“I don’t have weekend plans.”
“Then make some up.”
“I was thinking of going to that new art exhibit downtown,” she improvises. “The one about contemporary animation.”
“I didn’t know there was an art exhibit about animation.”
“There isn’t. I’m making it up like you said.”
“You’re terrible at this.”
“You’re the one who dragged me into fake dating.”
“Fair point.”
Diana circles us with the camera. “Perfect. Now, Daniel, put your arm around her waist. Bailey, lean into him slightly.”
I slide my arm around her waist. She stiffens for a second, then relaxes against me. The fit is perfect, natural, and like we’ve done this a thousand times.
“You okay?” I murmur near her ear.
“I’m fine; it’s just weird being photographed.”
“Pretend the camera isn’t here.”
“That’s impossible. The camera is literally right here.”
“Then pretend we’re somewhere else. Just the two of us.”
“Where would we be?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere you’d actually want to be.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “The park. Sunday morning. Coffee and pastries. Watching people.”
“That sounds perfect.”
“Bailey, look up at him,” Diana instructs. “Like he just said something that made your heart skip.”
She looks up at me. Her eyes are soft. The guard she usually maintains has dropped completely. My pulse kicks up hard.
“Hold that,” Diana says. “Daniel, hold her like she’s yours. Like you’re not letting go.”
My arm tightens around her waist automatically. My other hand comes up to brush a strand of hair from her face. For a moment, I forget we’re pretending and there’s just Bailey looking at me like I matter. The camera keeps clicking.
“You’re blushing,” I murmur.
“Shut up.”
“It’scute.”
“Daniel—”
“What? It is. Your cheeks get all pink, and you try to hide it.”
“I’m going to kill you when this is over.”
“Looking forward to it.”
