“HI,JIA!”
“Hi,” she said to her own voice, coming out of her phone. Jia put her bare feet up on the sofa.
“Look, you are bound to be a little nervous tonight, so I’m going to keep this short and sweet. This is business. Think of it as a photo shoot or a sketch. You have no feelings for this guy. Forget whatever feelings you had for his photos and words before—they weren’t him. He’s an actor, and you’re a professional too. Be cool.”
“I will be cool,” she whispered to herself and placed the phone in her lap. She would be cool! There was nothing to be not cool about. This was her plan, and it was a good, logical one. As logical as semimanipulating a man into fake dating her could be.
“And if all else fails, and you start to waver, or you feel attracted to him, think about your parents.”
Yeah, the thought of Farzana and Mohammad Ahmed should kill any hesitation or arousal.
Jia jumped when her front door buzzed. She didn’t know why she was startled. It was seven o’clock on the dot, and that was when she’d told Dev to meet her. He’d never be late.
She’d assumed, though, that he’d pull up outside and text her, the equivalent of honking his horn. But no, he’d come up, like a proper gentleman. If this was a real date, she’d beimpressed. She was glad she’d already told the receptionist downstairs that he ought to be let in.
Jia caught her breath a little when she opened the door. Dev was adjusting his cuffs and glanced up, and it was like a picture-perfectGQshot. He looked a little more casual today, but still as crisp as ever. “Hi,” she said.
“Hello.” He kept his eyes locked on hers. “You look lovely.”
She resisted the urge to fidget. She didn’t usually dither on her outfit choices, but it had taken her some time today to decide on the one-piece long-sleeved, wide-legged jumper. Her scarf matched it, and she’d tied a bow low at her nape, letting the fabric drape over her shoulder. “Thank you.” She gestured. “I just need to grab my purse. Come on in.”
He didn’t move. “I thought this was your studio? It looks like an apartment. It wouldn’t be proper for me to enter your home.”
She might have laughed at his earnestness except it was cute. “No. I mean, yes, it’s an apartment, but it’s not used as my apartment, it’s my office and photo studio. I live in Santa Barbara.”
“That’s far?”
“A little bit. I don’t mind the drive. I get to live with my two closest friends in the area, so it’s a pretty sweet deal.” She also paid under market rent, because getting Katrina to accept any money had been a significant challenge, but she would have paid any amount to live in the beautiful ocean view house.
“I see.” He glanced around as they entered the living room. “It looks like you—”
“Live here, I know.” Jia tilted her head at the kitchen, which was sparkling clean. “But I really don’t. There’s no food in the fridge or anything, so I can’t offer you any coffee or tea. Sorry.”
“Not a problem.” Dev walked farther into the living room. “So you maintain and stage an entire apartment to make it appear like it’s your own?”
“Yup.”
“Isn’t that misleading?”
“Maybe,” she admitted and smiled at his raised eyebrow. “Surprised at my candor? There’s a lot on social media that isn’t what it seems, but I have started to try to think about what I’m contributing. The truth is, I used to film in my own house and in my own bedroom, but the bigger I got, the more... protective I got, about what I was sharing with the world.” She shrugged. “So this is all one giant green screen, but it’s not meant to be a way to fool my viewers and make them think my life is so much better than theirs. It’s more like a shield for me.”
“I understand that.”
“Also I like to eat in bed, and I didn’t want to have to clean up crumbs before every single shoot.”
He chuckled, and she plucked the noise out of the air, wrapped it in a bow, and tucked it away.
She fetched her purse from the couch as he picked up the framed picture on the side table. “Oh, that’s my sister.” Sometimes she deliberately brought a few photos and placed them around the place so it would look more lived in on camera.
“You have a twin?”
“Yeah. She’s perfect.” There was pride in her voice, not bitterness. Ayesha was as perfect a human as one could get, and Jia was in awe of her.
His smile was faint. “That’s what some people think about siblings, I understand.”
“No, she really is. Doctor, really kind, always knows the right thing to say, never does anything bad. The polar opposite of me.”
“I can’t believe you do bad things.”
