Kaylee knew she was staring at him with an incredulous expression. No words would come. He was completely whack-a-doo. She was used to stupidly hot guys being jerks, but this was the first one she’d met who was certifiably crazy.

He raised his hand for the waitress. When she came over, all smiles and gushing platitudes, he asked for the check.

“Do you want a box?” she asked Kaylee.

“Do I… What?” Kaylee said dumbly. Her thoughts moved too slowly around Ethan. “Oh. No, thanks. I’m fine.”

“You don’t eat leftovers?” Ethan asked after the waitress had gone.

“No. I mean, besides pizza and Chinese food. I usually eat those for breakfast. But I never take anything else home.”

“Gross.” Ethan poured the rest of the wine, splitting it equally. “So I’m going to go ahead and pay for this dinner. And refund your money for the date. I’ve just hijacked your gig. Truth be told, I didn’t want to— Here you go.” He handed off his card to the waitress. His beautiful, clear eyes came back to rest on Kaylee. Shivers came out of nowhere, covering her body, as she fell into his entrancing stare. “I didn’t want to do a gig tonight. I can’t stomach doing too many anymore. They’re getting…dull. So this is an awesome surprise. We can have some fun.”

“No…” The check came back in record time, and before she knew it, she was being guided out of the restaurant. His large hand rested on the small of her back. Heat wormed through her middle and flowered, filling her.

“Where’s your car? Can we leave it here for a while?” he asked.

“No.” When they were outside, she stepped away from him, giving herself space. The cool breeze of fall ruffled her hair, thankfully clearing her mind. “I’m going to go home. I’ll reimburse you for dinner. And the gig, or whatever, will be paid in full. Thank you for the offer of dessert, but I’ll have to pass.”

He waggled a finger at her. “It is crazy to leave with a perfect stranger, I know. A prostitute, no less.” A woman passing by startled and gave Kaylee a narrow-eyed stare. Kaylee wasn’t sure if she was being judged for hiring a prostitute, or if the woman thought she was one. “But when was the last time a multimillionaire prostitute asked you to dessert?”

“What—”

“Exactly. Never. So live a little. You’ll hate it, I promise. But hopefully, after the initial hate, you’ll love it. Let’s try it out and see. C’mon.” He passed a ticket off to a valet.

“But—”

“I’m excited. This might end up a horrible surprise for me, too. One I will cherish.” He rubbed his hands together.

An Audi pulled up and stopped. Ethan started forward, opening the passenger door while handing off a tip. The valet thanked him and they both turned to her.

“I don’t—” She shook her head and looked at his outstretched hand. It would be lunacy to take it and let him drive her away. He’d just admitted as much. It wasn’t only that he was a perfect stranger; he was a paid perfect stranger. But something—his open gaze, maybe, or his relaxed demeanor—had her waffling.

The hand that was reaching for her lowered. A small smile flirted with his lips and his eyes started to glimmer. He swung his other arm up and rested it on top of the door, leaning on it. Waiting for her to make a decision.

He’d tried to get his way without hesitation. She’d put on the brakes.

That fact tickled him, she could tell.

She felt a smile bud and her resolve melt away. Shaking her head, she looked to the side and bit her lip.

There was nothing for it. He had a creepy sort of charm, but for reasons she couldn’t pinpoint, it was too alluring to deny. That, and he respected her hesitation. He knew enough about her personality type not to push. In fact, he seemed to appreciate that she wasn’t rushing into a decision.

She walked forward with an exhale. “You better not try and kill me.”

“I’m much too lazy, don’t worry.” He took her hand and helped her into the car. A moment later, he was sitting into the driver’s seat.

“What happens when this…profession ends?” she asked as he pulled away from the restaurant. “You’ll have to dip into the real estate funds eventually, right? You can’t…do what you do if you have kids.”

“Eventually, yeah. Or I can always do real estate. I’m not nearly as good as my mother, but I make plenty at it when I try. Right now, whoring on an increasingly occasional basis is fine. I used to love getting paid to pleasure women, but now it’s getting a little dull, as I said. The joy is wearing away. Soon it’ll be time to switch gears.”

She frowned when he pulled off on the freeway exit the driver would have used to take her home. Scowled when he took a series of all-too-familiar turns. Then gripped her door handle, convinced she might actually need to make a run for it, as he continued to head toward her house. Finally, they slowed in front of a home two blocks from where she lived.

“Do you live here?” she asked with a tight throat.

“No. My buddy does. All my friends are here for dinner, plus his parents. Welcome to hell. C’mon.” He pushed open his door.

“Wait,” she said, pulling her hands away from her door. “Why did you bring me here?”

“They have dessert.”

“But…”

His door closed with a thud. She stared at it in horror. Then flinched when he turned up on her side.

She poked the lock icon. He tried her door and failed.

His smiling face lowered into her line of sight. “I told you it was a horrible surprise.”

“How do you have friends?”

“It remains a mystery. C’mon, open up. They aren’t that bad once you get into the swing of things.”

“Women always expect me to help out in the kitchen. I can’t help out in the kitchen. I live off of takeout.”

“Colton cooks. You’ll be fine.”

“I break glasses when I wash dishes. My small talk is terrible. Seriously, Ethan. This will be a disaster.” She was shouting by the end, but she wasn’t kidding. She’d learned the hard way that she didn’t have anything in common with the women at these kinds of parties. They always wanted to talk about kids or domestic stuff, and she didn’t know anything about that. Her non-work knowledge was mostly about sports, of all things, since she worked with guys. When it came to clothes, all she knew was suits and slacks. There was rarely a dinner party where she didn’t stick out like a sore thumb, and that wasn’t just because she was eternally single.

“This is the worst,” she mumbled, ignoring his handsome, smiling face. At least this time she wouldn’t be on her own. His weirdness would probably be a distraction to the partygoers. Although, if she was set adrift in the kitchen, she wouldn’t be able to make use of said weirdness.

With a forceful exhale, she grabbed the door handle and pulled before shoving the door open. Ethan backed up and waited near the grass.

She looked off toward her house, so close. She could escape so easily. But the situation was so strange and, dare she say, interesting—so weird and unexpected with an allure of surprise and mystery—that, teamed with the openness in his gaze, she couldn’t help but want to take his hand and willingly go wherever he led her. Besides, if not for this, she’d be at home in a cold and empty house, alone.

“Fine.” She lifted her chin and waited until he moved in close. His hand found the small of her back. “How did you know I hated dinner parties?”

“I knew you’d probably hate this dinner party. Maybe as much as you’ll ultimately come to like it. That’s the joy of horrible surprises. You just don’t know where they’ll lead you.”

“Well, I can tell where they’ve led you. To crazy town.”

“Yes.” He walked beside her.

“You’re not invited to the company dinner, by the way. I’m just going to throw that out there right now. This is a disaster. You are a loose cannon, and the worst possible person I could bring to that dinner. You’d make them form a thought association between me and a creepy, close-talking psycho.”

“And wouldn’t that be fun?” He ran a firm touch up to her mid-back. A sudden blast of electricity sizzled through her body. She stumbled at the foreign feeling of it.

“Uh oh. Watch your step.” He slowed, clearly thinking she had to relearn to walk. Which was partially true. “My vibe is much better than the dull persona you’re trying for. Here we are.” He rang the doorbell.

“Dull persona?”

“Sure. The hair, the pearls, the black suit. The shoes are the best thing about your whole look.”

“What do you think I should be wearing?” she snapped. “A clown suit?”

“I love this side of you. Passion. Anger.” He made a fist and shook it as footsteps sounded at the other side of the door. “You need to show this side of yourself to Janie. I wonder how it would look on canvas?”

“Who? What?”

Metal clicked before the door swung open, revealing a striking woman in her late twenties with brown eyes, dirty blond hair, and paint splattered all over the front of her black apron. The woman frowned as she stared out at them. “What are you guys doing here?”

“It’s a horrible surprise,” Ethan said, rubbing Kaylee’s back. “This is Kaylee. She paid me to go out to dinner with her as a tryout for a work dinner in a week or so. It’s not going well, but I have high hopes.”

Kaylee elbowed him. She didn’t need the whole world knowing that she had to resort to hiring a date.

The woman saw the gesture and unleashed a thousand-watt smile that had Kaylee smiling with her. “Don’t worry,” she said. “My boyfriend was one of them too. And the guy that owns this house was the first one to get out. My friend hired him for a wedding. You’re among equally undateable but totally awesome friends.” She stuck out a hand. “I’m Janie. Besides paying a whore, you had no idea what you were getting into, did you?”

Kaylee laughed and took Janie’s paint-stained hand. “No. None. I have no idea what possessed me to come along.”

Janie waved that away. “Ethan is hard to say no to. I get it.” She shook her head. “I still get sucked into his crazy when I’m not careful. There is a reason they call him Undertow.”

“A few, actually.” Ethan smiled and gestured Janie into the house. “We’re coming in.”

The smile dripped off Janie’s face. “Oh no, Ethan. This is the horrible surprise? His parents?”

“Yes. C’mon. Move.”

“That’s just—”

“Janie, honey,” a woman called from within, “you’re letting in a draft. Who’s there?”

Janie’s shoulders tensed. She stared at Kaylee. “Run while you still can!”

Kaylee nearly about-faced and took off, but an attractive man showed up next to Janie. Tall and broad and stacked with muscle, he was wearing a blue T-shirt and faded jeans. His thick arm came around Janie’s waist and his brown eyes softened with the contact.

“What do we have here?” the man asked. A crooked grin tweaked his lips. “Oh. The Amazon.”

“Why are we gathering at the door? Janie, Dave?” the female continued. “Are they selling something? Tell them we don’t want any.”

“Ethan is treating this poor woman to a horrible surprise,” Janie said, neither of them budging.

Pity crossed the man’s face. “What did you do to deserve that?”

“She paid him.” Janie tsked. “I bet she wishes she could return her purchase.”

“You should’ve opted for Noah and the lower heels.” Dave glanced down at Kaylee’s feet. “Oh! Boating shoes. Those are fun.”

“I didn’t realize they were nautical-themed,” she mumbled.

Dave jostled to the side as wrinkled hands with two large, jeweled rings gripped his shoulders. An older woman with stylish, cropped hair and a wrinkle-free skirt and blouse appeared in the doorway. Fully done up and impeccably dressed, she looked like she hosted dinner parties for a living.

Her eyes lit up at the sight of Ethan. “Ethan! You made it just in time for dessert. How lucky.” Her clear gaze then zipped to Kaylee. “And my, my. What a beautiful young lady.” She paused and her eyebrows climbed upward. Her gaze flicked back to Ethan. “Ethan,” she said with warning in her voice. “Care to introduce us?”

Janie and Dave melted out of the doorway with frozen smiles.

“Of course, Martha, where are my manners?” Ethan’s hand didn’t leave Kaylee’s back as he turned toward her. “Kaylee, this is Martha, Colton’s mom. Martha, this is Kaylee. We went for dinner and thought we’d stop in to see you all.”

“Oh, fantastic.” She beamed and stuck out her hand for Kaylee to shake. “Come in, come in. Colton is just putting the chocolate sauce on it now, though he won’t have enough. I’ve told him. Why he wouldn’t let me do it, I have no idea. He gets underfoot all the time. But he’s just like his father—you can’t tell him anything. He simply refuses to hear another person’s suggestion.” She shook her head and closed the door behind them. “Here we are, dear.” Martha slipped between Ethan and Kaylee and took Kaylee’s arm.

That was how it always went. The matriarch separated the vulnerable ones from the herd. Now she was at Martha’s mercy.