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I hang up before they can continue and turn toward Rosie.

“Where were we?” I ask her, and she shakes her head.

“You should get going. Seems like you have a lot going on right now.”

“No, it was a call from my sisters.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you had sisters.” Rosie looks at me in surprise.

“Yeah, they’re younger than me. Clara and Blair. I love them, but they’re always in my business.”

“Well, sounds like they’re good little sisters then.” She grins. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine. They’ve got this stupid idea in their heads, and it’s absolutely ridiculous. I think they think we live in a movie or something.”

“What was the idea?”

I stare at her thoughtfully. “It’s stupid. I don’t even want to mention it.”

“Okay.” She shrugs.

But the more I look at her and the more I think about my sisters, the less horrible the idea seems.

“It was Clara and Blair’s idea, a way for me to get access to the family trust.” I don’t know why I say the words, but Rosie looks at me with interest. “My grandfather, Theodore, set up a trust that states I won’t have access to the money unless I get engaged by his eightieth birthday, and, well, as you know, that’s not in my plans. My sisters had an idea where I could have a fake fiancée to lead my grandfather to believe I’d be getting married so that on his eightieth birthday in a few weeks, he’d still give me the trust.”

“Oh, so that’s why you were saying you don’t have a fiancée.” Rosie’s eyes widen. “That’s definitely an intriguing idea. So, you’re going to pretend you have a fiancée?”

“My sisters think it’s not realistic to show up to my family with a fiancée out of nowhere, but if I have a girlfriend and then propose in front of everyone, it might sell the idea. But I have no girlfriend and no one to hire.”

“I’m a good actress,” Rosie says, stepping closer to me. She puts a loving expression on her face. “In fact, I’m such a good actress that I’d be willing to play your fake girlfriend if you want me to.”

“Rosie”—I stare at her—“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? You want your trust, and, well, I want a stage to practice on.”

“A stage to practice on?” I cock my head to the side. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, I want to be a comedian, and one of the reasons I find it hard to do stand-up is because I get nervous speaking in front of crowds. But if I’m practicing acting in front of your family, maybe I can see if I’m okay.” She wrinkles her nose. “I know it doesn’t make sense, but I’ll help you if you want me to. I’m a really good actress.”

“I don’t know, Rosie. Not trying to be offensive, but …”

Her lower lip trembles, and she takes another step closer to me. She puts her hand on the side of my face. “You don’t think I’m a good actress, Brett?” Her eyes well up with tears. “I might just cry right now.”

She sniffles, and I freeze.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to …”

She bursts out laughing, steps back, and winks. “You see? I can cry on cue. I’m not so bad.”

“Huh. You’d be okay doing this?”

“I’d do it for you, sure, but only if you do something for me.”

“What’s that?”

She smiles at me, then bites on her lower lip. It’s pink and luscious, and I want to suck on it. The woman knows how to tease me and turn me on like no other woman ever has.

“Are you asking me to go down on you in order for you to be my fake fiancée?” I flick my tongue against my lips. “Because I’m more than happy to have a Rosie milkshake right now.”