Chapter Four #2
“Then the first one will feel less important.”
She looked at him. “You really are terrible at public relations.”
“My agent says the same thing.”
“Speaking of your agent.”
Emmett’s body tightened.
Piper noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“That is the expression you used when I mentioned the gala.”
“I do not have an expression.”
“You have several. Most are deeply unwelcoming.”
Emmett reached for the food container.
Piper pulled it away before he could use it as a distraction.
“No.”
“You said you were hungry.”
“I am now nourished by suspicion.”
“That seems inefficient.”
“Did your agent know you liked me?”
“Yes.”
The truth cost him nothing.
The next part would.
Piper tilted her head. “How?”
“He noticed.”
“Did everyone notice except me?”
“Most people believed I disliked you.”
“I believed that too.”
“You said it on a livestream.”
“You rarely spoke to me.”
“I spoke to you.”
“You told me the rental dock was unsafe.”
“It was.”
“You informed me that the sponsor tent would flood.”
“It did.”
“You once walked across an entire room to tell me my left rear tire looked low.”
“It was.”
“That is not flirting.”
“I did not say I was good at it.”
Her mouth curved.
The smile disappeared almost immediately.
“What did your agent say when the fake dating announcement went viral?”
Emmett looked at the phone in her hand.
“That it could be useful.”
Piper’s expression became unreadable.
“Useful how?”
“My public image.”
“Your public image.”
“Yes.”
“The emotionally unavailable goalie gets a girlfriend.”
“I did not use those words.”
“Did he?”
“Similar ones.”
Piper sat back.
Emmett could almost see the walls rising behind her eyes.
“That is not why I agreed.”
“But it benefits you.”
“Possibly.”
“And you did not mention it.”
“It did not matter.”
“To you.”
He heard the problem as soon as she said it.
Piper placed the phone beside her.
“No private information without permission. No using the relationship for contract negotiations, sponsorships, or unrelated publicity. We wrote the rules because I refused to become someone else’s strategy.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Your agent contacts you within minutes and says the arrangement could help your career. You still sign.”
“I signed because I wanted to.”
“That is not reassuring.”
“It should be.”
“It makes it worse.”
Emmett frowned. “Why?”
“Because you already liked me.”
“Yes.”
“You knew this could help your image.”
“Yes.”
“You also knew I had just been publicly humiliated.”
“Yes.”
“And you decided becoming my fake boyfriend was still a reasonable choice.”
“I decided I could help.”
Piper laughed, but there was no humor in it.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The rescue.”
“I do not think you need rescuing.”
“You brought food because I forgot to eat. You removed the cameras because I hate being watched. You agreed to the bet because you thought the internet would punish me if you refused.”
“All true.”
“You keep saying you are not trying to save me while arranging every detail so I never have to be uncomfortable.”
“I wanted you to have one good night.”
The words came out harder than Emmett intended.
Piper stopped.
He continued before he lost the nerve.
“You spent yesterday smiling while someone played your ex’s video in front of hundreds of people. You spent today running a clinic while strangers accused you of cheating. I thought one quiet meal might help.”
Her eyes dropped to the lanterns.
Emmett lowered his voice.
“That is not strategy.”
Piper swallowed.
“No?”
“No.”
“What is it?”
He could have avoided the answer.
He had avoided it all summer.
“Caring about you.”
Her eyes returned to his.
The dock became too quiet.
Emmett knew he should give her space. She had asked for a fake arrangement with no expectations. He had just admitted the expectations existed before the arrangement did.
He stood.
“I will tell my agent the relationship cannot be used in negotiations.”
Piper remained seated.
“Emmett.”
“I will also tell him no interviews, no sponsorships, and no couple content beyond what we approve together.”
“You do not have to do that.”
“Yes.”
“This could help your career.”
“I know.”
“And you are refusing because of one rule?”
“Because you matter more than the benefit.”
The sentence left him before he could make it safer.
Piper stared up at him.
Emmett picked up the empty containers because cleaning was easier than watching her process what he had said.
His phone rang inside his pocket.
He ignored it.
It rang again.
Piper glanced toward him. “That is probably your agent.”
“Yes.”
“You should answer.”
“No.”
“If this arrangement affects your career, I need to understand how.”
“It does not have to.”
“That is not the same thing.”
The phone rang a third time.
Emmett removed it.
His agent’s name filled the screen.
Graham Pierce.
Piper held out her hand.
“What?”
“Speaker.”
“No.”
“Rule Three. No private information without permission.”
“That applies to your private information.”
“It also applies to information about how our relationship is being used.”
Emmett looked at her hand.
She was right.
He hated it.
He answered the call and activated the speaker.
“Graham.”
“Finally. I have spent the last twenty minutes trying to stop three reporters from publishing a story that you were waiting for Piper’s relationship to fail.”
Piper folded her arms.
Emmett looked at her. “We recorded a response.”
“Do not post anything until I see it.”
“No.”
Graham went silent.
“No?” he repeated.
“We decide what gets posted.”
“We?”
“Piper and me.”
Another silence.
Then Graham’s tone changed.
Warmer.
More professional.
“Piper is there?”
“She is,” Piper said.
“Good. This concerns both of you.”
Emmett already disliked the sentence.
Graham continued. “The publicity is complicated, but the numbers are extraordinary. Two professional clubs that previously considered Emmett too difficult to market have contacted me tonight.”
Piper’s gaze snapped toward Emmett.
He kept his face neutral.
“One of them is preparing a major offer,” Graham said. “They want a feature interview with both of you before the end of the week.”
“No,” Emmett said.
Piper lifted one hand.
“Wait.”
Emmett looked at her.
She spoke toward the phone. “Why does the interview require me?”
“Because they are not interested in Emmett alone anymore.”
Piper’s expression changed.
Graham continued before Emmett could end the call.
“The relationship fixed the only issue keeping him from the deal. Emmett finally looks marketable.”
Piper looked across the lantern light at Emmett.
Not angry.
Not yet.
Worse.
Hurt.
Graham’s voice filled the silence.
“This fake girlfriend story may be worth millions.”