Page 72 of One-Star Romance

That did the trick. Tyler lit up. “Oh, awesome! We really vibe, you know? Like, she gets me, which means the stuff she writes for the show always makes sense. Sometimes I’ve been on sets, and the script is like, Now your character feels this way or does this thing, and I’m like…What? But Nat, she’s different.” Tyler glanced over at Natalie then, admiringly, so Rob felt it safe to look too.

Natalie had never had a problem capturing people with words. She’d used the power thoughtlessly in her novel. But now she was using it to help Tyler play the part that most perfectly showed what he could do. A generous use of her strengths. Sure, she was keeping her meal ticket happy. But it seemed to fit with this new version of her too, the version who could sit quietly touching his back while he cried, not needing to make a joke or observation out of his weakness.

As if she could feel the force of their gaze, Natalie looked their way, raising a questioning eyebrow. She gave them a little wave, and as Tyler waved back with enthusiasm, Rob identified the same ailment afflicting both him and Tyler. They each wanted it to be him that she was looking at.

When Nat went back to her conversation with Gabby and Angus, Tyler gave Rob a swift pat on the back. “Well, hey, great talking to you.” He sauntered over toward Natalie. Rob would not be jealous. He turned away to the snack table himself, pretending to be fascinated by the bowls of processed foods, willing himself not to watch. (Was Tyler ready for a relationship?) Rob lasted a good minute or two, spooning M&M’s onto a paper plate before turning around, steeling himself to see Tyler flashing his gleaming smile at Natalie, casually flexing his biceps.

But Tyler wasn’t talking to Nat at all. He was talking to Angus.

29

Gabby was telling Natalie some long and involved story about the preschool application process, so although Natalie could hear Tyler talking next to her, it took her far too long to register the meaning of his words.

“I knew there was something familiar about you,” Tyler said, slinging his arm around Angus’s shoulder. “I kept feeling like I hadn’t just met you tonight, and it was sending me on this whole spiral of, like, is my guru right, and past lives really are a thing, and you and I fought in a war together or something? But, nah, our girl here just captured you good.”

“And they have to interview the parents,” Gabby was saying at the same time. Natalie forced herself to pay attention to her words. It was tough with Tyler talking so loudly and the persistent buzzing memory of Rob’s mouth on hers sending aftershocks through her body. “I have to write a two-thousand-word essay about Christina’s good qualities. It’s like applying to college all over again.”

“What?” Angus asked Tyler.

“In Apartment 2F.” Tyler squeezed Angus’s shoulder, concern on his face. “Hey, listen. I hope you’re not offended by what I did with Dennis, given that it’s so different from the book. I want to take your opinion into account. So, how are you feeling about the portrayal?”

At the mention of Dennis, Natalie’s split focus zeroed in entirely on Tyler. She turned away from Gabby, only half catching sight of her look of offense.

“Tyler—” she started.

“Just a sec!” he said.

“Oh wow,” Angus said, not quite understanding. “That’s so kind of you to ask me for my thoughts about your character.”

“Of course. It’s yours too! Having a version of yourself out in the world for public consumption can be a sensitive thing. Believe me, I know, especially after the memoir.” Natalie grabbed Tyler’s arm to try to make him stop, but he just put a hand over hers affectionately and kept going. “Part of the acting process is finding your own way into a character, but I also want to honor the source material, especially now that I know what it really is. So, truly, if you want, I can make some changes going into season two.” Angus put a hand on his hip, cocking his head in confusion, and Tyler pointed, a smile breaking over his face. “That mannerism? Sure! I can totally incorporate.” He mirrored Angus as Natalie’s stomach threatened to come up her throat.

“I’m sorry,” Angus said, as Gabby threw a What have you done? look at Natalie. “I’m just computing a moment. You’re not saying…Is Dennis in the book modeled after me?”

Shit.

“Uh,” Tyler began, his eyes beginning to widen in concern.

“No!” Natalie jumped in. “That was not my intent. Some of the scenarios in the book were rooted a little bit in real life, but I didn’t mean to make him you.”

“I am so sorry,” Tyler said, looking back and forth between them all. “I thought it was like an in-joke with you all. An homage. But I must have misunderstood.”

Every Tuesday night, Angus sat down and watched Meant 2B full of pride over Natalie’s achievement. He’d probably spent hours laughing at the buffoonery of the Dennis character, never realizing he was the source of it.

Natalie opened her mouth to offer more excuses, but Angus cut in.

“You said he was different in the book than the TV version, though. How?” His voice was hopeful, but his eyes filled with worry.

Nearby, a few of the other houseguests turned toward them, the tension ringing like alarm bells. Natalie felt a sinking sensation, her past sins finally, finally catching up to her. The Christmas lights strung up around the house blinked merrily on, undisturbed. Rob came power walking up toward them, then stopped short, alarm on his face.

“He’s…” Natalie began.

“You haven’t read the book?” Tyler asked. “Well, he’s way different. He wears a shirt all the time. And now that I think about it, I totally jumped to the wrong conclusion here, because Dennis from the book isn’t similar to you at all! Like, the main character really hates him. Plus, he and the best friend are probably going to get divorced.”

“Tyler—” Nat began. Gabby’s eyes were shooting out a glare of death. But Tyler carried on, determined to fix things.

“Oh! And you’re, like, killing it in finance, yeah? Dennis in the book isn’t that good at anything he tries, so he’s just gonna fail upward into running his family’s business!” He held his hands open triumphantly.

“Please stop talking,” Natalie said.

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