Page 63 of How Jenna Became My Dilemma

I shrug.

“I think you’re a good actor.” She hesitates for a second. “No, actually, I think you’re a great actor.”

I can’t help the huge smile her words have smeared across my face, even if I don’t believe they're true. “Oh, come on. You’re just saying that because you think I was fishing for a compliment.”

“No, really. I’ve learned so much from you these last few months. Take that scene in the garden we filmed the other night. You portrayed so much longing and sadness in your work. It was really impressive.”

That’s because I wasn’t acting.

“You have this natural ability to take a character or a scene and make it your own, whereas I have a hard time letting myself go and just immersing myself in the story. I can see why you’ve been so frustrated with me.”

“I’ve only been frustrated with you because I don’t understand you.”

“I know.” She takes another sip of her water. “My methods of going over and over a scene don’t make any sense.”

“That’s not what I mean.” I keep my gaze on Jenna, waiting for her eyes to meet mine. “I don’t understand how to get you to like me or how to draw that same genuine smile out of you that you give other people. I can eventually win people over with my teasing and charisma, but not you. You’re baffling.”

Her lips loosen into a smirk—something she rarely gives me. “I’m not that baffling.”

“Yes, you are. I’m constantly wondering what you think of me.” I lean forward, resting my weight on my folded arms, matching Jenna’s position. The round table between us is small enough that our faces are only six inches apart. “I probably should’ve asked when we were playing twenty questions. I could’ve disguised my curiosity under something like, what was your first impression of me?”

Her smirk slowly turns into a small-scale smile. “I thought you were cocky and arrogant in the charming kind of way that no woman can resist.”

The corner of my mouth lifts higher. “But you can resist.”

“I can resist.” She nods, and with any other woman, I would swear she was flirting with me, but with Jenna, I’m unsure. “And what about me? What was your first impression of me?”

“You frustrated me because you’d already decided you didn’t like me and wouldn’t even give me the time of day.”

“Of course I didn’t like you. You couldn’t even remember who I was.”

“I’m not talking about the side of the road. I’m talking about that night eight years ago when we met in the bathroom.”

“I thought you didn’t count that as officially meeting.”

“Do you really think I’d forget an encounter with a smart and bossy woman in a sparkly black dress with a low V in front and in back?”

Her eyes light with surprise. “You thought I was smart?”

“I remember you talked circles around me that night, and I believe you tried to figure out the blood-alcohol level of the poor drunk girl. It was cute, and although it was brief, I liked how you kept me on my toes. Still do.”

She flashes me a different kind of smile, bracketed by a slight blush dotting both cheeks. The reaction makes me think no one has ever complimented her on anything other than her looks.

A slight breeze swirls around us, picking up a strand of Jenna’s hair and blowing it over her part. I slowly reach my arm out, keeping my gaze on her the entire time. She doesn’t move, just watches me with her vibrant green eyes as my fingers comb through the stray piece and tuck it behind her ear.

There’s a spark between us. The unexplainable chemistry that was missing during filming has flickered to life in the middle of a cafe in Banff.

“What can I get you two to drink?” The waiter beside our table completely ruins the moment.

“Uh.” Jenna shakes her head, sitting back in her chair, making the small table feel like a million miles of unwanted space. “I’ll just have water.”

“And for you?”

“Water is great.”

“Are you ready to order?”

I grab the menus in front of us, that we haven’t even looked at yet, and hand one to Jenna. “No, we’re going to need another minute.”

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