Tristan Davis lowered his head and chuckled again.

Emily Blair shot him a cold, indifferent look.

Tristan straightened up, his expression turning serious as he met her eyes.

Emily let out a dismissive snort.

"All right, I have something serious to talk to you about," Tristan said.

"Then spit it out. If you've got something to say, just say it."

Tristan leaned back a little. “Next Saturday is my friend's birthday. He's having a party at the Riven, and he wants to invite both of us."

Emily blinked, unimpressed. "What friend? Do I know him?"

"His name's Tanner Miller," Tristan replied. "He knows you, but you don't know him."

Emily silently repeated the name in her mind, certain she'd never met anyone by that name.

She frowned, unsure. "Why does he want to invite me?"

Tristan shrugged, looking perfectly at ease. "I told him about you. So, do you want to go?"

A flicker of discomfort crossed Emily's face; she pressed her lips together, the unease knitting her brows.

Tristan smiled gently at her. "It's fine if you don't want to go. I'll tell him.”

Emily turned to look at him. "He's your friend."

"Yeah, he is."

Tristan never had many friends. In the five years Emily had known him, she'd barely seen him hang out with anyone at all.

She hesitated, biting her lip. "Next Saturday... I'm not sure if I'm free. I'll check with my assistant. If I'm available, I'll go with you."

Tristan nodded, the corners of his mouth lifting. "All right. I'll wait for you."

Emily didn't keep him waiting-she picked up her phone and sent a message to her assistant right away.

The reply came back almost instantly: nothing scheduled for next weekend, but there was always a chance things could change.

Emily typed back, Clear my weekend. I have plans.

Her assistant responded, Understood.

Setting her phone down, Emily looked at Tristan, her voice calm. “I'm free. I can go."

Tristan's smile widened. "Great. I'll let my friend know."

Emily nodded.

With nothing left to say, the two of them fell quiet. The only sound in the living room was the low hum of the TV.

A few minutes passed before Tristan's phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID, hesitated for a moment, then didn't answer.

Emily caught the look on his face and teased, "What's wrong? Is a loan shark after you?"

Tristan clutched his phone, giving her an exasperated glare. “Could you at least pretend to feel sorry for me?"

Emily raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

Tristan frowned. "My grandfather's trying to set me up on a blind date. He's probably calling now to interrogate me."

At the mention of a blind date, something flickered in Emily's eyes—just a hint of discomfort.

She mumbled, "Just answer it. It's not the end of the world."

Tristan looked like he might laugh from sheer annoyance. "Not a big deal? Easy for you to say."

Emily was at a loss for words. Then, something dawned on her. "Aren't we still pretending to be a couple for your grandfather's sake? And he's still trying to set you up?"

Tristan gritted his teeth. "You finally remembered? I was starting to think you'd forgotten I'm supposed to be your boyfriend."

Emily's composure slipped for a moment. "Boyfriend? Don't start with that nonsense."

Tristan fixed her with a weary look. “Grandpa must've heard somewhere that we're

not actually together. So he immediately lined up a blind date for me."

He watched her closely, clearly waiting to see how she'd react.