Page 91 of How Jenna Became My Dilemma

“Exactly.” Devon pauses what he’s doing with my hair and peeks at me. “You guys were alone together all night long. What happened then?”

“Nothing. We slept.”

I don’t bother telling them about Cody blaming my dad for all my stellar boyfriend choices—something that hadn’t occurred to me before. I’m not mad about it. There’s a lot of truth behind what he said. I can see it, but I don’t have the energy or mental capacity right now to figure out what I’m going to do about it.

“But, like, you cuddled while you slept, right?” Winnie is too invested in this. Poor girl.

I lift my chin, keeping in line with my emotion-free exterior. “Why would we? There weren’t any people or cameras around.”

“Honey.” Devon pats my shoulder. “Just because your relationship is for the public doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of it in private.”

“For real,” Winnie adds.

My words are clipped. “We’re just costars. Nothing more. Besides, he was on the phone with Calista James when I fell asleep.”

“Oh,” Devon mumbles as he picks up another strand of my hair.

Winnie’s expression falls too, like they’re both equally brokenhearted on my behalf.

“It’s fine. Cody and Calista are just friends.”

“And you actually believe that?” Devon asks.

The entire time I’ve known Cody, I’ve judged him based on what everyone in the media has said about him. But I know him now, and he has told me his side of the story. Am I going to trust in that or go back to believing everyone else? I’ve decided I’d rather believe the person I know than the one I don’t.

“Yeah, I believe that he and Calista are just friends. He hasn’t given me a reason not to believe him.”

Winnie sits up, crawling to the edge of the bed. “If they’re just friends, let’s forget about her and focus on you. What outfit are you wearing to the wrap party tonight?”

“I was thinking of the black-and-red dress.” I nod toward where a dangerously short red leather dress with an overlay of black lace hangs in my closet. Black fringe on the hem and the cap sleeves add to the flirtiness. And don’t even get me started on the scoop neckline that accentuates my collarbone and cleavage while leaving a lot of exposed skin. This jaw-dropping dress is my way of showing Cody exactly what he’s missing.

Even though I believe he and Calista are just friends, and I’m not mad at him for what he said about my dad, I’m still hurt. He didn’t kiss me last night when he had the chance. I know Calista called, but I’m talking about before that interruption, when it was just the two of us gazing into each other's eyes.

It’s not just about the kiss. I laid my heart on the line. I was more vulnerable with him than I’ve ever been, and he didn’t say how he felt. He didn’t say he wanted to be the man for me or that he was willing to try to make something real out of this relationship. I think that’s what hurt the most. When everything was real for me, he was still putting on a show for the circling paparazzi.

“It’s going to be a night to remember.” Winnie claps, taking me out of my thoughts. “When Cody picks you up in forty-five minutes, he won’t know what hit him.”

Maybe. Or maybe he won’t care because this is part of his job. And tonight, it’s part of my job too, and I intend to work it like a teenager going out for employee of the month.

Tawny wants us to walk into the Gateway Club, where the wrap party is being held, hand in hand. This is supposed to be an extension of a red-carpet event, so coming together and being photographed entering the club together was a big deal to her.

I mean, what’s a good showmance without some red-carpet PDA?

CODY

* * *

Jenna looks very nice in her black-and-red dress.

Very nice.

Who am I kidding? She knocks it out of the park in that thing.

I scrape my hands over my beard. It’s going to be a long night. I’m already having a hard time keeping my eyes off her long legs every time we pass a streetlight. Those lamps create the perfect glow over her thighs. I need to stop thinking about her and her thighs, or else I’ll pull my Jeep over, and well, there goes the wrap party.

I drag my stare back to the road. “Were you able to take a nap today?” I’m proud of my appropriate small talk. Although, I wouldn’t have to conjure up small talk if Jenna were giving me any conversation of her own. But she’s not.

“Yeah, I napped.” Her head is turned away from me, eyes looking out the window.

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