Fake.
The word is looping over and over in my head. What is he ‘fake’ about? I know that there is good in Carson. I see it. It’s there.
“What are you doing out here?” I look up to see Cassie standing over me.
“Thinking.” I adjust my position in the lounge chair. I was watching children play in the hotel’s pool.
“What’s wrong?” She sits down next to me. “Are you thinking about the shoot? Something wrong with it?”
“No.” I shake my head. “It was great. My boss is loving everything about it.”
“Is it,” she pauses, looking at me. “Carson?”
I groan. Of course, she’s the one to figure it out.
“I’m going to take that as a ‘yes’. So, what gives? When I left, you two were getting pretty flirtatious together.”
“We were kidding around. That’s all.”
Cassie laughs. “Kinley, are you forgetting that I’m your best friend? I know you better than you think, and you’re feeling something for him.”
“Him? You mean, Carson?”
Cassie nods. I roll my eyes.
“Deny it all you want, but you like him.”
“Carson is a nice guy, and he’s going to make LSMP a lot of money, but that’s it. When this is all over, I’ll never have to speak to him again. Well, just to make him dinner because I lost the bet but that’s it.”
“Oh my God.” Cassie shakes her head. “Kinley Wright, you’re the worst liar on this planet. You are so covering up how you feel.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. I see the way you two look at each other. It’s like you’re about to have crazy-monkey-sex at any moment. It’s gross and cute at the same time.”
“I don’t want to hear this, and I have things to do.” I try to get up and leave, but Cassie grabs my arm.
“Stop it. Stop hiding behind your job all the time.”
I gasp. “I don’t.”
“Stop it,” she says more firmly. “Don’t try and say you don’t do that because you do all the time. You use your job as an excuse for everything, and you know you do.”
I clamp my mouth shut because I know she’s partially right.
“Kinley, I know you still feel bad about what happened between you and Elliott, but you need to move on. There’s a great guy out there for you, and you will have a successful relationship.”
I feel the tears building up behind my eyes, and I’m glad my sunglasses are still on.
“Maybe Carson isn’t the one, but you have to try. You need to put yourself out there.”
“I have to go.” I jerk out of her grip and race inside to my room, keeping my head down as the tears fall.
For the next couple hours, I lie on the bed trying to figure what the hell is going on with me. Maybe it’s that time of the month, or maybe I need to stay away from the Lifetime movies for a while. When my phone rings, it’s the one person I don’t want to talk to, but I know I have to.
“Hi, Mama.” I sigh. After I ran away from dinner, Mama and I didn’t talk much the rest of their stay here. I mostly talked to Dad.
“Kinley, are you alright?”