Page 83 of The Fake Script

Both Alice and Hayley shiver. Yeah, it’s the number one most-hated trope in this household.

“I’m not going to be that girl,” I say, locking my screen. If Madison thinks she’s getting to me with this pitiful scheme, she has no idea who she’s dealing with. Auston and I waited ten years to finally be together. It’ll take a lot more than a little tabloid scandal to separate us again. “I’m going to take a shower, and then I’ll call Auston.”

“You go, girl,” Hayley calls after me. “See? I knew you were the perfect romance-novel heroine.”

With a shake of my head, I march to my room, a smile spreading on my face.

I drop my phone on my bed, then step into the bathroom to get ready. When I return to my room, showered and dressed for the day, I have ten missed calls from Auston. Frowning, I call him back, and he answers on the first ring.

“Emma, it’s not what you think,” he says in a reckless tumble of words, out of breath. “She manipulated everything. I swear.”

“Are you running right now?”

“I am,” he says. “I’m here, actually. In front of your apartment.”

“What!” I rush to the window and see him standing at the base of our building, catching his breath. “I’ll be right down.”

I hurry downstairs and swing the door open. He lunges forward to close the space between us, clutching my hands. “I’m so sorry. It’s all Madison. I would never do that to you. She ambushed me—probably called the paparazzi too. This whole time, she wasn’t leaving us alone, she was orchestrating ways to bump into me so she could weave this little narrative. Emma, you have to believe me.”

“I do,” I say, squeezing his hands. “I believe you. This has Madison written all over it.”

“Really?” He arches his eyebrows, then drops both hands to his knees with a breath of relief.

I smirk. “Of course. You have that little faith in me, huh? I might be new to the real-life relationship game, but I’m highly educated in fictional ones, and this is such an overused source of conflict in romance novels, I’d be blind not to notice it in real life.”

“I thought . . .” he says, standing back up. “She played her cards so well, made it look so real.”

“I know, and we’re going to have to do something about her. She can’t keep getting away with this. Her games have gone too far.”

“I agree,” he says, propping a hand on the wall for support. “What do you suggest? I’m guessing you’ve read a book or two about that as well, right?”

I laugh. “We’re not going to go all Dark Romance on her. But I think you should call her out in public. Make it crystal clear that this rumor was fabricated by her and that you’re definitely not—nor will ever be—interested in her. That those outings in the past were solely for publicity, and that you’re now asking her to leave you alone.”

“You’re right.” He nods. “That’s the only thing that’ll finally make her stop. I thought about calling her out before, but it felt cruel. Now, not so much. She doesn’t seem to get the memo when I try to be nice and salvage her reputation. It’s time we do this the hard way.”

“You don’t have a choice,” I add as he takes my hand again. “People need to see her for who she really is.”

“I’m lucky to have a girlfriend as smart as you,” he says, pulling me toward him and drawing a giggle out of me. “Most girls would have jumped to conclusions, and this would have been a totally different conversation.”

“But I’m not most girls,” I say, intertwining my fingers with his.

His forehead bumps with mine. “No, you’re not. You’remygirl.”

A flock of butterflies take flight as he kisses me, right there on a slowly-waking-up Warlington Lane. I wrap my arms around his neck, and something scratches my hand. I roam my fingers over it and realize it’s the tag of his shirt.

No, I’m the lucky one. Because I have a boyfriend who hurries out of his apartment without taking the time to properly dress, just so he can run to my side.

33

Everything He's Ever Wanted

Auston

“It’s a wrap!” Clarence shouts, and the whole crew erupts into roaring applause. This is it. The movie is done, and I’m proud of everyone who helped make it happen. We did a great job.

I give Madison a terse nod—no need to pretend we actually like each other now. My public announcement about her scheming hit her hard. She was furious, and she didn’t show up on set fortwo whole days, until production threatened her with a fee for holding up the shoot. She lost scores of followers on social media, and rumor has it that Glenn Studios, who was in talks with her for an upcoming movie, is dropping her. Well, you reap what you sow.

I move around to congratulate the rest of the team, shaking hands, giving high-fives, and pulling them into warm hugs. When we first started out, I had no desire to do this movie. But aside from a few hiccups, I’ve had a fantastic time. And it reunited me with the love of my life.

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