“Thanks.” Ryder wandered in, hands in pockets. His tee was so thin she could see the delineation of his pecs.

She cleared her raw throat and shut the door she realized she was still holding open. “Drink?”

“Nah. Thanks.” He leaned his hips on the back of the couch, facing her. “So.”

“So.” She folded her arms.

“You saw the report?”

“Genie Gossip?”

“Or any of the others.”

Her stomach dropped as well as her arms. “There are others?”

He gave her a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his neck. “No?”

“Ugh.” She looked to the ceiling. “Why me? Why did I have to go the stupid charity auction? I could’ve stayed home and moped, but noooo. I had to be a supportive friend.”

“You need some privacy for this conversation?”

She cast him a sour look. “No, I haven’t seen any of the reports. Why?”

“My Director wasn’t pleased with the publicity from the kiss.”

“I thought WFY was all about publicity.” Every time she opened up the paper, headlines shouted of some good deed or charitable act . . . or who was sleeping with who.

Okay, so she’d read some of those papers she’d bought. Sue her.

“Sure. But the Director thinks if we don’t give the public our story first, the press might think the bidding was . . . you know, fixed.” He raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

She caught on and almost choked on air—an achievement in itself. “They’ll think you gave me the wish because we’re dating? You told her we’re not, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Why do I sense a but?”

He shifted, actually seeming uncomfortable for the first time since she’d met him. A sigh lifted his chest. “Luka thinks the best way to correct the mistake before it blows up is . . .” He paused.

When he glanced at her, the amber in his eyes rippled like fudge ribbons. “I have a favor to ask.”

And as long as he stayed five feet away at all times, she might be capable of thinking through his request. “Okay.”

“They’d like us to go on Lisette’s Hour. And . . .” He shot her a quick look. “ . . . act like we’re hot for each other.”

She laughed. “Good one.” When he didn’t laugh, her shoulders dropped. “Aw, are you kidding me? I have weddings to plan, Ryder, a boss to keep happy—I can’t be off playing pretend with you.”

He gave her a glance that basically questioned if it would be playing pretend.

She refused to give that look the dignity of a response. Especially since it had a point.

“It’d be for like three hours,” he moved on, his hands up in supplication. “And I already confirmed with Lisette that you’d get the questions ahead of time so you could prep for them.”

“You already spoke to her about this?”

His eyes darted. “Maybe.”

“You were that sure I’d say yes?”

“Well, it’s your life, too,” he pointed out.

“Gee, thanks for noticing.”

His lips curved in a rueful smile. “I deserved that. Look, if you come on the show with me, there’ll be no frenzy to find out what the real story is. After that kiss, and your friend Serena’s insider gossip, people are desperate to uncover the woman who’s caught my eye.”

“Because you’re so special.”

“Hey, hate the game, not the player.” He laughed at her sneer. “I admit, it was a stupid impulse, but we have to play the cards we’re dealt. If you want that wish, my Director now insists you keep the cameras off the auction and on us. Scandals aren’t something she’s keen on, and giving out a wish to a woman a Genie is seen kissing . . .” He shrugged as if enough said.

Annoying as it was, Hailey could see the reasoning and the logic. If she and Ryder played it hot and heavy, mentioning only that they’d met when Hailey had bid on his wish, nobody would focus on the details of the bid or how she was paying.

Still, the idea of appearing on a national TV show had her breaking out in hives.

Meanwhile, Ryder was still wheedling. “Would it be so bad to hold my hand and pretend to be besotted with me for a night?”

“Yes.” Being that close to the sun, she’d surely burst into flame. Then he’d know her tough-girl thing was an act and peel away the layers until he discovered the tangled mess she was. And then would come even more pity.

She shuddered just at the thought.

Not put off in the least, his teeth flashed. “C’mon. If you play the part this once, you won’t get harassed at home or work nearly as much.” He grimaced at her wide-eyed expression. “Or at all.”

She pushed a hand through her hair and paced to the table where she gripped the back of a chair. “So they want us to go on and say, what, that we’re seeing each other?” Her friends would murder her for keeping that a secret, and it wouldn’t be like she could tell them the truth.

Though, bonus, it would cut off Serena’s vaguely disbelieving comments.

He confirmed her question with an easy nod. “A bit of flirting, some small touches, keep the heat on.” His eyes warmed. So did her body when she looked into them. “All WFY wants is to make sure the public knows we weren’t involved before the auction.”

“We weren’t.” Aren’t?

“Exactly, so it isn’t even like lying.” He approached her cautiously, hands out. “I’d really appreciate it, Hailey. Luka is getting heat from the Director and he did me a solid when he agreed to let me work the deal with you. I screwed up. Will you help me fix it?”

Great. Guilt.

She sighed. “Can I at least think about having my dirty laundry aired on TV?”

“Sure. How long you need? Till tomorrow?”

She glowered.

“Take as much time as you need. Less would be better.”

Hailey studied where her hands held the chair’s back, the grooves of it. Lisette’s Hour. The show officially linked to the lottery, a show that rivaled Oprah. And they wanted her to go on and rub up against the sexiest man—and Genie—she knew. And not let on that she was an emotional wreck in front of millions. How had her life spun so far out of her hands?

Right now would be a great time to wake up.

“Now on to my other proposal.” Ryder’s voice slipped in between beats of her heart, tripped the detonator switch.

She dared a glance upward at his beautiful face. God only knew what he was going to suggest now. “Uh-huh . . . ?”

“I want to help you have more fun. Sort of a thank-you for helping me out with Leo’s party. Good Samaritan kind of thing.”

“I’m getting a wish out of it.”

“So think of this as an added bonus. I like you.” He sounded almost surprised about it. “I want to see you . . . blossom.”

“This is because I told you about what Kate said, right?”

“Maybe.” His grin was slow. Dirty. Only he could make a smile dirty. “C’mon. Let me show you how to let loose.”

“For the love of . . .” She shook her head. “I. Have. Fun.”

“Name me one thing in your life right now that is.”

You.

Damn it.

She glared. “I watched Hart of Dixie last night with a glass of wine.”

“Whoa. I’m sorry, I was wrong, you wild thing.”

Her glower upped a notch. “Just because you don’t think it’s—”

“You need to be out with the people. Real people. Taking some risks, setting yourself some challenges. You know, spontaneous fun.”

Spontaneous. She knew not of what he spoke. Must be that thing Ethan said she could never do. God, even Ryder, who’d known her all of one week, could see how pathetic she was.

“You’re sad again.”

“Cut it out.” She released the chair and folded her arms in defense. “Maybe our ideas of a good time don’t mesh.”

“Or maybe you’re too chicken.”

“Yep.” She nodded. “So now we’re decided on that—”

“Come on.” A laugh was in his voice as he protested. “Hailey, you’re planning your ex’s wedding. I’d say you could use an injection of ridiculous, irresponsible fun.”

“Okay, if this ‘injection’ is another name for your penis, I’m throwing you out.”

His laugh was stronger this time, brown eyes aglow. “I’d like to think I’m a little more sophisticated than that.”

She eyed him, the crinkles around his eyes as he grinned. Before she could help herself, she said, “What kind of fun?”

That dimple creased his cheek as he waggled his eyebrows. “Intrigued?”

“No.” Maybe.

“Hmm. Well,” he said, leaning in, bracing himself on the table so his muscles bunched. “For it to work, and I have to state this upfront, you’d have to do as I say.”

She shot him a look drowning in wry humor. “Good one.”

“I’m serious. You’ve had control—too much, if you ask me—over your life and look where it’s got you. Planning your ex’s wedding and staying home every Saturday night with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen.”

Her mouth dropped. The blunt honesty of the man . . . They should study him in some museum.

“For my plan to work, you’d have to listen to me. Take commands.”

“Did we time travel to the eighteen hundreds where you think I’ll actually say yes to this crap?”

He laughed. “Not about everything,” he said as if that was crazy. “Just the things that relate to fun.”

Okay, he was insane if he thought she’d blindly follow orders. Like she’d be interested in that kind of crazy. Yeah, she’d thought about the kind of man he’d insisted she needed, a man who’d take control and push her to the edge, and sure, she could see his point about how being rigid with the reins hadn’t got her very far. But please. She wasn’t that wrecked.

Except she still heard Ethan’s words in her head.

Okay, she wasn’t sold, but in the interests of curiosity, Hailey waved a hand. “So tell me about this great plan I’ll be meekly following orders to the tune of.”

“Very simple. We do all the crap that scares you. That’s where following my orders comes into play.”

“Sounds great.” Heavy on the sarcasm, she smiled. “I hear and obey, Master.”

“I like the sound of that.” His eyes on hers, he began moving around the table. Her heart picked up until the beats were one continuous line.

“What are you doing?” she managed as he leaned into her personal space. Electricity snapped, crackled, and, yes, popped as he slid his hand into hers, tracing the sensitive in-between areas of her fingers.

“Didn’t I tell you Genies don’t follow gentlemen’s rules?” He brought her hand to his mouth. His breath was warm as he nipped the pad of her index finger. She jumped. “C’mon, Hailey. Let me show you how to live life and not just watch. Let me show you how to have fun.”

She weakened at the colorful picture he was painting from her world of gray. But . . . “I . . . I told you. I’m not ready for . . . that.”

“It doesn’t have to be ‘that.’” Warm and wet and wicked, his teeth nibbled her fingers up to her knuckles. Her knees buckled and she had to catch the chair to stay standing. “I won’t make the move until you say.”

“Until?” She swallowed the mountain in her throat. “Confident.”

“I feel what you feel. And it’d be so damn good between us.”

He was seducing her with words, with his heat, with the way his eyes flashed amber.

“You say when, Hailey.” A string of slow kisses from her knuckles to her palm followed until shivers chased where his lips went. “I won’t push. But let me show you how to be reckless outside the sheets, too.”

He let her hand fall, and she had to bite back a disappointed moan.

“Think about it.” His eyes were dark as he shaped the tempting words. “You’d enjoy being at my mercy, Hailey.”

* * *

The photographed kiss was all Ryder heard about when he went by his dad’s for the game. Both Leo and Cam were in fighting form.

“So,” Leo drawled as the pitcher wound up for the first throw. “What happened to she’s nobody special?”

Stuffed with roasted ham and sides, Ryder almost grimaced at the interrogation he’d been waiting for. What with those photos circling, one even showing up on his desk in a heart-shaped frame, he’d have been worried if his twin hadn’t ragged on him. Hell, the frame was probably Leo’s idea. Not to mention the fact that he’d bailed on that bachelorette party before anything got physical. His twin would read all kinds of crap into that.

He shifted in the easy chair his mom had claimed when she’d still been well enough to sit with the family. Across from him on the more weathered leather couch, Cam and Leo stared in expectation.

Ryder shrugged and reached for his beer. He dangled it by the neck. “Who?”

Cam snorted. “Who.”

Leo crossed one leg over his knee as he leaned back. Even though it was a casual Sunday, he still wore pressed pants and a cashmere sweater. “Just the fact that you’re avoiding talking about it proves it’s more than the usual date and ditch.”

As Ryder tried to wind his way through his twin’s logic, Cam shouted at the TV in frustration. “Damn it,” he grumbled. “Don’t know why I watch this every year. Might as well quit since we never get any better.”

Ryder and Leo exchanged an amused glance. Every year their dad would say it, and every year he cleared his schedule to watch from preseason to post. It had been like that since Ryder and Leo had moved in at thirteen.

“Y’gonna answer your brother?” Cam pushed after a minute, gaze still glued to the TV.

“Yeah, Ry.” Leo grinned. “You gonna answer me?”

“Ask me a question.”

“All right.” Leo put two fingers to his mouth in thought, the gold flecks in his eyes swimming. “Are you dating her now?”

Definitely not. Ryder didn’t do dating. Smacked too much of commitment. Now, rebound fun might be in the cards if Hailey would agree to his brain wave idea, let him show her how to have fun, get past some of those hang-ups she used to build a wall around herself, and, on the way, admit how much she wanted him.

And he knew she wanted him. Those green eyes telegraphed everything.

The worst thing was all he’d done was kiss her hand and it’d fueled one hell of an erotic dream of Hailey spread on his sheets, wearing those three-inch heels she loved so much and nothing else. He needed to get laid.

Strange, though. He kept coming back to the dream, and the fact that it had taken place in his bed. Funny, since he’d never had a woman over to his place.

Ryder brooded on that for a minute, his gaze moving around the clutter in his dad’s front room. Half were the china ornaments and pretty nothings his mom had loved, all frosted with dust. The other half was pure Cam: piles of baseball magazines, books, empty glasses, and a cactus Jeannie had bought him on their first anniversary after a major fight about children. It was the only domestic thing Ryder knew his dad to tend to. For everything else, Ryder and Leo had hired a woman to come in and tidy once a week.

“Silence,” Leo mused. “Interesting.”

“No, not silence. I just think it’s funny you think a kiss equals a relationship.”

“So you’re not dating.”

“We’re friends,” he said firmly, taking a pull of his beer. “That kiss was me helping her out. I don’t know why everyone’s making such a big thing out of it.”

“Probably had something to do with the way you were practically bending her in two,” Cam commented. He gestured at the screen in annoyance. “No game whatsoever.”

“Yeah, unlike Ryder.” Leo’s foot wagged. “Game, set, match from what I saw.”

“You’ve been reading too many romance novels, brother. In reality, it’s called doing someone a favor.”

“Wish I had someone to give me favors like that.”

“Don’t you have a brunette warming your bed this week?”

Leo turned guarded. “How’d you . . . ?”

“I have my sources.”

His twin recovered quickly. “Well, anyway, your description of her doesn’t do her justice.”

“I said she was attractive.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t say she could give a holy man a hard-on.”

Ryder’s fingers tightened around the bottle’s neck.

“Whoa. Do you see the scowl on his face?” Leo whistled. He shook his head in apparent disbelief. “You like her.”

Discomfort wrapped around his throat. His shoulders rolled. “Of course I do.”

“No, I mean you like her, like her.”

“Am I gonna meet this girl?” Cam wanted to know. “If she’s special enough to have you blushing, I want to meet her.”

Dear God, he was not blushing.

Please, God, he wasn’t blushing.

“She’s not special.” Except she was, kinda. Something to not think about later. He exhaled, gestured with his bottle. “The woman Hailey was eating with was being a pitying bitch, so I—”

“Swept in and played hero,” Leo finished with a smirk.

“Why does everyone keep using that phrase?”

“Would you prefer white knight?”

“I’d prefer to watch the game in peace.”

“Ah, if wishes were horses . . .”

“Boys,” Cam admonished. He pierced Ryder with a glance, the look he’d given when Ryder had snuck back in after losing his virginity to Alyson Peckham. It was a look designed to make him squirm. “You ain’t messing with this girl, right?”

“No.” Honest insult colored Ryder’s voice. He exhaled, staring down at his bottle. “Look, this isn’t something to spread around, but because of that kiss, Director Clare is insisting Hailey and I go on Lisette’s Hour. Pretend to be dating.”

Leo made a small sound of mixed disbelief and amusement.

Sometimes he could throttle his brother. “She doesn’t want anyone’s attention focused on the auction,” he threw at Leo with a scowl. “No scandals. And because I drew attention to Hailey, the press is digging for a story. We just have to give her one.”

“Such a damned hero.”

Ryder flicked his fingers and Leo jumped as he was jolted with magic. His twin glared at him, but didn’t reciprocate. Leo had hang-ups of his own when it came to using power.

“Boys,” Cam said again, warning. “As long as this girl knows it’s pretense. Don’t let her build hopes you don’t intend to see through.”

Ryder thought he might pop a blood vessel. “For the love of . . . She knows exactly where we stand. I’d never do anything to hurt her.” The idea actually made his stomach churn. “She’s planning Leo’s party, I’m granting her a wish at the end. We’re only playing at dating for the cameras so Director Clare doesn’t freeze my balls off.” He scorched them both with a glare. “Can we drop it now?”

Leo held up his hands, still with that smirk. “Dropping it.”

Cam just grunted.