Page 10 of Faking the Shot

Six months spending time with a man who was only into the attention, and not into her? “I don’t feel like I’m comfortable with this. I think I’d prefer to find a guy.” Someone who was a Christian, at least. Surely that had to be a better example to impressionable young girls than the serial dating she’d agreed to in the past. Ugh. She was so weak!

“Well, I know you Ainsley, so let’s say if you don’t find someone in the next month, I’ll be finding someone for you. Okay?”

Ugh. “Okay.” She hated herself.

“So good luck in finding him, and I genuinely hope you do find him soon, and can settle down,” Rosie had said, with enough warmth that Ainsley was inclined to believe her. “Just don’t go having babies too early, know what I mean?”

Oh, she did. When was the last time anyone had seen a pregnant lead actress on a Hallmark show? And herAs The Heart Drawscharacter was supposed to stay single on the show another season or two at least. Not that falling pregnant was possible when she couldn’t even find a potential husband because she couldn’t even get a real date.

How was she supposed to find a good Christian guy when all the guys she knew were either married or too scared to go out with her or thought she was promiscuous simply because she was an actress? She was trying to commit her love life to God and do things His way, but that was clocking along so slowly she might be eighty before she finally found a man who wanted to settle down with her.

She’d tried to explain some of this to her mom in the past, but it was messy. Made messier thanks to strained family dynamics due to Mack’s decided lack of interest in women, and her parents’ struggle to come to terms with their son’s lifestyle that was so contrary to what they believed. They loved Mack, and she did too, but they all struggled with the ramifications that were only one reporter away from blowing up big-time. Which was extremely ironic when the man most involved in Mack’s life was the reporter whose job it likely was to report such news.

“Honey.” Her father put down his mug of coffee—another thing Ainsley never drank—and eyed her seriously. “You know we love you, and you know that we believe God has the right man out there for you. So keep trusting Him.”

“Sure.” It’d just be nice if He’d hurry up and show her what to do. Finding a fake-date for several months didn’t seem like it. Not that she’d be sharing any of that conversation with her parents.

Her mother pushed away her plate. Ainsley eyed the remaining blueberry muffin wistfully. But a moment on the lips, forever on the hips, and doubly so for an actress. Which was why her parents would be taking the leftovers away, much to her father’s not-so-private glee. “Now, I’m just going to send that Glam Guru video to Aunty Win. You know she always loves to see you all dressed up.”

“Okay. Tell her I said hi.” Aunty Win was the reason she and her brother had both gotten into theater, before Mack had discovered his tastes leaned closer to set design and production, among other things. Still, their aunt’s roles in 90s sitcoms meant she understood the industry and was always supportive, and more so as Ainsley had gotten roles in recent years. Aunty Win was always a soft place to land, someone Ainsley could be real with and relate to. The fact she owned a property on Thetis Island where they would soon be filming the Hallmark mystery show was just a bonus.

As her mom busied herself with technology, asking Ainsley’s father for his glasses to see, then his help in attaching the video to an email, Ainsley flicked back to the video that the Glam Guru had posted on his Instagram of his favorite looks from White Night. She had lines to rehearse later, but right now she wanted to linger a moment longer in the glamor of last night.

It was gratifying to be included in his top two, even if she’d never score first because of the big names who regularly visited Vancouver, like Blake Lively, Cobie Smulders, and Rachel McAdams. Which actually meant coming in second was pretty good.

She watched the video again, the way the camera zoomed in as she pivoted, the way her look of intensity softened into her usual smile. That had been fun.

In the background she could see other celebrities waiting, including—wait, was that the Zac guy? He’d had his arms crossed, watching her, like he was amused by her or something. Which was weird, as he’d virtually run away from her as soon as Jason flung his arm around her all caveman-like. Maybe he’d thought—like half the world apparently did too—that she and Jason were a thing. She sighed. Which was a shame, as he was nice, and truly had been her hero on the evening, saving her from a fate worse than death—a tumble to infamy down the stairs.

Dad had been stunned when Mom had told him who had saved Ainsley’s dignity. “You meantheZac Parotti?”

Ainsley had shrugged. “Look, I didn’t know who he was at the time, but I’ve since had half of Canada tell me he’s apparently some hockey star.”

Her dad had groaned. “I don’t know what I did wrong with you so that you don’t know much about hockey. You do remember that Vancouver won a few months ago?”

“Won what?” She’d kept a straight face.

He looked at her a second then chuckled. “Sometimes I forget just how good an actress you can be.”

“Like I could forget the way the city partied for days.”

She’d been in Alberta filming, but the joy had spread to the next province over. People were glad to finally see the Stanley Cup return to a Canadian team.

She glanced below the video, smiling as she recognized some fan names among the comments. Then bit her lip as the comments about her feathers appeared. Oh well. She’d learned long ago that she wasn’t going to please everyone.

She shared the video to her Instagram—a girl had to post regularly to keep a high profile, and fans loved this kind of thing—then allowed an hour for comments, before she’d switch them off. That usually allowed time for her top fans to post something nice, before the bots alerted the trolls to post the negative stuff.

She replied to a few of the comments, then watched the video again, pausing it when she caught a glimpse of Zac in the background.

Her heart skipped a beat. He’d seemed down to earth, especially with that comment about her shoes. Then later, just sticking out his hand like that was normal to be introduced that way, like he wasn’t impressed by her or tongue-tied or looking at her chest or anything.

In fact, in that moment when he caught her, he’d been the perfect gentleman, eyes fixed on hers and nothing else. There’d been a feeling of safety in his arms. His muscly arms, she noted, pinching out the screen to zoom in.

Hmm. With his Tom Cruise looks from his originalTop Gundays, the man’s looks were appealing, and his forthright manner was refreshing. If she had to date someone, she could do worse than him. Except…

Her nose wrinkled. He probably wasn’t a Christian, so that was that. Her dad would’ve said something if he was, and if a season ticket holder didn’t know, then there probably wasn’t anything to know.

Dad had mentioned a few other Christian hockey players over the years but never mentioned Zac Parotti as one of them. Which made it clear. God was going to have to find a man for her another way.

---