She tossed her head from side to side. “I don’t know. Maybe,” she hemmed and hawed.
“At least give me a shot. Let me prove to you I’ve earned myArchitect of Lovetitle.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine, but don’t call yourself that in front of me. It’s disturbing. And . . . don’t try to pit me against the other women. I like them. A lot. We’re all going to stay friends. You can think of some other way to make the show entertaining without catfights.”
It genuinely surprised me that she truly seemed to care about these women.
“Fine,” I agreed.
“So where do we go from here? Where do we start my quest?”
I thought for a moment. The only place I could think to start at was . . . “We get to know each other—and more than just our favorite TV shows. We need to learn to trust each other.”
“Hmm. Roman Archer and me . . . friends. That’s a dangerous proposition.”
I cocked my head. “Why?” I mean, it wasn’t in my best interest considering how attracted I was to her and the fact that if anyone ever found out, I’d get fired. So, in that sense it was dangerous to me. But how was it dangerous to her?
“No reason,” she said, flustered.
I didn’t press, even though I knew she wasn’t exactly being truthful. Maybe as we got to know each other, I’d find out. “So, friends.” I held my hand out to her.
She stared at it warily for a beat before she placed her delicate hand in mine. My hand encompassed hers, but like a moron, I didn’t shake it. All I could do was revel in theconnection. Now more than ever, I wished I could go back and meet her for the first time. I would have tried to see a girl in pain who needed a friend, and not some made-up unfair expectation. A teen fantasy.
The god in my veins begged me not to let go.
Interestingly enough, I got the feeling that Demi was lingering too, giving that part of me time to see if it could read her heart. But that couldn’t be. Surely she didn’t wish me to be the one to unlock it. Besides, it was obvious I couldn’t, no matter how desperately the god in me tried to.
She abruptly pulled away and ran off before I even had the chance to stop her. “See you later!” she called, waving from behind.
Just like that, the bubble we were in burst.
And I just stood there, every part of me wanting it back.
Chapter XXII
Demi
“YoureallythinkRomanis the guy to help you find your true love?”
Cassie had asked me that ten times since we’d gotten back last night. She’d also told me the weirdest part—how no one at the hoedown remembered the storm. No one had even noticed Roman and I had disappeared.
I’d figured that was the case.
When we returned, it was like someone had hit pause, then casually pressed play again. Same music. Same laughter. Same cast members getting ready to dance like nothing had happened.
It was terrifying what the gods could do. How easily they could bend reality.
Were they bending mine? Maybe. Is that why I’d agreed to become friends with Roman? To basically let him be my sidekick on this quest?
I glanced at Cassie. We were sitting on the creek bank, our toes submerged in the slow-moving water. It was cool against my skin, a soft contrast to the heat radiating off the sunbaked rocks behind us. The midday sun pressed down,bright and relentless, turning the surface of the creek into a shimmer of gold.
Cassie had braided her hair back, but a few strands clung to her damp neck. A dragonfly hovered near her shoulder, its wings catching the light like glass.
We had today off. Roman and his team were holed up somewhere, deliberating over dating schedules and probably camera angles.
The dating would start tomorrow. Ugh. It was absolutely pointless for me, given I already knew that none of the male cast members were meant for me. And to be honest, a couple of them, including Todd, weren’t meant for anyone here. Although Carter was going to be a nice distraction for Cassie all summer. As far as the others went, the jury was still out.
I kept getting this tug in my chest—a whisper, maybe—that Brinley and Jessica’s old boyfriends weren’t entirely out of the picture. That maybe their stories weren’t finished yet.
