“Wonderful.” From the way she beams, you’d think he’d just agreed to go on a date with her. “Today’s special tacos are the lobster with sweet corn, and fried duck with habanero honey. If I may suggest one, the duck is really something special.”

“All right.” Diego smizes, eyes as mischievous as in his pictures. “The duck one sounds great.”

“Excellent choice. And to drink?”

“A beer, please.”

After giving him another small smile, she turns toward me, her enthusiasm fading. “And for you?”

“A chicken taco and a Diet Coke, thank you.”

“Perfect. I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

Adalynn isn’t kidding; I haven’t even struck up the nerve to broach the fake-boyfriend topic when she returns with our drinks. Setting them down, she throws Diego yet another smile and says, “Let me know if you need anything else.”

Reluctantly, she walks away, finally leaving us in peace.

“So,” I start, a little nervous. “Thanks for meeting me here today.” Oh, come on, Nikki. No need to be nervous. Just treat him as any model or actor you would in one of your productions. Yeah, right. I’ve got this. “I wanted to go over the details of this job before we sign a formal contract… Did you have questions, or would you like to hear me out first?”

Diego leans his elbows on the table. “I might have too many questions. Best if you outline the ABCs first…”

“Oh, okay.” I stare at the first item on my list: comp. “As I said, the compensation is a flat five thousand dollar fee, all included.” Better remind him why he’s here. “As for the specifics of the job, we need to script the basics: how we met, first date, a few cute anecdotes… stuff like that. And we have to familiarize ourselves with each other to improv the rest. Our interactions must be as natural as possible, and that’s why I thought…” I hope he swallows this without protest. “…you should move in with me.”

His eyebrows shoot high into his forehead. “Move in with you?”

“Yeah. We have to act as if we’ve known each other for a couple of months, at the very least.” If I’m doing this, I’m doing it right. “I have to learn your tells, you have to learn mine, and living together is exactly the crash course we need. You would have your own room, of course.” Once I convince Blair to let you sleep in her bed, anyway. But she’s moving out soon, so it shouldn’t be too hard for her to crash at Richard’s until Christmas.

“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?”