Page 394 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
Joni reaches for her phone, scrolling while she talks. “Honestly, every time the story updates, it seems like they have a little more information. They found your faculty photo from Carolina Southern, and it looks like there are links to a few more articles you’ve published.” She holds up her phone screen so Audrey and I can both see it. “This is kinda cool though. You’ve gotten so much attention that Amazon has sold out of your book.”
“My book?”
“Reforestation and Biodiversity,” Joni reads. “By Doctor Audrey Callahan.”
Audrey lets out a surprised laugh. “The only people who ever buy that book are college students who have to because it’s on their syllabus.”
Joni shrugs. “Maybe people will learn something, then.” She stands and points at Audrey. “Hey, guess what? You get the afternoon off. I suggest a real nap instead of a two-minute one on the way back from the bathroom.”
Audrey's eyes dart to me. “Oh. I’m fine. I’ll be fine without a nap.” A yawn muffles the last few words of her sentence, and she stifles it with her fist. “Ignore that,” she says. “It’s just a little bit of jet lag. But I swear I’m okay.”
I smile. “Stay and sleep. For real. I can manage without you for a little bit. Especially now that I’ve talked to Claire.”
A flash of uncertainty flits across her expression, but she nods. “Okay. If you’re sure.”
“I’ll give you two a minute to say goodbye,” Joni says, moving toward the balcony to get Nate. As she crosses back throughthe room, she says, “You know, since this is a totally fake relationship that doesn’t have anything to do with real, actual feelings.”
Nate follows quickly behind, and they both disappear out the door.
“She knows?” Audrey asks as soon as the latch clicks closed behind them.
I nod. “She guessed.”
Audrey nods and moves into the bedroom, dropping onto the edge of the bed. She kicks off her shoes. “Do you think we need to check in with John? If people know who I am, I worry someone might show up at the house.”
“That’s a good thought. I’ll have Nate check in with him and tell him to be extra vigilant.”
She nods, and I reach up to curve a hand around her cheek. She closes her eyes and leans into me.
“Are you okay? I know all of this is a lot.”
She nods. “I’m great, actually. Itisa lot, but I’ve enjoyed watching you talk about your work.” She reaches over and slides her hands across my chest, toying with the buttons on the front of my shirt. “You know what I’m not excited about though?” She bites her lip in that anxious way I’m beginning to love.
“What’s that?” I lean forward, needing to touch her, to kiss her before I leave.
She presses her hands into my chest, stopping me just before my lips meet hers. “I’mnotlooking forward to watching you make out with Claire.”
I freeze, not grasping her meaning. I have zero plans of ever doingthatagain.
“In the movie, Flint,” Audrey says softly.
Oh.Oh.She isn’t the first person to worry about something like this. I have friends who have navigated this road before, setting boundaries, figuring out what makes them and theirspouses or partners feel comfortable when it comes to on-screen intimacy. “I get that,” I say gently. “But it’s acting, Audrey. It isn’t real.”
“It was real with Claire, though, wasn’t it?”
I nod, wishing I didn’t have to say yes. “Not the whole time we were filming. Just for a while there at the end. By the time we started dating for real, we’d already filmed all the scenes that included us both.”
I can tell Audrey’s mind is working from the way her brows are creased, a tiny line appearing right between them. “How do you keep it from feeling real?” she asks. “Not just with Claire, but generally.”
I run a hand across my face and consider her question. “I mean, it helps that there are normally a dozen people or more crowded around you when it’s happening. Cameras in your faces, directors paying very close attention to everything from where your hands are to how long a kiss lasts to whether your eyebrows are relaxed while you’re kissing. The whole thing is directed, scripted, which generally makes it about the least intimate setting ever.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
“Then there’s the cardinal rule of all on-screen kissing,” I say, and she lifts her eyebrows.
“What’s the cardinal rule?”
I grin. “No tongue.”
