“You expect me to give you their table just because you say so? Why didn’t they call to change the reservation?”

I started to speak, but Spencer cut me off. I felt her body tense and had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing when I realized it wasn’t nerves but actual annoyance that had her so on edge. “Probably because they didn’t think you’d make a federal case out of it. This is a restaurant, not the U.S. Mint.”

“I know.” The hostess narrowed her dark eyes at Spencer. “It would be easier for you to get a table there.”

Spencer made a disgusted sound at the back of her throat. “Forget it.” She looked up at me. “Come on. Let’s just go to that Turkish place we actually wanted to try tonight.” She put her arm across my back and steered me away from the podium, then said in a volume meant to be overheard, “I guess this answers Jenn’s question about whether this place is worth checking out.”

I didn’t have a clue who “Jenn” was, but apparently the hostess did.

“Wait,” she called, and we both turned to look at her. Her disbelief had melted into nervous uncertainty. Earning a bad reputation with one of the highest profile residents of Philadelphia certainly wouldn’t be good for business. “You swear they gave you their table?”

Spencer rolled her eyes. “Seriously? Who would go to all this trouble just for dinner?”

Who indeed? The girl fidgeted, considering this.

“Didn’t Chase say they were thinking about booking this place for their fundraiser dinner? For their charity…what’s it called?” I asked Spencer. It seemed like a safe bet. All those guys raised money for one charity or another.

“Yeah, Utley’s All-Star Animals. Jenn was just tweeting about it.”

“Jardin would be a perfect place for a fundraiser,” the hostess said and slid two tall leather folios from inside the podium. “I mean, I’m sure you’ll tell them that, won’t you?” She flashed a beatific smile as she stepped from behind her station.

“We will if the food’s any good,” Spencer said.

I mashed my lips into a tight line. If I laughed, I might blow the whole thing, but Spencer’s indignation was almost too much to take given that the whole thing was a complete fabrication. She was a natural clip artist, a trait she must’ve inherited from her father without even knowing it.

The hostess faltered for a second but regained her composure quickly. “If you’ll both follow me.” She led us to the table set for two in the back corner and stood aside while I pulled the chair out for Spencer. Then I took my own seat. She opened the menus and placed them in front of us. “Bon appétit,” she said with a smile so bright it almost looked painful. “Please let me or your server know if there’s anything you need. Anything at all.”

“Thank you.” Spencer gave her a saccharine smile. “We will.”

When the hostess had made her way back across the restaurant, Spencer looked at me, her wide-eyed expression having returned. “I can’t believe you did that!”

“We did that, sweetheart.” I grinned at her. “And you were damn good at it, too. I’m pretty sure you could’ve gotten a table on your own.”

She giggled. “Well, I definitely would’ve chosen a name from that list a little more carefully.”

“All right.” I nodded. “That was probably not the best name. But I didn’t have a ton of time to consider my choices.”

“So is this what you do with all the girls? Steal reservations from major sports figures?”

“Nah,” I said. “Usually I go with political figures. Mayors, state reps—that sort of thing.”

“Well, it’s certainly the most unconventional date I’ve ever been on. But I have to admit that was kind of fun once I got past the terrified part.”

I reached for her hand across the table and laced my fingers through hers. “I’m glad.”

She smiled at our linked hands for a long moment. “So how did you know they wouldn’t be here?”

“Who?” I frowned.

“Chase and Jennifer Utley. How could you tell they weren’t coming?”

One corner of my mouth lifted in amusement. “I had no idea. I just picked the name.”

“Okay,” Spencer said, her eyebrows creeping together. “So what happens when they show up for their reservation?”

“We invite them over? I mean, we’re neighbors and all.”

Spencer blinked at me, completely nonplussed, and the laughter I’d managed to hold back during her earlier performance finally broke free.

A FEW DAYS later, Spencer and I once again found ourselves in the courtyard outside the Carroll Center. Afternoon classes were in session, and the quad was entirely deserted. I sat with my back against the oak where I’d first seen her, and she sat next to me, her head on my chest.

“So what should we do with our afternoon of freedom?” I asked, nuzzling my face in her hair.

“How should I know? I’ve never skipped class before, remember?”

“We could go see a movie,” I suggested. “Or just sit here all day. I’d be good with that, too.” It wasn’t a lie. The day was warm but not uncomfortably so, and I was starting to get used to the way she felt in my arms.

“We have to do something exciting,” she said against my chest. “You can’t play hooky and then not have an adventure.”

I laughed. “I think you’ve seen too many movies.”

Spencer lifted her head to grin at me.

“Actually, I can think of something else we could do to pass the time.” I bent my neck to kiss her. She inched up so our faces were closer, returning the kiss with an enthusiasm that made me smile against her mouth. I tangled my fingers in her copper hair.

“Oh!” She pulled back so quickly I almost fell forward. “I have an idea.”

“I thought we’d settled on my idea,” I said, grinning wickedly. I wrapped my hands around her waist.

Spencer smiled and gently peeled my fingers away so she could stand up. “There’s something I’ve wanted to do since the first time I toured campus,” she said. “Wait here, and I’ll be right back.”

Confused and resigned to the fact we weren’t going to be pursuing my suggestion after all, I shrugged and leaned back against the tree trunk. “I’ll be here.”

Spencer took off toward the Carroll Center and disappeared inside. The sound of splashing water from the fountain mingled with the voice in my mind that told me I was a little too disappointed she was gone. I knew how close I was to getting into Tommy’s house, and I was glad I’d played the game so well to this point. But as anxious as I was to see my family again—and to see the look on Judd Sheedy’s face when he found out I’d pulled this off—that nagging voice kept whispering about how much I’d miss Spencer’s face when it was all over. The thought had even occurred to me that I might be able to see her again, but of course that was impossible. She was a means to an end, and I had to keep it that way if this was going to work.

Sunlight flashed in the corner of my eye, and I looked over to see Spencer emerging from a glass door with a plastic bag from the student store in one hand and a mischievous grin on her face. I got to my feet and crossed the cobblestone to meet her.

“What are you up to?” I asked.

By way of answer, Spencer reached into the plastic bag and produced a bottle of bright green dish soap. She giggled at my confused expression. “What do you get when you put dish soap in a sink with running water?” Her eyes drifted from my face to the splashing fountain beside us.

I followed her gaze. I was supposed to be the troublemaker, and here she was proposing vandalism. I’d created a monster—or, at the very least, I’d pulled back a few layers of her good-girl exterior with that little stunt at the restaurant the other night. “You’re joking.”

She popped open the soap bottle with her thumb. “Not even a little.”

We were both full of nervous laughter as we stepped to the edge of the fountain. I glanced around and nodded, and Spencer turned the bottle over and squeezed out a stream of the green liquid. It hit the water and started to break into smaller globs, but no bubbles appeared.