Chapter 11
The problem with fake dating someone for long enough, Sabrina realized, was that eventually parts of it stopped feeling fake.
Not all at once.
Not dramatically.
It happened in tiny moments she didn't notice until afterward.
The way Lucas automatically reached for her hand now when cameras appeared.
The way she could tell what kind of mood he was in just by how he walked into a room.
The fact she knew exactly which sarcastic tone meant he was tired versus genuinely irritated.
It was becoming dangerous.
And unfortunately, the internet was making everything worse.
"People think you're secretly engaged," Chloe announced one Thursday morning while scrolling through her phone over breakfast.
Sabrina looked up from her coffee. "Again?"
"They're analyzing jewelry now."
"That feels mentally unstable."
Chloe turned the screen around dramatically.
A blurry paparazzi photo showed Sabrina and Lucas leaving the studio lot two nights earlier. Lucas had his hand against her lower back while Sabrina laughed at something out of frame.
One account had circled her ring finger in red.
POSSIBLE ENGAGEMENT RING???
"It's literally a silver ring from a flea market," Sabrina said flatly.
"The people demand romance."
"The people need jobs."
Unfortunately, the public obsession only seemed to grow stronger the more time Sabrina and Lucas spent together.
And lately, they were spending a lot of time together.
More than necessary, honestly.
At first every meeting had involved Adrian or publicity plans or staged appearances. But somewhere along the way, things blurred.
Now Lucas texted her randomly at midnight.
Called her while driving home from set.
Sent sarcastic commentary during boring events.
And worst of all, Sabrina had started expecting it.
Her phone buzzed against the counter almost on cue.
Lucas: Adrian wants us at some fashion launch tonight.
Sabrina smiled automatically before catching herself.
Traitor.
Chloe saw anyway.
"Oh my God."
"I hate you."
"You like him."
"I tolerate him professionally."
"Mhm."
Sabrina grabbed her coffee aggressively and looked back at the message.
Sabrina: You make every event sound like community service.
Lucas: Because it is.
Sabrina: What's tonight's emergency?
Lucas: Rich people pretending jackets matter.
She laughed out loud.
Immediately regretted it.
Chloe pointed at her like she'd solved a murder case. "There. That."
"He's funny sometimes."
"You're doomed."
The thing was, Chloe wasn't entirely wrong.
Because Lucas had become significantly harder to resist lately.
Not in the obvious ways people expected.
It wasn't the fame.
Or the looks.
Or even the charm he switched on around cameras.
It was the quieter things.
The fact he always noticed when she got overwhelmed at events and found excuses to pull her away from crowds.
The way he remembered small details she mentioned casually.
The fact that underneath all the emotional repression and sarcasm, he was unexpectedly thoughtful.
Which honestly felt unfair.
By seven that evening Sabrina stood in front of her mirror adjusting the sleeves of a dark green dress while Chloe hovered nearby like an emotionally invested stylist.
"You look hot."
"You say that every time."
"Because it continues being true."
Sabrina rolled her eyes.
The event tonight was being held at some luxury rooftop venue in Manhattan that absolutely charged fifteen dollars for water.
Lucas had sent a car an hour earlier with a short text that simply read:
Try not to insult anyone important tonight.
Which implied he already expected disaster.
Fair.
When Sabrina arrived downstairs, the familiar black SUV waited by the curb.
The second she slid inside, Lucas looked up from his phone.
And paused.
Just slightly.
Barely noticeable.
But there.
His gaze moved over her before returning calmly to her face.
"You're late."
Sabrina narrowed her eyes immediately. "That sounded suspiciously like a compliment avoidance technique."
"It sounded accurate."
"Coward."
A small smile pulled briefly at the corner of his mouth before disappearing.
Progress.
Lucas looked good tonight.
Annoyingly good.
Black suit again.
Dark curls slightly messy.
Silver watch catching faint light from the city outside.
It should honestly be illegal for one person to look that put together while simultaneously acting emotionally unavailable.
The SUV pulled into traffic smoothly.
For several minutes they sat quietly while city lights flashed through the windows.
Then Lucas glanced toward her again.
"You look nice."
The compliment came suddenly enough to catch her off guard.
Not teasing.
Not reluctant this time.
Just straightforward.
Sabrina blinked once.
"...You survived saying that."
"Barely."
She smiled despite herself.
"Thank you."
Lucas nodded once and looked back toward the window.
But Sabrina noticed the faint redness near the tips of his ears before he turned away.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The rooftop venue looked exactly as pretentious as expected.
Modern glass walls.
String lights everywhere.
People wearing outfits worth more than Sabrina's rent.
Photographers crowded near the entrance instantly when Lucas's SUV arrived.
Lucas sighed softly under his breath before stepping out first.
Then he turned and held out his hand toward her automatically.
The movement felt so familiar now Sabrina barely thought before taking it.
Camera flashes exploded immediately.
"Lucas!"
"Sabrina!"
"Over here!"
"How serious are things between you two?"
Lucas's fingers tightened slightly around hers as they walked.
"You okay?" he murmured quietly without looking at her.
The fact he asked every time now did dangerous things to Sabrina's nervous system.
"I feel hunted," she muttered back.
"That's normal."
"Your standards for normal are terrifying."
His mouth twitched faintly.
Inside the venue, music drifted softly through crowded conversations while servers carried trays of champagne between groups of impossibly attractive people.
Sabrina instantly hated at least half the room.
Lucas noticed.
"You're glaring already."
"I can sense influencer energy."
"That's not a real threat."
"It absolutely is."
He laughed quietly under his breath before guiding her further inside.
The thing about events with Lucas was that people always looked at him first.
Always.
Conversations paused.
Heads turned.
Attention shifted naturally toward him the second he entered any room.
Sabrina had started understanding why.
Lucas carried fame like something heavy he'd worn for so long it became part of him.
Even exhausted, he still pulled every room toward him without trying.
A woman in an elaborate silver dress approached almost immediately.
Tall.
Beautiful.
Perfectly polished.
Sabrina instantly disliked her.
"Lucas," the woman smiled warmly.
Lucas nodded politely. "Naomi."
Then her eyes moved toward Sabrina.
And there it was.
That look.
The subtle once-over women gave each other when evaluating competition.
Sabrina was becoming alarmingly familiar with it.
"You must be Sabrina," Naomi said smoothly.
"Sabrina," Lucas corrected lightly, placing a hand against her back.
The tiny gesture shouldn't have mattered.
It absolutely did.
Naomi smiled slightly tighter afterward.
Interesting.
"You two are everywhere lately," Naomi continued.
"That's usually how publicity works," Lucas replied calmly.
Sabrina bit back a laugh.
Naomi clearly noticed.
"So," she said casually, "are you coming to Camille's party next weekend?"
The name instantly rang alarm bells in Sabrina's head.
Camille.
The nightclub girl.
Lucas's expression didn't change, but something cooled slightly in his posture.
"Probably not."
Naomi looked surprised. "Really? You never miss her parties."
"I'm busy."
Sabrina stayed quiet very carefully.
Because suddenly she was aware of Naomi watching both of them too closely.
Like she was searching for cracks.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"Well," Naomi smiled finally, "I'll let you both mingle."
The second she walked away, Sabrina looked toward Lucas.
"You attract terrifying women."
"You attract opinions quickly."
"That didn't answer my question."
Lucas grabbed two champagne glasses from a passing tray and handed her one.
"You looked jealous."
Sabrina nearly inhaled champagne.
"I looked observant."
"That line's getting repetitive."
"You bring out my defensive side."
Lucas looked annoyingly amused now.
"You were jealous."
"I was evaluating threats."
"To our fake relationship?"
"To my peace."
That actually pulled a proper laugh from him.
Warm.
Low.
Dangerously attractive.
Sabrina looked away immediately before her brain embarrassed her.
The night blurred forward in waves of conversations and cameras.
Lucas introduced her to designers, actors, executives, and people whose jobs Sabrina still didn't fully understand.
Everywhere they went, attention followed.
At one point during photos, Lucas rested a hand lightly against Sabrina's waist while photographers shouted directions.
The touch lingered slightly longer than necessary.
Not enough to seem intentional.
Enough for Sabrina to notice.
Unfortunately her body noticed too.
Traitor.
"You're tense," Lucas murmured quietly beside her once cameras moved away.
"You have your hand on my waist in front of six thousand flashing lights."
"You're getting better at this."
"That wasn't a compliment."
His fingers disappeared from her waist slowly.
And for one deeply concerning second, Sabrina actually missed the warmth.
Oh no.
Halfway through the evening, Adrian appeared looking unusually pleased with himself.
"The online response tonight is incredible."
Sabrina frowned immediately. "You talk like an evil scientist."
"I'll take that as praise."
Lucas looked unimpressed already. "What now?"
"Fans are obsessed with the photos from outside."
Adrian turned his phone around.
One picture showed Lucas leaning toward Sabrina while she laughed at something he'd said moments earlier.
The way they looked at each other in the photo made Sabrina's stomach tighten unexpectedly.
Because it looked real.
Not staged.
Not forced.
Real enough that even she almost believed it.
The comments underneath only made it worse.
He never smiles like that with anyone else.
The chemistry is insane.
That doesn't look fake at ALL.
Lucas looked at the photo for a second longer than expected before handing the phone back.
"People see what they want."
His voice sounded quieter than usual.
Adrian eventually disappeared again into the crowd, leaving Sabrina and Lucas near the balcony overlooking the city skyline.
Cold air drifted softly through the open doors.
Sabrina leaned against the railing gratefully.
"My social battery is dead."
Lucas stepped beside her.
"Same."
Below them, Manhattan glittered endlessly beneath the dark sky.
The city somehow looked calmer from above.
More distant.
For a few minutes neither spoke.
And weirdly, the silence felt comfortable now.
That part scared Sabrina more than anything.
"You've changed," she said suddenly.
Lucas glanced sideways toward her. "That sounds ominous."
"I mean since I met you."
He looked unconvinced. "Not really."
"You laugh more."
The comment slipped out before she could stop it.
Lucas went still for half a second.
Then looked away toward the skyline.
"That's your fault."
The answer landed directly in Sabrina's chest.
Too honest.
Too soft.
Dangerous.
She swallowed carefully. "You make it sound tragic."
"Maybe it is."
But he was smiling slightly when he said it.
And suddenly the space between them felt smaller than before.
Too small.
Sabrina became very aware of how close he stood beside her.
The city noise faded faintly beneath the music drifting from inside.
Lucas looked toward her again slowly.
His expression had changed.
Softer now.
Quieter.
Not celebrity Lucas.
Not guarded Lucas.
Just him.
Sabrina's heartbeat stumbled painfully.
Oh no.
For one terrifying second she thought he might kiss her.
And worse?
She wasn't sure she'd stop him.
Movement behind them interrupted the moment instantly.
"Lucas!"
Both pulled apart slightly as another actor approached from inside.
The shift happened immediately.
Lucas's expression cooled back into practiced calm before Sabrina could fully process what almost happened.
The actor greeted him loudly while Sabrina tried regulating her breathing like a normal person.
That had been close.
Way too close.
The rest of the event passed in a strange blur after that.
Lucas stayed near her more than usual.
Sometimes his hand brushed lightly against her back guiding her through crowds.
Sometimes she caught him looking at her before he glanced away again.
Neither mentioned the balcony moment.
Which somehow made it worse.
By the time they finally escaped the event near midnight, Sabrina felt emotionally exhausted.
The second the SUV doors shut behind them, silence filled the space.
Lucas loosened his tie immediately with a tired exhale.
"You survived," he said quietly.
"Barely."
A faint smile appeared.
Then faded slowly.
The city lights moved across his face while he looked toward her.
"You were good tonight."
"You say that like I'm a golden retriever."
"You do get distracted easily."
"I hate you."
"No you don't."
The answer came too naturally.
Too confidently.
Sabrina looked at him sharply.
Lucas seemed to realize what he'd said a second too late because something flickered across his expression.
Not panic exactly.
Awareness.
The air inside the SUV suddenly felt heavier.
Sabrina looked away first toward the window.
Outside, New York blurred past in streaks of light and motion.
Inside, silence stretched tightly between them.
And for the first time since this arrangement started, Sabrina genuinely began wondering if Lucas Cooper was becoming just as emotionally screwed as she was.