Maisie Knowles has hidden her identity and lies to everyone she knows to follow her dreams of becoming a successful author, but when she meets Theo Park, the actor playing the male lead in the movie based on her book, all the secrets she hid so well...
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"I panicked," I explained to Theo, gripping my left arm with my right hand, hoping he wouldn't get mad at me. "I remembered what you said about her worrying about you, and just went with what she said. I'm sorry. I know I should have talked to you first, but I didn't know what to do at that moment."
Theo pushed off the car, folding his arms over his chest, and sighing again. "You don't need to apologize. I appreciate you doing what you thought was best for her. It just makes things a little more complicated. I'd planned on the date being a one-time thing. Something to show my mom I was making progress."
I glanced off toward the theater, unable to keep eye contact with Theo, my ears burning. Right. I was a one-time thing to him.
"If you don't mind, let's continue to go along with that for now. We can figure out what to do later."
"I don't mind," I told him. "I kind of put us in this situation, anyway."
"No, I put us in this situation," he corrected, his lips forming a tight line. "I should have expected this wouldn't go as planned."
"I expected this," Rowan pitched in unhelpfully.
Theo threw her a sarcastic look before looking down at his pants. He pulled out his phone, lit up with an incoming call. "Mom?" he answered. "What, again? No, don't worry about that. We can meet up another time. Just go home. Don't be upset. We can celebrate at any time. You can even choose the place." He paused, eyes darting to me. "Yes, I'll bring her, too. We'll figure it out. Text me when you and Dad get home. I love you, too."
"Your mom okay?" Rowan asked from the other side of the car, leaning over the hood.
"She's not feeling great, so we're going to reschedule."
Rowan opened the driver's side door. "Maybe that's a good thing. You two can figure out whatever story you're going to come up with."
Theo didn't answer, opening my door for me. I climbed in, careful not to leave my dress hanging as Theo shut the door behind me. Was he worried about his mother? I found it surprising that she didn't feel well—she'd seemed so energetic earlier. But I knew not all illnesses showed on the surface.
"Where are we off to, then?" Rowan asked. "I do believe I owe Maisie a drink. And we should celebrate your win, anyway, Theo."
Part of me just wanted to go home, the homebody part of me, but part of me also wanted to make Rowan uphold her end of her flippant bet. "I'm down with whatever."
"I don't mind if you want a drink, but I'd prefer not to go out. My social meter is worn out," Theo said from the back, and I glanced in the rearview mirror to see him leaning back against the headrest, eyes closed.
"Your house then?"
"...Preferably not."
Rowan's gaze switched to me for a moment after Theo's hesitant response. "Oh, right. Then we'll go to my house."
