“Stay here and look busy. Get on your phone if you have to. There’s someone I’m going to talk to. And if you thought I was good before, wait until you see what I do next,” I told him.

As I walked away, I could feel his grin and his gaze following me. It gave me a boost to execute this part of my plan.

I was about to make Tyler the most sought-after guy in Houston.

Being so caught up in showing off to him, I didn’t recognize how stupid my scheme was until it was too late.

CHAPTER TEN

My steps slowed as I wondered why I was throwing him at other women. Some selfish part of me was all if I can’t have him no one can, but not in a lock-him-in-my-basement sort of way. I just liked the world better where Tyler didn’t have a girlfriend. Then I reminded myself that he was dating the winner of the Miss Universe pageant. Not to mention that I’d already firmly told myself that Tyler and I were going to be only friends and nothing more.

Maybe doing this would drive that point home for me.

Standing in front of me was Erin Fernley, Bitsie’s oldest daughter. It was well known that she’d been on the hunt for a man ever since her younger sister had gotten married and become pregnant. That Erin had battled her entire life with being “not quite”—not quite as pretty as her sister, not quite as witty, not quite as charming, not quite as popular.

She felt left behind and it made her the perfect target for the opening shot of my campaign.

“Erin! How are you?” I asked.

We exchanged empty air kisses, and Erin’s keen sense of observation made it so that I didn’t have to come up with a believable way to introduce Tyler. “Hello, Madison. Who is that delectable man you’re here with? Are you together? Aw, did something happen with Brad?”

I kept my smile neutral while inwardly seething. Not at her unspoken implication that she was pleased Brad and I might be broken up, possibly paving the way for herself to pursue him. Because she was welcome to him. It was that she already knew that Brad and I were having issues and this was her way of twisting the knife. This was the problem with such a tight-knit and hateful group of people. They knew your secrets and enjoyed exploiting what they saw as a potential weakness.

It was another good reminder as to why it hadn’t been hard to leave this life behind.

“Brad and I are taking a bit of a break. I’m here with my friend Tyler Roth. He’s in finance.” I put an emphasis on the last word so that Erin would pick up my obvious bait.

And she did. Her eyebrows lifted slightly, the corners of her mouth turning up. It was one thing to be gorgeous and quite another to be gorgeous, young, and rich. “Is he? And he’s single?”

As far as I knew, thanks to my plausible deniability, he was. I had no idea what his actual status was with Oksana. “Yes. I met him recently and discovered that he doesn’t socialize much. New in town and all that. Which is a shame, because he is so ambitious, so talented, so good humored. I thought a man like that didn’t belong hidden on a shelf.”

“You’re right,” she murmured. I knew my words were working because she was no longer looking me in the eye but watching whatever it was Tyler was doing behind me. “He should be getting to know all the right people.”

And by “right people” she clearly meant herself.

“Absolutely. If you see your mother, please give her my best and let her know how much we’ve enjoyed this evening. I shouldn’t leave him alone for too long, don’t you agree?”

Another seed planted. Someone as competitive as Erin wouldn’t let me win. If I knew anything about her, it was that I’d set her on a collision course with Tyler. Now it would be up to him to handle her and the small talk and turn it into something more.

I turned on my heel, satisfied with what I’d done. I found Tyler, who gave me a questioning look when I slipped my hand through the crook of his arm. While I loved touching him and being close, this was solely for Erin’s benefit. I wasn’t getting anything out of it.

Or, at least, that was what I told myself.

“Just keep walking,” I told him, leading him toward the dance floor. More couples had joined in and were swaying to the jazz music being played. “If someone comes up to you, make sure that when you end the conversation you give them your business card.”

“What is happening?” He sounded so amused.

“We’re going to dance and let everyone get an eyeful of you.”

But before he could agree, Erin interrupted us. “I’m so sorry. I’m Erin Fernley. Madison has told me so much about you.” Her slight accent had now taken on a heavy southern twang.

She held her hand out weirdly, in that way where you couldn’t tell whether she wanted you to kiss it or shake it. Tyler chose shaking it, which I thought was a good call. This wasn’t Gone with the Wind and Erin was no Scarlett O’Hara.

“I’m Tyler.”

“Oh, I know.” She giggled. “Madison, you won’t mind if I steal your date for a moment? Because I was wondering if he’d care to dance.”

Man, I was good. I’d hardly expected things to work so quickly.

“Do you mind?” Tyler asked me, that amusement still evident in his voice.

For one second, I minded so hard my vision blurred. But I was helping him out and this was the best way I knew of to get his foot in the door.

“Of course not.”

He nodded, smiling at me. “Only if you promise that we’re going to finish our dance another time.”

I swallowed, hard. I knew he didn’t mean anything by it, even though it sounded like he did. As if he’d wanted to dance with me, hold me close, and was making sure that we’d get to do it again in the future. I could only nod back, silently agreeing.

It looked like he was going to walk away when he suddenly turned and leaned toward me, his mouth close to my ear. “By the way, I say yes to you teaching me culture.” His words were hot against my skin, sending waves of tingles across my neck and scalp.

“I am going to culture you so hard,” I whispered back, trying to joke but failing in the attempt.

“Perfect,” he said. Was I imagining that twinkling in his eyes?

I’d forgotten that I’d offered to help him out with cultural stuff during our discussion about how to schmooze rich people. But I definitely wasn’t going to turn down the chance to spend more time with him.

Not knowing of the plans we’d just made, Erin gave me a smug smirk before she slipped her own arm through Tyler’s, leading him onto the floor. I found a chair nearby and sat down. This was better. Since this event was comprised of people Bitsie knew, they were far more likely to pay attention to the young man dancing with her daughter than they would have if I’d danced with him. I could already see the glances, hear their whispers.

Erin could dance with him. I was the one who was going to spend time with him. And I was the one who would be going home with him at the end of the night. Well, not going home home with him, but sleeping in the same place he slept. In a separate room. Because we were just friends and roommates, I reminded my hormones for the millionth time.

Tyler said something that made Erin laugh, and she was staring up at him like he’d just invented dancing. It was a special quality he possessed. Like earlier when he was asking me about my job. He had the ability to make whoever he was talking to feel special. Just by giving them his undivided attention.