‘Can I tell you why I did it?’ Luc asks. ‘I wanted to silence the doubters.’
He’s seen the comments too.
‘I thought it would look natural and wasn’t too heavy to break our rule because it was just a peck,’ he whispers.
I force another smile. It makes sense. ‘We can talk about this later. Make the boundaries clearer.’
A waitress appears with a tray of champagne and we both take a glass.
‘How are you feeling about all of this? The work stuff, us?’ I ask.
‘Full honesty?’
I give a single nod.
‘Pretty tough. The work stuff happened at such an awkward time, and it was so quick. The show was doing so well but they’re making budget cuts and can’t afford to shoot another season after the next. So, the producer and I had to re-write the whole season – which is about to start filming – to tie up all the loose ends.’ He shakes his head. ‘It’s been a bit of a whirlwind. But I’m back in the thinking of new ideas-slash-writing stage, and it’s always nice to have a new idea to be excited about.’
‘What do you think you’re going to do next?’
‘The world’s my oyster.’ Luc’s face remains firm when he says it. ‘Might try to write my own movie, potentially. There’s talk of adapting the book about the reality star who ruins her life, do you know it?’
I nod, though I haven’t read it. I pick at a piece of skin at the edge of my cuticle, avoiding his gaze.
‘What’s that face for?’ Luc questions.
‘It’s nothing– I ju– It makes me feel funny knowing that someone is only around me to get some clout for a newproject. I know you’ve been transparent about it, but normally when I find out things like this, I don’t stick around, so it feels a bit unnatural for me.’
Luc frowns, his shoulders raising. ‘Sorry, did you miss the fact that I’m only here because you needmefor good press?’ His voice is a whisper, but his tone is harsh.
We are so lucky there is no one around.
‘Let’s just drop it.’
‘Yeah, let’s just drop it,’ Luc grumbles. ‘It’ll be a week before you disappear, and I never hear from you again anyway.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘What? That’s your style, isn’t it?’
I look around the room, no one is within ear distance. ‘Let’s drop this.’
The doors to the cinema screen open and people start to trail in. I hadn’t noticed that Luc collected both of our reservations for us so that we know where to sit. He guides me towards my seat with a light touch on the bottom of my back.
Perfect acting.
Omg she looks so happy in this photo
I still don’t buy it
Her little smile when he kisses her!
What a gorgeous couple
I give it 2 weeks
CHAPTER 9
UNLIKELY SILENCE
