Of course. She wants Lander to hit on me. She wants him to make me absolutely unavailable to her husband.

My eyes travel to Travis. His look is easier to read. He just wants to throttle someone.

And yet, what can he really say? He knows I’m dating Lander. And I told him that Lander wanted to keep our brief history as a couple a secret, and Lander has just reinforced that narrative by this interaction. Why he wants Travis to know he’s interested in dating me now is a mystery, but he’s still lying about when we met. And it was Travis who asked me to continue my relationship with Lander. So he can hardly fault me for any of this. And if Micah is watching, seeing me dating Lander out in the open, in full view of his family, it’ll make me look less subversive. It might even make Micah think that I’ve taken his advice.

I smile flirtatiously at Lander. “I can’t imagine why you would want to spend a thousand dollars on a girl you don’t know, but I’m certainly not going to refuse the invitation.”

“I’m not spending a thousand dollars on you,” Lander says dismissively. “I’m spending two thousand dollars on a politician who is important to my family.” He pauses and lets his eyes roam over me . . . although the look is a little less crude and a lot less insulting than the ones his brother gives me. “Since it’s only our first date, I think . . . I think I’ll spend only fifteen hundred dollars on you.”

I shake my head. “Excuse me?”

“For your evening wear,” Lander says. He turns to Jessica. “Do you have time to take her shopping for a dress? You do have a beautiful sense of style.”

“Oh, Lander,” Jessica says, her voice almost sultry as she rises and crosses the room to take the seat next to him. “You’re such a flatterer and so very impulsive, but”—and here she stops to give him a playful kiss on the cheek—“that’s why we love you. Isn’t it, Travis?” She flashes a pretty but undeniably taunting smile at her husband.

It’s a subtle provocation, but for Jessica it’s huge. My mind flashes back to the day Travis hired me. I remember the outburst and mild defiance that Jessica demonstrated and maintained for the space of two minutes.

For two minutes she was defiant. For two minutes she stood her ground and she lashed out. And now there’s this little glimpse of her desire to strike back.