Page 25 of The Fake Script

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she says with that fake-concerned voice of hers. She might be a good actress, but feigning empathy was never her forté. Hard to pull off when you don’t have an ounce of it in your body. “Are you two going to be all right?”

I relax my shoulders and smile. “Yeah, we are. Emma and I are solid.”

“Great. Then I guess she’s coming to the Lucacci launch tonight. Or do you need me to walk the red carpet with you?”

My ears are now burning. “She’s coming.”

Her eyes widen slightly. “Oh, okay. Well, that’s fantastic. I hope she has something nice to wear. You know, since it’s her first public appearance and all.”

“See you on set, Madison,” I say, spinning on my heel and marching out of her trailer.

Okay, she got me with that one. Iknow I’m pushing my luck with Emma here, since I’m pretty sure fancy launch parties and red-carpet events aren’t exactly her scene. When we were in high school, she called prom “an overrated nightmare of shallow competition and mindless conformity.” On the other hand, if she does say yes, she will need a red-carpet dress, which I’m guessing she doesn’t have hanging in her closet.

This fake dating thing is going to be harder than I thought. With Madison scrutinizing our every move, Emma might be in for more than she bargained for.

Emma

My stress level triples the moment I knock on Auston’s door. Now, all our cards are on the table. We’re both aware of our past. And to complicate things further, we’ve thrown fake dating into the mix. My friends claim that I’m the Queen of Drama, and for once, I have to agree.

“Come in,” Auston calls from inside.

I adjust my sweatshirt, push open the door, and walk into the now-familiar space. Auston’s musky cologne mingles with the scent of pine laundry soap and . . .coffee. My eyes zoom in on the two steaming cups from Rise & Grind resting on the coffee table.

“You got me coffee?” I ask, my eyebrows furrowed.

“Oh, yeah.” He scratches the back of his head. “I know you don’t like mine, so . . .”

“Thanks.” I grab a cup, take a seat on the couch, and lose myself for a second in the heavenly taste of freshly brewed coffee. “Are you ready to start? I made some final notes on today’s scenes, but with what we worked on yesterday, it should be easy.”

He nods. “Great. There’s just one thing I wanted to say before we start, now that the cat’s out of the bag.”

“Sure,” I say, pretending to be casual, but my heart just started running a marathon.

His eyes glisten. “I never apologized for the way I left. I feel horrible, Emma. I’m so—”

I raise a hand to stop him. “No need. It’s fine. That was a long time ago.”

“But—”

“I promise,” I say a lot louder than intended. “You don’t have to apologize. We were kids, and you landed your first big role. It’s all cool.” My chest is heaving up and down. I need to relax if I want him to believe a word I just said. It’s partly true, though. I don’t need him to apologize, and I really don’t want to relive that day again. The only way this fake dating thing is going to work is if I pretend we never knew each other.

He swallows hard, gazing at me as if he’s trying to decipher a puzzle.

I give him a tight nod. “Let’s just get to work, okay?”

“Fine,” he relents, standing up to grab the script from the table. Then, he jolts a little. “Oh, no. I had something to ask you.”

“Shoot,” I say, taking a sip of my coffee in the desperate hope that it’ll ease my nerves.

He clears his throat. “Well, Lucacci is launching a new perfume tonight. As the face of theirUomocologne, I was invited. And since you’re my ‘girlfriend,’ I was hoping you’d be my plus one.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Here we go. This fake dating thing is officially in motion. I can tell he’s nervous, but I don’t know why. I said I’d be his fake girlfriend, and I don’t go back on my word. “Sure. No problem.”

He blinks back in surprise. “Really? It’s a fancy red carpet kind of thing.”

I arch an eyebrow. “And you think I won’t fit in?”

“Of course you will. I just don’t want you to go somewhere you might be uncomfortable.”

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