Page 28 of Wallflower in Bloom

Crap. She was a terrible liar. She was less creative than Lily and not as confident as Rose, but she knew most things about Jack from online fan groups. She could make something work.

“The first night when he was visiting Gray, our mutual friend, I fell hard. I mean, look at him. And that accent.” Violet giggled and put her hand on Jack’s arm. He clasped it with his other hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing her knuckles.

“Violet’s cottage,” Jack interrupted, “is an absolute dream. I knew I had met someone special when I walked into a place that spoke to my heart.”

Aww. He sounds so genuine. Maybe he actually likes my house?

It was easy to get wrapped up in his beaming smile. How did all of his costars avoid falling for him? “After long talks over tea and wine, we found we had a lot in common. I’m also a big fan of the show,” Violet said quickly, still staring at him. “I’ve seen everything he’s ever done.”

Her pupils were probably heart-shaped at this point.

A waiter set Shay’s food down and had a box of Violet’s regular lunch order all ready. “Lunch is on the house today. Aaron insisted.”

Violet looked around toward the checkout counter of the café where her best friend Aaron, the owner, stood. His arched eyebrow and ‘what the fuck just happened’ facial expression told her she was in for a looooong convo later.

“Oh, that’s so nice. Tell Aaron thanks.” Violet flipped open the to-go box containing her favorite salad with lush bits of cheese and nuts, healthy summer tomatoes, and cold-spiced salmon.

Shay stress-ate fries with narrowed, skeptical eyes. “Seems too good to be true for this one to commit to a girlfriend after only a few days.”

“Oh,” Violet said quickly as she pulled out a fork, “this isn’t the first time we’ve met. I’ve known Gray for years, and you’ve visited, what, three times?” She leaned toward Jack, tilting her head.

Ha, she was such a good actress. Shay was totally going to buy their relationship, and then maybe, as a thank you, Jack might kiss her again.

The ghost of a smile whispered over his lips as he stared back at her. “Four, darling.”

He reached over and grabbed a dressing-covered cherry tomato from her salad.

Violet panicked. “No!” She smacked the tomato out of his hands, and it rolled onto the table. “It has pecans.”

Jack’s wide eyes stared back at her.

“The dressing has pecans in it,” Violet clarified, catching her breath.

“Oh.” Jack cleared his throat. “Thank you, darling.” He threw a hand around her shoulder and brought her in for a kiss on her temple. “Forever keeping me safe.”

Oh god, a head kiss. She lived for those.

She curled her toes. It’d been so long since she’d been on a date, had a boyfriend, or had sex with anyone who wasn’t in her imagination. She was a succulent at the end of the dry season, grasping for any drop of affection to tide her over for her next dry spell.

She let herself lean into him. He had started all of this; she might as well sell it to his agent.

Shay smirked behind her blood-red nails. “All right, I’m sold. Plus, you seem quite”—Violet braced for whatever insult a fabulous woman would throw at her—“wholesome. This will do nicely. Excellent job, Grant. Now we just need to take pictures and post them online.” She sighed in contentment as she bit into her burger.

Violet’s stomach dropped. “Pictures?”

“We need to respond to all the angry subscribers calling into the Wayridge Network. We’ll take photos of you on picture-perfect, wholesome Americana dates. Maybe some ice cream and shit. Then post it on socials and release it to the press. Voila! I still get to pay my mortgage, and Jack still gets to work.”

Cold panic clutched at Violet’s feet. She hated having her picture taken, loathed it.

Jack rubbed her shoulders and pressed her to him. “That doesn’t sound so bad.” He grinned at Violet, but his face fell as he registered her panic.

She mentally sent him a no, no, no, help telepathic message.

“I don’t really do pictures,” Violet said, finally, hating to disappoint them.

“Don’t worry, darling.” Shay reached over, grabbed Violet’s hand, and patted it. “We’ll do a full makeover before the shoot. You do want to fix Jack’s problem, right?”

“I mean, I do, but...” Violet sent a shy smile to Jack. Could she stand next to the hottest man she’d ever seen in front of the entire world?

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