Now, as she looked around at all of them, it struck her again just how much they were there for each other. And even though she knew they had their arguments and irritations like any family, it was clear just how much they all loved each other, too, and that there wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for one another. No matter what.

Hence this morning’s meeting.

Yet, somehow, she’d managed to work her usual un-magic on them by coming here today to ask each of them to lie for her.

“I can’t do this,” she said suddenly, and everyone stopped with forks halfway to their mouths. “I can’t ask all of you to lie for me.” She looked at Ryan. “We need to tell the rest of the world that our engagement isn’t real.”

“No.”

Ryan’s voice was hard. Unyielding. Even his siblings looked surprised by it. But she’d seen him like this several times in the past week, each time when he was angry or worried on her behalf.

She knew he thought he owed her a debt, but she would have saved him a hundred times over and never once asked for anything back other than the chance to be his friend.

“I don’t want the fellowship this badly, not if it comes at the expense of my friends. And not if it means even more lies are spiraling out one after the other.”

Ryan’s hand cupped her cheek, stilling her from saying anything else. His touch was gentle, but enough to make her look into his eyes.

“The two of us pretending to be engaged isn’t hurting anyone, Vicki. All that matters to me is your safety, and that you and your art aren’t unfairly penalized because you’re a beautiful woman.”

She felt herself flush, both at the intimate way he was touching her in front of everyone, and the fact that he’d just called her beautiful in front of his family.

“I think Ryan’s right, Vicki,” Sophie said softly. “Beauty can, unfortunately, be a liability around men sometimes. Especially powerful ones who think they have a right to everything they see.”

Vicki was suddenly hit with a memory of the first time she’d met her ex-husband. She’d been with a group of nearly graduated art-school students out touring a few studios. Anthony had taken one look at her and claimed her. First, by insisting she work out of his studio. Second, and far worse, by slowly but surely convincing her she was far better at making statues of people and animals rather than the more nature-inspired sculptures she’d been interested in creating up until then.

At the time, it hadn’t occurred to her that he’d been abusing his power. But hadn’t he? Especially since she’d been so young and so inexperienced that he’d seemed like an all-knowing god of a world she so longed to be a part of?

“I agree,” Chase said. “Chloe had some trouble with her ex-husband and I would have done anything to protect her. She ended up spearing him with a pair of scissors, which took him down pretty damn well, but I’d hate for your situation to come to that.”

Gabe nodded. “Dispatch calls in with too many incidents that start out the way you’re describing. Sounds like you trusted your instincts and were smart to call Ryan in before anything could escalate.”

“Besides, we love having family secrets like this,” Lori said with a small grin. “And who knows, maybe you two will be inspired to actually get together for real by the time you get the fellowship.”

Not knowing what to say to that absolutely mortifying bit of pressure Lori had just put on Ryan to throw her a dating bone, Vicki said, “Excuse me,” and bolted for the bathroom.

* * *

“Jesus, Lori, could you have made her feel any more uncomfortable?”

“Sorry,” Lori said, even though it was clear she felt anything but. “I just really, really like Vicki and think you two would be perfect together.”

Ryan wasn’t actually angry with Lori. He was pissed at himself. Swearing, he said, “You guys probably remember how hung up I was on her in high school.”

Gabe looked confused. “The way I remember it, you two were just friends in high school.”

“We were.”

“And you were always going out with other girls, weren’t you?” Lori asked in a far too innocent voice.

He knew Lori’s question was meant to grate on him. “I was an idiot. But it didn’t matter because she wasn’t interested. She still isn’t.”

“Why don’t you just tell her how you feel and that you wish it all was real?”

He’d asked himself that question a thousand times by now, but every time it came down to the same unbreakable reason. “I can’t risk losing her as a friend by coming on to her.”

He’d meant it when he said she shouldn’t have to pay a price for being beautiful. Not just with some creep who had power over her career, but with her friend who could barely remember to keep his hands off her.

Ryan ran a hand over his face. “Plus, her ex was such a dick that she isn’t exactly looking for a replacement right now.” He looked up and realized his brothers and sisters were staring at him like he was speaking Greek. “What?”

Sophie looked around the table before saying, “I think we’re all a little bit stunned. Not about what you and Vicki are doing with the whole fake engagement thing. That seems to make sense, strangely. But because—” She paused to weigh her words. “—everything has always seemed so easy for you.”

“Well, it isn’t,” he snapped.

“Tell us what you need and we’ll do it,” Smith said.

Ryan was pretty sure the subtext behind his brother’s question had just as much to do with helping him to get Vicki to fall for him as it did with making sure some creep on her fellowship board didn’t hurt her.

Knowing there was nothing anyone could do to get her to change her feelings, that she was too strong to be manipulated by anyone, he said, “If anybody asks about us, just back up our story of two old high school friends who reconnected and realized we weren’t going to let our second chance pass by without taking it. We’re going to talk to Mom after breakfast to clue her in.”

Vicki returned to the table just in time to hear Lori say, “Your story really does sound romantic. Like every fantasy of how things could go with the one who got away. Unrequited love made right is the ultimate, isn’t it? No wonder the press is all over you guys.”

Vicki’s face was perfectly blank as she slid back into her space beside him. Before he could smooth over Lori’s ridiculously on-point statements, their waitress came to the edge of their booth.