“You’ll go through the hassle of a blind date for brownies?”
“They’re really good. They’re fudgy and perfectly—” he kissed his fingers “—luscious. I’ve only had them once and I’m trying to figure out the secret ingredient.”
Jake stared at him.
Josh gestured for the glass. “Drink?”
Jake handed it over. They clinked glasses before downing the whole thing in one long swallow in perfect unison. One of those twin things.
“How much does she normally pay you?” Jake asked, pouring more scotch into Josh’s outstretched tumbler and then into his own.
Josh lifted his glass in a silent thank you and tossed it back. “I’ll pay her back one day.”
Jake shook his head at the cagey answer. “How long have you been doing this?”
Josh lifted one shoulder up and down. “Three months.”
Jake sipped his scotch. They really should savor ten-thousand-dollar scotch. “How in the world did you come up with this scam?”
Josh lifted a palm. “She’s ambitious. She wants to build her wedding planning business and needs a regular date to weddings. We met at a cooking class, and she asked me out in a professional capacity. Her words. She figured out I’m more reliable than the twentysomething dudes she’s used to.” His lips twitched on “dudes,” and he hid a smile with another sip of scotch.
“For a price. Or brownies.” Jake puzzled over this strange arrangement. “Wait, so how did wedding dates with her lead to you going on blind dates with someone else?”
“Yeah. Well…” He helped himself to more scotch.
“Slow down,” Jake said. “That’s the good stuff.”
Josh sipped. “It is good.”
“So? What’s the deal with the blind dates?”
Josh swirled his scotch before tossing back half the glass. He coughed. “She, uh, wants me to warm up the women before she gets them back out in the dating world. First step on her wedding planning journey. She’s got a business plan and everything.” He smiled to himself at that. “Anyway, the women have usually been burned before and need a guy like me.”
“A paid escort kind of guy?” Jake was having trouble wrapping his head around what the hell his twin was doing and why.
Josh narrowed his eyes. “A guy who shows them not all men are slime. I give them the gentleman treatment and tell them right up front I’m not looking for serious, just one fun date.” He shrugged. “It goes fine. No hard feelings.”
Their dad had drummed acting like a gentleman into all of their thick skulls. He could hear him now. “You treat a lady right. That means manners, holding doors, speaking respectfully.” His dad’s mom had been mistreated and his dad’s stepdad had made a world of difference with much more respectful gentlemanly ways. Unfortunately, that gentleman thing hadn’t panned out for their dad. His beauty queen wife, their mom, hadn’t stuck around despite being treated like a queen. She’d left her husband and six kids without a backward glance. Mad, the youngest, had only been one.
Jake studied his twin, still not sure what Josh was getting out of this deal. Some cash? Brownies? It sounded like a whole lot of effort for not much in return. “I don’t get it.”
“It’s a transaction,” Josh said like Jake was a moron. “She’s the one that keeps coming back for more.”
“You do like her!”
Josh stood, finished his drink, and set the glass on the coffee table. “I’m beat.” He stretched and did a big fake yawn.
Jake socked him in the gut. Josh returned the punch, knocking the scotch bottle, but Jake snagged it, managing not to spill any.
“Fine,” Jake said. “Go to bed, wuss.”
Josh laughed. “Night.” He headed toward his bedroom with his usual laid-back amble.
“Why don’t you ask her out?” Jake called.
Josh stopped and spoke without turning around. “She’s got higher ambitions than a bartender.”
“How do you know?”
Josh turned, his eyes hooded and tired. “You saw the way she warmed up to you once she heard you had money.”
Jake slowly shook his head. “No. She didn’t ask me out. She just said we should talk.”
“She bought you a drink.”
“Not really. She left without paying for it.”
Josh’s jaw went tight. “Believe me, she’s into the money thing.”
Jake leaned his head back on the sofa. “I’m so tired of women only looking for one thing.”
“Must be rough.”
“You know what I mean.”