I roll my eyes and tip my head back. Rosie copies me. “Come on, Jordy.” I can’t even try to hide my skepticism at this one.

“No, Maya, seriously. It’s … okay, it’s embarrassing, but screw it. When I agreed to come on the show, it was mostly because I thought maybe it was my chance to fix what went down between us.”

He’s a great actor. Oscar-worthy, honestly. But like hell I’m buying that. “Really?”

“Yes. Is that the worst thing you’ve ever heard, or what? How mortified should I be?”

Rosie mimes strangling someone, and I try to keep a straight face. “I dunno, Jordy. It’s a long way to go.”

“It is. But it’s not going to be a short trip.”

I raise my eyebrows at Rosie. “I don’t think you’re allowed to promise me that.”

“No. I’m not. Don’t tell Gwendolyn.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I’d really, really love to see you again, Maya. Please?”

“I thought you weren’t going to force me?”

“No. But I’m not above begging.”

“Okay. Maybe try begging a little harder.”

“You haven’t changed a bit, have you?”

I wait.

“Please, Maya. I am begging you. Please don’t make me do this without you. I promise I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll be ensuring VIP treatment for you. Anything I can give you, I will. Just, please. Please tell me I haven’t just signed up for this for nothing.”

He’s convincing.

He always has been.

The weird thing about this call is it’s reminding me why I fell for him to begin with. I’ve spent so long being mad at myself for not seeing who he was, and for taking him at his word. But you know what? It wasn’t fair to blame myself for that. There weren’t signs. Not really.

That’s what makes him so dangerous.

“I guess,” I say finally, “I could take a look at my schedule and shuffle some things around.”

“Wait, really?”

“Since you asked so nicely.”

“You have just made my day,” he says. “Oh my god. Awesome.”

“I’m actually sort of busy right now, though. So, if you could just tell Gwendolyn …”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll let her know. So, you’re in? It’s a definite yes?”

“Yeah. I’ll do it. Why not?” Okay. This is happening. No backing out now.

Cool. Cool, cool.

H e l p.

“Awesome. This is so awesome. Well, I am very much looking forward to this now.”

“I’m glad. Sorry I can’t chat. I’ve got important stuff to … stuff.”

“No, please, go ahead. I’ll, ah, talk to you soon, okay?”

“Okay. Bye, Jordy.”

“Bye, Maya. It was really good to talk to you. Really good.”