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Before she gets the second one zipped, Stella has her phone in Georgia’s face. “First comments are in!”
“Already?” Georgia takes the phone from Stella, and a smile slides across her face. She scrolls, then clicks on another image, and her smile turns to open-mouthed surprise. “Whoa.”
“What?” I peek over her shoulder to see a picture of the two of us where I’m leaning against the wall, arms and legs crossed, looking at Georgia. Her eyes are turned up toward me, her lips pursed. I have no idea when Stella took the picture, but it perfectly captures the teasing relationship Georgia and I have.
“That’s kind of cute.” I elbow Georgia’s side.
“Cute?” She gives me another upturned look, similar to the one in the picture. “It has over a hundred thousand likes, and it’s only been up for a few hours.”
“Is that good?”
Georgia rolls her eyes and hands the phone back to Stella, and they exchange alook.
“It’s more than good, dummy,” Stella answers. “It’s amazing.” Then she turns back to Georgia. “Did you read the comments?”
Without waiting for an answer, she holds out her phone to Georgia again. As she scrolls, Georgia’s eyes grow wide while Stella nods and smiles, like she knows exactly what Georgia is thinking.
Then, totally in sync, they both look at me and smile.
“What?” I do not like the looks on their faces. I’ve seen that look on Georgia’s face every time she gets an idea that involves me doing something embarrassing, illegal, or stupid. Sometimes all three.
“The people…” Stella tells me with mock seriousness. “They love you. I don’t know why, but they do.”
“I know why,” Georgia says to Stella. They gaze intently at me, eyebrows lifted. “Look at him.”
“Hmm. Nobody ever accused him of being ugly,” Stella answers, still staring at me. “But since we’re cousins—and not the royal kind who marry each other—that’s all I’ve got to say about his looks. Don’t want things to get any more weird than they already are.”
“According to these comments, he’s a very handsome man.” Georgia lets her eyes wander over me in a way that Stella doesn’t. “Or, and I quote, a ‘gorgeous hunk of manhood.’”
Heat crawls up my neck. “Can you please stop objectifying me now? You’re making me very uncomfortable.”
Georgia shakes her head while I try to figure out what to do with my hands. I put them in my pockets, but that feels weird, and crossing my arms feels even weirder. Georgia just keeps staring—no,leering—and I have no idea why her looking me over like a prized bull is making me sweat.
Look, I’ve turned a few heads in my day. This isn’t the first time I’ve been ogled. But it is the first time I’ve been ogled by my best friend. Which hits different.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Stella says to Georgia.
“Yep.” Georgia blinks, but her eyes are still glued on me.
“What?” I glance between them, then at the door. If they weren’t blocking it, I’d make a run for it.
“My followers want more of you, Zach.” Georgia’s voice is back to her normal, non-objectifying tone. “If we have this many likes on the first day, once the show airs, we’ll already have a strong fan base. People will watch because you’re on it.”
“Uh-uh.” Stella shakes her head. “People will watch because you’rebothon it. You make a great team. You’ve got chemistry. I saw it all day today. That’s what they’re seeing in these pictures, not just Zach’s pretty face.”
“Don’t call me pretty.” I glare at Stella, but I’m not saying no. I’ve never been able to say no to Georgia.
Stella grabs my jaw and squeezes my cheeks together. “But youareso pretty,” she says like I’m five years old instead of five years older than her.
I push her hand away then turn to Georgia, determined to say no for the first time. But then she juts out her bottom lip and fixes her pleading eyes on me.
“Please?”
How am I supposed to say no when she’s given me the chance of a lifetime to be the real estate agent for all the cottages? Her success is my success.
I just hope Carly doesn’t mind, because the picture of me holding Georgia could be read as more than friendly, if someone didn’t know any better.
Chapter 7
