Page 17 of Doc Showmance
Ian’s gaze hardened. He didn’t like that.
Interesting.
I pointed at Ian. “He and I are not remotely attracted to each other. Okay, I can’t vouch for him because no one knows what’s hiding behind his idiotic grin.” As if on cue, he smiled at me. No clue what it meant since he was always quick to go to a smile. Ian was Mr. Ever-happy with his radiant smile and energy. His TV persona wasn’t a fake. Buried memories of him irritating me in school with his perma-smile burst into my head.
I said, “But me? That’s a no on the attraction.”
“Are you a lesbian?” Marianna asked.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but no,” I replied.
“Good. Then how could you not be attracted to him?”
“Doyouhave a crush on him?”
“Who doesn’t?” Marianna shrugged.
“Even the best actors in the world need some chemistry. If it’s absent, when they try to fake it, the show falls flat. We despised each other in school. That kind of feeling isn’t going to change overnight because he’s miraculously back in my life. Neither of us is the other’s type. I’ve got tattoos and sometimes dye my hair weird colors.” I pulled up my right scrub top sleeve to show-and-tell my biceps and the work I had done last summer of a stylized dragon. “He’s an underwear model who dates vanilla B-list actresses and would probably faint if I offered him a joint. Why wouldhepause his supermodel date-a-thon to show interest in me?”
“Because someone’s paying me to do it,” he shot back.
I stared at the smartass sitting next to me. A small voice in my head said,Don’t do it, Amber. Don’t take the bait.A smarter voice in my head said,Don’t do it until you get the rules of this established by the producer.
“What?” Ian asked, his glare daring me to hit back verbally. Apparently he was as irritated by this discussion of how we were to kiss as I was and searching for a deflection point to allow him to vent. He flashed those perfectly even white teeth in a smile so wide it brought out a dimple on the left side.
“There’s no amount of money on earth worth being paid to put my lips on yours. God knows where yours have been.” I shuddered.
“You think you’re my dream costar?”
“Be careful. I’ve gotten pretty good at neutering.” I scowled.
“See? There’s definitely something here.” Marianna grinned a smile that had nothing to do with pleasure and everything to do with the calculations going on in her brain.
“I have a suggestion,” I gritted out between my teeth. “We stay enemies instead.”
“Nope. The world likes a juicy romance.” Marianna pursed her lips and glanced between Ian and me. “I think you’ll be hot with this back and forth on TV. It’s a perfect opposites-attract scenario.”
“Maybe we do enemies to…a date or something.” The worldloversstuck in my throat, so I edited it to date. “I’ll neverlikeyou, Dillweed,” I hissed under my breath at him.
The producer twirled her perfectly coiffed dark hair around a finger. She waved a hand and held up a remote to play something on the big screen at the other end of the room. “Let’s start with our plan to launch this showmance. We’re going to run a special episode to push you into the spotlight. Yesterday was pure TV gold, Amber.” She grinned like a Cheshire cat.
Oh, no.
I moved my arms across my belly, holding tight, and chewed on my inner cheek.
For fifteen minutes, we watched a roughly edited version of yesterday’s ordeal. When the video ended the room remained silent. Everyone stared at me. Did they think I would jump up and lose my shit? I might be freaking out on the inside, but they didn’t get to see that side of me.
“We’ll smooth out the rough edges for sure, but what do you think?” Marianna asked.
I swallowed hard. Then waved at the screen. “That’s a problem on so many levels.”
“Tell me all the problems you see so we can fix them before it airs. We’re here to worst-case-scenario for anticipated backlash.”
“Wade will get mad that his dog almost died under someone else’s hands and all that…” I waved again at the now blue screen, “…happened. Mac is doing okay this morning, but we’re not even sure if he’s going to make it through recovery. We’re not sure if the tumor is cancerous. I’m hopeful he’ll make it and be fine.”
Marianna waved a dismissive hand. “Wade can be taken care of. That’s a problem money can solve. We’ll pay all his dog’s bills and pay for free vet care for the rest of the dog’s life. The dog’s like, what, twelve? He’ll probably die soon.”
My chest constricted. In a hushed whisper, I said, “We don’t say shit like that. Mac is Wade’s heart and soul. That man is a firefighter who doesn’t have a lot, but he has Mac. How could you possibly wish his dog dead?”
