She shrugs, thoughtfully swirling her wine. “I mean, he could have asked anyone to be his fake girlfriend. Models, actresses, whoever. But he asked you.”
“Because I’m convenient,” I protest. “The fact that we have history makes this easy to sell. His agent is the one who suggested it. Said that based on the storyline, it would be a great marketing tool.”
“Wait. Whatisthe movie about?” Sasha asks, snatching a cookie from the plate.
With a sigh, I let my head fall back between my shoulder blades before lifting it to gaze out one of my floor to ceiling windows. There’s not a cloud in the sky. Only a flock of birds in vee formation making its way through the air.
“It’s about us,” I finally say, turning back to look at them. “Rowan wrote a movie about our childhood together. About the treehouse in my parents’ backyard where we used to hang out. About... everything.”
The room falls silent as my friends exchange glances.
“Holy shit,” Sasha whispers.
“That’s...” Noia starts, clearly at a loss for words for once in her life.
“Intense,” Reyna finishes.
I nod, draining the rest of my wine. “Yeah. That’s one word for it.”
“So let me get this straight,” Sasha says around a bite of her cookie. “The guy writes an entire movie about your childhood together, then comes back to film it in your hometown, moves in across the freaking hallfrom you?—”
“Because of my freaking brother,” I interject.
“Sure,” she scoffs before continuing. “Kisses you senseless, then asks you to be his fake girlfriend while he’s here filming said movie about your shared childhood?”
When she puts it like that, it sounds like…
“And you’re still not sure if he has feelings for you?” Noia adds, raising an eyebrow.
Yup, it sounds like that.
“I don’t know what he feels,” I mutter. “Maybe it’s nostalgia. Maybe guilt. Maybe he’s a committed method actor.”
Sasha reaches over and pats my knee. “Lizzy... I’ve seen the way he looks at you. That’s not just nostalgia or guilt.”
“Or great acting,” Noia adds.
I shake my head, unwilling to let myself hope. “You guys don’t get it. This is what Rowan does. He’s charming and intense and makes you feel like you’re the only person in the world. Then he leaves. It’s what makes him such a great actor.”
“So you’re saying he’s faking it?” Reyna asks, clearly skeptical.
“I’m saying I can’t trust what’s real anymore when it comes to him.” I rise from my place on the couch to pace. “And I can’t afford to get it wrong. Not again.”
Sasha sets her wineglass down with a decisive clunk. “Lizzy, honey, I love you, but you’re being an idiot.”
“Excuse me?” I whip around to face her.
“You’ve been hung up on this guy for years,” she insists, ignoring my glare. “Now he’s back, clearly still into you, and offering you a chance to spend time with him—fake relationship or not. Worst case scenario, you get some closure. Best case...” She trails off, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
“She’s right,” Noia chimes in.
“He did kind of throw in the possibility of more.” I slump back onto the couch. “Said six months to a year is a long time foreither of us to go without, since we’re going to keep this exclusive. It’s not like we can go around seeing other people. It would make this whole charade moot.”
“Then I think you should go for it,” Reyna pipes up. “Take advantage of the situation. You’re helping him by letting him use you. So… use him back. For orgasms.”
I snort. “Yeah, right. Not gonna happen.”
“Sure. You say thatnow…” Sasha grins.
