After the incident with Bennett's mother, I couldn't sit still. I wandered around the kitchen, pressed my face against the glass wall in the living room, walked up and down the steps to the balcony at least twenty times, and checked my phone at least one hundred times. I was waiting for it. Waiting for the text from Bennett telling me to get out of his house and give him his money back. He'd told me to be careful around his mother, but I'd ended up lying to her that we had sex on the table.

"Augh!" I cried suddenly, stopping on the middle step in the staircase.

Sebastian jumped and threw me a concerned look from where he was sitting on the couch. "Henley, come sit down. Bennett's probably going to be here any second."

I pressed my hands to my cheeks, giving him a horrified look. "Do you think his mother will sue me for defamation?"

"I doubt it—"

"She's probably doing a background search on me right now. Do you think she's going to put a tail on me? She wouldn't be able to figure out who I am. Wait! I told her my full name! I have a Facebook! Oh man, oh man. I have to deactivate it."

Sebastian stood up and came over to the staircase and climbed up the stairs to where I was. I backed up a little, pressing my back against the railing. He reached out and held my forearm, holding my gaze. "You're fine."

"She also thinks I'm not good enough for Bennett, huh?" I muttered, low enough so Sebastian wouldn't hear. Why else would she have made those remarks? I guess anyone with eyes could see the difference between Bennett and myself. Even if I was pretending to be someone I wasn't.

"Stop thinking and clam down."

I sucked in my lips and made a sour face. "I am the essence of calm. Except for the fact that I breached the contract between Bennett and myself and he's so going to kill me— or worse, take his money back."

A crease appeared in Sebastian's eyebrows. "How is that worse—"

Suddenly the front door opened and I let out a terrified squeak. What if it was Bennett's mother again? Or Bennett? I twisted to escape from Sebastian's grasp, but only managed to lose my balance. My foot slipped on the wood and I felt myself fall for about three seconds until firm arms wrapped around my waist. With my head about two inches from the stairs, I looked up at the top step. Through my upside-down vision, I saw Bennett standing there, looking absolutely confused.

"What are you two doing...?" he asked.

In a swift motion, Sebastian helped me straighten out my back. My head spun for a second and I held onto his arm. "Bennett," I started. "I'm sorry. It's okay if you want to end the contract."

"What are you two doing?" he repeated, jaw tensing.

"It just happened this way. I'm really sorry. I couldn't help it."

"Help what? Fooling around with my best friend while I was at work?" he snapped.

I paused. "What?"

He gestured toward Sebastian and I. "I wasn't aware you two were so close."

"I think you're getting the wrong idea, Ben," Sebastian said, grinning a bit. "We're not doing anything bad here."

Bennett's suspicious expression didn't disappear. "Why do you want to end the contract?"

"Don't you want to?"

"Why would I want to?"

"Your mother..."

"My mother?" he repeated. Then his eyes widened. "Did she come here while I was away?"

I nodded.

"When? What happened? Were you dressed like that?"

Of course, he would mention my outfit. "Yes," I grit out.

He ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes. "I should've expected this. What happened? Did she find everything out?"

"No," Sebastian answered before I could. "I told her Henley was a family friend visiting from Paris and I'd set the two of you up."

"Did she believe you?"

"I'm not sure. She didn't attempt to kick Henley out, if that counts for anything."

Bennett covered his mouth with his hand, looking out toward the lake. "Why would she come directly here?"

"She did insinuate that she thought I was robbing you," I told him. He didn't need to know about her also insulting my looks.

He groaned. "It's because you're wearing my shirt— hold on, why are you wearing my shirt?"

"I don't have any clean clothing here, remember?"

He raked his eyes over me slowly and then cleared his throat. "Oh, right. That's fine then."

Sebastian coughed into his hand and I swear it sounded like a laugh.

"Can you speak French, Henley? Eventually you're going to have to meet with my mother again now that she's met you once. I'll speak to her myself before that then, but just in case."

I grimaced sheepishly. "Well. No. I can't speak French. At all."

He didn't seem put off by my answer, so I assumed he hadn't expected me to be able to. "I figured as much," he said unnecessarily.

"That was my fault," Sebastian told him. "It was the first thing that came to mind."

"Did anything else happen?"

I felt my cheeks warm up and I gave him an innocent smile. "Well, um."

His face fell and he braced himself. "Yes?"

"I might've said we have sex on the kitchen table... sort of. Ha ha."

His ears tinted pink and he opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. "We're both adults, why does it matter? And she's basically told me not to be a slut so I had to say something back. Not that being a slut is even a bad thing. It's okay to like sex. She shouldn't be interfering in our sex life anyway." I bit my tongue, realizing I was saying too much. Our sex life?! We didn't have one!

This time Sebastian did laugh and I shot him a dirty look. "In Henley's defense, her provocative words were in your defense," he said.

"That's not something my mother would ever need to know," he muttered.

I scuffed my feet on the floor. Awkward.

"Well, we can work on the lie you told her. Henley can learn a few simple phrases in French and we'll get her a proper wardrobe. We'll just have to come up with a concrete background. Find out what the top colleges are and maybe we can create a fake degree," he continued, frowning in thought. "Maybe fix her hair a bit, too. Good thing your car wasn't here."

"Yeah, yeah. No problem. I'll just change my whole life. Just for you," I said, nodding my head along to his suggestions.

He pressed his lips together. "Are you upset?"

"No. I mean I guess I should've known not even a part of me is good enough to date you."

"It's not..." Bennett started but trailed off because yes. Yes, it was.

I bit my lip to keep from retorting. I'd already known I would have to lie to his mother about who I was, but hearing just exactly what I'd have to change, I felt a little hurt. Was I really that worthless to these people? Were they really on such a different level than me? Did I really look so trashy to them?

"I'm sorry," Bennett said.

He was apologizing? I didn't know what to say.

"Wow, impressive," Sebastian said instead, giving him a small round of applause. "Never thought I'd see the day Bennett acted considerate without someone telling him to."

Bennett shot him a dirty look, obviously embarrassed. "I'm generally considerate."

"I beg to differ," I said.

"If this is too uncomfortable for you, I'll understand if you don't want to continue with our contract," Bennett told me. "My mother isn't pleasant. The women she suggests to me are comparable to herself and that's where my problem stems from."

Part of me really, really wanted to tell Bennett good riddance and hightail it out, but my kinder side fought with that part. If this was what Bennett was faced with, it was no wonder he didn't want to be forced into a relationship with someone his mother chose. His mother seemed to think she was the queen of England. She'd even had the audacity to accuse me of stealing Bennett's stuff and attack my appearance. Who did she think she was? Was I really going to get scared off by her? I was stronger, than that, wasn't I?

"I'm still going to help you," I said.

Bennett looked relieved. "Thank you, Henley."

"But if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this right. She thinks I'm not good enough for you? Make me good enough for you," I continued, feeling my pulse begin to rise. "Your mother's pretty intimidating. So I guess I'll have to become intimidating too."

My words seemed to surprise him. "You want me to make you good enough for me...?" he repeated.

I nodded, squaring my shoulders. "Yes."

Sebastian hummed. "Then it appears we have some shopping to do."

I turned to him. "You'll help?"

"Of course. If that's okay with Bennett."

Bennett stared at me, eyebrows crinkled. "I suppose so, but—"

"Then I'll go get ready." I started down the stairs and then stopped, suddenly remembering something. Sebastian and Bennett were both boys... I'd need a girl for this. Looking over my shoulder, I smiled innocently at Bennett. "We're just going to have to pick up one thing."

Ariana was waiting patiently on the bench in front of Coffee House when Bennett pulled up to the shop an hour later. Her eyes widened at his sleek car and when she didn't move to get in, I rolled down the window and beckoned her over. She quickly hurried over and slid into the back next to me when I opened the door for her.

"This is like the Princess Diaries," she whispered.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Not even close."

"Hello Ariana," Sebastian greeted, turning to face her from the front seat.

She beamed at him. "Oh, it's you! From before in the shop. Sebastian, right? And hi Bennett, nice to see you again!"

My favorite part about Ariana was that she didn't let anyone feel awkward. She was the type of person whom you could feel you were best friends with even if you just met her. She could make any situation into a favorable one. And her sense of fashion was impeccable.

"Hello," Bennett said, looking at her through the rearview window. He squinted at her a bit and made a noncommittal noise. "I suppose you will be adequate."

"Ignore him," I said immediately. "Just drive, Bennett."

She grinned. "I see you two have become a lot closer. Where are we going, anyway?"

"To the Woodbury Common outlets," I told her. "That way there's stores that will satisfy both my own tastes and Bennett's mother's tastes."

"Her tastes are a bit above that," Sebastian told me.

"What? But there's like, Coach."

He shrugged. "There's better than Coach."

I drew back, probably creating a double chin. "Gross. I know I'm all for shoving what Mrs. Calloway said down her throat, but I don't want to buy stuff I'll never wear either."

"I'm sure we'll find something suitable."

"We'll just try to find things that don't have brands plastered all over them. I also need to get some everyday clothing for myself. I'm not going to go everywhere in Prada," I said, directing my words mainly to Bennett.

"You could still replace what you had before with better outfits," was his response.

I shot him a dirty look and Sebastian nudged him in the leg. Ariana tilted her head at me adorably. "Why do you need to replace it, anyway?"

That's right. I hadn't told her yet. On the drive to the outlets, I explained to her what had happened to my apartment and why I'd ditched out of work and what had happened at Bennett's earlier. Better for her to be in the loop than out if she was going to help us. After convincing her that I was fine and telling her not to cry (she took things to heart easily), she gave me a big hug.

"Does Brandon know?" she asked me.

"Yeah, I told him." I was aware that both Bennett and Sebastian had gone unnaturally still. Obviously, they were listening. "He didn't call you did he?"

"No, why?"

"Just wondering." If he hadn't called her, then who had he called after he'd hung up with me? He didn't have many remaining friends.

"Oh! That reminds me. I wanted to tell you today at work but you weren't there. I was at McKellan's the last night and the owner said he wanted to talk to you."

My ears perked up. "McKellan's? What did he say? "

"Not much. Just that he had something to show you."

"Was it about my brother's car accident?"

Suddenly Bennett jerked the wheel to the right and my seatbelt locked, digging into my waist. I looked out the window, trying to see if we'd hit something, but he hit the gas again and kept driving. "What was that?"

He didn't answer and I looked at Sebastian, whose face had paled a bit and lost all humor. He gave me a slight shake of the head. Confused, I settled back into my seat and didn't say anything else. What was that reaction for? Was it something I said?

"I'll tell you later," Ariana said, gesturing toward the front of the car. "Don't let me forget."

"Okay," I responded. Maybe it was better that way. I didn't need Bennett listening in if it was about my brother's accident. That was something he didn't need to know the details about. But what the heck was Sebastian's look about?

We arrived at the shops around six o'clock. As we all climbed out of Bennett's car, I realized just what a ragtag group of people we were. Bennett was in a suit, Sebastian was in a button up and a vest, Ariana was wearing a long-sleeve polo and jeans, and I was in an over-sized t-shirt. I had no doubt no matter what store we went in to, everyone would flock to Bennett and Sebastian.

"I guess we should start with stores I would never even go into," I said as we entered the main strip of shops. What kind of shops did Bennett's mother shop at? Probably nothing here. What would come close? "Maybe like Gucci? That's popular, right?"

Bennett and Sebastian exchanged looks. I narrowed my eyes at the pair. "Let's stay away from Gucci," Sebastian suggested.

"Huh? Why? Isn't it popular?"

"I don't think you'll find it suitable," Bennett said.

"What about Prada?"

He pressed his lips into a firm line.

"Hey, I'm just going down the list of brands I figure suburban mom's that drive low-end Mercedes would buy."

This earned a giggle from Ariana and I struggled to keep a straight face.

"It's not hard to afford a low-end Mercedes, nor Prada," Bennett said and started walking. "But if that's what you'd like to look at, let's go. I'm sure we could find something there that'll work."

I quickly fell into step beside him. "It's not going to be like Alexander Wang, right? Please don't say there's flower pattern grandma prints on everything."

"That's why we didn't suggest Gucci. I also feel like it would make you seem you were trying too hard."

"Well sorry."

"It would be better to get you clothing directly from designers in France, but we'll have to settle."

Prada was settling? My poor wallet was already starting to cry in my pocket. However, I needed to do this.

"J.Crew will also be a good store for you, I believe," he continued. "I'm assuming what you want is something simple you can wear as an everyday and a business outfit?"

"Maybe?" At this point, I just wanted anything that would make Bennett's mother beg me to marry her son.

"Their clothing will work for you. Even I shop there from time to time. Not everyone is about what name they're wearing."

Was he really saying that to me? "Well, duh," I said a little more harshly than I meant to.

He looked down at me. "Weren't you just saying suburban mom's wear Prada?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Just as you are not the chain store clothing you wear, I am not the designer clothing I wear."

I switched my attention to the ground, feeling like a child who'd been scolded. My words had been mostly just for a laugh. Maybe I'd put a little bit of my jealousy into them too. "I'm sorry," I mumbled.

"Henley—"

"Hey! What's taking you two so long?" I called, turning away from him and waving at the two stragglers behind us. Sebastian must've said something really funny, because Ariana was basically dying of a laughing fit back there. Seeing her made a lurch of jealousy go through me. She and Sebastian looked meant to be standing next to each other— even in her work outfit. Bennett would've had an easier time if he'd chosen Ariana over myself.

I was just childish, sarcastic, and bitter. No wonder Bennett's mother didn't approve of me.

Prada, it turned out, actually had some acceptable clothing. While still a bit pricey, there were outfits I'd actually wear on display. After trying to go straight for the sale rack and being rerouted to the displays by Sebastian, I started pulling things I wanted to try on, doing my best not to look at the price tag. Ariana roamed around the store, sometimes coming back to me and holding a top up to my chest and then throwing it into the pile to try on.

Picking up a nice trench coat, I searched around to show Bennett, realizing he was busy chatting with one of the sales attendants. Her flirt face was on and I felt the sudden urge to interrupt them. Wasn't she supposed to be doing her job? And wasn't he supposed to be helping me?