“I don’t know,” she ground out before pulling at her ponytail and tossing it over her shoulder.

“Well, can you figure it out before dinner tonight?” I said, clearly catching her off guard.

“Dinner? Again?”

“Don’t sound so excited,” I said, my tone harsh.

“Sorry.” She shook her head but kept her distance. “I can’t go tonight.”

“Why not?” I found myself feeling way more disappointed than I had any right to be.

“ ’Cause I have to work late,” she said, and I knew she wasn’t telling me the truth.

I could have pushed her harder, told her that I knew she was full of shit, and forced her to go out with me again, but I didn’t want to do that. I took a step in her direction and watched as she straightened her back and swallowed, her lips pressing together as I neared.

“You’re lying. But I’ll let it go. For now.”

“How gracious.”

That smart mouth was going to get her in trouble at some point. Most likely sooner rather than later.

“Are you playing a game with me, Sutton?” Something started to gnaw at me, like maybe she was going to pull out before Social Month even started and leave me high and dry.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Make sure we can go out again soon.” I stormed out of the room before I did something stupid, like throw her onto one of those beds and have my damn way with her.

MEETING MOM

SUTTON

Why the hell was I so irritated? Walking out of the on-call room and toward the nurses’ station, I felt a ball of dread in my stomach. Everyone was watching me, their eyes filled with mischief, wonder, and accusations.

“He’s gorgeous,” one of the women said as I approached.

I turned around just in time to see Joseph disappear into an elevator.

“I know. I know,” I agreed before I continued moving down the hall.

If I stopped for even a second too long, I’d never get away from all the questions, and the last thing I wanted to do was lie to all their faces. I’d already done that this morning after the pictures of me and Joseph from last night went viral and the press showed up.

I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out what my problem was, but I was no closer to the truth than I had been an hour before. Joseph showing up, all concerned for my well-being and over-the-top dramatic, had messed with my head. His actions had felt like something a real boyfriend would do, but he wasn’t my boyfriend. He wasn’t anything, except for a paycheck at the end of my service.

I shook out my body after thinking those words to get rid of the icky feeling it had given me. My accepting a paycheck for this seemed weird and wrong. But I still planned on doing it.