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She smooths nonexistent wrinkles from her pants. A sure sign she’s gearing up for round two. “Mr. Drake,” she says, waving Jared away when he tries to interject, “you plan on taking your brother’s place, is that correct?”

Canyon looks at me, and Meredith clicks her nails on the table. I nod at him. He clears his throat. “Yes, ma’am.”

She nods as if she’s thinking. But I know she has her question already formed, and I brace myself for it.

“I would ask why you would take on something like this at the last minute, but the reason is perfectly clear. We’re paying you three times the normal salary.

My question is why? Why should we pay you an exorbitant amount of money to play in the woods for a week?

And specifically,” she adds, “why you? What do you bring to the table that we can’t get from someone—anyone—off the street? ”

His eyes narrow. Did she touch a nerve? He just asked me the same question.

I start to interject, and he places a hand on my arm to stop me.

The room goes silent. Canyon jerks his hand away.

“My brother planned the event. But more than that, we both share certain…” He hesitates and then settles on a word. “…similarities.”

“Excuse me?” Meredith asks in a sharp voice. “Are you telling me you’re getting paid to go to this retreat because you’re gay?”

Canyon looks at me with just the right amount of confusion in his eyes. “No. Why would you think— Are you hiring me because I’m gay?” His question is directed at Meredith, and she pales.

“Of course not.”

“Oh, okay, good.” His shoulders relax. And I take back every doubt I had about Canyon’s acting ability. He’s a natural.

“You mentioned similarities?” Meredith asks, and her right eye twitches. That tick used to terrify me. It meant she was getting frustrated. And she was about to grab the ruler.

“Oh gosh, sorry. My brother and I share a certain knowledge. That’s what I was referring to.”

My aunt clutches the table. Her white fingers contrast with the fuchsia in her long nails.

She’s furious. But her eyes are confused, and I’m enjoying her frustration.

“Speak plainly, Mr. Drake. What could you possibly know that would be of value? In fact, if another person needs to be there, Wade, why not take Ander?”

Please, God, no.

When Canyon glances at me again, as if he’s not sure why this is an issue, I realize he’s ready for this question. Might have led her to it, in fact. The look in his eyes is a little too innocent. I nod for him to continue, curious to see where this is going.

“You might not need me at all.” Canyon turns to Ander and smiles. “Have you ever been camping, Mr. Darian?”

He gives a half-shrug. “I’ve been…a few times with friends.” I know what he’s leaving out. But is it for our aunt’s benefit or mine?

Canyon nods. “Can you identify poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac?”

“Uh, maybe?”

“Do you know which snakes are poisonous and which are harmless? And what to do if someone gets bitten?”

He darts a look at Meredith. “No.”

“Most people don’t. Are you aware of state regulations? What you can and cannot do in certain areas? Or the best way to keep campers safe?”

“Uh…”

“Here’s a simpler one. Do you know how to start a campfire and, more importantly, how to put it out properly?”

“Not…sure.” He wrinkles his brow.

Jared snorts and tries to cover it with a cough. Ander glares at him, and I realize my brother is still in there.

“I can go on,” Canyon says with a smile. “But I think you get my point. And if you can find someone more qualified in the next”—he glances at the clock—“fifteen minutes, then feel free to hire them instead.”

Meredith looks as if she’s chewing glass. “Fine.” And then her mask is back in place. “But I think Ander should join you.”

“What? No,” he says, showing a backbone for the first time in this meeting. “I have plans. Things I’m working on.”

“Nothing is more important than this, Ander. We need to fix our image.” At the pointedness of her statement, my face heats with shame. Her implication that this is all my fault isn’t wrong. Just not in the way she thinks.

My brother finally agrees—of course he does—and they all file out with Ander promising to meet us at the campground. I quickly send him the information, ready to get this over with.

Jared shakes Canyon’s hand again and claps me on the shoulder. “Always a pleasure.”

Then it’s just Canyon and me. I shake my head, but I can’t hide my grin. “That was— You were amazing.”

He practically beams as he puffs up. His cheeks turn a soft pink I want to capture with my mouth. What the fuck? I choke on my spit and squirm a little, wishing I could adjust myself. Instead, I focus on the question that is uppermost in my mind. “You lied to me.”

“What?” His smile drops, and he glares at me. Unfortunately, it doesn’t alleviate my situation at all. “No, I didn’t.”

“You told me you didn’t know how to camp?—”

“I said I don’t like camping. And I don’t. I hate it.”

That doesn’t make sense, but I ignore it for now. “You told me you were afraid of going outside.”

“Listening is an important skill for a manager. And you really suck at it, Wade. I don’t like going outside, but I’m not afraid of it.

And I’m not a fan of people in general. But the camping thing—my parents loved to camp.

That’s all we ever did.” He steps closer, his brows scrunched. “Does the retreat have a guide?”

“Not unless River hired one.”

He stares at me. “Does anyone coming to this retreat actually know how to camp?”

I’m not sure. But I refuse to give him the satisfaction by saying that. I cross my arms. “How hard can it be?”

“Oh my God.” He laughs and wipes imaginary tears from his eyes. “This is going to be so much fun.”