“What are you talking about?” I say. My voice is shaking. Something about the way Rainer is looking at her, wild-eyed, makes my feet feel like they’ve grown roots. I can’t move.
Britney turns her attention from him to me. She reminds me of a mountain lion, the way she moves. Like at any moment, she could pounce. “It was cute, wasn’t it?” she says. “The way you and Rain got together? He fell in love with you in Hawaii. The brightest rising star in Hollywood besotted with some average teenage girl.”
“Stop!” Rainer yells.
“What’s your point?” I say.
Her eyes flash. “You never wondered?”
“Wonderedwhat?”
“Let me spell it out for you, sweetheart.” She’s almost to me. I can smell her perfume. Tangy sweet. “Rainer didn’t fall in love with you. His dear old daddy told him to date you, and he simply followed orders.”
I almost laugh. “You must be kidding.”
Britney doesn’t say anything. She just looks at me, unblinking.
“You really expect me to fall for that?”
“He pursued you until you said yes, right?” Britney says. “Curious timing, wasn’t it? That he wanted your answer to be with him right before the big premiere?”
“How do you…”
Britney runs a hand over her hair. “I think at this point, PG, you’re the only one who doesn’t know.”
I think about our first weeks on Maui. How Rainer was immediately there for me. How he made it the point of his whole day to make sure I felt safe and happy andgood. I think about how he pursued me after that. How I wasn’t sure if we were just friends until he made it clear—he wanted to be with me.
But what if…
What if Greg spoke to him before we started filming? What if he told him that the more press a couple gets, the better? What if he told him that it would strengthen the fantasy ofLockedif we were together in real life?
“Why are you telling me this?” I ask.
Britney’s eyes flash. “I’d want to know,” she says. “If I were you.”
“Britney,” Rainer says. “Go.”
“Fine by me,” she says, picking up her purse. “I’ll leave you two to your history. It seems to be all you have left anymore.”
When she’s gone, I turn to Rainer. He’s looking at the floor. “Did your dad…” I can barely get the words out. “Did your dad tell you to date me?”
He just shakes his head.
I feel my blood pressure rising. “Tell me,” I say again. “You asked me to be honest with you and I was. Rainer, did your dad tell you to date me?”
He looks at me then, and I know, heartbreakingly, and with absolute certainty, the answer to my question.
“Oh my God,” I say. “This whole time.”
Rainer shakes his head again. He makes a move toward me, to grab my arm, but I shake him off. “Fuck,” he says. “No. Paige—”
“Yes!”
“No. Paige, listen to me.”
I feel like someone else, like I’m playing a part. Some crazy movie star engaged in an affair in the Hollywood Hills. I feel like I should have a long cigarette in one hand and a martini in the other. “What could you possibly have to say?”
I’m fighting through the fog. The images of us on the island. Late nights. Running lines. Our trip to Paia. Dinners at Longhi’s. Our promises to one another. It was all a lie.
