick his ass, I don’t care how tall he is!”

“It’s okay! She’s flirting with him! She’s totally forgotten about me!”

My brother and I fill Shelby in on the car accident, the police officer, and Ben taking the blame.

“You said you weren’t lucky, Paige, but it sounds to me like you’re the luckiest person alive.”

Bobby and I look at each other.

She has no idea about our lack of rent money.

Recounting the ways she thinks I lucked out, she finishes with, “And you have that date with Gabriel Cocker tonight!”

Like I’ve been slapped I take a step back. “I forgot about it! But I can’t go!”

“What do you mean you can’t go?” she demands.

Bobby mutters, “You have a date with who? Wait, what the fuck? The rockstar Gabriel??”

Shelby blinks, confused. “How come Bobby doesn’t know?”

Staring at her I struggle to answer that question. I can’t tell her it’s because he didn’t come home for three days and my life is a mess. This dinner date that any other girl would die for is the last way I want to spend my time. I need to find a way to make money and make it fast. I’m running on three hours of sleep and I have four classes left to teach today. Those are still not enough and never would be. Yoga teachers don’t exactly rake in the dough. That’s not why we get into this field.

I exhale and firmly say, “Because I’m not going, that’s why I didn’t tell Bobby.”

Shelby’s jaw drops

I turn on my heel and walk inside, right into Ben. He flashes Jordanna’s business card that has a heart hand-drawn on it, and mutters, “Outside.”

Frowning I hesitate and follow him.

As soon as the door closes the four of us make a circle, with Bobby constantly shuffling his feet.

“That woman is crazy,” Ben quietly says.

Shelby rolls her eyes. “Duh. Thank God you saw it because I was about to warn you.”

I blurt, “Wait…you were faking interest?”

He shrugs. “She was going to fire you. It distracted her.”

He’s looking at me in a disarming way, and then determination flashes over his dark green eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

He takes my good arm and pulls me from view of the windows. “Go out with me, Paige.”

Bobby explodes with anger. “No fuckin’ way! You’re a psycho!”

“I’m not going out with you!”

He smirks from Bobby to me, “I’m not a psycho. I just have a lot of insurance and I was in a bad mood this morning for reasons I’m not going into right now.” He shifts his intense gaze back to me to explain why he wants to date me, “When you stood up for your brother that was amazing…”

Shelby interrupts him, “Excuse me.” She stands between us, craning her neck. “You’re clearly used to getting your way with these handsome looks of yours and this slammin’ body, but you ran into my best friend here so not only are her brother and I not allowing you to keep talking nonsense but she’s already got a date tonight…with your cousin Gabriel!” Over her shoulder she cocks her eyebrow at me. “See what I mean? Luckiest girl alive.” She swings back to him. “I however am available.”

Bobby mutters, “I thought you live with your boyfriend.”

Shelby says, “Shhh!”

But Ben’s locked on me, confused. “When did you guys start dating? I didn’t know Gabriel was seeing anyone, and he hasn’t been in Atlanta for months.”

Shelby sucks on her lips.

I do the same.

Bobby is glaring at him.

Ben looks around. “Why is nobody talking?”

On a reluctant breath I confess, “I won a date with him. We’ve never met. It was a radio contest. But I wouldn’t go out with you anyway. Because you are indeed a psycho.”

He smiles his charismatic smile, eyes glittering with amusement. “If anyone in my family heard you call me that, they’d think you were the crazy one.”

“You ran into our car!” I cry out.

In a low, steady voice Ben says, “He said my mother sucked…well, I won’t repeat it. But nobody talks about my mom like that. I needed to get him out of the car so I could kick his ass. I’m just like you. I look out for my own. Plus I have a temper. It runs in the family so get ready when you meet my cousin tonight.” He turns on his worn boot heel and heads off, his perfect ass ticking slowly as he runs a hand through his sun-kissed hair. Over his shoulder he locks eyes with me and asks, “Where are you two going tonight?”

“I’m not telling you!”

Laughing, Ben jumps in his old beat-up truck and pulls away like he’s got nothing but time. Bobby, Shelby and I stare like we’ve got nothing but shock.

“Where is Gabriel taking you?” Shelby asks.

“Who knows,” I mutter. “I’ve been kind of busy.”