Heat rushes up my face. Maybe someone will just shoot me now, put me out of my misery. “Oh, I’m surprised it still comes up. I could have sworn that blog had been shut down years ago.” I try to drag my gaze away from his, but just stare at him, blinking like a lunatic.
He sizes me up. “What’s up with your name?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Evelyn. In the video, you introduce yourself as Evelyn Bloom.”
Crap.I plaster on a fake smile that instantly morphs into a nervous laugh. “Well, Evelyn was my name, before I changed it to Ivy three years ago.”
His brows snap together. “Why did you change it? I think Evelyn’s a lovely name.”
Lovely? Is he for real right now?“Evelyn is boring, so not suitable for an up-and-coming actress, you know.”
His conspiratorial head bob puts me on edge. “You should use your real name when you’re being my fake fiancée.”
“Ivyismy real name…now.”
“All the more reason for you not to use it.”
I flash him awhat?look.
“Using another name will help you get into character. So be Evelyn. Not Ivy.”
Contemplation absorbs my mind space as I trace my finger around the rim of the water glass.
Be Evelyn. Seems like I haven’t been that chick for ages.
Yet, this may be the chance for me to portray the kind of Evelyn Ma would have been proud of. “Okay. Evelyn it is.” I survey his face for a few seconds. “Tell me, what else should I know about this fiancée of yours? Where does she work? Where is she from? What kind of food does she eat? How does she dress?” I remove the file folder Holly gave me from out of my purse. “Is all that information in here?”
Chase reaches over, palms the file folder closed, halting me from opening it. “Let’s make up her attributes now. Forget what’s noted in that file. I gave Holly those expectations on the fly.”
The waiter snags our empty plates, tops off Chase’s half-empty wine glass, and pours more coffee into my cup. “Would you two care to indulge in a bowl of our freshly churned candy-cane ice cream?”
I can feel my eyes widen with glee. Chase may be a sucker for chicken and waffles; I, however, am a sucker for ice cream. “You sold me on freshly churned.”
Chase laughs. “Some for me too, please.”
“I’ll be right back with those,” says the waiter, before he walks away, our empty plates in hand.
“Now where were we? Oh, right. We were just about to craft you a perfectly fake almost-bride. Let’s start with her occupation. I mean she does work, right?” I take a pen out of my purse, ready to scribe notes on the front of the folder.
Chase leans forward, posts his elbow on the table, and rubs the dots of stubble on his chin. “If you weren’t an actress, what would have been your career of choice?”
“Screenwriter.” I don’t bother with hesitation. Dreams of becoming a screenwriter have been at the top of my fantasy job list, hands down.
Chase’s slow and steady nod precedes a smile that faintly lines his lips. “Interesting. And why is it that you haven’t pursued this career choice?”
“Can we just concentrate on building Evelyn, your fake fiancée, and refrain from making this an offbeat episode of Dr. Phil?”
A sportive gleam blossoms in his eyes. “You, Ms. Bloom, are a borderline spitfire. Anyone ever tell you that?”
I bite my lip hard around the smile I feel tugging at my mouth. “Borderline spitfire? I can honestly say, no one has ever told me that. But, then again, no one has ever brought out the spitfire in me. Now, can we please continue with the task at hand? Focus on the creation of your fab dream girl. Not me.”
He launches a fierce gaze upon me, as though he’s sizing me up. “Fine. Let’s make Evelyn a screenwriter.” He jerks his jaw toward the folder. “Go ahead, write that down.”
With an eye-roll, I begin the ‘Evelyn List’ and jot down,screenwriter. “Okay, now that we’ve got that squared away, where was she born?”
“London.”
“As in England?” I toss my hair back and straighten my posture. “Does that mean, I’ll need to speak in a sexy, British accent?” I show off the British accent I perfected while at the Acting Academy.
He beams. “Can you really do that? I mean, talk likethatfor the entire time we’re with my parents?”
“Well, I am an actress, right?” I addsexyBritish accent, to the list.
The waiter returns with our dessert bowls, and I don’t even wait for Chase to get his bowl before I sink a spoon into mine. “Ice cream is my true weakness. What’s yours?”
Delight sparks in his eyes as they meet mine and a sudden chill trickles down my spine. “Seems as though I may have discovered a brand new weakness, Ms. Bloom.”
