DREW
I smiledat the memory of running into Kate as I sat in L.A.’s bumper-to-bumper traffic a few days later. I'd almost bolted when I realized I’d just bumped into her. The last time we'd seen each other was at Aiden's funeral, and I was sure her whole family hated me.
Hated that I had lived when Aiden had died. I had been shocked when Kate’s wedding announcement came in the mail earlier that spring. Surprised that her family would even want to be in the same room as me.
Part of me regretted not going, or even responding to it. But I hated the thought of darkening what was supposed to be the happiest day in Kate's life with my presence. Her family didn't need any reminders from that bleak time of their lives.
I'd definitely done my best to strip it from my own mind. Keeping my hands and mind busy so I could hopefully get over the guilt I'd brought upon myself. But when Kate's announcement had come in the mail, I'd decided that if her family had been able to move on, maybe it was time for me to move on too.
Finding Your Soulmatehad been after me for years. After my dating app, Meet Your Match, went viral, there had been a constant dialog going through the media about my relationship status.
Which, for the most part, was single.
I’d been so busy numbing my mind and heart with the coding, trying to keep my startup from crashing every night with all the new downloads, that there just wasn't time to date during the first few years. I barely even had time to sleep.
And then, when I'd pulled my head out of the cave I'd thrown myself into after Aiden's death, I'd come out to find that I'd done it too late. The only girl I'd ever really fallen for—the girl who had inspired the app idea in the first place—was getting married.
But thankfully, time healed all wounds, and my heart hadn't hurt too much when I'd run into her at the grocery store.
I looked at the ridiculous wig and facial hair sitting in the passenger seat of my black Lamborghini.
Why did I have to look like a hobo when I'd run into Kate?
She'd looked like she was about to scream when she saw me. I couldn't blame her though; I did look pretty crazy.
I grabbed the disguise and headed into the studio, straight to Alexis Olley's office. She was the show's executive producer, and we had a lot to go over before my first promotional interviews started next week.
"Let's just jump right in," Alexis said when I sat in the black chair across from her mahogany desk. Alexis was a no-nonsense-type lady. She'd startedFinding Your Soulmateten years ago, and it had been in the number one time slot ever since. She was dynamite and didn't put up with anything but the best.
Which was why I had to come into the studio today. Things hadn't gone quite the way Alexis had wanted on the last day of filming, and she was dead bent on salvaging the show in any way she could.
"Now that you've had the holidays to relax, it's time for us to save this season."
I gulped. I knew I'd made them unhappy, but I hadn't thought it was a complete train wreck.
"What do I need to do?"
"I'm going to be blunt with you, Drew. Here atFinding Your Soulmate,we expect to watch people fall in love. We expect a happily ever after. And we did not get the happily ever after you agreed to. Now, the rest of the producers have met several times trying to come up with a way to save our ratings and guarantee people will keep coming back season after season. So after much deliberation, we've decided that you will propose to Gwen on our live after-show."
"But what if we're not ready by then?"
"You better fake it. It's in your contract to have a proposal. And that's what we expect. Even if you have to pretend."
But could I pretend to get engaged?
I liked Gwen…most of the time. We had a lot of good times together.
But could I ask her to marry me in just two and a half months, especially when we only saw each other in person every other weekend?
"Do we have an understanding?" Alexis pressed.
I swallowed thickly. "Yes. I'll make it happen."
Alexis's face brightened, along with her tone. "Very good. Which brings us to our next step in operation 'save the show’." She pushed a sheet of paper across her desk. It was a bulleted list of what looked like possible questions an interviewer might ask me while I was on the promotional tour, and the answers that the studio approved of me saying.
"We've already discovered that acting is not a career you should go after—you know, if you somehow drain your savings accounts." She smiled at her own joke. "So you'll need to practice these until they roll off your tongue." Alexis looked over the rim of her glasses. "Let's just get started, all right?"
"Sure." I shifted in my chair and lifted the white paper so I could read it better.