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I glance at her quickly to see her reaction. Her jaw is hanging loose, and her eyes are as round as saucers. Yep, that’s exactly the response I expected.

“That’s a terrible idea, and I already explained why.”

I roll my eyes. “Because of the scrutiny? Shouldn’t you be used to it by now?”

She crosses her arms. “No one ever gets used to it. We simply have to learn how to block it out and not let it affect us.”

“You clearly haven’t mastered that yet, then.”

“I’m getting there.”

Even though I expected her to be against my fake-dating idea, I can’t help feeling the sting of her rejection.

“I’d be more at ease if you came to the interview, and, knowing you, I think you want that too.”

She sighs loudly. “Yeah, I need to be there just in case you mess up.”

I let the dig slide because I want Leigh around. I’ve done interviews before, but pretending to be her will be completely different. I know nothing about the entertainment industry. If Leigh is reluctant about being interviewed by Trina Tucker, she must be a snake.

“Then how are we going to explain your presence there? Assumptions will be made. It’s better if we control the narrative rather than let the media speculate. Don’t you agree?”

She groans. “I hate when you’re right.”

“Then that’s all the time, because I’m always right.” I smirk.

“Shut up and focus on driving.” A moment later, she shouts, “You missed the exit!”

“Oh shit! I totally spaced out. I was going home. Well, we might as well make a pit stop at my place real quick to get a change of clothes. You can’t show up at the interview looking like a bum in my body.”

Leigh doesn’t say anything, so I glance at her. She’s focused on my body as if she’s checking me—herself—out. After a moment, she says, “You look fine to me.”

I shouldn’t think anything about her reply, but my heart seems to accelerate a bit. Weird. “Did you just give me a compliment?”

“No,” she retorts.

Her grumpiness makes me smile. I’ve always enjoyed getting on her nerves. At one point when we were in high school, I wouldn’t have minded getting under her clothes either, but that lunacy didn’t last long, thankfully.

“I don’t want to change in your apartment. Can you pack what you need? I’ll take my car and wait for you at my place,” she adds a beat later.

“Okay, that’s fine.”

She brings her knees up and hugs them while staring out the window. That’s her trademark pose when she’s upset—something I observed when we were kids, when she’d spend the day at my house playing with Mia. It’s fucking strange to see myself like that.

I get that our situation is fucked-up, but I suppose it’s worse for Leigh. I’m overwhelmed with the urge to console her, but I don’t know how. She probably wouldn’t appreciate it anyway, coming from me.

LEIGH

I’ve been home for only ten minutes when the doorbell rings. It can’t be Keanu already, can it? I glance at the security camera monitor and confirm it’s him. He must have raced here.

The moment I open the door, Keanu makes a beeline for the kitchen. “Got anything good?”

“It depends on what you consider good. If you mean healthy food, yes.”

He opens the fridge and peers inside. “This looks promising.”

“Why are you raiding my fridge?”

“I had no food at home.” He takes items from the fridge and clutches them against his chest. “Not bad, not bad. I can make a sandwich. Do you want one?”