Page 57 of How Jenna Became My Dilemma

“Did you just quote me verbatim?”

“I have an excellent short-term memory, and I also remember you saying this fake relationship has no rules.”

My chin lifts. “It doesn’t.”

Smugness overtakes Cody’s expression. “Then why are you so upset about how the interview went?”

“I’m not upset. I’m just not the type of woman who enjoys PDA and being called bumpkins.”

“In fairness, I didn’t call you bumpkins during the interview, but I kind of wish I had. I think it really could’ve gained us some traction. It could’ve stuck.”

I bite back my smile and don my poker face. “And by the way, you betrayed me back there.”

“How?”

“By broadcasting my most embarrassing moment to Marley and every single viewer that watches Celebrity Today.”

“Poopsie, I was just leaning into our inside joke. It’s cute that we have one.”

“No.” I push my shoulder into him. “You can’t use poopsie either.”

“I’m just testing it out. You said there are no rules.”

I know what I said.

“You’re right.” I relax my body—just more acting. “We need to convince everyone that we’re crazy about each other.”

Cody’s brows and lips lift simultaneously. “So there’s no problem?”

Why does he look so amused?

“Nope.”

“There are my two lovebirds.” Tawny leans between us, placing her hands on our backs, forcing us to walk and talk. I use her interruption as a way to drop Cody’s hand without seeming like I’m not complying with the fake-relationship terms. “Cody, you stole the show in the interview.”

“What about me? I did good too.”

“Yeah, but Cody really shined.”

“Thanks, Tawny. I rehearsed a lot of that in the mirror this morning.”

Tawny’s finger whips out, pointing to him. “That’s what I’m talking about. Dedication to your role.” She looks at me. “You should try that.”

I can barely contain my eye roll.

“The key now is to keep the momentum going. Dallas and I have set up a brunch for you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? What about filming?” And what about my freaking heart? I don’t think I can take much more of this.

“Don’t worry.” Tawny flips my concerns away with the brush of her hand. “I’ve already talked to Quinton. He thinks brunch is a fabulous idea, leading us into the release of episode two. If all goes as planned, the pictures from your outing will be online the day before episode two airs.” She drops her arms from our backs but keeps walking. “My photographers will be there getting pictures of you being chummy, and then I’ll release them to a few reputable news sources, making sure they get splashed all over the internet and magazines. It’ll be perfect.”

“I’m game, and Jenna was just telling me how much she enjoyed that and wants to do it again.” Cody leans over Tawny, eyeing me with a goofy smile. “Isn’t that right?”

“That’s actually not what I said. I—”

“You said, verbatim,”—he shoots me an arrogant glance—“‘We need to convince everyone that we’re crazy about each other.’” That arrogant gaze shifts to Tawny. “So the way I see it, we’d love to have brunch together.”

“Excellent.” Tawny claps, rushing ahead of us. “I’ll get it all set up.”

---