Page 79 of How to Kiss a Movie Star
What does Claire think about you dating someone new?
I look for Jasper in the crowd and immediately spot his trademark bright red baseball cap. We make eye contact, and I slow, leaning down to whisper in Audrey’s ear. “Look up and to the left just for a second,” I say.
She does, and hopefully that means Jasper gets a shot of us both.
The crowd moves with us as we make it outside, closing in, despite Nate’s attempts to keep everyone back. Now, people are yelling questions at Audrey.
What’s your name, sweetheart?
How did you and Flint meet?
Have the two of you slept together yet?
I hear her gasp after this question, and I tighten my grip on her hand, tugging her into my side and wrapping an arm around her waist. “Just ignore them,” I say close to her ear. “We’re almost there.”
Kenji is waiting in a dark SUV at the curb, just like Joni said he would be. He jumps out as we approach and opens the door, tilting his body to create as much of a shield as he can. With him on one side and Nate on the other, we’re able to slip into the car with relative ease. It’s hard to believe, but Kenji is even bigger than Nate. He’s got the shoulders of an NFL linebacker, but he’s got as much aggression in his entire body as I have in my pinky finger. I’ve never seen the man get ruffled. It’s why I like working with him so much. He just takes everything in stride. Once we’re inside the car, Kenji jumps in behind us as Nate moves back into the crowd to find Joni and retrieve our luggage.
Audrey exhales, her shoulders sagging into the seatback. “That was insane,” she says.
“More insane than usual,” I agree. I look at Kenji. “What’s going on today?”
“You’re going on, man,” he says easily. “Some big-time influencer posted a picture of you two snuggled up on the airplane, and it only took about five seconds to go viral.” He leans over me and extends a hand to Audrey. “I’m Kenji. Nice to finally meet you.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” she says.
Kenji lifts his expression to me, an eyebrow cocked. “Don’t worry. I only told her that you’re bigger than a tree but sweeter than a kitty cat. I didn’t reveal any of your scariest secrets.”
Kenji shrugs. “Just so long as you remember that no matter how much dirt you have on me, I willalwayshave more on you.” He pulls up his phone and navigates toPeoplemagazine’s website. The headline is big and bold, in bright red letters.Flint Hawthorne in Love?“If you wanted the world to know you have a girlfriend who isn’t Claire McKinsey? Well, you’ve done it.”
Kenji’s tone isn’t exactly judgmental, but it doesn’t need to be. He was never in favor of this whole scheme, not from the first time Simon mentioned it.
As I look at Audrey’s drawn expression, noting the dark circles under her eyes, I have to wonder if he’s right.
Not for the first time, I wonder what would have happened—ifanythingwould have happened—had I never asked Audrey to come to LA. What if I’d just asked her out? Expressed an interest and told her I wanted to take her to dinner?
Just like every other time I’ve asked myself the question, doubt roars up to squelch the idea. I may not like the idea of lying to everyone, but the reality is, Audrey wouldn’t have said yes had all I done was ask her out. For exactly the chaos we’ve just endured. She would never choose this.
She would never chooseme.
For that reason, I have to be grateful Joni took Simon’s hair-brained idea and turned it into something I could actually swallow.
It’s bought me time with Audrey, and I’ll never regret that.
Whether it will make a difference in how the press handles the movie, that’s still up for debate. The pictures of Audrey on my Instagram account have put a stop to Claire’s veiled comments and innuendo, but for how long? If this business has taught me anything, it’s that you only have so much control over any story, and things can spin out of control at any moment. The best I can do is hold on for the ride.
“Oh, heads up,” Kenji says. “Mark Sheridan will be at the premiere tomorrow night. His RSVP came in late, but he’ll be there.”
I sit up a little taller in my seat, angling my body so I can better look at Kenji—no small feat seeing as how he fills up half the backseat all by himself. “He’ll be there? Should I take that as a good sign?”
Kenji shrugs. “I don’t think it’s a bad one.”
“Mark Sheridan?” Audrey asks, leaning around me to look at Kenji. “He’s the one who did the documentary on offshore drilling.”
Kenji’s eyebrows go up. “Most people know him for his multiple Oscars, but sure. Off-shore drilling.”
“He actuallywonone of those Oscars for the offshore drilling documentary,” I say, and Kenji lifts a hand in acknowledgment. “But the most important thing,” I say, looking back at Audrey, "is that he’s the executive producer for a movie I really want to work on. If he’s here, I can only hope he’s interested in meeting me in person.”
“This isn’t the one you just had a meeting about the other day? The one you’re producing?”
