Chapter Ten
She could hear Chase in the other room singing along to some eighties tunes that he said would get him in the mood for the convention tonight.
Well, it wasn't the other room but rather the room. Their room. Because they ended up with only one hotel room and Emma was hiding out in the bathroom under the guise of getting ready when she was really just stalling for time.
The convention planners didn't expect Chase to bring a date with him so they assigned him what he normally got for conventions. Apparently that meant one room with one king-sized bed. It was like the most cliched trope from a romance novel that Emma loved reading.
But unlike those romance novels, nothing was going to happen between them. Emma knew that for sure. Because as she once again reminded herself, she was just a librarian stuck with a big movie star that she had to spend money on because her grandma thought it would be amusing.
Except right now, Emma wasn't amused. She was getting a little hot and bothered as she finally put on her make-up and stood back to see herself in the mirror.
She wasn't sure if this was the right thing to wear or if she would be over dressed.
Conventions were her grandmother's thing, not hers.
That's how Emma ended up with this black dress paid for with money she had to spend to fulfill Nana's challenge.
She justified the expense to Charles by telling him that she was wearing it to an event with Chase. Charles gave her his reluctant approval as usual. She was going to be thankful when this was over and she didn't have to deal with that guy anymore.
Not dealing with Chase anymore would be a different issue, but she didn't want to think about that right now.
Emma took a deep breath and did one more check in the mirror before finally deciding it was time to check in with Chase so they could head downstairs.
"Does this look OK?"
Chase's eyes landed on her and took her in from head to toe, making her feel hotter than she should.
"Yeah." He cleared the gravel out of his throat and turned back to working on his cuff links. "You look good."
"Are you sure I'm not over dressed?"
Chase fiddled with the cuff links some more. "Nope, it's fine."
She couldn't tell why he seemed to be distracting himself with his shirt so intently, but at least it gave her time to look him over.
Tonight he was wearing a white button-down shirt — with cuff links — and a black pleather skinny tie that looked like Chase had borrowed it from his eighties wardrobe on the Project Lyonheart movies.
He also had on some black flat-front pants that accentuated his waist even though Emma would never admit that she noticed.
There were also his very eighties neon-colored sneakers.
"Are those Air Jordans?"
Chase smiled and finally looked up at her. "Like them? I customized them on the website with the retro colors so I could wear to conventions. The old ladies love them."
"What old ladies are complimenting you on your sneakers?"
Chase gave her a small smile. Without saying a word, she knew what his answer was. Nana.
"So." Chase started patting his pockets in a move that Emma had become familiar with. "Wallet, phone, room key. Ready?"
"Yep. Yeah. Ready."
Chase gave her another look up and down. "Do you have a purse or something you need to grab?"
"Pockets!" She announced that too loudly and decided to take another shot at it. "The dress has pockets," she said in a softer tone as she stuffed her hands in her pockets to show them off.
"Alright, then," he said with an amused smile. "You ready to take your pockets downstairs?"
She nodded and they headed out of their room with Chase putting his warm palm on her back as he directed them out into the hallway. She wished it was longer than just that moment.
But Emma had to stay focused. They were there for a reason — or rather two reasons.
First, because of the convention, and second, to spend money.
Together. She was starting to worry that she wouldn't be able to spend all this cash by the deadline, and she was worried that Chase was a distraction.
She needed to drop lots of money, not spend a little here and there on dinners and drinks and quiet nights eating take-out in Chase's kitchen.
But she had at least a bit of a plan for this weekend.
A security guard was waiting for them at the end of the hotel's hallway by the service elevator that the convention was using to get some of the celebrities from their rooms to the convention floor while missing all the fans milling around.
It felt kind of V.I.P. and Emma had to remind herself that things like this weren't normal.
It would only last a few more weeks until her challenge from her grandmother was over.
He took a step closer to her as the door closed while still staying at a respectful distance. "I didn't warn the guys from the movie that you would be here, but I'm sure they'll be happy to meet you."
"Me?"
Chase turned and gave her a knowing smile, as if he had some secret, and didn't say another word until the doors opened to a bland hallway and another security guard telling them where to go.
It didn't take long for them to run into other people that she immediately recognized: Hunter Price and Vanessa Flynn, stars of the Project Lyonheart movie series.
And yeah, they definitely looked like movie stars.
It was like they had an aura around them that made them stand out in this boring hallway.
Then she remembered she was with another of those stars, but for some reason, Chase didn't give her the same rush or the same butterflies. She knew him now, or as well as a person could know an actor they were stuck with for a challenge.
Hunter looked up, his eyes landing on Emma, and then turned to Chase. "Hey, man," he said casually before looking back at his phone.
"Hi," Chase replied with a chipper voice. "Hello, Vanessa."
"Hey." She said with a small smile before politely turning to Emma. "I'm Vanessa."
"Emma."
Chase rolled his eyes. "Emma Colton," he said, emphasizing her last name.
Hunter's eyes snapped up from his phone. "Colton? Like Dorothy Colton?"
She couldn't stop the smile on her face. "Yeah, that's my grandmother."
"Oh, you knew Nana!"
Emma still found it weird to hear someone else call her "Nana" but she ignored it now because it was Hunter Price calling her grandmother that.
"I'm so glad you're here," Vanessa gushed. "We were so sorry when Chase said she passed away. We always loved seeing Nana at these conventions."
"I thought it would be nice to invite Emma tonight so she can see all of this."
"And people say you're a dick," Hunter replied.
Chase stared at Hunter with mocking anger. "Who said I'm a dick?"
Emma had to try hard to shut down the laughter that was threatening to break free.
Chase wasn't really offended, she could tell, but she also knew there was probably some truth to that.
There was someone somewhere who thought he was aloof or a stand-off celebrity.
She could see him falling into behavior like that.
Hell, she thought that about him when they first met.
But now that she knew him — or at least knew him better — she knew he had a bit of an ego but also more of a heart. She wasn't going to tell him that though.
She also wasn't going to tell his co-stars what was really going on either.
It was obvious by the way he explained the situation to them that they didn't know about the details in her grandmother's will that brought her to this point, standing here with Chase and making sure she collected the receipts from their hotel stay and their meals and everything else so she could turn them in to Charles and get the extra credit for this challenge.
"Hey, guys."
A man came walking over to the group in jeans and a blazer that looked expensive. She made a mental note to add shopping for clothes to her list of activities to do with Chase to spend some of this cash. He would look good in jeans and a blazer like that.
"You're not part of the cast, are you?" the man in the blazer said incredulously as he looked at Emma.
Looked good but was a total ass.
"Will, this is Emma. She's with me," Chase explained.
Will gave her a once-over that felt very different than the one Chase had given her in the hotel room, and not in a good way.
"She's Nana's granddaughter," Vanessa explained.
"Oh, right. Sorry she died."
Will looked back at his phone, which was good because he couldn't see the daggers Emma was staring at him. Chase noticed though. She could tell by the way he put a reassuring hand on her back to comfort her just a bit.
"Will is in the publicity department with the studio." Chase leaned in a little closer. "He is a dick."
Emma gave a small nod but continued to stare ahead at Will because she didn't want to turn her head towards Chase.
He had leaned in way too close to her, his breath warm on her neck.
It was probably because he was trying to give her some reassuring words without Will hearing him.
She was sure he didn't mean to invade her personal space like that.
But there was something about him being so close that was making her heart race.
She needed to pull herself together. He was the enemy.
A means to an end. She did not need to get feelings for the man that her grandmother had forced her to spend time and money on.
It was a game they were playing, another acting role for Chase.
None of this was real, especially not her pulse racing just because she was close to him.
Emma was pulled out of her thoughts by Will's voice and she quickly snapped back to reality. It seemed Chase did as well by the way he stepped away from her, and she realized she didn't know how long they had been standing like that with him so close. She didn't know if he had noticed it.
"Alright, let's go," Will commanded.