Michael Gray was in the bathroom when Mandy's phone rang. She would have ignored it, except the caller was Aaron Hale, her fiancé's notoriously snobby half-brother. He had sounded genuinely sad talking about Aaron's deliberate avoidance, though Aaron pretended otherwise.

She giggled, crossing the room to answer. Messing with Aaron could be fun; it was the least she could do for Mikey.

"Hey there, future brother-in-law," Mandy greeted cheerfully. "Mikey's busy. Can I take a message?"

"He actually lets you call him Mikey?" Aaron asked flatly. "Sorry, forget that. I was going to ask him to dinner, but since you're here, I might as well invite you too. My wife and I would like to meet you."

She snickered at his impulsive invitation—a far cry from his usual composure. Mikey always said he was such a cold fish! Flustering him was particularly satisfying.

Aaron didn't question her "future brother-in-law" comment. Violet must have told her parents about their awkward pet store encounter. He'd stumbled initially but quickly recovered his composure. No fun. She'd have to tease him more—a little revenge for hurting Mikey.

"And I've been dying to meet you," Mandy said, her tone deliberately ambiguous. "Mikey has told me so much about you and your family."

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That would leave Aaron wondering exactly what he'd said. It was a good way to keep people on their toes. She'd learned to adapt her personality, just like her fiancé. It was another thing they had in common. Mandy could only be genuine with Britt's family and now Mikey.

"And I know absolutely nothing about you but your name," Aaron replied coolly. "We'll have to rectify that."

"Oh sure, I'm an open book," she said sweetly.

The toilet flushed, signaling her dwindling time. What else could she say to annoy Aaron before Mikey returned?

While she frantically searched for a clever remark, Mikey returned, smiling at her before noticing the phone. His eyebrows furrowed, his smile vanishing.

"What are you doing?"

She gave him her most innocent look. "Aaron called, and I wanted to say hi."

Mikey snorted softly, then gestured for her to put him on speaker. He wanted to play her game. Excellent.

"Hello there, baby brother," he said in the most affected voice she'd ever heard. "I see you've met my lovely Mandy."

Mandy barely suppressed her laughter. Did he always talk to Aaron like that? Based on Aaron's response, she guessed he did. Aaron didn't question the tone.

"Unofficially. When were you planning on telling me you were engaged? I would have congratulated you sooner."

"The next time we went out to eat, of course," Mikey replied smoothly. "Why don't you bring my sister-in-law along so we can all get acquainted?"

"That sounds nice," a female voice said.

Aaron must have put his phone on speaker; this voice hadn't been there before. Mikey hadn't said much about Keeley Hale, other than Aaron's obsession with her and her role in his father's overthrow.

Keeley had a pleasant voice. Mandy wondered how someone so pleasant could be so heartless to her fiancé. Perhaps she was complying with Aaron's wishes, or maybe Mikey's overly suave voice was off-putting.

It was hard to believe he actually talked like that to everyone. Did people buy it? Nobody sounded that smarmy without trying.

"Keeley, I didn't know you were on the call. What a pleasant surprise. How have you been? Our usual gatherings have sorely missed your charming presence," Mikey flattered.

Mandy bit back another laugh. Did he always treat his family like this? She'd have thought he was deliberately making them uncomfortable.

"Sorry, I had to work. New project," Keeley apologized. "Why don't we get together? We could go to that sushi restaurant you like."

Mikey was about to agree when Mandy clamped a hand over his mouth and shook her head. She had a plan: a fancy dinner at their newly redecorated apartment.

Since moving in, she'd had (almost) free rein to make it more homey. His bachelor pad now looked like a couple's home. She planned to put up a framed picture of them—maybe more than one—before the Hales arrived, to further confuse them.

"I'm not a huge sushi fan, but I'm a pretty decent cook. Why don't you both come over for dinner?" she suggested. "Keeley, you could bring dessert."

"She makes amazing desserts," Aaron said, a hint of pride in his otherwise flat tone. "Set a date, and we'll be there."

Mandy removed her hand, and they finalized the arrangements. She felt smug. Putting her plan into action would take work, but she had a feeling Mikey would go along.

After all, he wanted to show his perfect little brother that he could be just as happy. What better way than to put on an epic show?