“Hey,” she said, batting her makeup guy away and pulling Arthur into a careful hug. “How are you? This place is a winter wonderland—you never said!”
“It was less of a wonderland when I lived here,” he admitted, accepting her hug gratefully. Jennifer was fun and uncomplicated, everything he liked in a girl. Everything he liked in aperson, period.
“Don’t let the PR team hear you say that,” she laughed as she pulled back. “I overheard the extras whispering.”
Arthur’s ear twitched. “Oh?”
She giggled, thankfully not noticing his unease. “Yeah! Everyone’ssoexcited you’re back. I bet you’repumped.”
“You bet.” He flashed his fangs and let the makeup guy come at him with a comb, straightening his whiskers. He hadn’t even noticed they were crooked. The makeup guy took the sunglasses next, and Arthur tried not to think about what Emma had told him. They weren’tstupid. Rusty had assured him he made them work.
Rusty raised a megaphone. “Alright! Everybody, positions!”
Arthur rolled his shoulders, watching everyone get into place. He couldn’t quite remember which scene they were doing. His mind kept drifting back to the raw fury in Emma’s eyes as she hissed at him on the street. She always told him to stop hiding everything under a smile, but she hid, too. She just hid behind her anger. In Arthur’s opinion, his was the better tactic. Everybody wanted to be smiled at. Nobody wanted to be screamed at.
“Hey,” he whispered to Jennifer as Rusty made one last adjustment with the lighting crew. “Were my sunglasses stupid?”
She blinked, pausing the pre-scene jumping jacks she always did before a take. “What?”
“The sunglasses I was wearing before,” he explained. “I could pull them off, right?”
She laughed. “Of course! You’re Arthur Pineclaw. You can pull off anything.”
It was just what he needed to hear. He winked at her, his lines flowing back into his head as easy as flipping a switch. They were doing the meeting scene, the two lovers from the big city running into each other in a middle-of-nowhere town. His character was confident, aloof, and charming—his favorite kind of character to play. He did it every day, after all.
“Alright,” Rusty called. “And…action!”
CHAPTERFOUR
Emma had been hoping for outrage. For her mom to gasp and her dad to swear vengeance.
She wasnotexpecting her mom to lean closer to the screen and ask if she could get an autograph.
“Mom,” Emma said, scandalized. “I’mnotasking him for an autograph!”
“I’m just saying,” Bitsey Curt said from the phone screen, adjusting her floppy sun hat. “He was in thatIn Too Deepmovie! You know, the one with that mermaid we love?”
“She’skidding, hon,” Glen Curt said. “Of course, your mother doesn’t want an autograph. We liked him—”
“I know,” Emma said icily.
“AndIn Too Deepwas great, but that damn chimera broke your heart,” Glen finished.
“He didn’tbreakit,” Emma argued. She stretched her shirt over her knees, pulling her comforter farther up. She had to get dressed soon, and she was still psyching herself up to head out into the cold. The snow had stopped, but it was even colder than yesterday. Just because Emma was used to this cold didn’t mean she liked it.
Her parents looked at each other knowingly. Emma didn’t know why she bothered to lie; they’d been right there picking up the pieces. Feeding her soup and putting up with her yelling at romantic movies. The breakup had affected her an embarrassing amount. She should’ve been able to get on with life. Instead, she’d halved her hours at the supermarket and moved back in with her parents.
Emma sighed. “How’s the cruise going?”
“It’s warm,” Bitsey replied, as she always did. They’d started on the cruise just as Claw Haven tipped into winter. Bitsey loved pointing out how warm she was, and atChristmas, no less. Emma tried not to take it personally. She would hate being on a cruise—there was nowhere to escape when she needed to clear her head. All those quiz nights and games and annoying sunbathers. But for the first time, she regretted turning down her parents’ offer to go on the cruise with them. They wouldn’t get back until the New Year. She could’ve avoided Arthur entirely.
Bitsey continued, “Are you sure you don’t want us to cut the trip short? We’re docking soon. We could get a flight back.”
“No,” Emma replied instantly. “It’s fine.”
Her parents traded another look.
“It’s just,” her dad started, “when we decided to leave you alone at Christmas, we didn’t think you’d be stuck with the guy who broke your heart for weeks on end.”
