Page 38 of Catching Coy
* * *
When Charlotte’s SUVpulled up in front of the Little River theater, instead of opening the door for her to get out, Coy slipped inside.
“Hey!” Charlotte greeted him, leaning over to hug him, but she froze in his arms when her driver and the camera man riding with her got out and moved away from the vehicle. “What’s going on?” she asked.
Before Coy could answer her, Agnes opened the front door and poked her head in. “Mics are off.” Then she snapped it shut and walked into the theater.
When Charlotte turned back to him, confusion had drawn her lips into a frown. “Coy. What’s going on?”
“We need to talk.” He reached over and pulled one of her hands into his. “I meant it last week when I said I needed you here. You have become a friend I trust; I couldn’t have gotten through this without you, which is why you deserve my honesty—”
“Bellamy,” she said. And she laughed as she said it.
“Is it that obvious?” Coy asked. Agnes would hate that, working so hard to sell that Coy was falling for Charlotte too, only to have everyone guess from the beginning that he didn’t have eyes for anyone but Bellamy.
“If you’re looking close.” She shook her head. “I think of you as a good friend too. It’s okay. We can part ways with no hard feelings. I’m honored you chose to keep me this long.”
Coy sighed. “You’re not going home.” He grimaced.
Charlotte’s confused frown returned. “What?” But you just said…”
“Agnes said you’re a fan favorite already. To keep interest and to keep their advertising partners happy, she wants to make it look like I had a difficult decision choosing between you and Bellamy. But I can’t be dishonest with you or lead you on for the sake of money.”
Charlotte nodded slowly. “Ahhh. I see.”
“There’s more.” Coy took another deep breath. “I don’t think she wanted me to tell you this part—well, I don’t think she wanted me to tell you any of it—but we have to kiss. To make it look real.”
“I … well.” She pressed her lips together and then burst into laughter. “Coy, sweetie, relax.” She squeezed his hand where he held hers. “I’m okay. I know what I signed up for.”
“I hate this.” He leaned his head back against the seat, wishing it was already Monday and he was at the Ranch House, sitting down to dinner with Bellamy and her parents.
“You love Bellamy,” Charlotte said softly. “That’s what makes you hate all the rest of it.”
“I think I might,” he agreed. He leaned over to hug her. “Thank you for everything. I’m so glad I got to know you.”
“Same here.” She tightened her arms around him.
He opened the SUV and stepped out. “Ready for this?” he asked.
“Fan favorite?” She grinned and preened a little.
“Nobody’s surprised about that.” He winked and shut the door on her, stepping back on the sidewalk for take two of greeting her. He drew in a deep breath. A few more hours and the hardest part of the show would be behind him. He could meet Charlotte’s parents in a couple weeks with his conscience clear and soon after that he and Bellamy could start their future.
Charlotte and Coy laughed through the date, enjoying each other’s company while they watched (and chatted through) a cheesy romantic comedy as they sat alone in the movie theater. He put his arm around her, which almost sent her into a fit of giggles, and Coy had to bury his face in her hair to keep from laughing. With some good editing, it might look pretty romantic.
Halfway through the movie, during one of the breaks for their confessionals, Agnes gave him the eye as he walked back toward his seat.
“Okay, okay,” he mouthed, holding up his hands. He settled back in next to Charlotte, slipping his hand into hers as the movie started again. “It’s go time,” he whispered.
Charlotte snorted with laughter. “I think I’m going to beg Agnes for that line to make it into the behind-the scenes stuff at the end.”
“You’re killing the mood,” he teased. It took them several minutes to calm down before they could continue with normal, romantic conversation. On screen, the couple kissed, so Coy turned to Charlotte and wiggled his eyebrows. “What do you think? Are we as good as they are?”
Charlotte bit her lip, probably catching his double meaning, and she reached up to finger the collar of his shirt. “Probably way better.”
Coy slid his arm around the back of the seat, once again using his position to block most of the view, even with three cameras in the theater, as he leaned over Charlotte. He cupped her face in his hands and drew her up toward him, pressing his lips to hers.
They lasted a good several seconds before Charlotte started giggling. Coy kept up the act for a couple more, grinning down at her when they pulled away. “That was so awkward.” She pressed her face into his shirt, her shoulders shaking.
