Page 18 of Say Yes to the Nemesis

She gives me a slight nod. “You were saying?”

I don’t even remember what I was saying, but I do still want her to put the fucking coat on.

I check my watch. It’s almost seven thirty. I promised Ellie I’d swing by her place to help Jake move some furniture. They’re still getting settled, and the place is a maze of boxes.

“I have to leave in a couple minutes to go help my sister with something. I think you should put this coat on, finish that cider, and let me drop you at home.”

“I can get home just fine.” She pauses. Her face reddens slightly.

I hold the coat out again, staring at her. “I’m definitely not letting you walk anywhere in that outfit. You’ll cause a riot.”

“You’re so dramatic,” she groans. “I just got here!”

“We have to be on set early tomorrow.” I have no idea where that comes from, but it at least sounds plausible. Really, I just need to get the girl away from those hockey bros at the bar. And anyone with eyes. “It’s time to get some rest. Beauty sleep, I think they call it.”

“Fine.” Wren bunches her mouth up and narrows her gaze at me. “I’ll go. I’ll only walk with you if it’ll make you stop bugging me about my dress, though.”

“Good.”

She takes the coat from me and slips it on, but she doesn’t bother belting the front.

I’m not thrilled about it, but at least the chances of someone getting a full view of her ass have dropped significantly.

She takes another sip of her drink, then turns to me. “Lead the way.”

I head toward the door, pulling my phone from my pocket. I’ll text Jay to let him know I got Wren home safe.

A tiny part of me feels like an excited golden fucking retriever knowing that I’ll see her tomorrow. Even if I tell myself I’m here for the money. For the exposure. For the brand deals. Now I’m here for something else as well.

As we step outside, I catch her tugging at the hem of her dress when she thinks I’m not looking. Her confident mask slips for just a second, and I see something vulnerable underneath.

If I stop talking, he’ll see it, I imagine her thinking.See that I’m not really this confident. See the way my knees are shaking.

But then she catches me watching and immediately straightens up, chin lifted in defiance.

“What?” she asks.

“Nothing,” I say, looking away.

But it’s not nothing. It’s the realization that Wren Rustin might be even more complicated than I thought.

Great. As if this whole situation wasn’t messy enough already.

five

RYAN

“Okay,right. Ryan, can you just skate around and maybe hit a couple pucks into the net?” Rich asks.

“Yeah, sure,” I say.

I grab my practice stick and a few pucks from the PA standing on the side of the rink.

It’s just B-roll, I remind myself. Smile. Be charming. Don’t think about the girl who used to flinch when I said her name and now looks at me like she’s daring me to flinch instead.

“We’re just establishing you as a person in these shots,” Rich continues. “What you like, what you don’t, what kind of woman you’re looking for… all that jazz.”

He gestures toward the ice. “We’ve got a bunch of B-roll of your town, your friends and family talking about you, but now we need your story straight from the source. Hans here is going to follow you out while you skate and score a bunch of goals. That cool?”