Page 46 of How Jenna Became My Dilemma

“Great. Assume that role whenever you have to be in the fake relationship.”

Play the part of a confident woman? I’ve been doing that for years.

“Then, when you’re out of the public eye, treat Cody like you’d treat anyone else you’re working with. It’s an acting job. Turn it on for the cameras, then immediately turn it off when they stop rolling.”

“What about Albert Einstein? He said—”

“I remember what he said because that’s the only quote you ever quote. Thanks to you, we all know his definition of insanity by heart.”

“The guy was a genius, Trey.” I transfer my phone to the other ear. “It’s unwise to ignore his advice.”

“So don’t expect a different result. Don’t expect Cody to fall for you. Don’t expect what he’s saying and doing to be real. He’ll be acting just like you. Everything about this situation is different than your past failed relationships because those were relationships. This is business to help boost your career. When you compartmentalize it like that, you take the real feelings away.”

“You’re right. This is business. We’re both actors playing a role. Neither one of us wants or expects anything different. I’ll be fine.” Nodding accompanies each sentiment, an added layer to help convince my heart that Trey is right.

“And whatever you do, don’t make rules.”

“Why? Rules seem like they’d be a good idea to keep things professional.”

“No, rules are made to be broken. The second you make them, it triggers your brain that those lines should be crossed and that you want to cross them. That’s what happened with me and Whitney.”

“Yeah, that makes sense, but there are general rules in our contract, like PDA in all forms is on the table whenever we feel it’s necessary.” That was a very important item in the contract for Quinton so that Cody and I could continue to build chemistry for these last few episodes. Plus, Tawny said the tabloids love juicy pictures of celebrity couples kissing in public and holding hands, so it was basically non-negotiable. “And it’s written in the contract that nothing intimate beyond PDA is allowed.”

“Okay, that’s a good rule. I know guys like Cody, and they only have one thing on their minds.”

“He’s not really like that—at least he doesn’t want to be like that anymore.”

“Look at you. You’re already defending him after one day of being his fake girlfriend.”

“I’m not defending him,” I snap.

“Easy.” Trey laughs. “I was joking.”

“I know. Sorry.” I shake my head, silently acknowledging that this whole fake-relationship has me on edge. “At least at the end of all of this, it will be a mutual, amicable breakup that both parties decided was for the best.” I’m literally quoting the contract verbatim. “So, if nothing else, I won’t walk away looking the fool like I have in the past.”

“That’s good. I don’t want any of this to damage your reputation.”

“Me too.”

“When do you start? What’s your first public outing? You’re filming in Alberta now, right?”

My eyes drift around the trailer. “Yeah, I just flew in this afternoon. But Tawny wants to capitalize on the buzz from the Malibu pictures, so she set up an exclusive interview tomorrow morning with Celebrity Today so we can be interviewed together and confirm the relationship.”

Butterflies drift through my stomach in the worst way.

“Does Tawny ever sleep?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Alright, an interview. So what? You’ve done hundreds of those before.”

“Yeah, but never while pretending to be in love with my costar.”

“That does throw a wrench in things, but I still think you’ve got this.”

“How? I don’t even know how to act during the interview or after that.”

“Embody the confident, flirty woman who isn’t scared of getting her heart broken. It’s just another acting job.”

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