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Oscar.I repeated the name in my head.
I felt my lips pull ever so slightly. “Like Oscar the Grouch? The grumpy puppet.”
He chuckled, deep and hearty.
“It suits you better than Tristan. Nice to meet you, Oscar,” I said.
“The pleasure’s all mine.”
He held onto my hand and brushed his thumb over my knuckles. It didn’t feel like a goodbye. But then maybe I was wrong. Maybe that’s not what this was. Maybe it really was a hello.
“I have a last name, too. But I have a confession to make.” He leaned in.
I leaned in, too, my breath catching in my throat. “What’s that?”
“Part of me wishes I didn’t know what it was.”
I blinked at him, surprised. “Why is that?”
“Because if I have to return to my life, our perfect little bubble is broken.”
I knew exactly what he meant. We did have the perfect little bubble, and I didn’t want it to end. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. “And everything changes.”
He nodded.
If he didn’t want to know who he was, did that mean we were both happiest staying just like we’d been? A cautious hope bloomed in my heart.
“I have an idea,” I said. “The show is on a three-day break. What if we spend that time together? Preserving our bubble just a little bit longer?”
It wasn’t a lie, or harmful to anyone. It was just fun, right?
“Pretend I don’t have a last name for a few more days?” he asked.
I nodded as he considered.
His gaze grew more intense. I waited with bated breath for his answer.
He said, “I’m in.”
I wanted to pump my fists in the air to celebrate this victory, which was definitely not appropriate in our current environment.
Then he ominously added, “But we need to set a few ground rules first.”
THIRTY-TWO
OSCAR
“Rules?” Morgan narrowed her eyes at me. “What kind of rules?”
“One, you let me pay. For everything.” I wanted to give her the world.
She puffed her chest out and opened her mouth, clearly prepared to object.
“I know you like to be in control. Accepting a gift doesn’t mean you owe me anything. I have no ulterior motives, no hidden secret, no plan to defraud or manipulate you in any way. Money is simply a tool, and I happen to have recently come across plenty of it. If I want to indulge myself by spending it on you, that’s my choice.”
“What doesplenty of itmean exactly?”
“Does it matter?”
