Page 23 of Faking the Shot

“Don’t you think I would’ve asked them if there was?”

Ouch. “So I’m a last resort, huh?”

Her nose wrinkled. “I know it sounds terrible when put like that, but I told my agent that I’d try to find somebody who might help me, especially because I wanted a Christian guy. I have people who look up to me, little girls as well, and I want to be an example of what to do.”

“By fake-dating?”

“No. By being a Christian who goes out with Christians. Who doesn’t just say yes to a guy because she’s feeling insecure, but says yes because she thinks the guy is worth her time.”

Oh. “You think I’m worth your time?”

“I think you have the potential to be. You’re a Christian, anyway.”

He wasn’t entirely sure about the logic of all she was saying, but it felt like there was a compliment in there somewhere.

“Look, I want to be seen to be going out with a Christian. It doesn’t need to be real. But if I don’t find someone then my agent is going to find someone for me.”

He stared. “To fake-date you?”

“Yes. And he likely won’t be a fellow believer.”

“Why would you let your agent do that to you?”

“Because it affects the roles I get.”

“Then maybe you need different roles.”

She bit her lip, then glanced down.

He felt like a heel. “Look, I’m sorry.” Sorry for all her past boyfriend troubles. Sorry for what that meant now. Sorry for his too-quick words. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No.” She sighed. “It’s true. It’s something I’ve thought about before. And something I hope to do one day. But I can’t right now. Not when I’ve just started a new show.” She straightened, offered him a small smile. “Well, thank you for your time. I’m sorry if you feel like it’s been wasted.”

What? “You’re not leaving, are you?” Even though she was gathering her bag.

“I don’t want you to feel obliged to help me when it’s clearly not something that you want to do.” Her cheeks were pink as she rose. “I’m so embarrassed. Please, if you see me again just pretend you don’t, okay?”

“Ainsley.” He trapped her hand, gently tugged her back. “I haven’t said no.”

“You haven’t?” Her eyes were Disney Princess-wide.

“I’m just trying to get my head around what this involves.”

She resumed her seat, her hand on his, again oblivious to the sparks he felt there. “It can involve as much or as little as you like. We just show up at events. Get our picture taken, people make assumptions that we’re together. It doesn’t have to be anything harder than that.”

“But what about, uh, physical things?”

“Oh! Well, that’s easy too. You hold my hand, nothing more.”

“No hugs or kissing?”

She blushed. “No kissing, unless it’s on the cheek. Little side hugs are okay.”

“But wouldn’t people expect me to hug and kiss you if we’re dating?”

“Oh. We might need to see how that goes, then. It would just be acting kissing. Not real kissing.”

“What’s the difference?”

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