Total pages in book: 196
Estimated words: 180438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 902(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 601(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 180438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 902(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 601(@300wpm)
In her excitement, she grabbed my hand and started jumping up and down like she was the one wearing it. “Is this what I think it is?” She squealed loud enough to alert the whole building.”Shh!” I pulled my hand out of hers and tried hiding it behind my back, but of course, it was too late.
I thought of lying, but what was the point? It was most obviously an engagement ring, and after yesterday, when he came to pick me up, the word had already spread all over the internet that we were back together. And though no one here had been crass enough to question me about the change in our relationship as yet, I had no doubt that tongues had been wagging.
I knew it was because of the respect my costars and I have for each other that it wasn’t brought up, and since everyone else on set tends to follow their lead, no one was brave enough to mention it, but now there was no way short of a bribe to keep things hushed.
“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to.” I wish I could believe that, but I know from experience just how these things go, so instead of pleading with her not to utter a word, I just smiled, took a deep breath, and told her that it didn’t matter.
She forgot all about the snack she’d come to offer as she rushed from the room, and I spent the next few minutes waiting for the other shoe to drop. When no one said anything when I made my way back to the set, I was torn between relief and anxiety.
I’d all but given her the go-ahead after all, but it didn’t look like she’d told any of the others as yet. It’s a wonder I remembered my lines and made it through without throwing up all over myself, and by the time I made it back on set, I was strung tight as a bow from nerves.
At least it was just us, the people I’d known and worked with for the last year or so, people I’d come to see as, if not family, then a very tight-knit group of friends.
It was a slipup, but no one would believe it. In my rush to get to my favorite Kabob food truck around the corner from the set, I forgot to take the ring off again. I’d already grown into the habit of slipping it back on as soon as filming was over and didn’t think twice about it this time.
The assistant hadn’t said anything as far as I knew, and that, too, had boosted my confidence in thinking that I had gotten away clear. Hah, I’d forgotten about the fans who liked to hang around all day waiting for a glimpse of me or one of the others as we came and went.
I don’t leave set every day, but today, I had a taste for something spicy, and since most of the food on set is heavy on sweet, there was nothing there to quench my sudden hunger for the savory delight.
My security detail did their best to shield me, and I did have my hand in my pocket most of the time, but I had to remove it to pay. That’s when it started. There were shouts and yells as cameras clicked away like crazy, and too late, I remembered the ring.
It was just as much of a circus as I imagined it would be, and it took me twice as long to get back to the set as it should have. My head was too fuzzy to grasp the gist of the questions being hurled at me, but I did make out one person asking if Ryder had given me the rock on my finger.
Twenty-twenty, as they say, is hindsight, and mine was kicking me in the ass. I should’ve handled this a whole lot better. There was no way to stem the flow, and Ryder wasn’t answering his phone.
When my phone started going crazy, I didn’t have to look to see what it was about; by then, the whole crew seemed to know, though no one said a word. My costars were the only ones to pull me aside and ask for an explanation, which I sheepishly gave. As expected, they were very supportive, and their salient advice is what helped me make it through the next set.
Simply put, they told me to talk less, say no more than I wanted to and only answer questions I felt comfortable with; they would do the rest. Although we’d grown pretty close rather quickly, their support and comforting words brought tears to my eyes.
It also gave me the confidence to look at my phone to see what was being said. There was a lot of wild speculation once the story broke, and by the early afternoon, there was a race to see who could figure out how much my ring was worth, how many carats, and what designer. By three, the store where it was bought had been leaked, and their sales were off the roof.