Page 5 of Love to Prove You Wrong

Nothing about his performance made sense to me. In the series, Justin came across as the sweetest, sexiest specimen alive. Seeing his character on screen even made my heart pound a little faster. Yet in real life, he was a jerk.

I turned off the TV and stared into the dark. Why had I even watched an entire season of that show?

As I slid under the covers, I couldn’t get Justin out of my head. Or at least, his character Gabriel Finch. He was a great actor; I’d give him that. But there was no way I’d ever admit that to him.

Chapter Two

“Admit it, you loved it.”

“Lovedis a strong word. But yeah, maybe I liked it a little bit. It’s a good show.”

“Ha, I knew it. How many episodes did you watch?” Suzie asked while ringing up the magazine I’d picked up at her bookstore, Got It Covered.

“A couple,” I said.

I didn’t want to lie to my best friend, but I wasn’t planning on admitting I was hooked on Justin’s show. I had even eaten my lunch at home just so I could catch an extra episode ofIn Dire Need.

Suzie leaned her elbows on the counter, resting her head in her hands. “He plays such a dreamy guy, right?”

I shrugged as if I couldn’t care less. “It doesn’t change my opinion about the real him, though. He might be Gabriel Finch to the world, but to me, he’s still Justin Miller – immature and, and…”

Suzie cocked an eyebrow. “And hot?”

A laugh escaped my mouth. “Stop it, Suzie. I was going to say that he’s immature and a clown. He booked his reservation under Kermit the Frog, for crying out loud. What grown man would do that?”

“Maybe someone exactly like him? You know, a celebrity?”

I put the magazine under my arm and shook my head. “Being the lead in a popular TV series and acting in a few movies doesn’t make him a celebrity.”

Suzie put her hand on her hip. “Addy, the guy’s got one and a half million followers on Instagram. That’s pretty famous in my book.”

“He does?”

I got my phone out and looked him up. She was right. It was staring me right in the face. Justin Miller. One point five million followers. He probably had millions of followers on other platforms as well. Figures.

“How could I have missed this?” I asked, more to myself than anything.

I scrolled down to peek at his pictures. In every one of them, he was looking right into the camera, his smile as deep as his dimples. Beach days, hip restaurant outings, movie premieres… His world was the opposite of mine. For me, a typical Friday night involved defrosting a pizza while catching up on laundry; his was a mix of Pinterest-worthy parties and fancy food.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of him being back in Old Pine Cove, where nothing exciting ever happened.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” I said. “Justin’s in for a culture shock now that he’s back. I bet you he’ll get bored of this town in a matter of days.”

“Maybe it’s a welcome change of scenery for him. Life in L.A. can get pretty hectic. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience.”

She really was. Before moving to Old Pine Cove, Suzie used to live in Los Angeles. But I was happy and grateful she’d decided to move to Old Pine Cove after reconnecting with Alex, the love of her life. If she hadn’t, we’d never have grown so close.

I bit my lip. “Maybe. But you know what? I shouldn’t care about any of it. It’s his life. He’s just a guest, nothing more. And I’ll make sure to treat him that way. You know, like a professional inn owner.”

Suzie smiled at me, a twinkle in her eye. “Just a guest, huh? And yet you can’t seem to stop talking about him.”

I waved her remark away. I could stop talking about him if I wanted to. Sure, he’d been the first thing on my mind when I woke up that morning, but that was to be expected. I had binge-watched his show the night before, and he had gotten on my nerves with the whole immature Kermit the Frog thing. That’s all it was. It had nothing to do with his dimples or his smile. Absolutely nothing.

“Are you going to follow him?” Suzie asked, motioning to my phone.

I closed the app. “Of course not. I don’t care about seeing his pictures in my feed every day.”

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