How did a man like that, one who would sit in a car dealership most of the day entertaining a person he’d only recently met, date someone like Oksana? I mean, I knew why. I had seen most of her body, but . . . what would they talk about? World domination?

Maybe he makes her feel like she can tame lions, too, that perverse, annoying part of my brain said, and I ignored it.

The song came to an end and a twentysomething blonde I didn’t recognize came up to Erin to hug her hello. Although I couldn’t hear what they were saying, their body language made it pretty obvious what was going on. That the Erin greeting was cover for the blonde to meet Tyler.

And I was proven right seconds later when she and Tyler began dancing together. It set a pattern for the rest of the evening. He never got the chance to rejoin me. The way the women around my age were behaving, you’d think he was the only single man under the age of thirty-five at the party. His dance card was very full.

He shot me apologetic looks over his current partner’s head, but I waved them away with a smile. This was what I had set out to accomplish and it had succeeded beyond even my expectations. Especially since I saw him pass out his business card to each and every dance partner.

And he had no reason to feel bad, as I was kept very busy by all the people who came up to me under the guise of “catching up” and then asked about Tyler.

Bitsie Fernley stepped up to the podium to announce the winners of the silent auction, and the music was turned off. Tyler said something to the petite brunette standing next to him and then he made his way over to me.

“I think we should call it a night,” he said. “I’m beat.”

“Amen.” We walked out of the ballroom, collected our coats, and went through the lobby. This time I didn’t let him help me because I wasn’t sure I could handle another round of him touching me and standing close. When we were outside, he handed the valet his ticket.

“You know,” I told him, “Bitsie missed out. If she’d just auctioned off a dance with you, she would have raised all the money she needed.”

“Ha-ha.”

“I’m serious. You were unquestionably the belle of the ball tonight. Did you leave behind one of your shoes just in case?”

This time he did actually laugh. “I’m not trying to land a prince.”

“You’d be the only one.”

His car arrived and we both got in after Tyler tipped the valet. As he put his seat belt on, his phone started buzzing. And buzzing. He pulled it out and stared at it. Then he handed it to me. “Do you recognize these names?”

He had like fifty new texts. I scrolled through them while he drove. I did recognize some of the texters. Every message was some variation of I was hoping to meet with you to discuss my portfolio. Please contact me immediately.

“I knew it. Did I ever mention that I get smug when I’m right? I told you this would work.”

He looked worried. “So all these people, I danced with their daughters? And now they want to meet with me? In case I might marry one of them?”

“Sounds about right.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, he said, “When you suggested it, I honestly didn’t think this would happen. And now that it has . . . it doesn’t seem right to have them come in and try to turn them into clients when I have no intention of going out with any of their offspring.”

“I get it, but that’s not really the point. You networked your butt off. They might come in with these hopes and ulterior motives and then you’ll either turn them into clients or you won’t. The dating thing will be irrelevant once you charm them with your business acumen.”

“How do you know I have acumen?” I loved that teasing tone.

“A woman just knows these things.”

He laughed, and the sound warmed me. It was one of the things I was coming to enjoy most about him. Brad never thought I was funny. We weren’t that couple who sat around and laughed together.

Another text came in to Tyler’s phone. It was from Mary-Kate Martinez. “Okay,” I told him, “this one is weird because I happen to know her oldest daughter’s in high school.”

“I’m not into committing felonies,” he told me.

I smiled. “Maybe they want to get a dating rain check for when she’s legal. Or someday have her be your second wife after you get tired of your first one.”

He made a sound of disgust and this time it was my turn to laugh.

“Or maybe,” I continued, “what I told you was correct and rich people hate missing out and they’re not all trying to get you to marry their daughters. Tonight you became the hot new finance guy that people want to use and the rest of them will line up to get your attention. You’ve become the new Birkin bag.”

“What is that?”

“To get a Birkin bag you have to get on a waiting list. Which rich people hate doing. But it makes them want that thing even more. You’re going to be swimming in appointments when you get back from Singapore.”

We came to a red light and he grinned at me, his eyes bright. “Thank you. Seriously.”

“You’re welcome.”

I looked at his phone again as three more texts rolled in. It seemed like I had done a good thing and helped him.

So why did it feel like I’d just made a big mistake?

Tyler spent the next morning with Pigeon until he had to leave for the airport. I was out at the grocery store when he left, and I came home to find a Post-it note on my door. It said:

Forgot to tell you—mi DVR es su DVR. Record to your heart’s content. Also, don’t buy any more cars unless I’m there to see it.

His note made me smile so hard that my face hurt a little. And he had no idea what he’d just agreed to. I spent Sunday afternoon and evening creating timers for my favorite shows. Pigeon came and sat next to me on the couch. At some point she rested her chin on my knee, and I held my breath when I slowly reached over to pet the top of her head. She closed her eyes when I did so, seeming to enjoy it. I almost texted Tyler to tell him about it because the moment seemed so monumental, but I was worried it might get lost in the avalanche of potential new clients. I opted for leaving him a Post-it note about it instead.

Part of me wanted to ask him how the text messages were going, but the bigger part of me was happy to leave all that in his hands and not think about it any longer. It was one thing to step into that world temporarily, for one night, in order to help a friend, but I wasn’t interested in it as a lifestyle any longer. I hated having to worry about how I looked, what people were saying about me, if I was in with the right people and excluding the wrong ones. Where everything was about the facade and nobody cared about the things in life that really mattered.

I didn’t envy Tyler having to still play those games. The one benefit of staying just friends was that I wouldn’t have to go to those charity events all the time.

I tried not to think too hard about all the other benefits of being his girlfriend.

The next day I was back at work, and we had a teacher professional development day. Which meant time for us to work on our lesson plans, catch up on our grading, and then attend a meeting in the afternoon organized by the headmistress.

I grabbed lunch with Delia and Shay, and since the cafeteria was totally empty, we decided to eat in there. We were discussing our classes in part because one of our friends, Jennifer, had gone on maternity leave and Delia had filled in for her until a long-term substitute teacher could be found.