Chapter 14
Quint
She’s staring out the window instead of looking at me, clasping and unclasping her hands.
Even in her clearly agitated state, she looks gorgeous.
The blue leggings and crop top hug her sculpted body, and her hair is pulled up in a smooth ponytail to show off her beautiful face.
It’s no wonder she made it in Hollywood.
Her presence fills the entire room, even when she’s silent.
“Hey there, you okay?”
“I’m fine. Sort of. But listen”—she glances at me, then looks away again—“some things have gotten out. Did you…tell anyone I’m here? The press. Someone in town that might have leaked it? I need to know.”
Feels like a slap in the face that she’d think I could do that to her. “No, I would never. Why? Did something happen?”
“Yes, some pictures got out. And I have a question to ask you.” She steps a little closer. “Look this is probably going to sound crazy to you, and I didn’t even want to ask but I promised Janine, my publicist, that I would. Ugh.”
“Go on.”
“You know I shouldn’t even… it’s a terrible idea. It’ll mess up your entire life.”
Fear settles in my stomach. She’s not planning on leaving or something, is she?
“But I promised, so here goes.” She finally opens her eyes, looking up at me from under her long lashes. “Would you date me?”
A flash of excitement zips through me. It’s not like I haven’t been thinking of it myself. The attraction has been there from the moment I met her, but once I started to get to know the real her, beneath the shiny, camera-ready shield, other feelings started to kick in too. “Yes.”
Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open as if she’s come to some sort of realization. “Not for real. For the cameras. The press. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to give you the wrong idea, my brain is all muddled up. Let me start over. Try to explain.”
I swallow down the disappointment while trying to wrap my head around the request.
“Someone took pictures of us. They’re all over the Internet. I’m surprised no one texted you or anything.” She shifts restlessly on her feet.
I pat my pockets. “Must have left my phone in my room. I don’t always bring it to the barn first thing in the morning. It’s nice just to soak in the peace and quiet of the horses waking up for the day. Don’t want to spoil it. Also, I may have forgotten to charge it last night.”
She sighs. “Wow, we really are different aren’t we? So, the whole world thinks we’re dating. If you take a look at the pictures, you’ll see why.”
After dropping to the chair across from me, she scrolls her phone for a minute before handing it to me.
My brain is still spinning when I take a look at the screen.
Holy shit. They really do make us look like a couple.
The way my hand is resting on her back. The way she’s smiling when I lean down to whisper in her ear.
The look of pure adoration and contentment on my face when I’m staring down at her.
I sure didn’t realize I looked at her like that.
It hits me like a bad fall. I thought I wanted her, but it’s way more than that. I’m falling for her. But judging by the way she seems to think this is a disaster, I don’t think she feels the same way.
I clear my throat. “That’s something.”
“Yeah, and these articles.” She starts to show me articles with loud, obnoxious headlines. A couple of them target me as some na?ve bumpkin, but most of the cruel words are directed at her.
“None of that is true. Can’t you just tell them that?”
Her laugh is sharp around the edges, smacking of bitterness. “That’s not how it works, Quint. Once they’ve got a story that sells, they beat it until someone cracks or the next big, shiny story appears. They’re not going to give up on this.”
“Alright, then. Let me get this straight. You want us to date to prove that we aren’t dating? Not sure I’m understanding.”
“I want… Well, I talked to my agent and my publicist. They suggested we pretend for a while. It’s not that weird.”
“Maybe not where you come from.” I push up out of my chair, heading for the coffee machine. “But where I come from, you ask a girl out because you think she’s amazing and you actually want to date her.”
“Well, no. I guess it’s probably not normal.
Okay, so maybe I’ve lost touch with how the real world works.
Celebrities sometimes get paired up for publicity.
The world loves a good romance plot line, you know?
And if it’s a story about the two stars of their favorite movie, or the pro athlete at the top of his game and the pop star, well then, that’s just icing.
A lot of Hollywood is about building a fantasy. ”
“On the screen I get it. But in real life? Not so much.”
“I know. It’s fucked up. But my reputation has taken a real hit since I left Paisley Creek.
My relationship went up in flames. I left the show, and the fans turned on me, blamed me for the show getting canceled.
My name was trashed. That’s why I haven’t been able to land a role until now.
This one is so important. I’ve got everything on the line. ”
The earnestness in her voice and on her face gives me pause, but the whole idea is still ridiculous. “I’m so sorry about that, but I’m still not seeing how you think pretending to date me is going to help?”
The coffee maker starts to burble as the first trickle drips out.
“My publicist thinks she can spin this as the romance of the year. Who doesn’t love a story about the celebrity falling for a regular, everyday person?
She thinks if we embrace the rumors instead of hiding from them, people will come over to my side again.
She made a lot of sense. You’re a nice guy. Handsome. Sweet. People will love you.”
My ears perk up at that. “You think I’m handsome?” Maybe there is hope.
She turns away from me, leaning back against the kitchen counter. “Yes. You’re a good-looking guy. You’ve got to know that. And cowboys are hot right now. Who doesn’t love a cowboy?”
“You apparently, since you just want to play pretend with me. You know, Aura, I’d date you for real. I really like you. But if you’re not interested, I get it.”
She props her hands on the counter behind her, tilting her head up, and my gaze drifts to the exposed skin at her waist. “It’s not that I don’t like you, Quint.
You’re very attractive. You’re probably the nicest guy I’ve ever met.
But it could never really work between us.
” She turns to me with a pleading look in her eyes.
Like she wants me to agree with her. She’s out of luck there.
“I feel like you’re trying to convince yourself.
Or maybe convince me. But there’s one small problem.
I think if you like someone, you should go for it.
You never know what could happen. Life’s full of uncertainty, but if you don’t shoot your shot, you’re never gonna know what’s possible.
” What I don’t say, because it’s not the time, is life’s short, and you never know how much time you have left with someone until they’re gone. That sadness tugs at my heart.
“Fuck.” She shakes her head. “It’s fine. I’ll talk to Janine. Tell her she has to come up with a different plan. I don’t want to do this to you. You deserve better than getting tangled up in my messy life. I’ve already dragged you in too far.”
But there’s a defeated look on her face that twists the vice around my heart even tighter, so I reach out, grabbing her arm when she starts to push up off the counter.
“No, wait. I’ll do it. I’ll fake date you or whatever.
If it’s going to help you, I’m in.” If this is the only chance I’m going to get and it’s going to help her, I should do it.
Plus, I need to take my own advice and shoot my shot.
Maybe if we’re fake dating and spending more time together, I can convince her that real dating is not that wild of an idea.
But now she’s looking at me with pity, and that is one thing I don’t want.
“Quint. I don’t think you understand what this will do to your quiet life.
Your picture will be all over the Internet.
Everyone will know who you are, and they’ll pry into your private business.
It’s a lot to deal with, and I had some idea of how it would be when I signed up.
I moved to LA to become a star. And I did it.
My dream came true, but dreams don’t always turn out the way you want them to.
It’s tough. But it’s the life I chose. You didn’t choose this.
I brought it on you.” She shakes her head, a frown drawing her brows together. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
“I don’t care. I want to help.” The more I think about this, the better it seems.
“Are you sure? You’ve got to be a hundred percent sure. Maybe you should talk to your family about it. Or Dean.”
Shayla will for sure try to talk me out of it. Caleb too, probably. So I think I’ll skip that. “I don’t need to.”
“Really?”
I nod. This could actually work out perfectly, and who knows, maybe it’ll be kind of fun.
“Okay. Well then, I’ll call Janine and let her know. She’ll want to put out an official announcement and probably some posts on my social media. Maybe an outing as well. One where we’ll get photographed. Is that going to be okay?”
More time with her. For sure.
“I can pay you for this too. Like the riding lessons. It’ll probably pull you away from the ranch on occasion. Maybe even a trip to LA. So I can compensate you.”
A lump forms in my chest thinking of this like a cold business arrangement. “No.”
Her mouth parts, then she sighs. “I’m not going to win this one, am I?”
“Never been more sure of anything in my life. You might not want more, but we are friends, right? That’s what friends do for each other. They help them out when they need it. No strings.”
She tilts her head for a sec as if she’s puzzling over the question. “I guess. Yes. Okay then. I’ll call them.”
Before she can walk away, she turns back holding out a hand. I grab it, but instead of a shake I tug her toward me.
“Seal the deal with a hug? That is what friends would do, right?” I ask. “Or fake boyfriends.”
At first, she’s tentative as she steps into my arms. She gently pats my back. But it gets firmer. She presses into me, laying her head on my chest. It feels so good having her there. A soft cloud of something flowery-smelling clings to her.
But I force myself to pull away after what seems like an appropriate amount of time for friends to hug.
“You’ve got yourself a deal.”