Page 71 of As They Are
“Good.”
“In front of you.”
“Wren.”That firm voice returned, and I was tempted to push him just to see what he would do.
But I held back. I was sure my savior wouldn’t appreciate me annoying him more than I already had.
And by the time I’d figured out what to say, he’d sighed. “Sorry,” he said. “I got a little too firm there. I just want you to take care of yourself. I don’t need anything.”
“All right,” I replied. “I can respect boundaries.”
Mostly.
A shadow crossed over our table, and I did a double take when I saw the last person I expected.
“M-Madison? What are you doing here?”
She took off her sunglasses and placed them on the top of her head. “Filming resumes tomorrow. And I’m making sure things go off without a hitch. I see you two are cozy.”
We could have been cozier.
“You caught us having a normal breakfast,” I said. “What do you need?”
“Were you aware a video was posted of you last night?”
“Yes.”
“And did you plan for everyone to see it?”
“Wren had nothing to do with that,” Henry said, his voice tense.
“Is that true?”
“He was helping me feel better aftersomeonethreatened me. I didn’t even know there was a video.”
Madison rolled her eyes. “So, someone in this town did it. Whatever. The point is, our plan has changed. You can be with Henry. He can be a guest star.”
“I can be awhat?”
Shit.This was not what I expected.
“No, he can just be on the sidelines. He has a job as a doctor. Something he can’t just stop doing.”
“Yes, I know. But the network likes the romance element, and so do the fans. You chose Henry, so to keep the romance alive, we want him too.”
I opened my mouth to argue more, but Henry cut me off.
“Wren, it’s fine. We can work with this.”
“But you said?—”
“I know what I said.” His eyes went back to Madison. “I can’t commit to much. What were you thinking?”
“We film you seeing the library. Talk about what it means to you and this town. Make it a cute little story. Only a few hours a week. We can talk compensation.”
“I don’t need money, but I do have a request.”
“What is it?”
