The more I think about it, the more my thoughts breeze past the wedding and toward something else entirely: a thousand more nights just like this one. I can envision us buying tickets to offbeat performances like the Poetry Brothel, trying foods neither of us can pronounce at new restaurants, and lounging in bed for hours on weekend mornings because nothing outside remotely measures up to the pleasures of spooning under the covers and talking until our voices are hoarse.

It scares me that these thoughts feel new. With Blake, I mostly reassured myself that I’d fall for him someday. If I’m having these types of thoughts about Raj on the night of our first date, that means my interest in him is truly greater than just saving Brooklyn Jewels. It means my feelings for him are real.

“Everything okay?” Raj asks. “You got kind of quiet.”

“Yeah!” I blurt out. “Yeah. Do you want to stay over? Because you could. If you wanted to.”

“I do, yeah,” he says.

I get up gingerly so my hair doesn’t catch under his arm and slide out of bed to blow out the candle and turn off the lights. Moving around gives me something to do rather than dwelling on how I feel. I slip back into bed. I should just relax, or god forbid, sleep. But I can’t.

“So, here’s the thing,” I say a minute later, flipping onto my stomach and propping myself on my elbows so I can look directly at him. It’s easier to be vulnerable in the dark. “I like you. Like, a lot.”

Even in the darkness, I can see him smile. “I mean, I’d hope so,” he retorts.

“I know this is all, um . . . nontraditional?” I continue. “Showing up at the bar after not talking for a while, and then you offering to fake-marry me, and then me seducing you.”

“You can seduce me literally anytime,” he says.

“Oh, I plan on it. But I just need you to know that I really care about you. This isn’t just about you helping me out. I’m not expecting anything. I know that marriage, even if it’s fake, is enormously meaningful. I just . . . I just hope you understand that my feelings for you are very real.”

“I don’t think you could fake this if you tried,” he says.

I feel a rush of relief. “Good, I’m glad you feel that way.”

“I know I offered to show up for you at the wedding earlier, but can I . . . sleep on it?” Raj asks tentatively. “I mean, I’m not ruling it out, but today has been a lot. I just want to think it through.”

I hate that my heart sinks. I look down and pretend to study my cuticles so he can’t see the disappointment on my face.

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” I say. “That’s smart.”