“Your friends aren’t going to be weird about me being a . . . you know?” Ryan asked as they walked up to Jace’s house. She’d asked three variations of that same question in the time it had taken them to drive to Jace’s place in New Jersey.

“No, I promise. They’re the ones who took me to find you in the first place.” Ben was beginning to find it weird to refer to Ryan as an escort. He knew she was one, but he didn’t like thinking of her that way. She was so much . . . more. Not that there was anything wrong with her doing what she did, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a profession she didn’t belong in, and that made him protective and annoyed. It didn’t help that her jean shorts and white tank top screamed girl next store rather than professional arm candy.

“You hiring me to go to your brother’s wedding and you taking me to one of your friend’s houses for a game night aren’t exactly the same thing.”

They got to the door, but instead of knocking, Ben turned and faced Ryan. “What’s the difference?”

Sighing, Ryan looked away from him. “They know the truth, so they may not want me hanging out with them, especially not in their house.”

“Why?” Ben felt dense, but he honestly wasn’t sure what she was talking about.

“Come on, Ben. Rich people don’t exactly go out of their way to hang out with people like me. They’re probably worried I’m going to steal from them or something.”

Ben felt bad he’d put her in this situation. Because he knew the kinds of people his friends were, he hadn’t hesitated to bring Ryan to hang out with them. But he hadn’t given any thought to how she might feel about it, and that made him feel incredibly guilty. He wanted to fix it, put her at ease like he’d done with skating. Ben waited a second, but when she refused to look his way, he gently took hold of her chin and turned her to face him. “For the record, I like the kind of person you are. And they will too.”

She eyed him skeptically before taking a deep breath and straightening her shoulders. “Okay.”

It wasn’t said with the kind of resounding confidence he’d been hoping for, but it’d have to do. Ben gave her a quick smile before ringing the bell.

The door opened almost immediately. “Thank God you’re here. Jace is trying to make me eat kale.”

Ben glared at his friend. “Hello to you too. Gabe, I’d like you to meet Ryan.”

“Do you like kale?” Gabe asked her.

Ryan looked back and forth between the two men. “No,” she finally replied, drawing out the word.

“Awesome. It’s nice to meet you then.” Gabe stretched his hand out toward her.

“Nice to meet you too,” she said.

“Sorry if I was rude, but I had to make sure you weren’t one of them,” Gabe explained as he backed away from the door so they could enter.

“Who is them exactly?” Ryan asked.

“Healthy food people,” Gabe said before lowering his voice to a whisper. “They’re everywhere.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Ignore him. He’s a moron.”

“Takes one to know one,” Gabe retorted.

“Are you ever gonna act your age?” Ben asked as he shook Gabe’s hand and pulled him into a half hug.

“Age ain’t nothin’ but a number,” Ryan said with a sly smile.

“Yes!” Gabe yelled. “Exactly.” He went over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. “Ben said you reminded him of me. At first I thought it was because we were both men, but now I see it. It’s because you’re a genius.” He led Ryan toward the kitchen.

She turned and shot Ben a look that he thought seemed half-amused, half-terrified. He couldn’t blame her. Gabe often had that effect on people. Ben trailed after them as they walked toward the voices in the kitchen.

“This is Jace,” Gabe said. “He’s forgotten his small-town roots in favor of things only sold at Whole Foods. And that’s his girlfriend, Aly, the leader of the kale cult. Oh, and that’s my date, Serena, who I invited before I knew about her vegetable allegiance. Everyone, this is Ryan.”

Jace and Aly immediately came over to introduce themselves properly while Gabe’s date waved from the counter, scooping up globs of vegetable dip with carrots. Ben took in her tight, red mini-dress and black heels. She looked much more like an escort than Ryan did. Ben immediately chastised himself for the thought.

“It’s great to meet you, Ryan,” Jace said. “And don’t judge the rest of us by this guy.” He jerked his thumb in Gabe’s direction. “We’re all pretty normal.”

Aly shook Ryan’s hand next. “Don’t believe a word he says. None of them are normal.”

“And you are, doc?” Jace slung his arm around Aly’s slender shoulders.

“No, but I wasn’t claiming to be.”

“Great, so we’ve all established how strange we are. Awesome first impression, guys,” Ben interrupted. Then he walked over to Serena and greeted her. “Hi. I’m Ben.”

“Serena.” Her voice came out breathily—somewhere between Marilyn Monroe and Morticia Addams.

“Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Serena replied with a wink.

At first Ben wondered if she had a tic. But then he realized that she had honest-to-God winked at him while she was here on a date with his best friend. “So how did you two meet?” he asked, glancing back and forth between Gabe and Serena.

“I went to a new place to get my hair cut today, and she was my stylist,” Gabe responded as he walked toward Jace’s pantry and opened the pocket door.

Ben shook his head once. “So . . . wait, you guys met today?”

“Yup,” Serena said again before biting her lower lip in a way that Ben guessed was supposed to be seductive.

Ben turned toward Jace who rolled his eyes. For as off the wall as Gabe could be, this girl seemed a little over the top even for him.

“Aha! Found ’em,” Gabe yelled from the pantry before emerging with a bag of Oreos.

Aly’s hands flew to her hips as she rounded on Jace. “What are those?”

“They’re Oreos,” Gabe responded before taking a bite of one. “And they’re delicious.”

“I don’t know how those got there,” Jace said.

Gabe leaned back into the pantry. “You probably don’t know how these got here either,” he said as he showed them a big bag of chips.

“Thanks, Gabe,” Jace gritted out.

Gabe’s responding smirk told them all that he knew exactly the mischief he was causing.

Walking toward the pantry, Aly said, “What else is in there?”

Gabe moved to block the door with his body as he clutched his cookies. “Oh, no. You’re not allowed in there until after I leave. I need them.”

“You need empty calories and trans fats?” Aly countered.

“Yes.” Gabe said the word emphatically as if it were a life or death question she’d asked.

“Fine,” she replied. “But you”—Aly pointed a finger at Jace—“are in big trouble.”

Ben moved back over to Ryan. “I’m sorry my friends are crazy.”

Ryan smiled at him. “I like them.”

Watching his friends bicker, Ben couldn’t help the smile that overtook his face. “Yeah, they’re all right.”

“What game are we playing?” Gabe asked.

“I bought Taboo,” Aly said. “It’s only meant for two teams, but we should be able to make it work for three. We set it up in the family room.”

They all murmured assent before grabbing drinks and snacks and heading into the family room. Ryan followed Aly as they chatted so Ben hung back. When Ben and Gabe were the last ones in the kitchen, Ben grabbed Gabe to stop him. “Dude, you brought a stranger to Jace’s house?”

“Yeah. You guys said I needed a partner.”

“But you don’t even know this girl. For all you know, she’s casing the joint so her boyfriend can come back later and rob the place.”

“Whoa, there, Dragnet. I think that’s a bit of a reach. Who are you to talk anyway? You brought a stranger too,” Gabe argued.

Ben bristled at Gabe’s words. “Ryan’s not a stranger. I’ve spent a good bit of time with her since we met.”

“Yeah, because you pay her to. She’s not exactly an upstanding citizen, Ben.”

Squaring himself up across from Gabe, Ben felt a surge of anger rush through him that he’d never felt toward his friend. “She is a good person, you hear me? And you better treat her like one.”

Gabe raised his hands, his palms facing Ben. “Whoa, man. Take it easy. I didn’t mean to insult anybody.”

Ben looked at Gabe’s face, saw the sincerity there, and instantly deflated. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d never gotten even remotely angry with Gabe before. Irritated, sure. Annoyed, definitely. But not truly angry. “I’m sorry. Ryan was nervous about how she’d fit in, and I think some of that tension rubbed off on me.” Ben ran a hand over his short hair. “It was a dick move to call you out like that.”

“No worries,” Gabe said. “I didn’t mean to be an ass either. Let’s forget about it.”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

Gabe slapped him on the back before walking out of the kitchen.

Ben took a deep breath and tried to let go of the fact that he’d been a total douche to his friend. Then he joined the group.

Aly and Jace had set up pillows for everyone to sit on around their long coffee table. The girls were all sitting beside one another on one side, and Gabe and Ben took their seats across from their respective dates.

Rubbing his hands together rapidly, Jace asked, “So how do you play?”

“One member of the team will draw a card,” Aly explained. “At the top of the card is a word they have to get their partner to guess, but below it are taboo words they’re not allowed to say in their clues. The person next to you will look over your shoulder and buzz you if you say one. The other teams are supposed to get points when you mess up, but I think that’ll be confusing. So let’s keep score of how many cards each team gets through in a minute. Okay?”

“Whatever you say, boss,” Gabe said as he stuffed chips into his mouth.

“Is your knee comfortable with you sitting on the floor?” Aly asked Gabe. “We should’ve thought of that. We can move to the table.”

“No, I’m good. I may need a little help getting back up, but I’m fine other than that. Thanks for thinking of me, though. I knew you loved me.”

“Okay,” Aly muttered, a blush stealing over her cheeks.

Ben smiled at Aly’s discomfort. No matter how often they all hung out or how used to them she got, she’d probably always still be little shy with them. “Who gets to go first?” Ben asked.

* * *

Ryan had never been so nervous in her own skin, though she knew the anxiety was coming from the fact that she wasn’t actually in her own skin. She was caught between trying not to act like an escort while needing it to be believable that she was one. It was the catch-22 of being a date for hire.

“We’ll go first,” Gabe said.

“Okay, let’s have the guys guess first,” Aly suggested. She handed Serena the card holder and grabbed the buzzer as she settled in so she could see over Serena’s shoulder.

“We got this. Don’t overthink it. Be one with the card. Let its energy flow through you and then come out of your mouth,” Gabe told Serena, who stared at him like he was insane.

Ryan thought he actually might be.

“Jesus Christ, Gabe. Shut up so we can start,” Jace complained.

“I’m just being a supportive partner.”

“You’re being an ass.”

Ben looked across the table at Ryan. “Have I apologized for them yet?”

Smiling, Ryan said, “Yes.”

“What do you mean? Apologized for who?” Gabe asked.

“Nobody,” Ben answered. “Can we start the timer?”

Aly looked over at Gabe who nodded, and then she turned the timer over.

Serena looked over the first card. “We came here in this.”

“Car,” Gabe responded.

“Yes! Strippers do this onstage.”

“Gyrate.”

Serena shook her head. “‘The Dougie’ is one.”

“A dance.”

Serena nodded and flipped to the next card. “You shit in it.”

“Toilet.”

“Homeless people sleep on it.”

“Bench.”

“Time,” Aly yelled. “You guys got four.”

“Hell yeah,” Gabe said as he high-tenned Serena. “Dream team in the house.”

“Let us go next,” Jace said.

Everyone got set up, and then Gabe turned over the timer.

“You flashed my parents on this,” Aly said.

“Skype,” Jace replied.

“Dude,” Gabe said, sounding impressed.

Aly ignored him and continued. “I work in one.”

“A hospital.”

“You try to make me do more of this.”

Jace eyed her for a second. “This isn’t an X-rated answer, is it?”

Leaning forward, Aly swiped at Jace. “No. You get sweaty during it.”

Everyone laughed and Aly blushed.

“Exercise,” Jace answered.

“Yes . . . perverts,” Aly mumbled. “We rode on one to go see my parents.”

“Airplane.”

“You shouldn’t be this ever again with all the junk you have hidden in the pantry.”

“Hungry.”

“Time,” Serena called.

Aly recorded their score of five before passing the cards to Ryan and settling in so she could see them as well.

Ryan was nervous as hell. She knew that it was only a game, but it felt bigger than that. Like it was a testament to all the time they’d spent getting to know one another. Aly’s clues drew on things particular to their relationship, which made it clear that they knew one another well. Their relationship was believable—which it should have been since it was real. Ryan and Ben needed some of that realness.

“Ready?” Aly asked.

Ryan nodded and Jace turned over the timer. “Oh. The Heart of the Ocean was in this movie.”

Ben stared at her.

“Rose and Jack. ‘My Heart Will Go On.’ ‘Iceberg, dead ahead.’”

The buzzer sounded. “You can’t say iceberg.”

“Shit. Shoot,” Ryan quickly corrected. She looked at the next card. “Okay, you’ll know this one.”

“I hope so.” Ben laughed.

“You ate this at dinner after we met.”

Ben stared blankly at her. “Um . . .”

She glared at him. “Come on. You have to remember. I can’t think of any other words that aren’t on this card.”

“Eggs?”

Ryan was exasperated. “That’s what I ate.”

“Oh yeah. How about . . . pancakes?”

Ryan shook her head. “So much for being a Capricorn,” she muttered. “It’s the same kind of thing a robin is.”

“Robin? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Time,” Jace said.

“Turkey,” Ryan said with a deep exhale.

“Oh yeah. I remember it now that you said it.”

“That’s helpful,” she murmured.

“Well, your clues weren’t exactly helpful either. I mean, what does a robin have to do with a turkey?”

“They’re both birds.” She looked around at the blank faces around the table. “I hate this game,” she muttered. “It’s too high pressure.”

Everyone laughed.

Gabe went next, giving clues like: “hot chicks like being called this,” and “when most people lose their virginity.” To which Serena replied: “sexy,” which was correct, and “thirteen,” which was not. Then Gabe told her to “shoot a little higher,” and she got it with “sixteen.” All in all, they got five more points despite being buzzed twice.

Jace and Aly went next and somehow managed to get seven. Aly said it was because she was a better listener. Something Ryan didn’t doubt.

Then it was her and Ben’s turn again. “Ready?” he asked her.

She shrugged. “Sure.”

He stared at her for a moment longer with a look on his face that Ryan couldn’t decipher, but then Jace turned over the timer, which thrusted Ben into action. “My brother is one of these.”

“An asshole,” Ryan blurted without thinking.

Gabe almost spit out his beer, and everyone else snickered. Even Ben’s lips curled into a smile. “Besides that. Didn’t I tell you this?”

“Not that I remember.”

“Oh, oops. Okay, well, there are different types and you need to be good at math to do it.”

Ryan stared at him. “I’m never going to guess this. Move to the next one.”

“No, I can explain it better. So there’s, oh wait . . . sorry, I can’t say that word.”

“Pass on the card, Ben.” Ryan stared at the sand draining out of the top of the timer and felt her mood dampening with it.

Ben flipped to the next one. “You won’t tell me this.”

Feeling her face contort in disbelief, Ryan said, “Where I hide the bodies? Come on, Ben, I need more of a clue than that.”

“No, okay, so we always have to meet somewhere because you won’t tell me this.”

Jace called time right as Ryan said, “Address.”

“We’ll give you guys that one,” Aly said.

Great. They were so bad they were getting pity points.

“You won’t tell him your address?” Gabe asked. “That’s gangsta.”

Ben rolled his eyes, and Ryan let the comment go without a response because she didn’t know what to say. They played two more rounds, after which it became clear that Ben and Ryan were completely incompatible as far as teammates went. Even Gabe and Serena outscored them eighteen to six. Aly and Jace seemed poised to take their Taboo-playing skills on the road. They finished with twenty-three points.

They hung out a little while after the game ended, but Ryan’s head wasn’t in it. Granted, she doubted Ben’s parents were going to challenge them to a game of Taboo at the wedding, but their lackluster performance didn’t bode well for how convincing they were as a couple.

When they finally left, the atmosphere between them was thick with discomfort. They’d hardly said anything to one another during the first ten minutes of the ride. So when Ben pulled over onto the shoulder, parked the car, and twisted to look at her, Ryan expected him to call the whole thing off.

What she didn’t expect was for him to say, “Move in with me.”