Page 12 of How Jenna Became My Dilemma

“Thank you.” My smile beams as I take Ike by the hands and pull him to me, lightly pressing my cheeks against each of his.

“Your dress is gorgeous. Who are you wearing?” He shoves a microphone in front of me.

“Oscar de la Renta.”

“Amazing!” His lips quirk. “We’re at the LA premiere of your first stint in show business. How are you feeling right now?”

“It’s very exciting, a bit surreal, and a little nerve-racking. But there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

“A few minutes ago, I caught up with your brother, NFL wide receiver Trey Lewis. He couldn’t be prouder of his baby sister’s debut on the big screen.”

“Trey and my entire family have been so supportive during this shift from modeling to acting.” That’s not entirely true. My dad said I was making a massive mistake and that it would all blow up in my face, but Ike Rosa doesn’t need to know that.

“Tell us about your role in The Promised Prince.”

“I play Renna Degray, a common woman who ends up falling for her stepsister’s betrothed, the prince.”

“Did you see any of yourself in Renna’s character?”

“Yes, probably too much at times.” I laugh. “Not the part about falling in love with a prince, but I related to her feeling like a fish out of water. She’s in a new kingdom, trying to find who she is and where she belongs. I’ve felt that way a lot with my transition to acting.”

“I bet.” Ike nods. “The Promised Prince is a forbidden romance between Renna and Trev, who happens to be played by the uber-talented Cody Banner.”

“That’s correct.”

Here come all the Cody questions. It’s like they politely ask about me, biding their time until they can really talk about him.

“Speaking of Cody Banner.” Ike shifts his gaze to Cody coming down the carpet behind me.

He looks absolutely devastating in his tailored, pale-pink suit with the top two buttons of his white shirt undone, giving every woman a peek at his tanned chest. I would admire his bold fashion choice if it weren’t for the fact that it directly clashes with my red dress—a dead giveaway that we’re not on the same page in the show or in real life.

“Cody, join us.” Ike waves him over.

Great. Let’s make this all about him.

“Jenna and I were just talking about the onscreen romance between your two characters.” Ike gestures to me. “How was it playing the part of a man who’s forbidden to be attracted to this goddess of a woman?”

“Most difficult role of my life,” he deadpans. The double meaning behind his words is easy to catch if you know what to look for. “I mean, look at her.” A charming smile pulls to me. “What man can resist this beauty? On- or off-screen.”

What an actor!

I’m slow-clapping in my mind for his Oscar-worthy performance.

“This just makes me even more excited for the premiere. Will we see your characters interact much in episode one?”

I need to take back control of my interview. “Well, every good romance starts with a meet-cute.” Ours was more like a meet-hate, but we pulled it together for the sake of the show.

Cody laughs in his happy-go-lucky way. “That’s how you know you’re filming a romance—when words like cute are attached to everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if, next, we filmed a fight-cute or a bathroom-break-cute.”

Ike cackles, and I even see the cameraman’s lips curve upward. In true Cody Banner style, he has these people eating out of the palm of his hand with his effortless charisma.

The woman with the clipboard motions that time’s up.

“Well, I can’t wait to see how it all plays out in the premiere of episode one.”

We both give our thanks and continue down the carpet.

“You look nice.” Cody’s eyes dance up and down my body.

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