Page 41 of The Fake Script

“Well, this is my room after all,” she says, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Or is that another mistake? They moved me here last minute because the hotel is full.” There seems to be a genuine confusion in her eyes, although with Madison, we never know.

“Um, no, we’re next door,” I say, glancing back. “We were just wondering who was in the neighboring room, that’s all.”

“Why?” She glances suspiciously between us.

“I . . . wanted to check if I liked that room better,” Emma stammers. “I usually prefer when the bed faces the other direction. But I think I prefer ours.”

“Great.” I flash a big smile at Madison. “We won’t be bothering you, then.”

“Bye,” Emma adds loudly as I shut the door.

“That was a close one,” I whisper, and Emma bursts into quiet laughter. We’re close now, so close I can see her chest heaving up and down.

“Gosh, I hope she believed it,” she murmurs.

“Me too.” I stare into her eyes, and her smile falls.

“Um, maybe we should unpack?” she asks, her cheeks now tinted red.

“Right.” I take a step back,then look at the large king-size bed. “Are you going to be okay with this?”

“I don’t know. Do you sleep naked?” She arches an eyebrow.

“Uh, no. Do you?” My heart picks up its pace.Does she?She did pack light, after all.

She glares back. “No.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, great.” Still, the thought of sharing a bed with Emma has my pulse doing some sort of parkour course through my veins. “Are you hungry? We could go out to dinner.”

She gives a small shrug. “Sure.”

We exit the room, and Cillian is already waiting for us by the elevator. This guy is the best in the business. But tonight, I don’t need him to be.

“Hey, man,” I say as we’re approaching. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

He nods. “Lad.”

I gesture to Emma that I’ll only be a minute, then take Cillian aside.

“I’m going out to dinner with Emma, but you don’t need to come.”

“But—”

“Dude. I’mtrying to pull off a romantic seaside dinner, but that won’t work if you’re there. Plus, this is Porthaven, Massachusetts. I think we’ll be safe.”

His eyebrows scrunch together, but I give him an insistent look, and he caves. “Fine. But call me if you need me.”

I bump my fist on his muscular chest and almost break a finger. “Will do.”

Then, I flash Emma a smile. “All right, let’s go.”

We ride the elevator down and begin our stroll along the boardwalk. It’s a warm summer evening with a light breeze. Seagulls are squawking, and the setting sun is dipping low over the Atlantic Ocean.

“Wow,” Emma says, her gaze fixed on the lapping waves. “It’s so pretty here.”

“I was just thinking the same thing. I love going on location because I get to discover gems like this place.”

“I bet. It’s—”