"It is practical."
"No, I agree; it's completely practical." Boyd set the wrench down with the care of a man suppressing something. "Are you going to call her?"
"Yes."
"Tonight?"
"Yes."
"Okay." Boyd picked up his jacket from the workbench. "Those Patels, man. They always get you."
"It isn't real."
"Neither were most of the marriages that began as arrangements on this ranch."
Finn opened his mouth to argue, but Boyd held up his hand.
"I'm going to head out then."
"You don't have to go."
"Let me know how it goes."
"It's a two-minute phone call."
"Sure it is," Boyd said, and left.
Finn stood in the barn for a moment, listening to the quiet of the ranch before he pulled his phone from his pocket.
She answered on the third ring. "Finn? Don't tell me you want to add another condition to the format."
"I'm in."
A brief pause. "Okay. I thought we had already agreed to be partners."
"More than partners."
"More?" Her voice was breathless.
The breathless quality of Ivy's voice made Finn's heart stop. It didn't restart immediately. It held the beat, clenching in his chest, waiting…
"What Mrs. Patel was suggesting," he continued on a strained breath.
"What was she suggesting?"
She was going to make him say it out loud. "The relationship thing."
"That we pretend…"
"That we pretend…"
"You want to pretend… With me?"
His heart started beating again. The beats coming too fast, tripping over themselves to make up for the lack of blood circulation. "Yes, Ivy. I think we should pretend to be more than friends. For the camera. For the competition."
"Right."
"One condition."
