“You’re a bit paranoid, you know? We don’t need all that preparation to pass for a couple for one dinner.”

“One dinner?”

“Yeah, the Christmas meal? Isn’t that what we were talking about?”

“I’m not paying you five thousand dollars to have one meal with my family. You have to come with me to my hometown in Connecticut for a week.” His eyes widen, and I already see him ready to backtrack and call everything off. But I can’t let him. I’ll never find someone as perfect. I mean, he even rides a bike! So I edge another sheet of paper toward him. “And as per the final part of our agreement, these are all the brands we’re shooting Super Bowl ads with, and that I could get you castings for.”

Diego stares at me with an appalled look, followed by a questioning side glare of who-is-this-crazy-person-I’m-having-lunch-with? Then he lowers his eyes to the list, and his expression switches to mmm-these-brands-are-really-cool-and-how-many-people-watch-the-super-bowl-again?

I’ve just delivered an exemplary carrot-and-stick performance. He’s in.

“I still think moving in together is too much,” Diego says, a tad too loud.

The ladies to my left look up at us open-mouthed for a second, and then snicker between themselves. And even our server seems to have a satisfied little smirk on her face as she deposits our plates on the table. Wow, this man can really bring female rivalry to a whole new level.

“Maybe,” I say, pointedly lowering my voice. “But I can’t risk either of us slipping up in front of my family, not even on the smallest thing. And what are you complaining about? I’m offering you a free stay in Manhattan for two weeks.”

Before he has time to come up with a thousand plausible reasons not to move in with the crazy cat lady, I push my point. “And anyway, I’m at work twelve to fourteen hours a day, so we wouldn’t clash too much. And you’d be free to come and go as you like, with no more long commutes. From my apartment, you can get everywhere in Manhattan in fifteen minutes on the subway. You can go to your Santa gigs, or go to castings, or whatever it is you do all day.” I still read doubt in his eyes, so I end with a cocksure, “It’s non-negotiable.”

I try to keep a straight face as panic rises in my throat. If he bails, I’m fried. I will have to confess my lies to my mom and suffer the greatest humiliation of my life.

He stares at me for a second, back at the brands list, and then sighs. “Ah, hell.” He grabs his beer and takes a long sip. “In for a penny…”

The air leaves my lungs, and I relax for the first time since I got here. At least now I know I have a potential second career as a poker player.

We eat our lunch in silence. It’s one of the most awkward meals I’ve ever had. All the more reason for him to move in—this is exactly the sort of thing we need to fix before the holidays.