The Game (Wagered Hearts Series, #3)(12)

Once he signed the receipt, he turned to me and took in a deep breath. "Well, it's time to face the throng again," he said.

We both slipped on our sunglasses like we were putting on armor for a battle. He pulled out my chair for me and I stood up, leaning against him as I grabbed his hand in mine. I felt a tingle where our fingers met, but buried any thoughts of what it meant in the back of my mind. This was strictly business. Nothing more.





Chapter 5: Emilia



"Have you seen the Daily News this morning?" Charlotte asked as she stepped into my living room.

She was carrying a stack of newspapers and magazines with her. She dropped them down on the coffee table and pulled out one of the papers, handing it to me. I scanned over the headlines, my brow creased in confusion. There was nothing there that caught my attention.

"What am I supposed to be reading?" I said, handing it back to her.

She rolled her eyes at me before turning the page to the entertainment section. I took the paper back and saw a big picture of Rob and me at a movie premiere. He was standing behind me with his hands over my stomach. The headline read: "It's Official! Emilia's Pregnant". I let out a peal of laughter. I had to remember to show that to Rob. I was sure he'd get a kick out of it as well.

Since embarking on our fake relationship, things had gone surprisingly well. It had been easy to pretend to be in love with him. Almost too easy. He was charming, intelligent, and funny, and never took himself too seriously. His laid back attitude was rubbing off on me, and I found myself enjoying things more when he was around. I tried not to read too much into it, and had to remind myself that this was all fake and would end in a few months. Still, I couldn't completely suppress some feelings of longing that would creep up from time to time.

"Don't tell me you leaked that out to the press," I said.

"No, that's the great thing about it. They came up with that themselves. They're just eating up everything about your relationship. That whole scandal with Kelsey and Harry is a thing of the past. All people are talking about is you and Rob."

"Good," I said, pleased that things were finally going right.

"Why didn't you tell me he was a Lord? Did you know they're already calling you Lady Emilia?" she gushed.

"It's just a minor barony," I said, repeating Rob's words..

"Who cares what it is! This relationship is going better than we could have hoped. You've never been a hotter commodity than you are right now. Why didn't we do this sooner?"

I shot her a withering glare. Nothing but the direst circumstances would have convinced me to get involved in this scheme. I might have been driven and ambitious, but I still had my standards. If it weren't for the fact that I'd rather die than let Kelsey Keller screw me over, I might have decided to ride out the scandal.

"Because we didn't need to," I said. "I hope you do remember that this isn't real, and will end after awards season," I reminded her.

"Of course I remember, but I'm just saying, you can't buy good press like this. It's like you've been reborn, and all your past sins and transgressions have been forgiven."

By any standard, I should have been over the moon with how things had been going. Our scheme was working out perfectly, and my career had never been better. I was getting calls for parts that I'd never had a shot of getting before. On top of it all, the buzz around my performance in Letters to Zelda had been growing stronger, and my chances come award season were dramatically improved. The studio and my publicist had been working tirelessly behind the scenes to campaign for me. Right now, it seemed like a sure bet.

Even with all these good things going on, I couldn't appreciate it as much as I should have. I tried to ignore that little voice in my head that kept reminding me that I hadn't seen Rob at all yesterday. His absence shouldn't have bothered me. I wasn't attached to him at the hip, and our contract allowed leeway for personal time. Still, he came to my mind far too frequently for my liking.

I turned my attention to Charlotte, who was looking at me strangely. She stared at me expectantly, and I realized I'd been caught thinking about Rob again.

"I'll be glad when this whole charade is over," I finally answered. It was the truth at least. "Then I can get back to my regular life."

Charlotte opened her mouth to speak, then shook her head slightly. I was on the verge of asking her what she wanted to say, but she had already started talking again. "Don't forget, Arnie has booked you for appearances on some talk shows this Friday. I need you to be on your game, Emilia. Talk about the movie, but don't forget to throw in little tidbits of you and Rob. That's what they really want to know. You should act a little reluctant talking about it, but be so overjoyed, you can't help yourself. Don't go dishing. You don't need to be jumping up and down on the couch or anything crazy like that."

"Are you really giving me acting lessons?" I asked incredulously.

"Just play it cool. If in doubt, just remember that less is more," she said, ignoring my question.

"I know what I have to do," I said.

"When are you seeing Rob again?" she asked.

"We have a date planned on Wednesday." The realization sent a flutter of nerves through my stomach.

"I think it's time for some public PDA," Charlotte suggested.