Page 31 of The Fake Script

I should be used to people complimenting my looks, but coming from Emma’s lips? That’s an entirely different ballgame. I clear my throat. “Should we go? I’m parked on the lot near my trailer.”

She nods, and we stroll down the sidewalk in silence.

“Are you sure you’re okay with me driving?” I say once we approach the car Robyn rented for me.

She releases a long breath. “Yes. I won’t love it, but I trust you.”

My heart soars. The faith she’s placing in me means more than she’ll ever know. Especially after I let her down so badly. Sure, she says that she’s put it behind her, but I haven’t.

We take our seats inside the luxurious car, and I start the engine.

“I’ll be careful,” I promise before putting the car into reverse.

We start the drive to the venue, and with every minute that passes, I feel her relaxing next to me.

“So,” she says, casting me a glance. “What exactly should I expect tonight?”

“Basically, Lucacci is launching a new perfume, and as one of their brand ambassadors, I’m expected to make an appearance. Their parties are always extravagant and heavily themed, so this one should be fun. We’ll take some red-carpet pictures, and there will be a few photographers inside as well. We’ll eat, dance—that kind of thing. It’s just a regular party.”

“Okay,” she says, gazing outside. “I never was a big party girl, so . . .”

My throat goes dry. The first party she ever attended was the one I took her to. The night I kissed her. The night before I left. “I remember,” I whisper.

Her head snaps back, her eyes drilling into me. At first, she stays silent. Then, she says, “Rules. We should talk about rules.”

I shoot her a confused look. “What do you mean? Like I said, it’s just a party.”

“I meant betweenus,” she says, agitating her fingers to gesture between the two of us. “Haven’t you seen any fake dating movies? We need to set some ground rules for this to work.”

I rack my brain. “I don’t know. I think I might have watched one or two.”

“Well, I’ve read dozens of books with that trope. It’s not my favorite, but they all have threads in common. Like rules.”

“It’s not your favorite trope, but you’ve read dozens of books with it?” I breathe out a quiet laugh.

“Exactly. It’s a good thing one of us is prepared.”

I suppress my smile. “Fine. What rules do we need?”

“First of all, we’ll define how much PDA is expected when we’re in public.”

Oh, she’s going straight for it. “Um, I don’t know. What are you comfortable with?” I’m up for anything when it comes to Emma.

“Holding hands is expected, a hand on the small of my back. Things like that. I don’t think we really have to kiss in front of people. More and more couples don’t kiss in public.”

My stomach sinks, but then I remind myself that I want it to be real when I kiss her again.If I kiss her again.“Sure. That works.”

“If we do have to kiss for any reason, we can just do a quick peck. But again, I don’t think it’ll be necessary.”

A quick peck? I don’t think I could ever settle for a quick peck. Better if we don’t kiss at all. “What else?”

“No disgustingly cute nicknames, please. It’s my pet peeve. You won’t believe the number of books I DNF because the guy called the girl ‘flower’ or ‘babe.’” She grimaces.

When I stop at a light, I turn to her. “DNF?”

“Did not finish.”

“Ah. Well, that one I can agree on. I was in a movie once where I had to call my love interest ‘doll.’ Longest shoot of my life.”

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