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“The whole town will know soon enough, but at least you know these people. Just wait until the media gets here. You’re going to have far bigger problems then.”
“What?” I gawk.
Sharon stops typing on the keyboard and looks up at me like I’m dumb. And in this moment, maybe I am, because a strange sensation is pulsing through my body. I think it’s called terror.
“What did you think was going to happen, Emma? This is your and Ryan’s hometown. Of course, they’re going to come here.”
She’s right. I just didn’t consider it. Not once. Not when Ryan first asked; not when Debs, Sharon, and I were talking it out over two bottles of wine; not even when I was signing the renewed contract in Phil’s office. Sure, I knew there were going to be interviews and paparazzi, but in my head, that would all happen in the city. Not here in Maple Springs.
Too late now.
Or is it?
I’m in the treatment room when my internal line rings an hour and a half later.
“Your fake boyfriend is here,” Sharon drawls down the line.
I gasp at her bluntness but then hear Ryan chuckling. “It’s fiancé, actually.”
“Oh, yes,” my colleague says. “Your fake fiancé is here,” she corrects.
“You’re fired,” I snarl playfully.
I walk the short distance to reception and find the two of them laughing.
“You’re not funny,” I say, contradictorily struggling not to smile.
“I am a bit.” Sharon smirks, which seems to make Ryan laugh more.
Once we’re in the treatment room, Ryan pulls a small box out of his pocket. “So, I got you this,” he says, handing me the box.“It’s the first thing anyone’s going to ask to see, so I figured we should get it out of the way.”
When I flick the ring box open, I gasp. “Holy cow! Is that real?”
He doesn’t answer, and my stare goes from the stunning diamond to Ryan’s face. “Tell me that’s not real,” I press.
He shrugs and looks nonplussed. “I figured it needed to be, right? Aren’t there going to be people who’ll know the difference?” He nods to the box. “Put it on. I want to know if it fits.”
Tentatively, I lift the ring out of the box and slip it onto my finger.
“The other one,” Ryan says.
“What?”
“Your other hand,” he says.
I’m so nervous that I’ve put it on my right hand.
“Oh, right.”
“No, left,” he quips with a smirk.
Clearly, there’s something in the air today. The clinic’s full of comedians.
“Listen,” I say, admiring the ring on my finger because although our relationship is fake, I just can’t take my eyes off it. “I need to talk to you about the news people. They can’t come here to Maple Springs. They’ll overrun the town.”
“We don’t have a choice, Emma. For them to believe it’s real, they’ll have to come. We can maybe control how long they’re here, but we can’t stop them.”
My shoulders sink as I imagine what that’s going to look like. Maybe I really have bitten off more than I can chew.