Page 119 of Faking the Shot

Ainsley didn’t do that, he’d noticed. She was friendly to everyone, super sweet, her conversation focused on others. She asked people about their families, their upcoming projects, proving she was a really good actress as she even seemed interested. It made him wonder whether she was always like this or if some of this was an act, and the real Ainsley was hiding in there somewhere.

It was weird being here, almost like what he imagined a gigolo must feel like, the woman’s paid escort, except he was paid in free meals and the sight of Ainsley in another stunning outfit. Which certainly didn’t help him try to wrestle down these feelings into mere friendship.

She sidled up to him as the party continued around them. “How are you doing?”

“Can I say I’ll be glad when we go home?”

“Me too,” she whispered.

She looked at him with that mischievous glint that suggested they actually still shared a connection. But he couldn’t let his heart get carried away. For as smiling as she was, he recognized that smile as fake. That if she could act as well as this with her peers, then how much had she been stringing him along?

She glanced at him. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t want to do this. “I probably need to go home soon as it’s getting late.”

“Okay, then. I’ll make the round of farewells.”

His hopes of leaving soon fell, as that sounded like actress-speak that would equate with another two hours. “Sorry, Ains, but I really need to go now.”

“Zac? Are you okay?”

“My back is sore.”

“Do you need an ice pack? A massage?”

How he wished he could know for certain whether her concern was genuine. Well, he sensed it was genuine concern, but he wished she regarded him as genuine. It’d be really good to go back to a home they shared together, where an innocent massage could turn into something more—

Whoa. He needed to stop that.

She touched him. He flinched. Shifted away.

“Zac? What is it?”

“Look, I’m tired. I don’t mind if you want to stay, but I have to leave.”

“Let’s go then.”

She waved goodbye to various people, but when Jason kissed her cheek Zac had to turn away. Jason might not be a Christian, but someone like him looked way more suited to Ainsley than he seemed to be. Jason knew how to play the fake game anyway.

Driving home, he really wished he had organized a driver. His back was aching and his heart hurt even more.

She glanced across at him. “Zac, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” She couldn’t help being the star in the night sky. She couldn’t know that he’d fallen for her pretty much at the same time that she’d fallen on those stairs. That wasn’t her fault. That was on him.

“Zac, if I’ve done something wrong, you need to tell me.”

“It’s not you, it’s me.” Oldest line in the world. Even if it was true, about his back at least.

She was quiet for the remainder of the brief trip to her apartment, and insisted he did not get out because he was in pain.

But as he watched her walk away, he wondered if this would be their last meeting before Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day. When she’d surely end things, once and for all.

CHAPTER23

For a woman who was known for romance movies, it probably came as a surprise to many that she’d always hated Valentine’s Day. But this year held an even deeper dread, as she knew this would be the day that would break a heart. Possibly two.

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