I poured myself a cup of coffee too, and we both drank in thoughtful silence.
Nicholas, contemplating the ocean and all its wonders.
Me, contemplating how on earth I was going to convince him to agree to a fake girlfriend.
In the end, I decided relentless persistence was my best shot. Nicholas was stubborn, but he also had a short attention span. If I kept bringing up the conversation, even when he just wanted to move on with his day, there was a slim chance—though not a great one—that he might cave and give me what I needed.
(That part of the plan was crucial: framing it as a favor he was doing for me, rather than a demand from his father.)
“You know,” I started casually, tapping my bare feet against the counter, “before I had to rush out of the restaurant last night to help you and
