I hurl a hot sauce packet from the middle of the table at him. He catches it with one hand, flashing a boyish grin. The couple in front of us starts kissing passionately.
“Gross,” I mumble.
To which he adds, “I told you so” before reaching over to grab a bite of my chicken. Well played, Mr. All or Nothing.
“This is better than the alternative,” he says out of nowhere. My face scrunches up as he continues.
“The press release…”
I nod, carefully as he continues.
“I kept thinking when I saw it, this is far better than the reality show pitch or worse—”
“A dating show,” I finish. We both laugh as we say it at the same time.
“Imagine just dating someone to rehab your image. Ridiculous,” I blurt out.
The statement hangs between us, heavier than I meant it to be. A wrinkle forms around his eyes as he lets out a half smile.
“Ridiculous,” he repeats back to me, deepening his stare. The goose bumps are rising on my arm.
“Aren’t you supposed to be hard to talk to?”
“Why is that? Actors only talk in scripts?”
“I’m barely convinced you guys know how to read. You are just fed all your lines.”
Holden looks almost offended, flinching at my last remark. My hand reaches out for him, landing on his lap. Our stare deepens.
Suddenly, I feel the dryness in my throat as I move my hand back to my lap, confused why I put it there in the first place.
“You know, because you’re famous, you aren’t supposed to have a personality.”
“Yes. That’s where all my PR training comes in handy—” He pauses. “Something I am observing from all our productive meetings.” His hip is pressing against my side in this corner booth.
A loud voice presses into my ears, chanting the words, “Duas almas incompletas” several times as I grip the bench hard, forcing myself to look away from his piercing stare burning into me.
Chapter thirteen
Relationships: What a Piece of Cake
It’s been two hours since we started talking and we haven’t left the same side of the bench.
“One thing is for sure, we need to make people see I am different before this interview.”
“Like your addiction to Diet Coke?”
“What? NO,” Holden says defensively. A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth.
“Okay, what are you drinking then?”
Holden pushes the drink away from me so I can’t take a sip. It doesn’t go unnoticed that he is still using the word “we” in conversation. A definite sign I am still a part of this strategy despite Chris’s poor judgment.
We have hardly gotten on track with how we are going to minimize any fallout from this interview since I’ve walked in here. I know that will probably be a later conversation, because Aidan’s text has halted any conversation of that for tonight.
Aidan:I miss you…
Three words is all it takes. A sinking feeling forms in my gut as I type and untype what to say back.
