Page 14 of Fake It for Christmas

“Your house has enough personality to blow them out of the water,” I told him. “And if you can get past some nerves, I think they’ll fall for you in a heartbeat, Shane.”

I’d realized that Shane was the kind of person who had absolutely zero fucking clue how charming he was.

Sure, he wasn’t a freak of nature like me, who’d been practicing charisma for my whole life, who knew how to work a camera.

Shane was morerealthan that.

That good, heart-of-gold, country boy kind of guy that everyone loved.

Even if he didn’tknowhow lovable he was.

My job was simple: I had to get him comfortable.

“We’re going to try something,” I said. I walked back over to the camera, hitting record. “The camera is on now, but we’re not going to send any of this to the Fixer Brothers. But we should get comfortable being on camera together and talking to it.”

His blue eyes landed on me, giving me his attention like he was a student at the front of class eager to follow every rule.

“Okay. I’m ready,” he said, determined.

“For now, don’t think about what you want to say to the Fixer Brothers,” I told him. “To get used to being on camera, just stand here next to me and say exactly what you’re feeling in this moment.”

“Say what I’m feeling,” he repeated.

I got a sense that it wasn’t something Shane did all too often. If he was anything like a lot of the guys I’d met, he probably was used to stuffing his feelingsaway, not airing them for all to hear.

“I’ll give you an example,” I said. I stepped up next to him again and laced my arm around his waist, pulling him close. “I’m feeling the warmth of your body up against the side of mine. I’m a little bit excited, because it’s fun to pretend to be your boyfriend. I’m glad to be doing what I enjoy, acting. And I’m deeply happy that I have the opportunity to help a sweet guy apply for his favorite TV show.”

“Wow,” he said quietly, shifting on his feet and licking his lips.

“Oh. And I’m smelling that delicious chocolate cake as it cools off, and the disbelief that you’d do something so sweet as to bake a cake for me.”

“I always want to do something nice for a guest, and you’re not just any guest,” he said, matter-of-factly. “I still can’t believe you brought meflowers.”

“Your debut acting gig is a cause for celebration,” I said. “Now. Try it out.”

He sucked in a long breath of air.

“I’m… feeling like I want to get this right,” he said. “Because I love the show so much.”

“And how does that feel in yourbody?” I asked him.

“Like my heart won’t calm down,” he finally said. “Like… I want you to think I’m doing a good job.”

“I see,” I said softly.

“Because you’re so good at it,” he continued. “I guess I’m feeling admiration for you, or, like I’m starstruck by your skills, and I know you’ll be famous one day.”

My heart squeezed in my chest.

If only he knew that any chance of me being a famous actor was catastrophically ruined by being associated with myparents. Producers and directors didn’t care that I’d had no part in any of the crimes—they just didn’t want to take a chance on damaged goods.

But Shane only sawme.

And I kind of wished it could stay that way forever.

I gave his waist a squeeze. “Good. That was a good start,” I told him. “Let’s just keep doing this for a while, to get used to the camera. Get used to being each other’s boyfriends.”

He cleared his throat, and a moment later, he put his arms around me in a hug. “I’m so glad we’re about to film this video together, boyfriend,” he said.

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