Page 59 of As They Are
My stomach sank. “You okay?”
“I can’t even begin to comprehend this,” he said. “There’s dating and there’s friends. This is in the middle. And I had no idea there was a middle before last week!”
Henry had always been so soft-spoken and polite. He wasn’t that now. His face was red. He was tense, and had a deeper tone I’d never heard before. Horror dawned on me. I’d taken a mild-mannered doctor and sent him to the edge.Fuck,I needed to fix this.
“I shouldn’t have done this. God, Henry, I’msosorry.”
“What was the alternative? Being forced to kiss Mister Tall, Dark, and Personality of a Paper Bag?”
Despite everything that was going on, Henry had Judepegged.I would have laughed if I hadn’t been so worried about him.
Henry saw it. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, you can say what you want. I’m just trying to figure out how to fix this. I really messed up here.”
“At least I didn’t ...” He trailed off and took in a deep breath. “There’s nothing for you to fix. I shouldn’t have reacted so strongly to this. But you have to know I’m not ... cut out for this. Friendship is one thing. Dating is another. Blurring the lines isn’t something that goes well for me.”
“Okay,” I said, any mirth gone. “That’s understandable. I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I just ... panicked at the idea of touching him, but that’s my issue to fix.”
Shame colored my cheeks. I needed to leave. Mull over my mistakes. Then figure out how to make this better. I walked backward down his porch, ready to run.
But a hand latched onto mine.
“Wren, wait.”
I looked out at the sky and then back to him. “Yeah?”
“If I say no to this ... What are the other options?”
“I ... don’t think there are any.” I shrugged. “But that’s okay. I got myself into this, so I can deal with it.”
“No,” he nearly snapped, and I blinked at the sharp tone of his voice. Then he winced and spoke in a softer tone. “No. You can’t just accept this.”
“I would love nothing more than to find some way out of it, but I don’t think I can. You saw how Madison was. Even with the entire towncheeringabout us being together, she didn’t wanna believe it.”
“So, I should say yes.”
“Henry,no.If it’ll make you miserable, then don’t. I’m the one who signed the contract. I agreed to this. It’ll be fine pretending with Jude.”
“Wren.”He said my name desperately. Like it was the last thing he could hold on to. “Ican’t watch you pretend with Jude.”
I froze. I’d had no idea he cared so much.
“If this is the way out, then we’re getting you out of it.”
“We?”
“Yes. And let’s be honest, no one else is gonna let it go, even if we tried to back out of it.”
I could only stare at the sharp line of his jaw as I fought a massive wave of emotion. I wasn’t sure what I was feeling,whether it be relief, guilt, or concern, but it made my throat close up.
“Fuck, Henry.” I cleared my throat, trying to play it off. “Thank you. I owe you big time.”
“You don’t owe me anything, other than patience when I need very specific instructions. Fake dating is something that I havenoexperience with.”
“Luckily, you’re talking to the pro.” I laughed, but his face was serious, so I thought about it. “Mainly, it’s about the cameras. Being there when filming. When your work schedule accommodates, of course. Maybe I’ll crash on your couch and come from your place to make it look like we’re spending time together.” I paused when he looked a little green at the suggestion. “Or not.”
“Yeah, I don’t ... My house is my place. I’d like to keep fake dating out of that.”
