Page 13 of Your Rule to Break

When we know everyone has a picture of the two of us holding hands, Emilie steps in closer, turning her body and leaning into mine. Her hand touches my stomach, and before I can adequately appreciate her fingers touching me like this, she turns and looks up at me.

Not looks—fucking beams. Her lips, still bold and red, wear that smirk as her eyes find mine. She scrunches her nose before turning to face the paparazzi.

Zack! Over here! Is this your new girlfriend?

Who is she?!

Wait, that’s Emilie Hayes! Willow’s assistant.

Zack! Emilie! Over here.

They are eating this up. Damn, we’re good at this.

Just as we’ve fulfilled our paparazzi quota, I tip down and put my lips on Emilie’s temple. She leans in further, our body like magnets.Something pulling us in, a string, something I could almost reach out and grab.

Something definitely not fake.

Fuck.

Chapter 9

Emilie

“What in the worldis happening?” Willow opens the door with her phone practically hitting me in the face.

If I had to guess, it’s one of the many articles showing Zack and me at Trivium last night. Damn, I might work hard but the press works harder. My plan was to tell Willow and Tripp about the whole situation this morning but clickbait got to them first.

Playboy Zack Making a Play for Emilie

Who is Emilie Hayes, Zack Andersen’s Girl of the Week?

Stars Align for Zack Andersen and His New Girl

“I’m not a girl of the week. That’s insulting,” I groan, rolling my eyes and pushing in to Willow’s home. I practically lived here last year, especially last summer. Willow and I were new to working together but became fast friends.

I’m carrying donuts and coffee because this isn’t something you drop over a calming beverage, like Willow’s go-to peppermint tea.

“I tried calling Zack, but he didn’t answer,” Tripp says, standing up from the bar in the kitchen.

I set the carrier full of coffees down and place the bag of donuts next to them. “You two, chill. Coffee first and details second.”

While I hand out my breakfast peace offering, a task I wish took longer than twenty seconds, I try to catch my breath. Why does it feel like I’m talking to two disappointed parents?

Taking a long drink of my iced coffee, I stand across from Willow and Tripp, both sitting at the bar.

“You don’t need to worry, it’s not real. I mean, it’s like, real as in I was at Trivium with Zack last night, it’s not a hologram or anything.”

Willow shakes her head. “No babbling.”

“It’s fake. We’re in a pretend relationship because Zack opened his big, beautiful mouth at theWhen We Playevent. Zack was all white knight, trying to help me. He told Mitch he was my boyfriend and then Mitch was all, ‘You’re coming to the wedding, right?’”

The two of them are dialed in, hanging on my every word. I take another long sip; the caffeine is a necessity today.

“Ummm, Lo. This kind of, might be, our fault.” Tripp is the first one to speak.

Willow leans on the bar, looking at him, a little less in adoration and a bit more in annoyance.

“What?! It is. We were complaining about Eliza and Mitch at the bar, remember? Zack was definitely there when they came up to her,” Tripp gestures to me, voice soft.