Page 4 of Enemies Off Camera
I’ll hug him. Loosely. I don’t want his body on mine for too long. And when I’m asked how I feel, I’ll say,“Hurt, of course, but I always knew she was the one.”That’s what a girl’s girl would say. And I’ve worked hard to establish myself as one of those.
“You okay?” Ashley asks.
She looks genuinely concerned. While my thoughts were racing, I’d been standing here looking completely stupefied.
I close my mouth and force a smile that gradually becomes real as fantasies of freedom start to wash over me. “I’m fine. Congratulations.”
“You know… he could choose you,” Ashley says, though there’s no real conviction in her eyes.
The thought makes my stomach nosedive. I can’t shake how worried I am about that possibility.
My gaze shifts back to Anna and Betty—but they’re no longer where they were. Maybe that’s a good sign. Maybe my central nervous system is just getting the best of me.
Still, I’ve been turning over the question in my mind:How could Jax choosing me possibly benefit the both of us?
Me? Sure. I’m a PR disaster, and any attention—even fake love on a fake show—is great for my career.
But Jax? He’s no PR mess, at least not that I know of. Why else would he be cast as the show’s Knight in Shining Armor if he were?
“We’ll start recording in fifteen,” Hansel, the show’s director, announces over the loudspeaker.
Ashley and I lock eyes, wide and nervous. She takes my hands and squeezes them.
“No matter what, let’s stay friends, okay? I know you don’t like him, but I likeyou.I’ll be your referee—and I’ll be fair.”
I give her a tight smile as she laughs at her own big-hearted promise. The thing is, what Iwantto say is:I don’t ever want to see his face again. Ever.
But I’m spared from having to let her down gently as we’re called to our spots under the soft, flattering lights.
As makeup and wardrobe put the finishing touches on our appearance, Jax enters the stage.
Beside me, Ashley gasps—sharp enough to reveal exactly what’s on her mind. She thinks he looks handsome.
I’ve seen more handsome men. I’vedatedmore handsome men. Good-looking guys are a dime a dozen. It’s what’s inside that matters.
Still… objectively speaking, Jaxishandsome in a black suit that fits him in all the right places. Most women would like—no,love—his hypnotic bedroom eyes and chiseled jawline.
So yeah. He’s good-looking.So what.
What really gets me is his expression.
Usually, he’ll toss Ashley a wink or a smirk—some little breadcrumb to let her know she’s his gal.
I gnaw nervously on my bottom lip.
“Don’t do that, Kara,” Janet, the makeup artist, scolds.
I grunt and roll my eyes as she wipes red lipstick off my teeth and reapplies it.
Something’s off. Jax isn’t acting like his usual cocky, spotlight-loving self. The one who relishes rejecting a hopeful contestant he clearly thinks is beneath him.
Oh…
I exhale slowly, the tension easing in my shoulders.
He’s not being smug because he’s not about to break a heart tonight—not mine, anyway. He knows I’m not in love. He knows I won’t be heartbroken.
Good. That makes two of us.
