I’m treated with a smirk that makes me wish we were still on the couch. Beck rises and grabs a clear glass bottle from the freezer, followed by two shot glasses. He sets them both in front of me and fills them to the brim with what smells like vodka.

“I don’t have any gin,” he confirms, grabbing one glass.

“What kind of club owner are you?” I question.

“One who merely put up the seed money for a friend and is now focusing on practicing penalty kicks.”

I laugh. “Touché.”

“Prost.” Beck raises the glass.

I repeat the toast, and he laughs.

“Prost,” Beck corrects.

“That’s what I said!” I insist.

He rolls his eyes and downs the shot. I follow suit, sticking my tongue out when the liquor burns a trail down my throat.

“Gah.” Yup, vodka.

“Shop away,” Beck tells me, grabbing a stack of papers piled on the corner of the counter and sitting back down on the stool beside me.

“What are those?” I ask.

“Work. I’ve got a few endorsement offers in the works.”

“Don’t you have people who handle that for you?”

“Ja, but I’m not going to have them sign me on for anything without looking it over myself.”

“What are—”

“Saylor.” He skewers me with a single look. “Shop.”

I huff out a sigh, but Beck’s focused on his papers. Aside from me studying the profile view of his chiseled features, he’s not going to be much of a distraction. I unlock my phone and start scrolling through clothing sites. Eventually I start shifting on the stool, trying to find a more comfortable position. These clearly weren’t designed to spend a protracted amount of time on. I end up wiggling my legs across Beck’s lap so I can stretch out some. He doesn’t even look up from the papers he’s highlighting.

I turn back to my assignment. It sounds so easy: pick out a pretty dress and send it to Hallie so my father can buy it. Not just easy, fun. I spend most of my time in athletic clothes, but I enjoy dressing up for certain occasions. It’s what this occasion represents that has me faltering. It’s the outfit I’ll be wearing when my father gets remarried. I’ve never harbored any fantasy that my parents might reunite, but I guess I thought my dad would stay single. I thought he, Hallie, and I would remain in the roles that, while not healthy, have been comfortable. Expected.

A stepmom and an attempt at a whole family is uncomfortable and unexpected.

I planned to look through a couple options and choose the one I hated least, but it’s been close to an hour by the time I announce, “this one.”