“But that’s not actually true. Because I’m not eligible.” He extended his hand toward me. My cue. “I found my soulmate on Cupid’s Arrow.”
I moved, and by the grace of God, the wobble from earlier was gone. I focused on his eyes and the way he was looking at me. I knew romance. I’d been studying it my whole life—every book, every movie, every play. I knew what love was supposed to look like, even if I’d never felt it myself.
This was what I’d come to New York for, wasn’t it? Love. Magic. The kind of overwhelming connection that made everything else disappear.
So I let myself believe it, just for these few seconds. I looked at him like he was my Prince Charming.
I slid my hand into Dane’s outstretched one. The touch of his fingers was still electric.
He pulled me toward him with a gentle tug, guiding me to my mark beside the chair. My free hand came up to rest on his shoulder, and then I was leaning down, my other arm sliding around his neck.
I leaned into him, my breasts brushing against his shoulder as I pressed a kiss to his cheek. Red lipstick stained his face when I pulled back.
“I found the love of my life at Cupid’s Arrow,” he said, not missing his lines.
I smiled at the camera like a woman crazy in love.
“Cut!”
The director’s voice shattered the spell, and reality came rushing back in a wave of noise and movement.
The room erupted. People were clapping, talking over each other. I could hear Heidi’s voice rising above the chaos. “We got it! Oh my God, we got it in one take! We won’t lose the light!”
I started to pull away from Dane, but for just a second, his hand tightened on my back. Like he didn’t want to let go.
Then he released me and I stepped back, my legs wobbly again.
The director was nearly dancing with excitement. “That was perfect! That was exactly what we needed. That looked soreal.”
I looked through the crowd and found Lucas standing near the monitors. His arms were crossed, his lips pursed, and when our eyes met, he arched one knowing eyebrow like he could see right through me, right into my heart’s secret.
Then Dane was moving, excusing himself from the director, who was trying to show him the playback. He cut through the crowd with those long, purposeful strides. Heidi rushed after him, calling his name, but he kept walking until he disappeared through a door at the back of the warehouse.
I had no idea what just happened. But holy shit. If romantic chemistry was a real thing, I was screwed.
Monday morning, I arrived at my desk with a travel mug of coffee and a determination to pretend Friday had never happened.
I’d spent the entire weekend trying to convince myself that whatever I’d felt during the commercial shoot was just adrenaline and good acting and the result of being transformed into someone I wasn’t. In my normal clothes, with my normal hair, sitting at my normal desk, everything would go back to normal.
Except the first thing I saw when I logged into my email was a message from Heidi with a meeting on my calendar. And the meeting was on Dane’s calendar as well.
A meeting I hadn’t scheduled.
My stomach dropped.
Oh shit.
CHAPTER 8
DANE
The conference room felt like it was shrinking in on me.
It wasn’t, objectively speaking. Conference Room B was one of our larger spaces, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city and a table that could comfortably seat twelve.
But with Heidi and three members of her marketing team spread out with laptops and tablets and the pitcher of water and assortment of pastries on the table, the room felt claustrophobic.
I’d asked Keith to attend this meeting as a courtesy. He was CFO, and he needed to be kept in the loop on any major marketing expenditures. He sat to my right, already looking bored, scrolling through something on his phone.
