Page 100 of Hurry Up And Wait

“He’s mentioned his reservations about our lack of…emotional representation.”

“Meaning he doesn’t like our performance.”

She chuckled. “No.”

“It’s hard to fake it.”

“Maybe since you’re home today, that’s something we could work on.”

I regarded her warily, waiting for her to suggest something crazy like we should sleep together. And when she laughed, I knew she understood what I was thinking.

“Like, we could play a board game or watch a movie. Just spend the day together.”

“And how will that help us?”

“Well, if we know each other at least a little bit, we would be more comfortable around each other.”

“That’s true, but how are we going to get a board game?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

“How about a card game? There has to be a deck of cards around here somewhere.”

She got up and scrounged around, looking in drawers and searching cabinets. I watched as the shoulder of her oversized T-shirt slid, revealing her creamy skin. I shook my head, wondering why I was noticing such things. I had no desire to encourage anything with her, but spending so much time with her—pretending to be her fiancé—was beginning to blur the lines just a little. I knew deep down that I only wanted Isla. So, why was I watching Olivia?

“Found one!” she said proudly, holding up the deck of cards. She hurried over and sat on the floor by the table. I mimicked her, getting to my knees as I waited for her to shuffle. “So, what should we play?”

“Let’s keep it simple. War.”

“I haven’t played that since I was a kid,” she admitted.

“I’m a little surprised you played card games.”

“Because I’m such a prude?” she asked, shooting me a smile. “I could say the same about you.”

“I wasn’t always a senator’s son. I knew how to have fun.”

“Really? Do tell.”

“My brother and I were known to get into trouble every now and then. Of course, the senator wasn’t always happy about it.”

Her smile dimmed slightly as she shuffled the cards. “I heard your brother died. I’m sorry.”

I didn’t want to talk about my brother or anything else to do with the senator, for that matter. “Tell you what, why don’t we get some food? I’m hungry.”

“I could do breakfast.”

“But we’re not going anywhere fancy.”

Her nose crinkled slightly. “You’re not going to take me to some greasy diner, are you?”

That was exactly what I planned to do.

My phone rang overand over again on the way back from the diner. Surprisingly, Olivia and I had a normal breakfast. It was almost as if we were friends instead of actors in the senator’s plans. So, when she slipped her arm through mine on the way back and laughed at a story I was telling, I didn’t move away from her. She was actually nice, a decent person who just needed a friend. And I could be that.

“Sorry,” I chuckled, removing my arm from hers. “I have to get this.”

I answered just as we walked up the steps to the brownstone. “Red, what’s so?—”

“She knows.”