John chuckled. He could picture that very clearly. “Been playing a lot of hide-and-seek recently?”

“Actually yes. I babysit for my friend’s kid a lot. He’s way better at it than I am. Anyway. What did you have in mind for your mother?”

“You should tell her that you changed your mind about one of them. Well, not Maddox. Pick one of the other guys she suggested and tell her that you want to go out with him next weekend. Make her sweat a little bit.”

“But what if she actually takes me up on it? Then I have to go on a date with a bully or a drug dealer? How did he bully you, by the way?”

John ignored her question about Elijah Crawford. “I want to see just how far she’ll go. And if she follows through with a place and time, you can always cancel at the last minute.”

“Not my style. I don’t stand people up. Even if they...tied your shoelaces together?”

He chuckled. “Not even close. If you end up having to go on the date, then do you have someone who could go with you?” He thought of the two pretty women he’d met at Mary’s shop. “A girlfriend you could pretend to bump into at the bar? Something like that?”

“People have lives, John. I’m not going to tear one of my friends away from their Friday night just so you can see how far your mother will take this thing.”

An offer to be the one she bumped into trembled at the tip of his tongue. He almost, almost volunteered to be her In Case of Emergency. No. Terrible idea. She’d see right through it immediately. He was positive that the second the words left his mouth, a mystical spotlight would shine on him and somehow, across town, she’d be able to see the stupid smile on his face right now, his undershirt and boxer shorts and studio apartment and lack of air-conditioning. No way. If he offered her that, he’d show his ass. And she’d know everything.

“But maybe you could be there?” she asked after a second and successfully stopped the world from spinning, like she’d firmly pressed a finger to a twirling globe. “You’re the one who’s curious about this after all.” She paused and he could practically hear the trepidation start to creep into her voice. “I mean, unless you’re busy. Or you think that the guy would recognize you and blow the whole operation—”