Page 31 of The Romantic Agenda

In their earlier game where she counted his words, he had limited himself to single-word responses. Quick, playful, and petty. “How are you at word association? If I say a flower, you have to say one back that starts with either the first or last letter. That way if they ask why I randomly keep saying flower names, we can say we made a bet and are trying to stump each other.”

Fox gives her an appreciative look. “I like that. All right. Flowers.” He stays with her in the kitchen while she moves on to making the frosting. By the time the front door opens, excitement is buzzing in Joy’s veins. She gasps, exhilaration getting the best of her.

“Relax,” Fox whispers.

Joy’s never done anything like this in her life before. Will theyreally be able to pull this off? “I don’t know if I can. Does this feel really exciting to you too?”

“I wouldn’t say ‘exciting.’ ” He glances at the entryway. “Shh, here they come. I’ll start it. Follow my lead.”

“Okay. Yeah. Okay. I can do that.”

He holds her gaze, skeptical but amused. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I got it. I can be cool. I fake date people all the time.”

Summer appears first, surprise written across her face. “Oh,” she says, gaze darting to the cakes set out on the cooling racks. “Have you been up long?

That poor sweet Summer child. Still clinging to hope that a birthday cake could be a surprise on someone’s birthday. Fox didn’t even ask about it.

“Unfortunately. Still having a hard time sleeping, but Joy’s been great company.”

“It’s true. Iamgreat.”

“That you are.” Malcolm’s eyes are on his phone. He probably doesn’t even realize he spoke out loud. “Delivery should be here soon. Do you need help cleaning up?”

“I got it.” Fox stands up. He walks around the counter, picking up the remaining dishes that Joy hadn’t taken to the sink yet. “Tell me more about your twin.”

“Youdohave a weird thing with twins. I knew it.”

“It’s not weird.”

“But it’s a thing.” Joy joins him and asks, “I wash, you dry?”

“No. And yes.” He pauses then adds, “You’re very... intense. Two of you would be too powerful.”

Joy considers this, trying to keep a straight face and not laugh. “Intense how?”

“Just intense.”

“I need more than that. I’m trying to decide if I want to be offended or not.” She turns on the tap, letting the water run until it warms up. “You think you’re slick, but I see you. I’m Annie Oakley and I got you in my sights.”

“You did not just quoteKill Bill?”

Joy gasps.

“And don’t think I didn’t catch thatThe Strangersreference earlier.”

Joy gasps again.

Fox playfully side-eyes her. “You’re not slick either.”

She gets an idea, ready to drive this dry-run performance home. She’s all in, cards on the table. “Are you flirting with me? Because if you are, I’m totally into it. Movie flirting is the best kind.”

This seems to be too much—awhat the heck?expression breaks through Fox’s cocky demeanor. Overbearingly honest is her brand, he said it himself. That’s exactly what she would say even if they weren’t trying to make it seem real.

Joy winks at him, as if to saytrust me, then pretends to do a double take over her shoulder.

Summer and Malcolm are side by side with mirroring blank expressions on their faces. They’re both juststandingthere, staring at them.