“What was she saying?” I turn my wrist and check my Apple Watch for the time. I have about ten minutes before I have to bolt. Luckily, I’m close to where we’re meeting.

“She was going off about this Brie girl and then she started telling me about Scottie and how she’s married to Mika or I don’t know. She was slurring.”

I smile. “I think she meant me.”

“What?” Derek asks, looking all kinds of confused.

“Terrible day to be late, man. I have to leave in a few, but to make it short, Mika texted me last night that Scottie needed a fake husband, and—” I shrug. “I said sure, why the hell not.”

“Wait…what?” he asks, setting his cup of coffee down. “What are you talking about?”

“All I know is that Scottie needs a husband and so⁠—”

“Wilder, are you insane?” he asks. “Do you even know Scottie?”

“Never met her. She’s Mika’s friend, so I’m assuming she’s at least halfway decent.”

“I mean, yeah, she is, but why would you say yes to being someone’s fake husband?”

I pick off a piece of my coffee cake. “Not that I’m complaining, but being retired can be pretty boring at times. Seemed like something new and fun to do.”

“Don’t you volunteer every day? Maybe up all the charity work you do.”

“Yeah, but that’s for a few hours. There’s only so much I can do to keep myself busy. Plus, don’t want to over commit myself.”

“Okay, do more word searches. I know you love those.”

“Dude, those are a sacred nighttime ritual, you know that. And why do you even care?” I say, motioning toward him. “It’s not like you’re the one pretending.”

“No, but I’m your accountant, and I know how much stock you own in a variety of companies. You own enough stock in different places so if you do something stupid and you’re caught, you can throw off investors.”

“Jesus.” I roll my eyes. “I’m not that important. And it’s one day. It’s not a big deal.”

“What are you even doing with her?”

“Going to a marriage counseling class with her.” I shrug again.

Derek’s face falls flat, and he’s forced to push his thin-framed glasses back on his nose. “You’re going to go to a marriage counseling class with a woman you’re not married to nor know?”

“Yeah, what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is the therapist is going to ask you questions about each other, and you don’t know her last name.”

“Isn’t it Prince?”

“Price,” Derek corrects me.

I shrug. “That’s where the fun comes in and my ability to improv. Honestly, I’m kind of excited about it.”

He pinches his brow. “This seems like a bad idea.”