Page 51 of (Not So) Famous in Paradise

“Zach, it’s fine. Totally worth it to see the look on your face right now.” Tears of laughter run down her cheeks, and she gasps for air as she goes to the table and picks up the wine. Her lips go around the tip of the half-empty bottle.

I’m not drunk, or even buzzed, but there’s something intoxicating about seeing Georgia’s lips somewhere mine have just been.

She sets the bottle down, but my eyes don’t leave her mouth.

“Do you feel better now?” She asks.

All I can do is nod.

“Good. Then I have a proposition for you.” She lowers herself to the couch, obviously a little tipsy. “Something that will for sure make Carly jealous. She’ll be sorry she ever dumped you for Laker Brad.” A small burp slips out, and, too late, she covers her mouth. “It’s petty, I’m warning you, so if you’d rather be the bigger man, I won’t say another—”

“Petty sounds great.” I sit next to her and pick up the wine. “Give me all the details.”

And I don’t know if it’s the wine or the ice cream talking, or the fact I have a chance to redeem a small piece of my dignity, but Georgia has never looked more beautiful than she does right now.

Chapter 19

Georgia

Warning bells are going off in my head, but they’re drowned out by the subtle smell of cedar and Zach’s arm brushing mine. His touch tickles my flesh which responds with pinpricks of pleasure. My head floats above my shoulders, thoughts bumping against each other like bubbles. They pop before I can grab hold of any of them, including those flashing red with danger signals.

The one thing that is clear is Zach is free. For now. But if we fake a relationship, maybe it could become real.

“The producers want us to fall in love.” The words come out in a rush before I can lose my nerve.

Zach’s lips are inches from the wine bottle, which he slowly lowers while turning his head toward me. “What’s that again?”

“Not for real.” I force a laugh. “Obviously.” Another laugh. “It would all be for the show. My followers love the posts and reels with us together. They’re already convinced we’re in love.” The laugh is harder to force this time, especially with Zach’s eyes glued to mine, narrowing in a way I can’t interpret.

I swallow hard and continue, taking the wine bottle out of his hands. “The producers think if we play that up, the show could be a big hit.” I grip the neck of the bottle tightly and take a sip. “LikeFixer Upperbig.”

Zach stays silent, barely blinking, so I go on.

“I wasn’t even going to tell you about it, because I knew Carly would never go for a fake relationship between me and you. I wouldn’t even be telling you now, except that she…” I’m not quite buzzed enough to make the mistake of finishing that sentence.

“Broke up with me?” Zach does the dirty work for me.

“Yeah,” I sigh, then hand him the bottle. “It’s a stupid idea. Forget I said anything about it. Carly will come to her senses, but if we’re pretending to be together, you’ll lose any chance you may have with her.”

His only response is to stare ahead and nod. This goes on for so long that I reach for the bottle since he still hasn’t taken a drink, and I really, really need one right about now.

But he pulls the bottle out of my reach, and his lip twitches. “Or…it might make her jealous. At the very least, she’ll be annoyed I got over her so fast if Stella starts putting stuff up right away implying you and I are together.”

Zach looks up, past me, past everything in this room, deep in thought. He alternates drumming his pinkie and ring fingers against the glass bottle. The soft tap is the only sound around us. I don’t breathe.

“That’s what you were thinking, right? We make her jealous?” He meets my gaze, and now he is smiling.

“I mean, only if you want to.” My heart thuds, replacing the sound of his drumming. “I don’t want to do anything that could ruin any chance you have of getting Carly back.”

It’s mostly true.

Okay, it’s not at all true. I’m a terrible person. The end.

But, in my defense, Carly is totally wrong for Zach.

“You know what?” He runs his hand down his chest, stopping momentarily over the pocket he took the engagement ring out of this morning. “I don’t want her back. It’s bad enough she’s cheating on me, but she also tried to break up my friendship with you.” His eyes burrow into mine, nesting in my heart.

But I don’t believe him. “You’re really over her? Already?”

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