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Another wave of cold sweat went over me. “Lewis? What is he doing here?”

My brother wiggled his eyebrows. “Oooh, you know his name and everything. Someone’s in looove.”

I slapped him as he walked past me with a plate of pizza. “I’m not. And don’t you dare tell him I’m here.”

“Why not?” Mom asked, busy cutting hot dog buns in half.

“Because… I look ridiculous, okay? And he’s a client of mine. I walk his dog, Archie. Him seeing me like this would be unprofessional.”

Mom shrugged. “When I met him, he seemed like a nice guy. He’s not going to think less of you because of this extremely unfortunate outfit.”

“Where did you meet him anyway?” I asked.

A smile spread on Mom’s face, almost as ifshewas in love with Lewis. “In the frozen food aisle at Pine Mart. We were reaching for the same box of frozen pizza.”

“Dad, are you okay with this?”

Dad shrugged, and my mother pointed a hot dog bun at me. “Don’t be ridiculous, Olive. The man is new in town and was going to spend the evening alone. Inviting him was an act of kindness. Besides, you needed a date.”

I let out an annoyed breath. “Excuse me?”

My father took a step forward, but Mom stopped him in his tracks by holding her knife in the air. “The invitation was for you and a partner, but I had a feeling you wouldn’t bring anyone along, so I helped.”

“No, you meddled. You told me the other day that you’d stop harassing me about being single. And now you bring a man home, hoping we’ll get it on?”

She scrunched her nose. “Who said anything about getting it on?”

“Fine, no one, at least not today,” I said with a mumble.

Mom put the knife down and arranged the hot dog buns on a plate. “Your father and I dated for a whole year before we started getting it on. You and Lewis have plenty of time.”

“Ew, stop it, Mom. And we’re not even a couple.”

“Colleen, let the girl be,” Dad whispered. “I’ve told you putting pressure on her is not going to work. In fact, what if she brings home some loser like Stefano, out of sheer desperation?”

I got up. “You guys, I might not have a boyfriend, but I do have functioning ears. Will you please stop talking behind my back when I’m in the same room?”

Mom turned around and smiled at me. “You’re right. It’s easier to talk about you when you’re not around. Will you take this cake out back, please? I have to keep an eye on the oven so the pizzas don’t burn.”

She handed me a glass plate with a cake on it. The top was filled with marzipan hamsters who were bathing in pink frosting.

I knew Mom wouldn’t back off, so I kept my mouth shut. There was nothing left for me to do but go into the backyard dressed like a fox, offering a piece of hamster cake to everyone who wanted one.

As I approached the door to the yard, I ran through possible options for disappearing. I could start a new life in Europe, where no one knew me, except that would cost money I didn’t have. I could pray for a sinkhole to appear. Maybe I could tell people that wearing this outfit had been part of a bet. Another option was—

“Wow, careful,” a familiar British voice said. “Eyes on the ground is never a good idea, you know.”

A set of strong hands grabbed my arms, steadying me, but it was too late for the cake. I looked up in terror to see marzipan hamsters and frosting smashed all over Lewis’s shirt and tie.

“Olive?” he asked, locking eyes with me.

I smiled sheepishly. “That’s me. I’m so sorry about your suit.”

“That’s okay. Are you, though? Okay? You look a bit pale.”

I nodded. “I was so caught up in my thoughts, I didn’t see you open the door. I didn’t mean to throw a cake at you.”

Lewis let out a warm laugh. “Forget about it. Do you happen to know where the bathroom is so I can get cleaned up a bit?”