“Sorry,” he says, finally shaking hands with everyone. “It’s just that this is a surreal moment for me to be standing in a room with all three of you.”

“So you guys play baseball, too?” I ask Caden and Brady.

“Oh, I like her already,” Murphy says.

“Yeah, we play baseball, too,” Brady says, amusement washing over his handsome features.

“Caden is a catcher,” Bass says. “He’s also pretty good at hitting home runs. Brady’s a pitcher. He pitched a perfect game last year.”

I look at him in confusion.

“Sorry, guys,” Bass says. “Aspen doesn’t know the first thing about baseball.”

“That’s not true,” I whine. “I’ve watched some games on TV before. Just not since I was a kid. And they made us play it in middle school gym class.”

“I stand corrected,” Bass says. “She’s obviously an expert.”

I swat him. “Don’t mind my roommate. He doesn’t get out much.”

“You two are roommates?” Rylee asks, obviously as confused as I am about what’s going on here.

“Since sophomore year,” I say.

“You go to school?” Murphy asks.

“Yes. Juilliard. But Bass doesn’t go there anymore. He’s training to become a firefighter.”

“Juilliard. Wow, impressive.” She turns to Bass. “And being a firefighter is a very noble calling.”

“He had his first day of fire school today,” I say proudly. “He’s already a paramedic.”

“How was day one?” Caden asks. “Back in college, I had a buddy who became a firefighter. He said it was a bitch.”

Bass laughs and stretches his arms over his head. “Let’s just say I’ll be sore into next week. We did physical assessments today.”

“Pul-lease,” I say. “You’re in great shape, Bass.”

It’s true. I look around at the three professional baseball players in this room and think of how well Bass fits in. He looks just as fit as the rest of them.

Sawyer gives me a look and I realize what I did. Is he mad at me for talking up my roommate? I guess I’m supposed to be ‘making dreamy eyes’ at him or something. Is this all starting now? What happened to meeting to discuss how this is going to go?

“Before we get started, can I get you guys a drink?” Sawyer asks.

“Get started with what?” Brady asks. “Is this game night or something?”

“No, not game night,” Sawyer says. “Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable in the living room.”

I look around at the two couples. They seem to have no idea why they’re here, and I’m more than a little uncomfortable. Is Sawyer just going to pull me onto his lap and pretend we’re a thing? What must they think of Bass being here?

“Just water for me please,” I tell him.

“Me, too,” Bass says. “No drinking during training.”

I take a seat in a single chair by the fireplace so there’s no room for Sawyer to sit next to me. Bass sits on the couch, still star-struck and oblivious to the fact that I’ve never felt more awkward in my life.

I take in my surroundings. It’s a bachelor pad on steroids. It’s nice. Not Christian Grey nice, but modern-contemporary-bachelor nice. It looks like he’s had the entire townhouse renovated. Most New York City townhouses have been around for a while and have the old-style boxy rooms. This one, however, is an open floor plan, the entire first floor being visible from anywhere you stand.

His kitchen is huge and looks to have all the latest conveniences. I wonder if he cooks. I wonder if he would mind me using his kitchen when I’m staying here.

There’s a large sitting area off the foyer that I think would be perfect for a piano. I can’t help it. Every time I go into a new residence, I pick the place where a piano should be. Everyone should have one. Then again, I may be a little biased.

“So, what do you study at Juilliard?” Rylee asks.

“Piano.”

“You must be very talented to have gotten into such a prestigious school.”

“She is,” Bass says. “She’s the most talented person I’ve ever met.”

“Says the guy who plays guitar better than Jimi Hendrix.”

Rylee raises her eyebrows. “A guitar-playing firefighter? Watch out, ladies.”

“Thank you. See, I told you, Bass.”

“Whatever.”

Sebastian isn’t cocky. He’s humble and modest, and just about the nicest person I know. He’s as good looking and as fit as the famous athletes in this room, yet he has no idea the draw he has on women. Probably because he’s with me ninety percent of the time and women may be too intimidated to approach him with another woman by his side.

Sawyer comes over with two bottles of water, handing one to each of us.

“Are you going to tell us why we’re really here?” Caden asks. “You’ve been acting strange ever since the plane ride home yesterday.”

“Yeah, I’m a little confused myself,” I say.

“Sorry,” Sawyer tells everyone. “I just thought it easiest to only go over this one time.”

“Go over what?” Caden asks.

Sawyer comes over and stands behind me, putting his hand on my shoulder. “I’d like to introduce you all to my new girlfriend.”

Four pairs of eyes look at Sawyer like he’s off his rocker.

“Mills, we already met fifteen minutes ago when she walked in,” Brady says.

“What the hell is going on here?” Caden asks.

“So, uh … as of today, Aspen is my girlfriend, but she’s not really my girlfriend.”

Finally, I understand what’s happening. These people are to Sawyer what Bass is to me. His best friends. His confidants. People who will be in on our secret. Now that I think about it, he did mention telling a few of his friends who he thought could help us.

“Dude … explain,” Brady says.

“I’m, uh” —Sawyer has the decency to at least look embarrassed before he tells them— “I’m paying Aspen to be my girlfriend for the season.”

Chapter Nine

Sawyer

Murphy and Rylee sit there with their jaws in their laps while Brady and Caden shake their heads and laugh.

“Are you serious?” Caden asks.

“As a heart attack, bro.”

“But … why?”

“Because I’m not going to risk getting traded, that’s why.”

“And you thought hiring someone to be your fake girlfriend was the way to prevent that?” Brady says. “You realize if this gets out you’ll have made things ten times worse. Rick will have a goddamn conniption.”

I shake my head. “It’s not going to get out.”

My friends share looks of disbelief, concern, and maybe anger with each other.

“Where the hell did you find her?” Caden asks.

“How do you even go about hiring someone to be your girlfriend?” Rylee says.

“How did you two meet?” Murphy asks. “And who exactly is Bass? Is he here to protect her or something?”

Bass stands up defensively. “I’m not her pimp, if that’s what you’re asking. And Aspen sure as hell isn’t a hooker.”

I see the color drain from Aspen’s face as I realize what’s going on here. My friends think I hired her through some kind of service. Aspen must be mortified thinking everyone is looking at her like she’s a call girl.

“It’s not like that, guys,” I say. “Aspen and I met last week at a bar.”

“You met at a bar?” Rylee asks. “As in she picked you up?”

“Do you even know her?” Brady asks. “She could be playing you.”

Aspen holds her hand up. “Can everyone please stop talking about me as if I’m not here?”

“She’s right,” Murphy says. “We should hear her out.”

“Thank you,” she says. “When I met Sawyer, I was having a really bad day. And to make things worse, a bus drove by, soaking me with dirty road water. Sawyer saw the whole thing and asked if he could help. We started talking about the fact that we both had crappy days and he invited me to have a drink. We spent several hours in a bar and then he walked me home. He showed up the next morning with this proposition and the rest is history.”

“But, why would you want to do this?” Rylee asks her.

“I’m paying her to do this,” I say. “An education from Juilliard doesn’t come cheaply. This will allow her to go to grad school and at the same time, will allow me to be seen as the kind of guy the Hawks want me to be.”

“But what about after? How long can you keep this up?” Caden asks.

“For the season,” I tell him. “After the season is over, Aspen and I will have an amicable break up. But by then, my reputation will have been repaired in the eyes of the organization.”

“And then what?” Rylee asks. “You’ll go back to your old ways?”

I shrug. “That’s the plan. I’ll just have to be more discreet about it.”

“How do you know this won’t get out?” Brady asks. “There are seven people in this room, that’s a lot of people who have to keep a secret.”

I know he’s not talking about the four of them. He’s looking at Aspen and Bass.

“Because we have a contract and they’ve both signed a non-disclosure agreement.”

“You have a contract?” Rylee asks. “What exactly does it say?”

“You know, technical stuff about how she gets paid and what she’s supposed to do.”

“You mean how I’m supposed to look at you,” Aspen says.

Murphy gasps. “You’re dictating how she has to look at you?”

“With ‘dreamy eyes’,” Aspen says.