They made a stop at Dairy Queen and got back on the road. Wade was quiet as he ate, watching as they left the affluent homes and ranches, and headed into the outlying county and the far-less privileged area. She knew he’d come from an underprivileged neighborhood himself. In fact, despite his many faults, he was surprisingly humble and quick to laugh at himself, and often joked he’d grown up so far from the proverbial tracks that he hadn’t even been able to see them.

And her?

Well, she’d grown up with a silver spoon in her mouth, and everyone knew it. It was certainly all Wade knew about her, because it’d been the only thing she’d ever let him see. He had no idea that the two of them had a hell of a lot more in common that he’d ever guess.

He polished off two burgers and went to work on a bag of fries. “So . . .” His green eyes were relaxed but assessing as they met hers. “When are you going to tell me they want us to do this boyfriend/girlfriend thing for a whole month?”

“You heard?” she asked in surprise. She thought she was supposed to talk him into it.

“I work with a bunch of women. They tell all.”

“Wade, you work with a group of professional athletes.”

“Who gossip like women. Pace told me. He’d heard it from Henry, who’d overheard Gage talking to you.”

Pace being Wade’s best friend and the Heat’s ace pitcher. Henry was their shortstop. Gage, their team manager. And yes, the supposedly professional clubhouse really was similar in nature to a high school locker room.

Wade was still looking at her. He was sprawled out, relaxed. She took a careful breath. “A month shows stability. It’s more impressive than just a weekend wedding fling.”

His brow shot up so far into his thick and unruly hair it vanished. “So you’re okay with being joined at the hip for a month?”

“If you are.”

“Are there benefits?”

“No!”

He sighed.

“Hey, it’s not that bad. I’m fun, you know.”

He just looked at her, which burned. “I am! And I just realized, there are benefits.”

“I’m listening.”

Seemed she’d managed to surprise him after all. “Maybe it’ll be fun.”

“How?”

“Well . . .” She wracked her brain. “I can be a pretty convincing bitch when I want to be.”

“Nooo,” he said with mock shock.

She ignored that. “I can scare all the crazy women that chase you around and thereby give you a break, and in return, you can just relax knowing you won’t have to take care of me like your usual hanger-on, clingy type who bores you within the span of one date.”

He slid her a look.

“Hey, just calling ’em like I see ’em.”