Hannah Donovan was funny, sexy, and smart as hell. And as far as Matthew knew, she'd never paid him the slightest bit of attention.
"Are you even listening?"
His sister's voice jolted him back from the vivid images of Hannah that had begun to flood his mind.
"What? Yes." He stood, mostly because he simply needed to move. "You said she needs a favor. What kind?"
"I just told you--I knew you weren't listening."
"Selma..."
She lifted a hand in a never mind kind of gesture. "She needs you to pretend to be her boyfriend."
He stopped pacing. "What the hell?"
"Honestly, Matthew, you'd really be helping her out."
He sat down again, then bent forward as he dragged his fingers through his hair. When he finally sat up straight again, he wasn't sure if the situation was funny or pathetic. But he'd always prided hi
mself on being an optimistic guy. So he was putting his money on funny. With a splash of pathetic thrown in for good measure. "Listen, Selma. I know you mean well, but fixing me up this way isn't going to--"
"It's not about you. I swear. And honestly, I kind of misspoke."
"What do you mean?"
"She doesn't need a boyfriend. Or not just any boyfriend. She needs a serious guy. Like, honestly, a fiance would be perfect."
He gaped at her. "Are you crazy?"
"A little. Why? Is that a problem? It would all just be pretend."
He pushed back onto his feet and started pacing. "I swear to God, Selma, I love you to death. But either I'm one hell of a lot slower on the uptake than I like to believe, or you are intentionally messing with me."
"I'm not. I swear. It's just--oh, hell. It's complicated."
"Then simplify it."
She blew out a breath. "Fine. Selma's dad wanted her to have fifty grand in life insurance money. But Selma's mom has control of the money and she's not forking it over until Hannah is all set up in the throes of domestic bliss. There." She lifted a shoulder. "Guess that wasn't so complicated after all."
"Complicated? I think you skipped over complicated and moved straight to insane. Not hard to explain, but pretty damn impossible to pull off."
"Oh, come on," she urged. "You could totally manage it."
He stared her down. "And you're in the middle of this because?"
"Well, duh. Because of Easton."
He made a whooshing motion over his head. "Can we try that one again?"
She rolled her eyes, looking more like the little sister of their youth than she had in years. "She's Easton's best friend. They're planning to open a law firm together. But she's strapped for cash, and she's not comfortable letting Easton finance the whole venture."
"And if she doesn't get her inheritance, then she may pull out of the partnership with Easton," he filled in.
"Which would completely suck for everybody," she finished for him. "I knew you'd get it. So you'll help?"
"Selma..."
"Please? As a favor to me? Your wonderful sister who loves you? It's important to Easton. After everything that happened after that fiasco at the Children's Museum--"