Page 72 of As They Are
“I want you to showcase the town. Not just as a place that needs this library, but as a real place. Which means highlighting the local businesses, like this one.”
Madison’s eyes narrowed, a sign she wasn’t thrilled with the request.
It was a good one, though.
“Fine.” Her voice was stiff. “I’ll draw up a contract.”
She walked away without another word, headed to her car.
Tammy approached the table. “Do I even wanna know what that was about?”
“Just business stuff,” I said.
“Good business things,” Henry added. “For more than just us.”
“I don’t know if I like you two planning things together,” she said. “It’s a little scary. But I have a feeling this’ll be lasting a while. So, I guess I’ll have to get used to it.”
A whilein reality meant only a few months. But I wondered if she expected “a while” to mean so much more. They saw Henry and me as a real couple, two people who were dating for love and not for benefit.
I would have to remember that when this ended.
The second I saw Jude pull into the square on filming day, my heart jumped to my throat.
He didn’t feel the same way. His entire body was loose and relaxed as he walked over to me.
“I hear you have a new boyfriend you’ll be with on camera. Congrats.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Sorry about not pretending to date you.”
“Eh, it’s fine. I’m still the main guy on the show, and it frees me up a little. Hey, does this town have any hot ladies?”
“I ... You’re really asking me that?”
“What? You’re seeing someone else. So, I’m free to do it too.”
He was right, of course. But I hoped that he would remember that I’d once had feelings for him.
That was obviously asking for too much, though.
“Not sure,” I said, shrugging. “Mostly kept my eyes out for the guys.” I’d only met Jade, who was my age. She was gorgeous with her colorful hair and free-spirited personality, but I highly doubted she would give him the time of day. She had to have high standards.
He hummed. “Sometimes there’s a diamond in the rough in places like this.”
“Sure. Have fun hunting.”
“Get ready,” Madison called to me. “Henry’s about to head this way.”
“How do you know?”
“We’re getting him mic’d up so we can hear everything. We want your hellos to be on camera.”
When I did this with Jude, they told us what to say and how to say it. Jude and I got a few minutes to warm up before we were shoved into faking it.
But I supposed it was different this time. The cameras all turned in the direction Henry would walk from, and then he appeared.
He didn’t look that different from usual, and I forced myself to forget that we were being watched. I wanted this to be as natural as possible.
All thoughts flew out of my head when Henry leaned down. His hand went to the side of my neck, and the air in my lungs rushed out of me as his lips moved over mine.
