“Me?”

He nods. “You have to take this seriously. You have to put on a performance. You know how to do that. You’re no stranger to the spotlight. But for some reason, you can’t seem to get into character. You never talk about the guy. You don’t seem the least bit interested in him. That’s going to hurt the public’s perception of you.”

“What is it you want me to do, pretend he’s my boyfriend even when he’s not around?”

“I don’t know, maybe. If that’s what it takes to get you through this. There’s a lot at stake here. I just don’t want you to do something you’ll regret. You’re a strong-willed woman, and I’m afraid Sawyer will say or do something that will set you off. But you can’t let that happen. You have to keep up appearances. Your future depends on it. And so does Denver’s.”

I want to disagree with him, but I can’t. Everything he said is true. I need to pretend Sawyer is the guy I met when I was standing on the street soaking wet when neither of us knew each other from Adam. I can’t look at him as the guy who might take one of the sign-holding girls home for the night. The guy who tells me what to do instead of asks me. The guy who has undoubtedly had more women in his bed than a piano has keys.

~ ~ ~

I’ve never been to a basketball game before – professional or otherwise. But I’m fairly sure this is not how most spectators watch the game. We are sitting in courtside seats. And alongside us are faces I recognize from movies and television.

I have to hand it to Brooke, she doesn’t seem to be star-struck. At least not about the people who surround us. She only has eyes for Bass.

Bass, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have a clue about how Brooke is worshiping him. He’s too busy doing other things, like watching the game, celebrity-spotting, and making sure I play the part of Sawyer’s dutiful girlfriend.

“Lean into him,” he tells me. “You’re sitting closer to me than you are to Sawyer.”

“Maybe that’s because I feel safer with you,” I whisper.

He smiles. But then he scolds me. “Whisper in his ear, not mine. Come on, Penny. Everyone is watching, and you guys seem more like two people who just happen to be sitting next to each other. Nobody even knows you’re here together.”

I scoot closer to Sawyer, who is watching the game intently. I lean in. “Bass told me I should whisper in your ear because people are watching.”

He looks at me and then around the arena like he just realized we are here for show and not the basketball game. “Shit, right.”

He grabs my hand and brings it into his lap, resting our clasped hands on his thigh. Then he goes back to watching the game.

I really think the guy doesn’t know how to date. He’s absolutely clueless.

“I think you should pay more attention to me,” I say. “I mean, ignoring your date is not something one in a new relationship would do.”

“I’m not ignoring you,” he says. “I’m watching the game.” He lifts up our entwined hands. “And I’m holding your hand.”

I throw my head back and laugh, like he just said the funniest thing ever. When I make eye contact with him again, he’s studying me in amusement.

“Kiss me,” I say out of nowhere. “Not with tongue. Just a peck.”

He leans forward and gives me a chaste kiss on the mouth.

“Now take your fingers and brush my hair behind my right ear as you look at me.”

He does what I ask, poking my ear in the process. “How’s that?” he asks. “Did I do it right? I don’t feel like I did it right.”

“Are you telling me that’s the first time you’ve ever done that?”

He shrugs. “I told you before, I don’t date. I’ve never had to try to impress anyone, and I couldn’t give a shit who likes me.”

I paste a smile on my face, knowing we’re being watched. “Well you better give a shit if I like you, because I promise the next six months will be a whole lot better if I do.”

“Is that so?”

I give him a sultry nod and he laughs.

“Well, then, let me try it again.”

He reaches up and gently pushes a lock of hair behind my other ear, then he grabs the nape of my neck and pulls me to him until my lips touch his. He kisses me longer this time. It’s only a couple of seconds, and still with no tongue, but those few seconds have every synapse in my brain firing at full throttle.

“Now you’re talking,” Bass says. “You guys are getting better at this.” He leans over me and bumps fists with Sawyer.

My lips burn with the remnants of his light touch. Flashes of having more of him, of having all of him, bombard my thoughts. I try to push the visions aside, but then I remember what Bass said. Maybe these thoughts aren’t so bad after all. Maybe they will help me play the part.

I look over at Sawyer, letting my heated gaze permeate his profile. I take in his face, the heavy stubble on his jaw giving him a hint of roguishness. I look at his t-shirt that fits him so well I can see the outline of his toned pecs. I follow his shirt down to where our hands rest on his strong thigh, admiring the way his jeans fit while remembering how his backside looked in them when I was following him in.

When the game is over, Sawyer introduces us to a few people who come over to greet him. “Mason and Piper, I’d like you to meet Aspen, Brooke and Bass.”

We all shake hands and I wonder just who this Mason is, because Bass is having a conniption. “Oh, man, it’s an honor to meet you,” he says.

“Do you guys want to join us for a drink?” Sawyer asks them. “I know a nice club not too far from here.”

Mason looks at Piper and she shrugs. “Why not?” she says.

As we are escorted out of Madison Square Garden through a private exit, camera flashes go off in all directions. Mason and Piper walk out ahead of us and pose for a few pictures. Then Sawyer pulls me close to his side.

“You should smile for this one,” he says. “You have a great smile.”

“Okay.”

I smile, but I don’t look at the cameras. I look at him. When he realizes what I’m doing, he does the thing with the hair behind my ear again. He’s getting good at it. It’s almost believable thinking we could be a couple with the way he’s looking at me and touching me.

“What’s her name?” several photographers shout from the other side of the barrier.

“Not a chance,” Sawyer says to them, pulling on my hand so we can walk down the sidewalk and get away from the commotion.

Bass and Brooke follow behind us, a few photographers taking pictures of them as well. Maybe the press assumes they’re famous since they came out the same door we did.

A few photographers follow us down the street, but as soon as we get into the club, we’re whisked upstairs into a private VIP area.

While the guys order drinks, I stand at the railing, looking down on the people below. Down to where I would be if I weren’t on the arm of someone rich and famous. It’s all so surreal. I step back and take a deep breath.

Piper comes over and looks at me sympathetically. “It gets easier, you know.”

“It does?”

She nods.

“I’m sorry, you have me at a loss,” I tell her. “I’m embarrassed to say I don’t even know who Mason is. Does he play baseball, too?”

She laughs. “Well, then that’s quite refreshing. No, he doesn’t play baseball. He plays football for the Giants.”

Bass butts into the conversation. “He doesn’t just play for them. He’s their quarterback.”

“Wow,” I say. “He must be really good.”

“Just like Sawyer is really good playing for the Nighthawks,” she says.

“I guess. I’ve only seen him play a little bit on TV.”

She cocks her head and studies me. “You don’t watch him play?”

I look at Bass and he gives me an encouraging smile. This is where I might have to start lying through my teeth. But we said we’d try to keep things as truthful as possible so we don’t mess up.

“No. I’ve never even been to a game.”

“Oh? Well, now I’m intrigued. I hear the rumors, and they say he’s got himself a girlfriend. I guess you’re it.”

I shrug. “We, uh, met at a bar. Well, outside a bar actually. I had just gotten some bad news and then a bus splashed me with road water to make my day even worse. He saw the whole thing and thought I could use a drink.”

“Ah, great story. And the rest is history?” she asks, smiling.

“I guess we’ll see.”

“He looks taken with you,” she says.

“He does?” I inwardly roll my eyes at my stupidity. “I mean, that’s good to hear.”

Sawyer and Mason join us at the balcony and hand us some drinks and then we all sit down on a few couches overlooking the dance floor.

“Seems like you and my lovely bride are getting along,” Mason says.

“You’re married?” I ask. “I didn’t realize that.”

Piper shows me her rings. “About three years now. But we’ve been together a lot longer. It took him quite a while to make an honest woman out of me.”

“Ha!” Mason laughs. “Don’t believe her for a second. She was the one who was dragging her feet, not me.”

“Do you have any kids?” I ask them.

“We have a daughter. Her name is Hailey,” Piper says. “Well, she’s technically his, but I feel like she’s mine.”

“She’s yours,” Mason says, leaning over to give Piper a kiss on the cheek. “In every way that matters.”

Sawyer calls me over to the balcony railing. He nods to the dance floor. “Want to?”

“Gee, with that invitation, what girl wouldn’t?” I say sarcastically. “But actually, I’m not sure I’m ready for that. Everyone down there is looking up at you. I think we’d get mobbed.”