Page 26 of You and Me, For Real
I narrow my eyes.
Scarlet’s wearing a form-fitting, knee-length white dress and three-inch black heels. She closes the short distance between us, her heels clipping on the tiles as fast as her snug dress will allow. She swats my arm. “Why haven’t you responded to my texts?”
“You mean the texts you sent last night, mere hours after I’d seen you? The ones just before I crashed for the night? Those texts?” I vaguely remember seeing them pop up on my phone while I scrolled the internet, but I ignored them, enthralled by Ashton’s blog and my worries about Roxy.
Speaking of, I look over Scarlet’s shoulder to Luke. He reads my concern, knowing what I want to ask. He nods toward the backyard.
Roxy’s sunbathing on the porch next to a water bowl.
Scarlet inches closer and toys with the buttons on my shirt. “Yes, silly. Those.”
I stiffen. Being romantic for the cameras and the public is one thing—coming to my home and slathering on the fake romantics is another. I gently grasp her wrists and remove them from my shirt. “I got distracted.”
She arches an eyebrow. “Doing what?”
I shrug, not ready to divulge my new pet project. “Just things. What are you doing here, anyway?”
She blinks a few times before responding. “I was thinking, with the show airing in just a few weeks, we need to up our game.”
“Up our game?”
Her ruby lips widen. “Yes, be more strategic about our outings. Schedule more dates. Get some more press going, especially since we’re not on set anymore capturing all those selfies together. We need more opportunities to be seen together.”
“Strategic?”
I understand, logically, that she’s right. This would be the best move for the show’s publicity and to keep her father satisfied with the terms of our contract, but my mind wanders to a particular blonde woman instead.
She giggles. “Yes, like dates. Ever heard of those? We need to schedule some.”
We’ve always worked through our publicity team and PAs to schedule publicized outings. This one-on-one business is new. “I think we can let our PR team work through those details.” I don’t want to break the terms of our contract, but I also don’t want to hurt her feelings by letting her down. But her pushiness is getting awkward. It’s like she’s forgetting our arrangement isn’t real.
She struts to the barstool and pulls out her phone from the massive bag I assume is her purse. She waves her phone in the air. “Or we can do it now. Together. I came prepared.”
I look to Luke behind her for guidance. He just shrugs.
Great.
I try for distraction. “Do you even know how to use that thing? Where’s Sarah?”
“You’re hilarious. Of course I know how to use my cell phone. Sarah doesn’t do everything for me.”
Sarah is her personal assistant. Honestly, I’m surprised she isn’t here with her.
I arch an eyebrow.
She exhales. “Okay, so she does do everything. But this? This I can do.”
The woman is a goddess incarnate and looks great on camera. She can memorize lines better than any actress I know, but technology or life skills—aren’t exactly her strong suit.
She taps her manicured nails across her phone screen.
Barking outside draws our attention. Roxy has discovered some birds in the trees.
Scarlet gasps and clutches my arm, her cherry nails digging into my skin. “Oh my gosh! There’s a stray dog in your yard.”
I laugh. “Calm down, it’s just my new dog.”
“Wait. Is that the one that wreaked havoc on our photoshoot yesterday?”
