Page 21 of Faking the Shot

“I personallylovehow that rumor implies that people think I’m so bad at acting that I can’t remember what it feels like to fall in love or be dumped so I have to chase it all the time.”

“That sucks.”

“Big-time.”

He sipped his tea. “I have women throwing themselves at me—like, literally, sometimes.”

She swallowed a chuckle. She’d seen a few videos where women had done exactly that. Throwing, then missing, as he’d walked past oblivious, and their friends had scraped them off the floor. “That wasn’t me last week, by the way.”

“I know.”

His intense look rippled through her.

Then he pushed his cup away. “The problem is that some women think I’m still like that, and now I’m a Christian I’m trying to live differently. But because people still believe it, they treat me in a certain way because that’s what they think is true.”

“It’s so hard to combat too, isn’t it?”

“Yep.”

“And hard when you’re aware that people look up to you, and you have this reputation that’s not exactly what you want.”

“One hundred percent.”

Understanding flowed between them. She smiled, and his lips tweaked upward.

“So I wondered, especially considering some of these might be things that you’d experienced too, if you might agree to a certain business proposition.”

His eyebrows lifted. “A business proposition?”

She nodded. “I was wondering how you might feel about a partnership. It sounds like you need someone to keep the women away, and I need someone to be my date. So,” her stomach tensed,Lord, please help this go okay, “so I wondered about whether you’d agree to a fake relationship with me?”

* * *

Zac blinked. “A fake relationship?”Not a real one?

She winced. “I know as Christians we’re not supposed to lie, and I don’t want you to feel any pressure. I just need to keep my agent off my back. Apparently, I have a reputation for not being able to have a relationship longer than a week, and when Cassie mentioned that you were a Christian, well, I was interested.”

But not interested enough she’d want to give this a try for real. Okay then. Wow. He sat back in his seat, trying not to let the disappointment show.

Apparently he wasn’t a good actor because her brow pleated. “I’m sorry. I thought maybe this was something you might see could be beneficial.”

“And how did you think this could benefit me?”

“Well, it could keep the women away. The ones throwing themselves at you. If it was known that you were going out with me, that is.”

That was true. Fake-dating Ainsley would give him time to figure out some of his questions with God, while shutting up a lot of questions from others. Including from Logan.

“And I could pay you.”

“I don’t need your money.”

“Right, of course you don’t. But I would want to pay for any expenses you might incur from being with me. Like at various awards nights, and so on. That is, if you agreed.”

That was the question, wasn’t it? Should he agree? He didn’t know what to do. Except all this past week, ever since her message had come through, he’d felt a kind of urgent draw to this. He’d nearly not come tonight, sure there was no way a woman with a boyfriend should be meeting another man. But her explanation made sense, and her reasoning for this subterfuge made sense too. But was it right, like what God wanted?

And how could he play pretend with a woman he was attracted to? Maybe that was the challenge God had for him, to learn how to press past attraction to find something deeper, something like what Chris and Diana had, something that lasted. He was tired of flings and hookups that never really satisfied. And he sensed that wasn’t the way God wanted him to live anyway. Not anymore. So this would be a challenge, an opportunity for him to grow.

The hope in her eyes faded, her expression showing her expectation that he’d say no, which might be the wisest thing to do. Surely a lot less work than playing pretend with her.

---